LEARNING OUTCOMES

In this unit, you should be able to:

1. explained the role of mental frames
in
moral experience
2. classified the dominant mental
frames
3. articulate what virtue ethics is
Unit 2: 4. Critiqued virtue ethics
5. made use of virtue ethics
MORAL THEORIES 6. understood and articulate the rights
Theory
7. differentiate a legal from a moral
right
8. made use of the right theory

INTRODUCTION
Moral Theories and Mental Frames
What is moral theory?
▪ A moral theory, then, explains why a certain action is wrong -- or why we
ought to act in certain ways. Moral theories provide the framework upon
which we think and discuss in a reasoned way, and so evaluate, specific moral
issues.

TYPES OF MORAL THEORY

▪ Utilitarianism

▪ Deontology

▪ Relativism

▪ Divine Command Theory

▪ Virtue Ethics

▪ Egoism

▪ Natural Rights Theory

Utilitarianism: A Theory of Consequences

⎯ It is a theory that holds that the best way to make a moral decision is to look at
the potential consequences of each available choice; then, one should pick the
option that either does the most to increase happiness or does the least to
increase suffering.

Deontology: A Duty-Based Moral Philosophy

⎯ Deontology states that society needs rules in order to function and a person
can only be called moral to the extent that he abides by those rules.

Relativism: A Theory Based on Experiences

⎯ It states that no one person's morals are better or worse than any
other. Relativism is a moral philosophy that could, therefore, be different
depending on where you grow up, and what may be right in your society, could
be very wrong in another person's society.

Divine Command Theory: A Higher Power

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 ⎯ Divine command theory states that God is the ultimate arbiter of what
constitutes morality, and that without God we have no clear way of telling
right from wrong.

Virtue Ethics: Always Improve Yourself

⎯ states that only good people can make good moral decisions. Therefore, the
best way to be moral is to constantly seek to improve oneself. Virtue ethicists
argue that if a person tries his best to embody these traits.

Egoism: A Theory Based on Self-Interest

⎯ Egoism is a moral philosophy that holds that the best way for one to be
morally good is to act in accordance with one's self-interest. Egoists also
believe that if everyone acts in their own self-interest, then society is more
likely to solve moral dilemmas to the satisfaction of all parties, thereby
maximizing overall happiness.

Natural Rights Theory: Human Rights

⎯ Natural rights theorists, or human rights theorists, believe that every person is
endowed with certain inalienable rights, such as the right to life, the right to
own property, and the right to liberty.

What is mental frame?

➢ Mental framing is how you see any given situation and occurs when you
position your thoughts in such a way as to convince yourself of the value of
difficult situations.

➢ A mental frame is kind of like a picture frame. It determines where the

picture begins and ends, and our simulated viewpoint of the image.

➢ If we learn to control our frame, our emotional state will improve drastically
regardless of what life throws at us.

➢ We have the choice to either frame it in a positive light, or to plunge it into the
dark clutches of negativity. Negative frames allow us to feel justified playing
the victim. They give us more excuses as to why we can or cannot do
something and this keeps us from our goals.

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 ➢ This goes both ways however, and framing things in a positive way will
improve our mood and help us to develop compassion for others.

➢ If we can CHOOSE to take the positive road we will find ourselves in a much
happier place most of the time.

➢ We can apply this framing power to nearly EVERY situation in our lives with a
little creativity.

Why is it important?
➢ Your attitude and your perspectives are part conscious and part unconscious
and can be learned, unlearned, programmed and reprogrammed in a variety of
different ways. A simple change of mind can help you become your best self.

What is virtue ethics?

➢ Also known as aretaic ethics

➢ are normative ethical theories which emphasize virtues of mind, character and
sense of honesty.

➢ Virtues is moral excellence. A virtue is a trait or quality that is deemed

to be morally good and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and
good moral being.

➢ Utilitarians and Kantians focus on the rightness or wrongness of

particular/individual actions.

➢ Virtue ethics focuses on the character of human beings.

➢ “In order for one to be a moral person, one needs to develop or cultivate
his virtues; by doing so, one manages to flourish as human being; and
when one flourishes (as a human being), one becomes a morally good
person.

➢ According to Aristotle, all human actions aim at one thing : the highest good in
human life – Eudaimonia.

➢ Eudaimonia is a state of being where a human being may be said

to be flourishing – as a human being.

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 ➢ Aristotle believed that everything in the universe has a function.

INTERPRETATIONS OF ARISTOTLE’S ETHICS

•Aristotle uses the word HEXIS to denote moral virtue.
Hexis is an active condition, a state in which something must actively hold
itself.
-an action counts as virtuous when one holds oneself in a stable equilibrium of the
soul. This stable equilibrium of the soul is what constitutes character.

VIRTUE as a MEAN
-MEAN is a state of clarification and apprehension in the midst of pleasures and pains
that allows one to judge what seems most truly pleasant or painful.
-for Aristotle moral virtue is the only practical road to effective action.
St. Thomas Aquinas view of Ethics
•Important rule for Aquina’s ethics is the love of a neighbor as oneself.
- St. Thomas Aquinas was a man of great faith was shaped by his faith to God and the
Catholic Church. Therefore his morals and other beliefs follow a Christian way of
morals.
For Aquinas, the body is not the prison of the soul, but a means for its expression.
Aquinas ethical theory involves both principles; rules about how to act and virtues,
personality traits which are taken to be good or moral to have.

IMPORTANCE OF VIRTUE ETHICS

According to Aristotle:
• Eudaimonia is the state that all humans should aim and end of human existence. To
reach thus state, we must act ourselves in accordance with reason.
According to St. Thomas Aquinas
•Aquinas argues the end of the moral virtues is the human good. And since the
human good is simply to be accordance with reason, it follows that the end of the
moral virtues must “pre-exist the reason”.

Virtue Ethics offers an account of right and wrong based on what a virtuous agent is.
• The virtuous agent is a person whose character traits and virtues and does not
need any vices.

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 • Aristotle believed all actions aim some good. Some things are ends in
themselves because they are done for their own sake.

VIEW OF VIRTUE ETHICS

In the 20th century virtue ethics has been developed in three main direction.
Eudaimonism, Agent-based theories and Ethics of Care.
• EUDAIMONISM

- bases virtues in human flourishing, where flourishing is equated

with performing a distinctive well.

• AGENT-BASED THEORY

- empasizes that virtues are determined by common sense

intuitions that we as observers judge to be admirable traits in
other people.

• ETHICS OF CARE

- proposed predominantly by feminist thinkers. It challenges the

idea that ethics should focus solely on justice and autonomy. It
argues that more feminine traits, such as caring and nurturing
should also be considered.

Kant and Rights

➢ Kant’s theory is an example of a deontological moral theory–according to these
theories, the rightness or wrongness of actions does not depend on their
consequences but on whether they fulfill our duty.
➢ For him a right action consists solely in an action that is ruled and justified by a
rule or principle.
➢ It was the rational and autonomous conformity of one’s will to see right the
universal moral law.

RIGHTS THEORY

Rights are generally defined as justified claims for the protection of general interests.
In this sense, human beings have been described as having rights to property, "to life,
liberty, and the pursuit happiness" (United States Declaration of Independence, 1776),
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as "free and equal in rights" (Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, 1789), and
as having rights "to share in scientific advancement and its benefits" (Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, 1948). More recently civil rights or liberties to freedom
of speech and assembly have been complemented by proposals for social, economic,
and welfare rights to minimum levels of shelter, food, and medical care. What was
initially a quite limited relation of rights to science and technology, insofar as their
advancement rested on the protection of intellectual property rights, has become
increasingly a question of consumer rights to certain levels of material benefit and
safety related especially to technology. The assessment of such diverse claims
nevertheless requires appreciation of the broader philosophical discussion of rights
and various analytic distinctions introduced to clarify numerous complications.

The Difference Between the Moral and the Legal

It’s especially important to differentiate morality and law, inasmuch as discussion of
the moral and legal often conflate. On the one hand, the two differ since we believe
some legal acts to be immoral, and some laws to be unjust. And even if the law
didn’t prohibit murder, stealing, and the like, we would probably still consider them
wrong. This suggests that the two aren’t co-extensive. On the other hand, the two are
connected because the law embodies many moral precepts. Legal prohibitions
incorporate most of our ordinary moral rules such as those against lying, killing,
cheating, raping, and stealing. This suggests there is some connection between the
moral and the legal.

Though it’s possible to have morality without law, or law without morality, the two
usually go together. Therefore, we suggest that law codifies morality. In other words,
the law formulates the culture’s morality into legal codes. Again, not every legal code
refers to a moral issue, but most laws do have some moral significance. Though a
connection between the moral and legal exists, they clearly aren’t the same things.

While a thing’s illegality may give us a reason not to do the thing, this is a prudential
rather than moral reason. In other words, if we are afraid to steal because we might
get caught, then we fear punishment, not immorality. Nevertheless, we might offer
moral reasons to abide by the law. We could say that we owe it to the state to abide by
their laws and that civil disobedience undermines both the moral fabric and our tacit
agreement with the state. This was essentially Socrates’ argument against escaping
from Athens before his impending execution. But in general, legal arguments aren’t
applicable to ethical discussion. Ethicists generally discuss morality, not legality, as will
we.

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Activities/Exercises
Look to the internet www.google.com , Ethics in Politics by Jovito Salonga.
Link: http://jovitosalongajournals.blogspot.com/2019/03/a-lecture-delivered-at-
university-of.html.
Read the article and write your reaction paper on the space provided.

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References
Agapay, R. (2008). Ethics and the Filipino: A Manual on Moral for Students and Educators, Second
Edition, Philippines: National Bookstore
Kohlberg, Lawrence, Essays on Moral Development, Vol. 1 The Philosophy of Moral
Kant, Immanuel, Categorical Imperative, “ in Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morais, Trans H. J.
Paton Development.
Aquinas, Thomas. OPn Law, Eternal Law and Natural Law, Summa Theologiae, vol 28, Blackfriars in
conjunction with McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, 1966, Pp. 5-97.Brian Duignan is a senior
editor in philosophy at Britannica. He also handles law, social science, political theory, and some areas
of religion. He joined Britannica in 1989.

Online Resources
Internet source: www.yahoo.com
Link: https://www.britannica.com/topic/utilitarianism-philosophy
Internet Sources: www.yahoo.com
Link: https://reasonandmeaning.com/2016/03/31/the-difference-between-the-moral-and-the-legal/
Internet Source: www.yahoo.com
Link: https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/rights-theory
Internet source: www,google.com
Link: http://jovitosalongajournals.blogspot.com/2019/03/a-lecture-delivered-at-university-of.html.

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