GEC 218 Ethics Modified

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS IN ETHICS
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COURSE OUTLINE
Course Number: GEC 218

Descriptive Title: Ethics
Course Description:
Ethics is a 3 unit course which deals with principles of ethical behavior
in modern society at the level of the person, society and the interaction with
the environment and other shared resources.
Course Intended Learning Outcomes:
The students must have:
1. Defined Ethics.
2. Explained and discussed the importance of man and ethics.
3. Differentiated between moral and non-moral acts.
4. Defined, differentiated and discussed meaning and different kinds of

conscience.
5. Described bases of moral experience is as it happens in different levels of

human existence.
6. Explained the influence of Filipino culture the way students relate to moral
Experiences.
7. Described the elements of moral development and moral experience in

relation to related philosophical theories.
8. Make use of ethical frameworks or principles to analyze moral

experiences.
9. Constructed sound ethical judgments based on theories, principles, facts,

and the stakeholders affected.
10. Internalized the principles of ethical behavior in modern society at the

level of the person, society, and in interaction with the environment and
other shared resources.

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COURSE REQUIREMENTS
1. Reflection notebook
2. Portfolio
3. Quizzes and examinations
GRADING SYSTEM
Class Participation - 10%
Written/Oral Outputs - 40%
Prelim/Midterm/Final Exam - 50%
100%
Midterm 50%
Final Grade 50%
100%
Final Grade = Midterm Grade + Tentative Final Grade

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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UNIT l NATURE AND IMPORTANCE OF ETHICS
Lesson 1 Definition” What and why of Ethics
Lesson 2 Who and What is Man?
Lesson 3 Filipino GAWI, GAWA and KAGAWIAN
Lesson 4 Virtue Ethics
UNIT 2 BASES OF ETHICAL STANDARD

Lesson 5 Conscience
a. What is Conscience?
b. Kinds of Conscience
c. Educating the Conscience
Lesson 6 Pro - God (Maka-Diyos)
Lesson 7 Pro – Nature (Maka- kalikasan)
UNIT 3 ETHICAL THEORIES AND PRINCIPLES

Lesson 8 Thomas Aquinas and the Natural Law
Lesson 9 Deontological Ethics: Immanuel Kant
Lesson 10 Moral Psychology
Lesson 11 Stoicism

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Lesson 1 What and Why of Ethics
Overview
”We might not realize it, we all face ethical issues on a regular basis.
But how do we know how to respond well to these issues?”
One of the greatest quest in life is to know what is right and live with it
and know what is wrong and as much as possible avoid it. Through the
complexities in life, confusions are present as whether what is right from
wrong. It is a day to day challenge as we make decisions from the moment of
waking up until we lay down and sleep. How do we really know that what we
are about to do or is presently doing is right or wrong?
Desired Learning Outcomes:

 Define the meaning of ethics.
 Identify, discuss the importance ethics.
 Reflect and relate the importance of ethics to one’s life.
Activity 1: Case study

Robert is on the baseball team at a small college in Texas. He's a high
profile player on the team, and as a result he has a lot of followers on Twitter
and a large network on Facebook. For this reason, the members of the
athletic board at his college think it's necessary to monitor his social media
accounts. In Texas, there is no law to prevent schools from requiring
individuals to give up their personal social media login and password
information, so Robert is forced to hand over his social media account
information.
University officials say that the intent of monitoring is to identify
potential compliance and behavioral issues early on, enabling athletic
departments to educate athletes on how to present themselves online. They
regularly check what Robert posts and flag certain postings with which they
have issues.
One day Robert tweets "Skipping class to break bad #schoolsucks
#bettercallsaul #breakingbad." Since Robert publicly admits to skipping class,
school officials flag the post and decide to also start monitoring Robert's email
account without informing him.
Since the school provides an email account as a service to its students

and faculty, it reserves the right to search its own system's stored data.
According to the college's student handbook, administrators may access
student email accounts in order to safeguard the system or "to ensure

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compliance with other University rules." The policy does not mention whether
or not account owners have to be notified that their emails are searched.
When searching Robert's email account, university officials find several
questionable emails between Robert and his tutor. It seems that Robert's tutor
has been sending him all answers to homework assignments and quizzes. As
a result of the investigation, Robert is placed on athletic probation and his
tutor is fired.
GUIDE QUESTIONS:
1. Should universities be allowed to monitor student email and social media

accounts? If so, under what circumstances?
Answer:
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
2. What crosses the line between campus safety and invasion of privacy?
Answer:
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
3. Are university rules regarding email and social media monitoring too
vague? If so, how can these rules be changed for more clarity?
Answer:
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
4. Should Robert have been punished for cheating in class if he did not know
his email was being monitored? What about his tutor?
Answer:
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
Let’s start! Are you now ready?

WHAT IS ETHICS? 6
1. The term ethics is derived from the Greek word ethos which can mean
custom, habit, character or disposition.
2. It is a philosophical discipline that is conerned with human decision
making (Gladding, 2009, p.58).
3. Rules of behavior based on ideas about what is good and bad
(Merriam Webster Dictionary).
4. Moral principles that govern a person's behavior or the conducting of
an activity (Oxford Dictionary).
5. Ethics is concerned with questions of how people ought to act, and the
search for a definition of right conduct (identified as the one causing
the greatest good) and the good life (in the sense of a life worth living
or a happy and satisfying life).
Forms of Ethics
A. Normative Ethics (or Prescriptive Ethics) is concerned with

establishing how things should or ought to be, how to value them,
which things are good or bad, and which actions are right or wrong.
It attempts to develop a set of rules governing human conduct, or a
set of norms for action.
Example: We should do to others what we we would want

others do to us.
B. Meta-Ethics is concerned with the meaning of ethical judgments,

and seeks to understand the nature of ethical properties,
statements, attitudes, and judgments and how they may be
supported or defended. It tries to define the essential meaning and
nature of the problem being discussed.
Example: A medical doctor assisted a person who committed

suicide.
C. Descriptive Ethics is a value-free approach to ethics which

examines ethics from the perspective of observations of actual
choices made by moral agents in practice. It is the study of
people's beliefs about morality, and implies the existence of, rather
than explicitly prescribing, theories of value or of conduct.

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Example: How do individuals process and resolve perceive
moral conflicts?
D. Applied Ethics is a discipline of philosophy that attempts to apply

ethical theory to real-life situations. It includes the insights of
psychology, sociology and other relevant areas of knowledge in its
deliberations. It is used in determining public policy.
Example: Moral issues on abortion
Why do we need to study ethics?
Goal of
ETHICS
 Ethics aims man to realize his fullest potential as free person acting
in the world and doing right for others. As human beings sense
that there is this thing called “good” which are bound to realize to
become genuinely human and to build better societies.

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1. In your own words, what is ethics?
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
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_______________________________________________________.
2. Based on the picture above, discuss the importance of ethics.

________________________________________________________
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_______________________________________________________.
Lesson 2 Who and What is Man?

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Overview
“Man is a mystery.” This lesson provides avenue to look into man, its
origin and composition. Have you realized what you have and what you can
do? As a human being, you have the potential to be what you want to be in
life and everything around. However, you are to adhere to what is expected of
you. This is so, because ethics is exclusive for man.
Desired Learning Outcome:

1. Identify and discuss the theories on man’s origin.
2. Discuss the nature and the composition of man.
3. Enumerate man’s superpowers.
4. Reflection of man’s responsibility as an ethical being.
Preliminary Activity: Motivation (Poetry Reading and Analysis)
The Monkey’s Disgrace

Three monkey sat in a coconut tree
Discussing things as they’re said to be.
Said one to the others “Now listen, you two,
There’s a certain rumor that can’t be true;
That man descended from our noble race-
The very idea! It’s is a dire disgrace
NO ever monkey ever deserted his wife,
Starved her baby and ruined her life.
And you’ve never known a mother monk
To leave her baby with others to bunk,
Or pass them on from one another
‘Til they hardly know who is their mother.
And another thing! You will never see
A monk build a fence ‘round a coconut tree
And let the coconuts go to waste
Forbidding all other monks to taste.
Starvation would force you to steal from me.
Here’s another thing a monk will do;
Go out at night and get in a stew
Or use a gun or club or knife
To take some other monkey’s life
Yes! Man descended, the ornery cuss
But brother, he didn’t descend from us.
What message does

What do you it convey???
think is the
poem about???
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As we grow, we have many questions. We ask who am I? Why am I
here? These are simple yet thought provoking questions. We are presenting
the theories of man’s origin. These are the creation and evolution theories.
Let us compare and contrast.
l. Theory on the Origin of Man

CREATION THEORY EVOLUTION
Proponent: Bible Proponent: Charles Darwin
It states that the earth and It states that the earth and
everything in it was created by a everything in it develop in stages
great and wise and powerful being from simple to more complex forms.
It states that man was created by It states that we came from into
the direct will of God being by an accident.
It states that all living thing It states that non-living matter

reproduce only after their own kind. changed into a very tiny living
organism. This organisms over
thousands of million years gradually
changed and has become every
living thing that has ever lived.
ll. Composition of Man
1. Monism -attributes oneness or singleness to a concept. Man has

only one composition. He cannot be broken down into different parts.
2. Dualism is the position that mind and body are in some categorical
way separate from each other, and that mental phenomena are, in some
respects, non-physical in nature.
-Two things must co-exist examples of metaphysical dualism are God

and the world, matter and spirit, body and mind, and good and evil.
Two things must co-exist
Comparison of Monism ad Dualism

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3. TRIPARTITE. A common belief regarding the nature of mankind is
that we have a body, a soul and a spirit. This is known as the Tripartite
Nature of Man (or trichotomism). Some, however, hold to only a dual
nature of man (also known as dichotomism).
According to the Bible, mankind is distinct from all the rest of creation,
including the animals, in that he is made in the image of God. As God is a
tripartite -- Father, Son and Holy Spirit -- so man is three parts -- body, soul
and spirit.
Man is made up of physical material, the body that can be seen and
touched. But he is also made up of immaterial aspects, which are intangible
-- this includes the soul, spirit, intellect, will, emotions, conscience, and so
forth. These immaterial characteristics exist beyond the physical lifespan of
the human body and are therefore eternal.
Diagram: Composition of Man as Tripartite Being

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taste
smell
will
sight
emotion
intellect
feel
hear
lll. Man’s Superpowers
1. Intellect- the faculty of reasoning and understanding objectively,

especially with regard to abstract or academic matters.
2. Will- It is man’s ability to choose and decide. Oftentimes it is calle

free will. It is the capacity that is unique to a person that allows
them to control their actions. Free will relates how freedom relates
to freedom of action.

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Further Readings :
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/freewill/
https://www.britannica.com/science/human-intelligence-psychology
1. What are the two theories of the origin of man? Discuss the similarities and
differences.
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2. There are three theories on the nature and composition of man. Discuss
each:
Monism
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Dualism
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______________________________________________________________
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Tripartite
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3. Of these three theories, which theory do you agree? Why?

______________________________________________________________
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4. What is your understanding of the following:
a. Will
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________.
b. Intellect
______________________________________________________________
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______________________________________________________________
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3.Based on this lesson, relate the role of man to ethics.
(You may discuss or draw.)
Lesson 3 Filipino GAWI, GAWA and KAGAWIAN
Overview
It has been said that human beings are complex beings. He is
not simply driven by survival instinct. On the other hand, human
being live in this world with variety of faculties and expereinces. In
this lesson, ethics will be understood in relation to Filipino culture
and values. This will try to elucidate what philosophers mean ethical
action as it distinguishes between thoughtless, instinctive
mannerisms. As a man chooses daily it attempts to clarify what is
ethical from unethical actions. Eventually, the intentional act will
result to habit formation.

 Define and differentiate “gawi, gawa and kagawian”.
 Discuss how “kagawian” was achieved.
 Modify “gawa” that resulted to the unpleasant “kagawian”.
Preliminary Activity: Pre test

Direction: Read each sentence and tell whether it is Gawi, Gawa, or
Kagawian. Write your answer on the space provided.
1. Gawa
2. Gawi
3. Kagawian

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1. A mother who will do her best to protect her
child.
2. A teacher uses her imagination and will to
make instructional materials in the midst of
Pandemic
3. A seasoned carpenter produces beautiful
furnitures for export.
4. Baby boy cries everytime he is hungry.
5. The architect designed the Malacanang

Palace.
6. Dr. Tan continues to take care of her
COVID positive patients.
l. Gawi is a Filipino term which means an inclination. It could be thoughtless,

instinctive mannerisms. It also refers to a free kind of work. It is the kind of
act that does not refer to particular act of a person. Here is the example:
 A baby will close his

eyes when he
sleeps.
 Man eats when
hunger strikes.
ll. Gawa is termed poiein by Aristotle. It is a term which refers to the free
action that is oriented toward a particular end. A human agent who engages
in, poiein (gawa) for Aristotle is to successfully complete a particular work to
be artistic or technical. A human person is significant only in considering the
result in matters of poiein or gawa.
It is governed by knowledge and free decision making. Freedom here is

the ability to act free from the outside influences or impediments to one’s
wishes. It is the willful act which gives form and shape to the actions and
inclinations of people.

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Example:
Nurse Cathy goes to Sala set was made out of

the hospital despite 100 year old Narra tree.
the threat of COVID
virus.
Further Readings:
https://iep.utm.edu/aristotl
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-ethics
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle
lll. Kagawian or habitual action that reaveals truth about himself/herself

(habituation). This is equivalent to moris in Latin (mores Plural) which is
translated moral (adjective) which equivalent of ethos in Greek.
The term ethics is 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.
A person is judged good or evil, right or wrong based on kagawian or
habituation.

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 Farmer Lito wakes
up at 5 am and
works in his farm.
Filipinos do not easily give

up with difficulties because
we are resilent.
Further Readings:
1. http://www.ethical perspectives.be/viewpic.php?
LAN=E&TABLE=EP&ID=1115
2. https://journals.sfu.ca/pie/index.php/pie/article/view/97
SEVEN- STEPS MORAL REASONING MODEL

Josephson Institute of Ethics (2002)
1. Stop and think: This provides several benefits. It prevents rash

decisions, prepares us for more thoughtful discernment, and can allow
us to mobilize our discipline.
2. Clarify goals: Before you choose, clarify your short-term and long-
term aims. Determine which of your many wants and "don't wants"
affected by the decision are the most important. The big danger is that
decisions that fulfill immediate wants and needs can prevent the
achievement of our more important life goals.
3. Determine facts: Be sure you have adequate information to

support an intelligent choice. To determine the facts, first resolve what
you know, then what you need to know. Be prepared for additional

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information and to verify assumptions and other uncertain information.
In addition:
 Consider the reliability and credibility of the people providing the

facts.
 Consider the basis of the supposed facts. If the person giving you
the information says he or she personally heard or saw something,
evaluate that person in terms of honesty, accuracy, and memory.
4. Develop options: Once you know what you want to achieve and

have made your best judgment as to the relevant facts, make a list of
actions you can take to accomplish your goals. If it's an especially
important decision, talk to someone you trust so you can broaden your
perspective and think of new choices. If you can think of only one or
two choices, you're probably not thinking hard enough.
5. Consider consequences: Filter your choices to determine if any

of your options will violate any core ethical values, and then eliminate
any unethical options. Identify who will be affected by the decision and
how the decision is likely to affect them.
6. Choose: Make a decision. If the choice is not immediately clear, try:
 Talking to people whose judgment you respect.
 Think of a person of strong character that you know or know

of, and ask yourself what they would do in your situation.
 If everyone found out about your decision, would you be

proud and comfortable?
 Follow the Golden Rule: treat others the way you want to be
treated, and keep your promises.
7. Monitor and modify: Ethical decision-makers monitor the effects

of their choices. If they are not producing the intended results, or are
causing additional unintended and undesirable results, they re-assess
the situation and make new decisions.
Activity 2: Post test

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Direction: Read each sentence and tell whether it is Gawi, Gawa, or
Kagawian. Write your answer on the space provided.
1. Gawi
2. Gawa
3. Kagawian
1. A mother prefers to go abroad and sacrifice

than to see her children starving.
2. A teacher uses her imagination and will to

make instructional materials in the midst of
Pandemic
3. A seasons carpenter produces beautiful

furnitures for export.
4. Baby boy cries everytime he is hungry.
5. The architect designed the Malacanang

Palace
6. Dr. Tan continues to take care of her

COVID positive patients.
Identify and give five (5) examples of your gawi, gawa and kagawian.
GAWI GAWA KAGAWIAN

1.
2.
3.
4.

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5.
Lesson 4 Virtue Ethics
Overview
This pluralistic world affects your values and your ethical standard. In
this lesson, you will be introduced to the theory and philosophy that can
possibly give a comprehensive understanding of how an individual can
develop moral character and can have a personal definition and reality of
what is good and its possible standards. In a way this will challenge your
belief of what really is good.

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 Define what is good.
 Introduce to the reality of good.
 Recognize the basis and standard of what is good.
Activity 1: In one whole sheet of paper, complete the following sentences.
1. My greatest goal in life is…

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2. Happiness is…
______________________________________________________________
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3. I define good as…

______________________________________________________________
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_____________________________________________________________,
4. I can be happy if…

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______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________.
Virtue Ethics
It is the ethical framework that is concerned with understanding good
as a matter of understanding the virtuous character of a person.
GOOD
What is it?
I. GOOD.
Good is derived from the German word ‘Gut’ means anything valuable,
useful or serviceable for some end or purpose. It is desirable.
Aristotle: “The good is that toward which it tends in all circumstances.”
Spinoza: “By good, I mean, any kind of joy, all that fills the wait.”
Locke: “Good is everything in us pleasure.”
Descartes: “The highest good of all men is a whole heap of all
property, both the soul and the body of capital, which may
be in some men but that of each individual is in anything
else and it consists only of a determination to do well, and
contentment q’elle product” (Passions of the Soul).
Kant: “The virtue and happiness are the highest good.”
KINDS OF GOOD

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a. Relative Good – It is a kind of good as a means - it is an object
which is desired, not for itself, but for the sake of an ulterior end or good
which, again, may be relative to a still higher end.
b. Absolute Good - the good which is desired for its own sake, and is
not subordinate to any ulterior good.
Summum bonum is a Latin expression meaning "the highest good"

 introduced by the Roman philosopher Cicero to correspond to
the Idea of the Good in ancient Greek philosophy.
 The supreme good in which all moral values are included or

from which they are derived.
 God is the Summum bonum
lll. Happiness and Ultimate Purpose of Life

a. Telos (Greek word)
Aristotle believes that every act that a person does is directed toward
a particular purpose and aim.
- Every pursuit of a person hopes to achieve a good.
b. Eudaimonia- is man’s highest purpose and ultimate good. As a

proper end of man it is something that one does. This implies that happiness
is a lifelong journey.
Happiness is the only self-sufficient, final and attainable goal of human
life. It is an aim that one can aspire for. Self -sufficient means that life is
complete. No amount of wealth or power can be fulfilling and satisfying.
IV. How does a person arrive at his/her highest good?

Achieving the highest purpose of a human person concerns the ability to
function according to reason and to perform an activity well or excellently.
Virtue is the excellent way of doing things. “It is something that one strives for
in time. One does not become an excellent person overnight.” Being a
virtuous person is a product of consistency of good and excellent actions. It
becomes a habit and a lifestyle.

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Aristotle describes excellence as the activity of human soul. This is
understood that the person’s soul is directed by his/her rational activity in an
excellent way.
Further Readings:
1. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-virtue/
2. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-ethics/
3. https://ethicsunwrapped.utexas.edu/glossary/virtue-ethics
Instruction: Concept Diagram

1. If you were to describe “good” by drawing a tree, what does it look like?
Give a short description of your work in relation to good and happiness.
Lesson 5 Conscience
Overview
It has been said that a conscience is both formed and shaped by
education and experience. 6 A well- developed conscience that is well

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informed and aware of facts, evidence and the realities enable us to know
ourselves and our world and act accordingly.
Desired Learning Outcome:

 Define conscience.
 Enumerate kinds of conscience.
 Reflect the importance of conscience in decision-making.
 Discuss how to educate the conscience.
Activity:
Do you have an experience that you did something wrong and cause
your sleepless nights?
I. What is conscience?
 The word "conscience" derives etymologically from the Latin
conscientia, meaning "privity of knowledge" or "with-knowledge".
 The English word implies internal awareness of a moral standard in the

mind concerning the quality of one's motives, as well as a
consciousness of our own actions.
 Conscience may be defined as the practical reason employed when

applying moral convictions to a situation.
 It is accompanied in each case by an internal awareness of 'inner light'

and approbation or 'inner darkness' and condemnation as well as a
resulting conviction of right or duty either followed or declined.
 Conscience should be both sincere and correct. Man could have a right
or erroneous conscience.
ll. Different Views about Conscience

a. Religious
According to Scripture we can possess a “clean heart” or speak from an
“insincere heart. ”Its frequent use of the word ‘heart’ to denote a concept akin
to conscience reminds us that conscience cannot be an intellectual activity

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that is isolated from our feelings, our experiences, our “gut reactions.
”Conscience must be an activity of our whole person - a knowing of the heart
as well of the mind. Christians must live and act conscientiously, that is, in
accord with their consciousness of goodness and truth.
In Christian point of view, when we follow our conscience we…
 always strive for the truth
 look to Jesus Christ, the source of truth
 recognise that what is right and good may not be what we seem
to want
 pursue information and guidance as best we can
 take seriously Church teaching
 listen to past wisdom
 look towards possible future consequences
 learn from others, especially from family, and fellow Christians
 are sensitive to others
b. Secular
The secular approach to conscience includes psychological,
physiological, sociological, humanitarian and authoritarian views. Lawrence
Kohlberg considered critical conscience to be an important psychological
stage in the proper moral development of humans, associated with the
capacity to rationally weigh principles of responsibility, being best encouraged
in the very young and later in adolescents.
A good conscience is associated with feelings of integrity,
psychological wholeness and peacefulness and is often described using
adjectives such as quiet, clear and easy.
lll. KINDS OF CONSCIENCE

1. Certain conscience. It is a state of mind when it has no prudent fear of
being wrong about its judgment on some moral issues and firmly decides that
some action is right or wrong.
2. Doubtful conscience. It is a state of mind when it cannot certainly decide
for or against a course of action and leaves the person unsure about the
morality of what one is to do, or what one may have done.
3. Tender conscience. It is a conscience that forms objectively correct
judgments with comparative ease even in the finer distinctions between good
and evil.
4. Lax conscience. It is a conscience when it is either ignored
or underemployed. It is also described as an inconsistent assortment of moral
values

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5. Guilty Conscience. It tries to restore good relationship with God by
means of sorrow and repentance.
III. Mature Immature Conscience Compared
lV. How to Nurture Good Conscience

Your conscience is the inner voice which give the sense of right and
wrong that guides your motives (what you think) and actions (what you do). It
is what makes you behave in the way you know you should to others, even
when you might not feel like it. It lets you extend the respect, tolerance and
kindness that you give to your loved ones to everyone and guides you to
make the right choices in life. It is a skill that can be developed with rational
thinking, emotional awareness and practice.
1. Using Rational Thinking

2. Developing Emotional Awareness
3. Putting it Into Practice

a. Use your knowledge of right and wrong to move from thinking to
doing!
b. Work on your communication skills.

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c. Show goodwill to everyone, even if they don’t seem to deserve it at
the time.
d. Make what you think, say and do agree.

e. Practice techniques that put your conscience into action.
Set specific goals for using your conscience in daily activities.

g. Live your values.
h. Stand up for your beliefs.
i. Trust your own beliefs and decisions of what are right. Do not let
yourself be swayed by what others think, say or do.
j. Speak up when you see an injustice being done.
Summary:
Man’s conscience could only be right or erroneous. A right conscience

judges what really good as good and evil as evil. On the other hand,
erroneous conscience judges what is bad as good and vice versa. The good
news is conscience could be shaped and form through right education and
constant practice.
Discuss your answer on your reflection notebook.

Given a situation that you stole money from your mother’s wallet and
she did not find out anyway. You used that money to play in the computer
shop. However, you find out that your mother saved that money for your
tuition and fees. Thus you feel guilt and shame. This also made you uneasy
every time you are in the house.
1. What will you do to relieve with the guilt?
2. How do you think is the role of your conscience in the process?
3. What important lesson/s you have learned?
Lesson 6 Maka- Diyos and Ethics

Overview

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Can a man be ethical without being religious? Philippines has been
considered as the only Christian nation in Southeast Asia. Filipinos is indelibly
maka- Diyos or Pro-God.
Filipinos belief about Supreme Being makes him/her resilient and allow
to cope with every challenges in life. How do you perceive God? Man in
general a relational being seeks to know and connect to his God. This has
been supported by Blaise Pascal when he said that there is a god- shape like
vacuum in the hearts of each man that only God can fill that up. In this lesson
you find out man’s belief on God and how it relates to the formation of his/her
ethical behavior.

 Enumerate the nature of God (Pro- God) Maka-Diyos.
 Clarify and modify concept about God.
 Assess the role of God in his/her ethical life.
Activity 1 : Picture Reading

1. Look for a 500-peso bill. Notice what is inscribed “faith in people
and faith in God”.
2. Why do you think Ninoy Aquino said that?
Key Terms:
1. Polytheist
2. Monotheist
3. Ominipresent
4. Omniscient
5. Omnipotent
Background
Early Filipinos were Polytheist. They believe in many gods. However,
when Spaniards came they introduced the belief in One God, Monotheist.
They believe in One True God. Yet, do we really know the nature of God
whom we put our faith? How well do you know your God?
l. NATURE OF GOD
1. Omnipotent

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Being omnipotent, God has power over wind, water, gravity, physics,
etc. God's power is infinite, or limitless.
2. Omniscient
Omniscience is the property of having complete or maximal
knowledge. Along with omnipotence and perfect goodness, it is usually taken
to be one of the central divine attributes. God is all all-knowing in the sense
that he is aware of the past, present, and future. Omniscience means all-
knowing.
3. Omnipresent. God is present anywhere.
4. Eternal. God has no beginning nor ending.
The Ten Commandments (Decalogue)
1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

2. Thou shalt make unto thee any graven image.
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
5. Honor thy father and mother.
6. Thou shalt not kill.
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
8. Thou shalt not steal.
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife.
1. Answer each item as honest as you can. Check whether it is true or

false in the column provided.

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Activities Tru False
e
1. I regularly go to church or adoration chapel.
2. Prayers and meditation is part of my daily routine.
3. I feel comfortable joining retreats, seminar and
Christian renewals.
4. I welcome bible study and other religious gathering
that help me grow.
5. I can forgive people who hurt me.
6. I am a member of a church or religious organizations.
7. It is better to give than to receive is my life’s
philosophy.
2. Given are the five nature of God, choose which one is very important
to you even as you face difficulties in life? Why?
Answer:
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
Lesson 7 Pro – Nature (Pagkama-Kalikasan)
Overview

34
It is man’s intention to develop and progress in life. His intelligence
leads to many discoveries which makes life comfortable. However, in
exchange for progress it has devastating effects in the environment.
Today, the call for pro nature is the cry of our government. We are
faced with natural and man- made disasters that brought loses in life and
properties.
Another challenge that we need to face is pollution. There is air, water
and noise pollution.
Desired Learning Outcome

 Become aware of the pollution problem.
 Identify the causes of each problem.
 Make concrete steps to address the problem.
Activity: There are different pictures provided. Describe each picture by:
1. Giving a label and short description.
2. Citing significant contribution to man’s life and progress.
3. Identifying the negative effects to life and environment?
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________

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________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________

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______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________+++++_________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
What is Progress?

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As the quote from Mencken indicates, “Change is not progress,” but
progress requires change. Progress can be defined as an improvement in the
well-being of human beings.
Mankind has made progress and improvements in society. There is
eeconomic growth all over the world. Scientific discoveries made life very
easy and comfortable.Although progress can be identified with improvements
in public life, civilization, ethical behavior, religious observance, this work will
endeavor to reach an accord by concentrating on measures that virtually all
agree are gains for humans.
A major component of progress is improved life expectancy and
diminished maternal and infant deaths. Although longer lives may be a
burden if the quality of the extra years is wretched, as long as individuals have
the option of ending their existence and refrain from doing so, we must
conclude that people prefer lengthier lives to shorter ones. Moreover, greater
life expectancies lead people to report that they are happier with their lives
(Veenhoven 1984: 152).
However, progress has an adverse effect which is detrimental to the
environment. Environmental problems are found in every country in the
world. In the Philippines we have pollution from the garbage which are from
the factories dumping their wastes into the rivers that cause death of fish and
other marine animals. What makes our environment polluted and no longer
safe to live in?
Author Corazon L. Cruz identified three reasons:

1. Desire for progress
2. Greed
3. Poverty
KINDS OF POLLUTIONS
1. Air Pollution
There are two types of air pollutants, primary and secondary. Primary
pollutants are emitted directly from their source, while secondary pollutants
are formed when primary pollutants react in the atmosphere.
The burning of fossil fuels for transportation and electricity produces

both primary and secondary pollutants and is one of the biggest sources of air
pollution.
The fumes from car exhausts contain dangerous gases and

particulates including hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, and carbon monoxide.

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These gases rise into the atmosphere and react with other atmospheric gases
creating even more toxic gases.
According to The Earth Institute, the heavy use of fertilizer for

agriculture is a major contributor of fine-particulate air pollution, with most of
Europe, Russia, China, and the United States being affected. The level of
pollution caused by agricultural activities is thought to outweigh all other
sources of fine-particulate air pollution in these countries.
Ammonia is the primary air pollutant that comes from agricultural

activities. Ammonia enters the air as a gas from concentrated livestock waste
and fields that are over fertilized.
This gaseous ammonia then combines with other pollutants such as

nitrogen oxides and sulfates created by vehicles and industrial processes, to
create aerosols. Aerosols are tiny particles that can penetrate deep into the
lungs and cause heart and pulmonary disease.
Other agricultural air pollutants include pesticides, herbicides, and

fungicides. All of which also contribute to water pollution.
2. Water Pollution
Nutrient pollution is caused by wastewater, sewage, and fertilizers.

The high levels of nutrients in these sources end up in bodies of water and
promote algae and weed growth, which can make the water undrinkable and
depleted oxygen causing aquatic organisms to die.
Pesticides and herbicides applied to crops and residential areas

concentrate in the soil and are carried to the groundwater by rainwater and
runoff. For these reasons anytime someone drills a well for water it must be
checked for pollutants.
Industrial waste is one of the main causes of water pollution, by

creating primary and secondary pollutants including sulphur, lead and
mercury, nitrates and phosphates, and oil spills.
In developing countries around 70% of their solid waste is dumped

directly into the ocean or sea. This causes serious problems including the
harming and killing of sea creatures, which ultimately affects humans.
3. Land & Soil Pollution
Land pollution is the destruction of land as a result of human’s activities

and the misuse of land resources. This occurs when humans apply chemicals
such as pesticides and herbicides to the soil, dispose of waste improperly,
and irresponsibly exploit minerals through mining.

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Soil is also polluted through leaking underground septic tanks, sewage
systems, the leaching of harmful substances from landfill, and direct
discharge of waste water by industrial plants into rivers and oceans.
Rain and flooding can bring pollutants from other already polluted lands
to soil at other locations.
Over-farming and over-grazing by agricultural activities causes the soil

to lose its nutrient value and structure causing soil degradation, another type
of soil pollution.
Landfills can leach harmful substances into the soil and water ways
and create very bad smells, and breeding grounds for rodents that transmit
diseases.
4. Noise & Light Pollution
Noise is considered an environmental pollutant caused by household

sources, social events, commercial and industrial activities, and
transportation.
Light pollution is caused by the prolonged and excessive use of

artificial lights at night that can cause health problems in humans and disrupt
natural cycles, including wildlife activities. Sources of light pollution include
electronic billboards, night sports grounds, street and car lights, city parks,
public places, airports, and residential areas.
Further Readings:
1. https://ecavo.com/pollution-causes-effects
2. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22619687

40
Here are the possible environment crises situation. Give the present
condition as you observe.
Crises Situation Present Condition
1. Garbage
2. Air Pollution
3. Water Pollution
4. Traffic Congestion
1. Give practical tips as solution to these problem?

______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
2. On a ½ sheet of illustration board or white cartolina, make a poster/slogan

showing pagkama-kalikasan?
(Note: This is your output to be submitted individually).

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Lesson 8 Thomas Aquinas and the Natural Law
Overview
“What you sow you shall also reap”. We often here these words
especially when one expereinced unfairness and injustice. People believe in
what we do oftentimes will come back to us. This is the law of reciprocity.
This lesson will introduce to the reality of the natural that governs life and the
universe.
 Recognize the meaning of natural law and its relation to ethics.
 Explain how natural law is an imprint of the Divine Will on the Free
person
 Appreciate and articulate the role of natural law in crafting an ethical
life.
Activity: Observe the picture below and follow the instructions.
1. Make a diagram on the natural cycle of water. Which comes first?

Which is the last?

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l. Who is Thomas Aquinas
St. Thomas Aquinas, Italian San Tommaso d’Aquino, also called
Aquinas, byname Doctor Angelicus (Latin: “Angelic Doctor”), (born 1224/25,
Roccasecca, near Aquino, Terra di Lavoro, Kingdom of Sicily [Italy]—died
March 7, 1274, Fossanova, near Terracina, Latium, Papal States; canonized
July 18, 1323; feast day January 28, formerly March 7), Italian Dominican
theologian, the foremost medieval Scholastic. He developed his own
conclusions from Aristotelian premises, notably in the metaphysics of
personality, creation, and Providence. As a theologian, he was responsible in
his two masterpieces, the Summa theologiae and the Summa contra gentiles,
for the classical systematization of Latin theology, and, as a poet, he wrote
some of the most gravely beautiful eucharistic hymns in the church’s liturgy.
His doctrinal system and the explanations and developments made by his
followers are known as Thomism. Although many modern Roman Catholic
theologians do not find St. Thomas altogether congenial, he is nevertheless
recognized by the Roman Catholic Church as its foremost Western
philosopher and theologian.
ll. What is Natural Law Theory?

a. Natural Law theory is a legal theory that recognizes the deep
connection between the law and human morality, or if not, they’re one and the
same. Morality relates to what is right and wrong, and what is good or bad.
Natural Law theorists believe that human laws are defined by morality,
and not by authority figure, like a king or a government. Therefore, we
humans are guided by our human nature to figure out what the laws are, and
to act in conformity with those laws.
The term “natural law “is derived from the belief that human morality
comes from nature. Everything in nature has a purpose, including humans.
Our purpose, according to natural law theorists, is to live a good, happy life.
Therefore, actions that would prevent a fellow human being from living a good
happy life is considered “unnatural” or “immoral”
Laws have the purpose of providing justice. From a natural law
perspective, a law that does not provide justice (unjust law) is “not a law at all.
In short, any law that is good is moral and any moral law is good.
b. Legal positivism is a legal theory that is the opposite of the natural

law theory. Legal positivists believe that a law can be deeply flawed, and yet,
still be considered a law.

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lll. Ethics
The concept of morality under the natural law theory is not subjective.
This means that the definition of what is “right” and what is “wrong” is the
same for everyone, everywhere. The natural law approach to solving
dilemmas begins with the basic belief that everyone has the right to live their
own lives. From there, the natural law theorists draw a line of an “unjust
aggressor”. The natural law theory recognizes the legal and moral concept of
self-defense, which is often used to justify acts of war.
Natural Law theory is not always a simple school of thought. It should
come as no surprise that the ethics associated with natural law are equally
complicated. The idea that the definition of what is” right” and what is “wrong”
is the same for ‘every person’ is sometimes difficult to apply to complex
ethical dilemmas.
What constitute “right” and “wrong”, is the same for everyone, and this
concept is expressed as “morality”. As an example of natural law, it is
universally accepted that to kill someone is wrong, and that to punish
someone for killing that person is right, and even necessary.
Example:
You are a passenger on a ship that is overtaken in a powerful storm.
You escape to a lifeboat with 25 other passengers and noticed that 4 of the
passengers were badly injured, and unlikely to survive. You also know that
the food and water in the lifeboat could only sustain 22 passengers. Some
passengers are considering throwing the 4 other injured overboard in order to
save other survivors. If you were a natural theorist, how would you solve this
ethical dilemma?
Explanation:
Acts of violence, like murder, work against our humanly purpose to
live a good life. Therefore, throwing the injured passengers overboard is
unnatural act contrary to natural law. Even if their deaths would ensure the
survival of the 22 passengers, the act of murder is against our human nature.
Natural law forbids killing the injured passengers under any circumstances. A
law against murder is a just law under the natural law theory.

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lV. Aquinas Natural Law
The first precept of the natural law, according to Aquinas, is the
somewhat vacuous imperative to do “good” and avoid evil. Here it is worth
noting that Aquinas holds a natural theory of morality. What is good and evil,
according to him, is derived from the rational nature of human beings.
What are the first principles of natural law?

Law requires that we act in accord with reason. The first principles of
the natural law are “Good is what all things seek after” and “good is to be
done and promoted, and evil to be avoided”. So whatever practical reason
naturally apprehends as our good (or evil) is to be done (or avoided).
Two key features of the natural law:

1. When we focus on God’s role as the giver of natural law, the natural
law is just one aspect of the divine providence. And so, the theory of natural
law is from that perspective, just one part among others of the theory of divine
providence.
2. When we focus on the human’s role as recipient of the natural law,
the natural law constitutes the principles of practical rationality, those
principles by which human action is to be judged as reasonable
unreasonable; and so, the theory of natural law is from that perspective, the
preeminent part of the theory of practical rationality.
Four types of law?

Aquinas recognizes the four main kinds of law:
1. Eternal law is identical to the mind of God as seen by himself. It
can be called law because God stands to the universe which he creates as a
ruler does to a community which he rules. When God’s reason is understood
by God Himself, i.e.in its unchanging, eternal nature, it is eternal.
2. Divine Law is derived from eternal law as it appears, historically to
humans, especially through revelation, i.e. when it appears to human beings
as divine commands. Divine law is divided into the Old and New Law roughly
corresponding to the Old and New Testaments in the Bible. When he speaks
of the Old Law, Thomas is thinking mainly of the Ten Commandments. When
he speaks of the New Law, the teachings of Jesus
3. Human Laws. Thomas thinks of human laws as laws, devised by
human reason, adapted to particular geographical, historical and social
circumstances Laws are directed to the common good. The promotion of
virtue is necessary for the common good and human laws are instruments in

45
the promotion of virtue. Most men are kept from crime by fear of law, and by
coercion, even men who are evilly disposed may be led in the direction of
virtue.
4. Natural Law is law with moral content, more general than human
law. Natural Law deals with necessary rather than with variable things. In
working out human laws, human practical reason moves from the general
principle implanted in natural law to the contingent commands of human law.
Natural law holds that in general, human life should be preserved and steps
should be taken to preserve it.
Properties of the Natural Law:

1. It is universal. Natural Law is a constitutive element of human nature.
Therefore, it is true whether human nature manifest itself. All men are
precisely equal because of shared human nature.
2. It is obligatory. Natural Law is human nature, calling for itself to be
actualized, to be “lived” according to its basic and essential demands.
Immanuel Kant calls this natural urge the “categorical imperative”. It is
imperative because it accepts no exemption, since it is nature itself.
3. It is recognizable. It is imprinted in the human nature and man has the
light of reason to know it. The scholastic philosophers referred to this
light of reason as “synderesis”. It enables man to recognize self-
evident principles, such as: Do good and avoid evil, Honor your father
and mother, Be honest, etc.
4. It is immutable or unchangeable. Natural Law is human nature. It is
immutable because man’s essential nature can never be lost as long
as man is man. It may be blurred by malice or conditioned by social
pressure, but it cannot be destroyed altogether.
Summary:
“Morality based on reason is a morality based on reality as known to man.”
1. What is Natural law for St Thomas Aquinas?

2. Does obeying the natural law mean that human beings must
only conform their self-realization to the law of nature? Discuss
your answer.
3. Why is it possible to hold the natural law as a framework for
living a good life even if one does not believe in god?

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Lesson 9 Deontological Ethics: Immanuel Kant
Overview
We are living in the enlightened generation. Man’s intelligence brought
about discoveries and advancement in the society. However, there is also a
paradigm shift happening. Idealism and essentialism are starting to fade
away as we embrace pluralism. In exchange of comfort and success,
standard of morality was sacrificed. This lesson will help clarify what is
important in life.
Desired Learning Outcomes

 Recognize the meaning of deontological ethics.
 Explain the categorical imperatives.
 Appreciate and articulate the role of duty in crafting ethical standard.
 Apply the principle of categorical imperative in moral dilemma.
Activity: Think of some house rules which your parents made

you follow while you are still a child?
Example:
House rules: Brushing teeth every after meal
Response: Go to the sink, place toothpaste on tooth brush while
playing with water.
Start here:
1. Houserules:____________________________________
_____________________________________________
Response:_____________________________________
_____________________________________________
2. House rules:___________________________________
_____________________________________________

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l. WHO IS IMMANUEL KANT?
Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) was a late bloomer, publishing his first
significant work, The Critique of Pure Reason, in 1781 at age 57. But this
didn’t slow him down, as through his 50s, 60s, and 70s, he published
numerous large and influential works in many areas of philosophy, including
ethics. He published two large works on ethics, The Critique of Practical
Reason and The Metaphysics of Morals, but it’s his first short work of ethics,
Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals that is his most important because
it provides a succinct and relatively readable account of his ethics.
Some of the main questions that Kant’s ethics focuses on are the questions of
right and wrong:
1. What makes an action right or wrong?
2. Which actions are we required by morality to perform?
3. Do consequences matter?
4. Is it ever permissible to do something morally wrong in order to
achieve good consequences?
5. Is it important to do actions with good intentions?
6. And what are good intentions?
Some of Kant’s answers to some of these questions are complex, but
as we will see, he doesn’t think that consequences matter and thus good
consequences cannot justify wrong actions. He also thinks that intentions are
important to the ethical evaluation of actions.
DEONTOLOGY
The name comes from the Greek word “deon”, meaning duty or
obligation. Kant calls “duty” the obligation that follows what reason deems as
the action which is most worthy of our humanity. Duty is founded on human
reason which determines as our obligation. It presupposes our ability which is
doable good for the human will.
One of the distinctive features of Kant’s ethics is that it focuses on
duties, defined by right and wrong. Right and wrong are distinct from good
and bad in that they directly prescribe actions. Right actions are ones we
ought to do and wrong actions we ought not to do. This style of ethics is
referred to as deontology.
First, Kant believes that morality must be rational. He models his
morality on science, which seeks to discover universal laws that govern the
natural world. Similarly, morality will be a system of universal rules that
govern action. In Kant’s view, as we will see, right action is ultimately a
rational action. As an ethics of duty, Kant believes that ethics consists of
commands about what we ought to do. The word “imperative” in his

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categorical imperative means a command or order. However, unlike most
other commands, which usually come from some authority, these commands
come from within, from our own reason. Still, they function the same way:
they are commands to do certain actions.
Kant Distinguishes Two Types of Imperatives:

a. Hypothetical. A hypothetical imperative is a contingent command.
It’s conditional on a person’s wants, needs, or desires and normally comes in
the following form: “If you want/need A, then you ought to do B.” For
example, the advice, “If you want to do well on a test, then you should study a
lot” would be a hypothetical imperative. The command that you study is
contingent on your desire to do well on the test. Other examples are, “If you
are thirsty, drink water,” or “If you want to be in better shape, you should
exercise.” Such commands are more like advice on how to accomplish our
goals than moral rules. If you don’t have a particular want, desire, or goal,
then a hypothetical imperative doesn’t apply.
b. Categorical. It is a genuinely moral imperative which not
contingent on wants, desires, or needs. Examples of categorical imperatives
would be “You shouldn’t kill,” “You ought to help those in need,” or “Don’t
steal.” It doesn’t matter what your wants or goals are; you should follow a
categorical imperative no matter what.
Kant derives his first formulation of the categorical imperative, “act
only in accordance with that maxim through which you can at the same time
will that it become a universal law” (Groundwork 4:421).[1]. For him, maxim is
a personal rule or a general principle that underlies a particular action. As
rational beings, we don’t just act randomly; we devise certain rules that tell us
what to do in different circumstances.
A complete maxim will include three pieces:
a. the action
b. the circumstances under which we do that action
c. and the purpose behind that action
For example, the maxim explaining why you’re reading this book, if it’s
an assigned text, might be, “I will read all books assigned for class because I
want to succeed in class.”
Different principles could underlie the same action. For example, you
might be reading this book simply to help you understand the topic, in which
case your principle might be, “When I am confused about a topic, I will read
an accessible text to improve my understanding.” The important point is that

49
we are guided by general principles that we give to ourselves, that tell us what
we’ll do in certain circumstances.
Explanation: The first formulation, thus, is a test of whether any

particular maxim should be followed or not. We test a maxim by
universalizing it, that is, by asking if it would be possible for everyone to live
by this maxim. If the maxim can be universalized, meaning that it’s possible
that everyone could live by it, then it’s permissible to follow it. If it can’t be
universalized, then it is impermissible to follow it. The logic of the
universalization test is that any rule you follow should apply to everyone—
there’s nothing special about you that allows you to be an exception.
Imagine you need money to pay off some debts. You go to a friend to
borrow the money and tell this friend that you will pay him back. You know
you won’t be able to pay your friend back, but you promise him nonetheless.
You are making a false promise. Is this permissible?
Explanation:
To test, we first look at the maxim underlying the action, something
like, “If I need something, I’ll make a false promise in order to get what I
need.” What would happen if everyone were to make false promises every
time they needed something? False promises would be rampant, so rampant
that promises would become meaningless; they would just be empty words.
For this reason, the maxim can’t be universalized. The maxim included
the idea of making a promise, but if, when universalized, promises cease to
have any meaning, then we couldn’t really make a promise. Since the maxim
can’t be universalized, we shouldn’t follow it, and thus we derive the duty to
not make false promises. We should note that Kant’s universalization test is
not asking whether universalizing a maxim would lead to undesirable
consequences. Kant is not claiming that making a false promise is wrong
because we wouldn’t want to live in a world where no one kept their promises.
It’s wrong because it’s not possible to universalize the maxim. It’s not possible
because it leads to a contradiction.
Example 3: Suppose you could help people but didn’t want to. Your
maxim might be, “I will never help out anyone else since everyone should be
independent.” If this were universalized, then everyone would be completely
independent, with no one asking for, nor offering help. However, we wouldn’t
be able to live in a world where no one helps anyone because we’ll inevitably
sometimes need others’ help. The contradiction in this case is a practical
contradiction, “a contradiction in will,” as Kant calls it. In this case, we would
eventually have to break the maxim due to our need for help. Thus, from this,
we get the duty that we should sometimes help out others in need.

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RATIONAL WILL AND DUTY
Deontology is a moral theory that evaluates actions that are done
because of duty.
People are rational being. Rationality consists of mental faculty to
construct ideas and thoughts thus we have the ability to stop and think about
what we are doing. It is true that we have the ability to act and to make real
what we imagine or think. Our ability to put our ideas to action is the basis of
our rational will.
Rational will refers to the faculty to intervene in the world, to act in the
manner that is consistent with our reason. According to Kant, the property of
the rational will is autonomy (Ak 4:440). Autonomy means self- law (self-
legislating). This means that the author of the law is the will and is imposing
the law to itself.
1. Make a reaction paper on the article provided below:

http://www.rappler.com/move-ph/159310-honest-taxi-driver-
scholarship-baguio

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Lesson 10 Moral Psychology
Overview
Where do we get our sense of right and wrong, good and bad? In this
lesson you will be acquainted with the topics on reasoning, moral
responsibility, moral development and its relationship with virtue, ethics,
altruism, psychological egoism and the concept of moral luck.

 Define key words related to moral psychology
 Describe and relate the importance of Moral psychology to ethics.
 Reflect personal basis and development of ethical behavior.
Activity: In your Reflection notebook, answer the following questions.

1. Who influenced you in determining good from bad?
2. Can you recall the first experience when you did something good?
What made you did that continually?
3. Can you recall the first experience when you did something bad? What
made you stop doing it?
Definition of Concepts
1. Moral Psychology is a field of study in both Philosophy and
Psychology. It was used relatively and narrowly to refer to the study of Moral
Development.
2. Morality is often a synonym for righteous or goodness. It refers
to a certain code of conduct that has derived from one’s culture, religion or
personal philosophy that guides one’s action, behavior and thoughts.
Study of Moral Psychology
a. Morality and rationality itself were crucially dependent on the proper

functioning of emotional circuits in the prefrontal cortex (Antonio
Damasio 1994).
b. Automatic and unconscious processes can and probably do cause

52
the majority of our behaviors, even morally loaded actions (like
rudeness or altruism) that we thought we were controlling
consciously.
Moral Development-
a. Focuses on the emergence, change and understanding of morality
from childhood to adulthood. Morality develops across a lifetime
and is influenced by an individual by individuals’ experiences and
their behavior when faced with moral issues through different
periods of physical and cognitive development.
b. The gradual development of an individual’s concept of: - right or

wrong, - conscience, - religious values, - social attitudes, - and
certain behavior. Process by which children learn their moral beliefs
and develop moral reasoning for making decisions regarding what
is right or wrong.
Lawrence Kohlberg Moral Development Theory

 This theory is a stage theory which everyone goes through the stages
sequentially without skipping any stage. However, movement through
these stages are not natural, that is people do not automatically move
from one stage to the next as they mature. In stage development,
movement occurs when a person notices inadequacies in his or her
present way of coping with a given moral dilemma. .According to stage
theory, people cannot understand moral reasoning more than one
stage ahead of their own. For example, a person in Stage 1 can
understand Stage 2 reasoning but nothing beyond that.

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Four Principles of Moral Psychology
1) Intuitive primacy but not dictatorship. This is the idea, that the mind
is driven by constant flashes of affect in response to everything we see and
hear. Studies of everyday reasoning show that we usually use reason to
search for evidence to support our initial judgment. Sometimes we can use
controlled processes such as reasoning to override our initial intuitions. This
happens rarely.
2) Moral thinking is for social doing. Your reasoning abilities are

pressed into service generating arguments to defend your side and attack the
other. We are certainly able to reason dispassionately when we have no gut
feeling about a case, and no stake in its outcome, but with moral
disagreements that's rarely the case. As David Hume said long ago, reason
is the servant of the passions.
3) Morality binds and builds. Morality is a set of constraints that binds

people together into an emergent collective entity. Humans do form tight,
cooperative groups that pursue collective ends and punish cheaters and
slackers, and they do this most strongly when in conflict with other groups.
Morality is what makes all of that possible.
4) Morality is about more than harm and fairness. Morality has other
factors or Traits that define what it is and how we perceive and act upon
defining “OK from Not-OK.”
1. Who is the most significant person in your life who influenced you to
be good? Share his/her life leassons you learned?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
2. What investments, projects or activities do you intend to do to make

a difference in the lives of others?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

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3. What contributions would like to be remembered when you are
gone?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
4. Enumerate your meaningful contributions in life (achievements).

______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

55
Lesson 11 Stoicism
Overview
Man’s ultimate end is to attain contentment and serenity. This
affirmed by Epictetus when he said that peace of mind in the highest value
and mastery of desire and emotion leads to peace. In this lesson we will try to
uncover the result of acceptance and resignation to the things that we cannot
change.

 Familiarize with the important concepts.
 Recognize and differentiate key words.
 Apply principles towards achieving peace of mind.
l. What is Stoicism?
Stoicism originated as a Hellenistic philosophy, founded in Athens by
Zeno of Citium (modern day Cyprus), c. 300 B.C.E. It was influenced by
Socrates and the Cynics, and it engaged in vigorous debates with the
Skeptics, the Academics, and the Epicureans. The name comes from the
Stoa Poikile, or painted porch, an open market in Athens where the original
Stoics used to meet and teach philosophy. Stoicism moved to Rome where it
flourished during the period of the Empire, alternatively being persecuted by
Emperors who disliked it (for example, Vespasian and Domitian) and openly
embraced by Emperors who attempted to live by it (most prominently Marcus
Aurelius).
It influenced Christianity, as well as a number of major philosophical
figures throughout the ages and in the early 21st century saw a revival as a
practical philosophy associated with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and similar
approaches. It is a type of eudaimonic virtue ethics, asserting that the
practice of virtue is both necessary and sufficient to achieve happiness.
However, the Stoics also recognized the existence of “indifferents” (to
eudaimonia) that could nevertheless be preferred (for example, health,
wealth, education) or dispreferred (for example, sickness, poverty, ignorance)
because they had (respectively, positive or negative) planning value with
respect to the ability to practice virtue. Stoicism was very much a philosophy
meant to be applied to everyday living.

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ll. Epicureanism
It is the philosophy taught by Epicurus (341–270 BCE). a system of
ethics embracing every conception or form of life that can be traced to the
principles of his philosophy. In ancient polemics, the term was employed with
an even more generic meaning as the equivalent of hedonism, the doctrine
that pleasure or happiness is the chief good. Epicureanism means devotion
to pleasure, comfort, and high living, with a certain nicety of style.
Epicurus taughts that pain and fear were to be avoided. Fear of
death is irrational, if there is an afterlife and immortality. Fear is the root of all
unhappiness. Life should be live fear-free.
4 Basic Tenets
1. Don’t fear the gods
2. Don’t fear death
3. What is good is easy to obtain
4. What is bad is easy to endure
lll. Hedonism
The word ‘hedonism’ comes from the ancient Greek for ‘pleasure’.
Hedonism is the philosophy that pleasure is the most important pursuit of
mankind, and the only thing that is good for an individual. They believe that
pleasure is the only good in life, and pain is the only evil, and our life's goal
should be to maximize pleasure and minimize pain.
 Psychological or motivational hedonism claims that only pleasure or
pain motivates us.
 Ethical or evaluative hedonism claims that only pleasure has worth or

value and only pain or displeasure has disvalue or the opposite of
worth.
Jeremy Bentham asserted both psychological and ethical hedonism
that “Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign
masters, pain, and pleasure. It is for them alone to point out what we ought to
do, as well as to determine what we shall do”
Example:
a. An example of hedonism is an ethical theory suggesting the pursuit of
pleasure should be the ultimate goal.
b. An example of hedonism is a constant quest for

pleasure and satisfaction.

57
PLEASURE VS. PAIN
PLEASURE is understood as including or as included in all pleasant
feeling or experience: contentment, delight, ecstasy, elation, enjoyment,
euphoria, exhilaration, exultation, gladness, gratification, gratitude, joy, liking,
love, relief, satisfaction, Schadenfreude, tranquility, and so on.
Pain or displeasure is understood as including or as included in all
unpleasant experience or feeling: ache, agitation, agony, angst, anguish,
annoyance, anxiety, apprehensiveness, boredom, chagrin, dejection,
depression, desolation, despair, desperation, despondency, discomfort,
discombobulation, discontentment, disgruntlement, disgust, dislike, dismay,
disorientation, dissatisfaction, distress, dread, enmity, ennui, fear, gloominess,
grief, guilt, hatred, horror, hurting, irritation, loathing, melancholia, nausea,
queasiness, remorse, resentment, sadness, shame, sorrow, suffering,
sullenness, throb, terror, unease, vexation, and so on.
Instruction: You will go to an auction sale with the budget of

P1,000,000. With this money, you will bid for the values that are most
important to you. You are allowed to buy as much as you want. You can
change the amount you originally budgeted. You can also pool resources
with your classmates to buy high priced value items.
After the bid, rank the items by degree of importance to you based on
the amount you bid.
VALUES HOW RANK

MUCH
1. Happy family and happy marriage
2. Intimate relationship with God
3. Peace of mind
4. Material prosperity, enjoying life’s
comfort
5. A fulfilling career where I could be of the
best service to others
6. A career that will give me prestige and
comfortable life
7. To be popular in certain fields like music,
modeling, beauty contest, politics etc.
8. Having integrity and good reputation

58
9. Completing my course with good grades
10. Being beautiful, attractive and having
many suitors
11. Having plenty of loyal friends
12. Good sound sleep, undistributed by
tension
13. Getting scholarship
14. Graduating with honors
15. Clean conscience, precious in God’s
eyes
16. Finding the right man/woman for me that
I could be proud of
17. To be popular with my friends and
colleagues
18. To reach my dream destinations
References:
1. Universal Ethics and Contemporary Values, Dr. Nazario Cebreros,

2015, Mind shapers Co. Inc, Intramuros, Manila.
2. Philosophy of Man 3rd Ed., Corazon L. Cruz, 1995 Metro Manila
3. Ethics, Marc Oliver D. Pasco et al.,2018, C&E Publishing, Inc.,
Quezon City
4. Ethics Foundation of Moral Valuation 1st Ed, Oscar G. Bulaong
Jr.,et al, 2018, Rex Bookstore, Quezon City.
5. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
6. https://press.rebus.community/intro-to-phil-ethics/chapter/kantian-
deontology/
7. https://www.unodc.org/e4j/en/integrity-ethics

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INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS IN ETHICS

Course Number: GEC 218

Course Intended Learning Outcomes:

The students must have:

2. Explained and discussed the importance of man and ethics.

3. Differentiated between moral and non-moral acts.

4. Defined, differentiated and discussed meaning and different kinds of

5. Described bases of moral experience is as it happens in different levels of

7. Described the elements of moral development and moral experience in

8. Make use of ethical frameworks or principles to analyze moral

9. Constructed sound ethical judgments based on theories, principles, facts,

10. Internalized the principles of ethical behavior in modern society at the

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS IN ETHICS

3. Quizzes and examinations

Class Participation - 10%

Written/Oral Outputs - 40%

Prelim/Midterm/Final Exam - 50%

Final Grade 50%

Final Grade = Midterm Grade + Tentative Final Grade

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS IN ETHICS

UNIT 2 BASES OF ETHICAL STANDARD

UNIT 3 ETHICAL THEORIES AND PRINCIPLES

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS IN ETHICS

Desired Learning Outcomes:

Activity 1: Case study

Since the school provides an email account as a service to its students

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS IN ETHICS

1. Should universities be allowed to monitor student email and social media

Let’s start! Are you now ready?

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS IN ETHICS

A. Normative Ethics (or Prescriptive Ethics) is concerned with

Example: We should do to others what we we would want

B. Meta-Ethics is concerned with the meaning of ethical judgments,

Example: A medical doctor assisted a person who committed

C. Descriptive Ethics is a value-free approach to ethics which

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS IN ETHICS

D. Applied Ethics is a discipline of philosophy that attempts to apply

Example: Moral issues on abortion

Why do we need to study ethics?

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS IN ETHICS

2. Based on the picture above, discuss the importance of ethics.

Lesson 2 Who and What is Man?

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS IN ETHICS

Desired Learning Outcome:

Preliminary Activity: Motivation (Poetry Reading and Analysis)

The Monkey’s Disgrace

What message does

l. Theory on the Origin of Man

It states that all living thing It states that non-living matter

ll. Composition of Man

1. Monism -attributes oneness or singleness to a concept. Man has

-Two things must co-exist examples of metaphysical dualism are God

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS IN ETHICS

Diagram: Composition of Man as Tripartite Being

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS IN ETHICS

lll. Man’s Superpowers

1. Intellect- the faculty of reasoning and understanding objectively,

2. Will- It is man’s ability to choose and decide. Oftentimes it is calle

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS IN ETHICS

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS IN ETHICS

3. Of these three theories, which theory do you agree? Why?

4. What is your understanding of the following:

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS IN ETHICS