UNIVERSITY OF CALOOCAN CITY

Biglang Awa St., Corner Catleya St., EDSA, Caloocan City

ETHICS
 
SUBJECT CODE: GEC 008
TOPIC OR LESSON: PART 1: THE ACADEMIC ETHICAL TRADITIONS
WEEK: 3
SUB-TOPIC/S: INTRODUCTION TO CULTURAL ORGANIZATION
a. Gawi and Gawa Habituation
b. Ethics and Ethos
c. Plato’s Insight into the Good

 OVERVIEW OF THE TOPIC

Welcome to your learning material on Ethics. This week you are tasked to learn and
accomplish several activities on the Academic Ethical Traditions.

The idea of viewing organizations as cultures—where there is a system of shared

meaning among members—is a relatively recent phenomenon. Until the mid-1980s,
organizations were, for most part, simply thought of as rational means by which to coordinate
and control a group of people, which have vertical levels, departments, authority relationships,
and so forth. But organizations are more than that.

They have personalities too, just like individuals which can be rigid or flexible,
unfriendly or supportive, innovative or conservative. For example, general electric offices and
people are different from the offices and people at general mills. Harvard and MIT are in the
same business of education—separated only by the width of the Charles River in Massachusetts,
USA, but each has a unique feeling and character beyond its structural characteristics.
Organization theorists now acknowledge this by recognizing the important role that culture plays
in the lives of organizational members.

Interestingly, though, the origin of organizational culture as an independent variable

affecting an employee’s attitude and behavior can be traced back more than 50 years to the
notion of institutionalization. When an organization becomes institutionalized, it takes on a life
of its own, apart from its founders and any of its members. For example, Ross Perot created
electronic data systems (EDS) in the early 1960s and left in 1987 to establish a new company,
Perot Systems.

EDS has, however, continued to thrive despite the departure of its founder. Sony,
Eastman, Kodak, Gillette, McDonald’s, and Disney are a few other examples of organizations
that have existed beyond lives of their founders or any one member and have developed their
own self-initiated organizational cultures over the period of time. Additionally, when an
organization becomes institutionalized, it becomes valued for itself and not merely for the goods

1|P a g e
and services it produces. It acquires corporate immortality. If its goods are no longer relevant, it
does not go out of business. Rather it redefines itself.
When the demand for Timex watches declined, the Timex Corporation merely redirected itself
into consumer electronics business-making, in addition to watches, clocks, computers, and health
care products such as digital thermometers and blood pressure testing devices. Timex Corp took
on an existence that went beyond its original mission to manufacture low cost mechanical
watches. This sense of redefining itself became a part of Timex’s organizational culture.

LEARNING
OUTCOMES
a. compare and contrast gawi and gawa;
b. delineate ethics and ethos; and
c. discuss Plato’s insight into the good.

LEARNING
OBJECTIVES
At the end of the lesson, students should be able to:
a. differentiate action and inclination
b. create a Venn diagram depicting gawi and gawa; and
c. retort formative questions given below.

ENGAGE
DIRECTIONS: Kindly retort the following questions in a concise manner (maximum of three
sentences).
Note that in this part you are encouraged to underwrite what you feel.

a. What is gawi? Gawa?

_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

2|P a g e
b. Have you heard about Plato? What do you know about him?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

EXPLORE
DIRECTIONS: Attempt to analyze the different scenarios, activities, and cultures commonly
shown in and performed by Filipino families. Share your view and perspective towards it in a
concise manner (maximum of three sentences).
Note that in this part you are encouraged to be factual with what you perceive.

“The balikbayan box

“The utang-na-loob thing”
“Being rebellious thing” mentality”
Or also known as debt of
Speaking up and voicing out Abusing the OFW’s
gratitude; An obligation to
an opinion toward an elder or generosity; Most of the time,
appropriately repay a person
submission to patriarchs family members are involved
who has done a favor
as abusers

__________________________ __________________________ __________________________

__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________

EXPLAIN
GAWI AND GAWA HABITUATION

3|P a g e
 In Filipino, the words gawi and gawa can give a sense of what philosophers mean by
ethical action. Filipinos distinguish between thoughtless, instinctive mannerisms and reflexes
from gawa (action) and gawi (inclination). In reflecting on how Filipinos use these words, one
can understand that human actions are different from mere bodily movements.

Freedom figures closely into action and inclination. Freedom, as defined, is the willful act
and decision that give form and shape to the actions and inclinations of people. This freedom is
oriented toward the wherefore, the what for, and the whom for of the doings of people.

These are the common aspects of human of human action that Filipinos understand as
action and inclination: that free human acts are governed by reflection and are freely decided
such that they are not determined by internal or external forces.

However, gawi and gawa are not identical: For instance is the matrix/table below:
GAWA GAWI
a.) It refers to the free action that is oriented a.) It refers to a free kind of work as well
toward a particular end. (which is same as gawa). Also, it refers to the
kind of acts that people are used to
accomplishing.
b.) For example: A worker uses his/her free b.) Gawi does not only refer to particular acts
imagination and will to bring about services of a person. A person’s kagawian or habitual
and products that contribute to the well-being action reveals truth about himself/herself.
of a society.
c.) Also equivalent to ethos in Greek and mos
or moris in Latin

Finally, a worker who produces for the society is judged skilled or unskilled. But a
person is judged good or evil, right or wrong based on kagawian or habituation.

ETHICS AND ETHOS

The term ethics comes from the Greek word ethos, which means custom, a characteristic,
or habitual way of doing things, or action that is properly derived from one’s character. The
Latin word mos or moris (and its plural mores) from which the adjective moral is derived, is
equivalent to ethos.

In the same manner, that gawi for the Filipino is different from gawa, Aristotle
differentiates between human actions that are “praxis” and to “poiein.” What is important for the
human agent who engages in “to poiein,” gawa for Aristotle is to successfully complete a
particular work be it artistic or technical: that the tabletop is smooth, the carvings are precise, and
the chair’s legs are balanced. The human person himself/herself is significant only in considering
the result in matters of “to poiein” or gawa. Ethics, on the other hand, not only has such
“normative” considerations as to the end product of the actions.

4|P a g e
 Ethics, as concerned with “praxis” for Aristotle, properly focuses on the human agent that
is revealed through his/her actions. Ethics is normative with regard to its being a practical
science. It does not only limit itself to the description of human actions but also aims to guide
them.

Ethics also considers that which is worthy of a human being. This means that living
rightly is not only about searching for happiness but living as one ought to live as a human being.
For instance, in living rightly, one receives contentment and approval both from others and
himself/herself, and in living wrongly, he/she deserves blame (from others and from
himself/herself).

PLATO’S INSIGHT INTO THE GOOD

An academic introduction to the discipline of ethics is incomplete without reference to

Plato (427-347 BCE). Even the word “academic” itself harks back to academia, the institution of
learning established by Plato for the training of his followers who later will be called
philosophers, lovers of wisdom. Ethics, being a discipline to study in universities that fall under
the umbrella of philosophy, can also traits it roots back to Plato as the systematic thinker who
grappled with the question of what is good.

The context of life of Plato is unfamiliar with students of today. The link on a video from
YouTube is tasked for you to watch in order to learn what good life for Plato is. It is a
composition of his confrontation to Socrates, his teacher and mentor and Glaucon, son of Ariston
and his older brother (Plato).

5|P a g e
 (Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oJs5u_GAYA)

In summary, Plato directs humanity to the nobility that is reachable through the
knowledge of the good. His confidence is knowing the good as acting upon it reaches out to
every age that grapples with the question of what is proper human action.

ELABORAT
E
DIRECTIONS: Create a Venn diagram showing the comparison and contrasting ideas of gawi
and gawa. The rubric for evaluation is provided below.
Note that in this part you are encouraged to think commonsensically.

GAWI GAWA

SCOR
RUBRIC FOR EVALUATION E
3 – The student’s 2 – The student’s 1 – The student’s 0.5 – The student’s 0–
OF VIEW
T: POINT
CONCEP

concept/point of concept/point of view concept/point of view concept/point of Has no

view has compared somehow compared has compared and view did not explanation
and contrasted the and contrasted the contrasted the author’s compare and
author’s point of author’s point of point of view in a contrast the author’s
view. view. limited way. point of view.
3 – The explanation 2 – The explanation 1 – The explanation 0.5 – The 0–
EVIDENC

ARGUME

shows at least 5 shows at least 3 to 4 shows 2 correct/valid explanation shows Has no

correct/valid correct/valid evidences to support only 1 correct/valid explanation
E/

evidences to evidences to support his/her answer. evidence to support

support his/her his/her answer. his/her answer.
answer.
2 – The explanation 1.5 – The 1 – The explanation is 0.5 – The 0–
CLARITY

is clear, has a very explanation is clear, somewhat clear and explanation is not Has no
good flow of has a good transition, has a rough transition clear and has a very explanation
discussion, every most of the details from one idea to rough transition of
detail is connected are connected to each another. ideas.
to each other. other.

6|P a g e
 2 – The explanation 1.5 – The 1 – The explanation 1.5 – The 0–
TECHNI-
CALITY
has no error in explanation has 1 to has 3 to 4 errors in explanation has at Has no
grammar, spelling, 2 errors in grammar, grammar, spelling, and least 5 errors in explanation
and punctuations. spelling, and punctuations. grammar, spelling,
punctuations. and punctuations.

OVERALL SCORE:

REFERENC
ES
Marc Oliver D. Pasco, V. Fulluente Suarez, and Agustin Martin G. Rodriguez, Ph.D. (2018)
Ethics C & E Publishing Company (pp. 15 – 23) 

ADDITIONAL
MATERIALS
Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oJs5u_GAYA

7|P a g e