WEEK 2
THE NATURE OF PHILOSOPHY
ETYMOLOGY OF PHILOSOPHY
 Derived from the Greek words “Philia”
meaning “to love” and “Sophia”
meaning “Wisdom”.
PHILOSOPHY
 Philosphy literally means ‘love of
wisdom’. It is an attempt to arrive at a
rational conception of the reality as a
whole. I enquires into the nature of the
universe in which we live, the nature of
the human soul, and its destiny and the
nature of God or the Absolute, and their
relation to one another.
 Philosophy is regarded now more as
an interception of human life, its source,
value, meaning, and destiny, than as an
enquiry into the nature of the world,
soul, and God. It tried to understand the
universe in relation to man.
WHY PHILOSOPHY IMPORTANT?
1. Philosophy can give us wisdom;
2. Philosophy can also help people makes
important decisions about the use of
new technology such as bioengineering,
stem cells, etc. Philosophy may prove to
be more helpful guide since philosophy
grows organically with new knowledge
while religion tends to be more tied to
past.
3. Philosophy is also a strong foundation
on which to build important personal
things such as career, faith and
relationships.
4. Philosophy can help people live more
purposeful and fulfilled lives.
A BRIEF SURVEY OF THE BRANCHES OF
PHILOSOPHY
1. Epistemology – the branch of
philosophy concerned with the nature
and scope (including limitations) of
knowledge. It addresses four main
questions.
 What is knowledge?
 How is knowledge acquired?
 What do people know?
 How do we know what we know?
2. Logic – is the study of reasoning. Logic
is often divided into two parts, inductive
reasoning and deductive reasoning. The
first is drawing general conclusions from
specific examples, the second is
drawing logical conclusions from
definitions and axioms.
3. Metaphysics – is concerned with
explain the fundamental nature of being
and the world.
4. Ethics – also known as moral
philosophy, is branch of philosophy
which seeks to address questions about
morality; that is, about concepts like
good and bad, right and wrong, justice,
virtue, etc.
5. Aesthetics – is the branch of
philosophy dealing with the nature of
beauty, art, taste and the creation and
appreciation of beauty. It is more
scientifically defined as the study of
sensory o sensory-emotional values,
sometimes called judgments of
sentiment and taste.
6. Political Philosophy – is the study of
concepts such as liberty, justice,
property, rights, law and the
enforcement of legal code by authority:
what they are, why (or even if) they are
needed, what makes a government
legitimate, what form it should take and
why, what the law is, and what duties
citizens owe to a legitimate government
if any, and when it may be legitimately
overthrown, if ever

WEEK 3
INTRODUCTION: Key Concepts in Ethics
ETHICS ETYMOLOGY
 Derived from the Greek word ethos,
which means “character”, or, in plural,
“manners”.
ETHICS
 Ethics is the branch of philosophy that
studies morality or the rightness or
wrongness of human conduct. Morality
speaks of a code system of behavior in
regards to standards of right or wrong
behavior.
 Also called “moral philosophy”, ethics
evaluate moral concepts, values,
principles, and standards. Because it is
concerned with norms of human
conduct, ethics is considered a
normative study of human actions.
WHY DO YOU THINK RULES ARE
IMPORTANT?
RULES
 It refers to explicit or understood
regulations or principles governing
conduct within a specific activity or
sphere. Rules tell us what is do or not
allowed in a particular context or
situation. It also serves as a foundation
for any health society.
Moral Standards
a) Rules protect social beings by
regulating behavior. Rules build
boundaries that place limits on behavior.
One of the reasons people follow
accepted rules is to avoid negative
consequences.
b) Rules help guarantee each person
certain rights and freedom. Each
person is guaranteed certain rights as
the government is limited in its power to
ensure that it does not become powerful
enough to suppress liberty. Rules on
divisions of power to ensure that it does
not become powerful enough to
suppress liberty. Rules on divisions of
power and checks and balances further
protect individual liberty.
c) Rules produce a sense of justice
among social beings. Rules are
needed to keep the strong dominating
the weal, that is, to prevent exploitation
and domination. In effect, rules generate
a stable system that provides justice, in
which even the richest and most
powerful have limitations on what they
can do. If they transgress rules and
such laws and ordinances and take
advantage of people, there are
consequences both socially and
criminally.
d) Rules are essential for a healthy
economic system. Without rules
regulating business, power would
centralize around monopolies and
threaten the strength and
competitiveness of the system. Rules
are needed to ensure product safety,
employee safety, and product quality.
WEEK 4
MORAL STANDARDS
VS. NON-MORAL STANDARDS
 Are those concerned with or relating to
human behavior, especially the
distinction between good and bad (or
right and wrong) behavior. It involves
the rules people have about the kind of
actions they believe are morally right
and wrong, as well as the values they
place on the kinds of objects they
believe is morally good and morally bad.
 Refer to rules that are unrelated to
moral or ethical considerations. Either
these standards are not necessarily
 linked to morality or by nature lack
ethical sense. Basic examples of non-
moral standards include rules of
etiquette, fashion, standards, rules in
games, and various house rules.
Technically, religious rules, some
traditions, and legal statutes (i.e. laws
and ordinances) are non-moral
principles, though they can be ethically
relevant depending on some factors and
contexts.
 Moral standards are norms that
individual or groups have about the
kinds of actions believed to be morally
right or wrong, as well values placed on
what we believed to be morally good or
bad.
 Moral standards normally promote “the
good”, that is, the welfare and well-being
of humans as well as animals and the
environment.
Norms is general rules about actions or
behaviors. Example: Killing innocent people is
absolutely wrong we should always tell the
truth, treat others as you want to be treated.
Values is enduring beliefs about what is good
and desirable or not. Example: Helping the
poor is good, the honesty is good
Characteristics of Moral Standards
 Moral standards involve serious wrongs
or significant benefits.
 Moral standards ought to be preferred to
other values.
 Moral standards are not established by
authority figures.
 Moral standards have the trait of
universalizability.
 Moral standards are based on impartial
considerations.
 Moral standards are associated with
special emotions and vocabulary.
Non-Moral Standards
 Refer to standards by which we judge
what is good or bad and right or wrong
in a non-moral way. Examples:
Standards of etiquette, the law,
standards of aesthetics.
Amoral
 It is not influenced by right or wrong.
Neither right nor wrong and lacking a
moral sense. Example: Babies while
crying, psychopath (baliw)
DILEMMA AND MORAL DILEMMA
Dilemma
 Refers to a situation in which a tough
choice has to be made between two or
more options, especially more or less
equally undesirable ones. Not all
dilemmas are moral dilemmas.
 Also called ‘ethical dilemmas,’ moral
dilemmas are situations in which a
difficult choice has to be made between
two courses of action, eithers of which
entails transgressing a moral principle.
At the very least, a moral dilemma
involves conflicts between moral
requirements.
THREE LEVELS OF MORAL DILEMMAS
1. Personal Dilemmas are those
experienced and resolved on a personal
level. Since may ethical decisions are
personally made, many, if not most of,
moral dilemmas fall under, or boil down
to, this level.
2. Organizational Dilemmas refer to
ethical cases encountered and resolved
by social organizations. This category
includes moral dilemmas in business,
the medical field, and public sector.
3. Structural Dilemmas refer to cases
involving a network of institutions and
operative theoretical paradigms.
ONLY HUMAN BEINGS CAN BE ETHICAL
 a. Only human being are rational,
autonomous, and self-conscious.
b. Only human beings can act morally or
immorally
c. Only human beings are part of moral
community
WEEK 5
CULTURE IN MORAL BEHAVIOR
What is culture?
 Language, Medical cure, Religion,
Child-rearing methods, food, folk art,
celebrations, jokes, manners, working
schedules, clothes and dressing.
 Culture denotes the practices, beliefs,
and perceptions of a given society.
 Culture refers to the cumulative deposit
of knowledge, experience, beliefs,
values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies,
religion, notions of time, roles, spatial
relation, concepts of the universe, and
material objects and possessions
acquired by a group of people in the
course of generations through individual
and group striving
 Culture consists of patterns, explicit and
implicit, of behavior acquired and
transmitted by symbols, constituting the
distinctive achievement of human
groups.
 Culture is the totality of the learned
behavior of a group of people that are
generally considered to be a tradition of
the people and are transmitted from
generations to generation.
 Culture is the totality of the person
learned.
 Culture is symbolic communication.
Culture’s Role in Moral Behavior
 A culture is a way of life of people, and
this so-called way of life includes moral
values and behaviors, along with
knowledge, beliefs, symbols that accept.
 Many aspects of morality are taught.
People learn morals and aspects of right
and wrong from transmitters of culture:
respective parents, teachers, novels,
films, and television.
 Anthropologically speaking, culture-
including morals values, beliefs and
behavior – is learned from other people
while growing in a particular society or
group.
 Social learning is the process by which
individuals acquire knowledge from
others in the groups to which they
belong, as a normal part of childhood.
WEEK 6
CULTURAL RELATIVISM IN ETHICS
Cultural Relativism
 Cultural relativism is perhaps the most
famous form of moral relativism, a
theory in ethics which holds that ethical
judgment.
 Moral relativism fundamentally believes
that no act is good or bad objectively,
and there is no single objective
universal standard through which we
can evaluate the truth of moral
judgment.
 Moral relativism submits that different
moral principles apply to different
persons or groups of individuals.
 The relativist theory is very much
compatible with moral subjectivism. If
the considered basis is a given society,
the relativist ideology is typically referred
to as cultural relativism.
 Cultural relativism, the most dominant
form of relativism, defines moral as what
socially approved by the majority in a
particular culture. It maintains that an
act is ethical in a culture that approved
of it, but immoral in one that
disapproves of it.
Cultural Relativism: An Analysis
 Valuable lessons from ethical relativism
– teaches us to be open minded the
theory makes us understand that are
feelings and beliefs do not necessarily
 reflect the truth – they may be mere on ideally having a “smooth interpersonal
products of cultural conditioning. relationship” SIR with others. The definition of
 The theory’s ethical faults – the theory is smooth interpersonal relationships in the
moral simply means socially approved. Philippines is principally supported by
Cultural relativism discourages anchored on at least six basic Filipino values.
analytical thinking and independent 1. Pakikisama
decision-making in Ethics, Logically, 2. Hiya
cultural relativism is consistent in 3. Amor Propio
promoting tolerance while teaching that 4. Utang na Loob
no culture is morally superior or more 5. Filipino Hospitality
progressive than others. 6. Respect to Elders
James Rachels’ Western Ethics Eastern Ethics
 James Rachels’ evaluation of cultural FOCUS Finding truth Protocol and respect
relativism – He explain that cultural BASIS Rational Thought Religious teachings
relativist approach is to argue from facts
ROOTS IN Athens, Rome, Hinduism, Buddism,
about the differences between cultural Judeo Christianity Confucianism and
outlooks to a conclusion about the Taoism
status of moraliy. APPROAC Rational Holistic & Cultural
 Different cultures have different moral H
codes. Therefore, there is no object CONFLICT Good must triumph Good and Bad, Light
“truth” in morality. Right and wrong are AND over evil and Dark all exist in
only matters of opinion, and opinions HARMONY equilibrium
vary from culture to culture. Rachels
calls this the cultural differences
The basis of Asian or Eastern Ethics is
arguments. There are many factors,
religion, especially eastern religious or
Rachels further explain, which work
philosophies. Confucianism, for instance focus
together to produce the customs
on the cultivation of virtue and maintenance of
society. Aside from society’s values,
morality.
there are religious beliefs, factual
beliefs, the physical circumstances in
which people must live, and others. WEEK 7
 The bad consequences of cultural
DEVELOPING VIRTUE AS HABIT
relativism – If we took Cultural
Relativism seriously, we would be Moral Character
necessitated to deal with the following
 Moral character refers to the existence
corollaries enumerated by Rachels. (A)
of lack of virtue as integrity, courage,
We could mo longer say that the
fortitude, honesty, and loyalty. To say
customs of other societies are morally
that as person has a good moral
inferior to our own. (B) We could decide
character means that he/she is a goof
whether actions are right or wrong just
person and a good citizen with a sound
by consulting the standards of our
moral compass.
society. (C) The idea of moral progress
is called into doubt. Moral Character and Virtues
Western Ethics VS Eastern Ethics  The term character is derived from the
Greek word charakter which was initially
Filipino cultural morality, especially that
used as a mark impressed upon a coin.
which means concerns social ethics, centers
  The word character later came to mean
a distinct mark by which one thing was
distinguished from others and then
chiefly to mean the assemblage of
qualities that distinguish one person
from another.
 The use in ethics of the word
“character”, however, has a different
linguistic history.
 Aristotle tells us there are two distinct of
human excellences.
(1) Excellences of thought
(2) Excellences of character
His phrase from excellences of (mortal)
character, “ethical aretai” is often
translated as “moral values” and “moral
excellences”
 The Greek ethikos (ethical) is the
adjective cognitive with ethos
(character).
 When we speak virtue or an excellence
of moral character, the highlighting is
not mere distinctiveness or individuality,
but on the blend of qualities that make a
person the sort of ethically admirable
individual he/she is.
The Circular Relation of Acts and Character
 Not all act help to build moral character,
but those acts which emanate from the
moral character certainly matters in
moral development.
 A person’s action determine his/her
moral character, but moral character
itself generates an act that helps in
developing either virtue or vice.
 Moral development should be
understood in the sense of human
Flourishing. This flourishing is attained
by the habitual practice of moral and
intellectual excellence, or virtues in the
context or developing morally which also
brings about self-realization and
happiness, acting in line with virtue is
acting by reason.
Moral Character as Disposition
 The moral character traits that constitute
a person’s moral character are
characteristically understood as
behavioral and effective disposition.
Generally speaking, dispositions are
particular kinds of properties or
characteristics and objects can possess.
 Human beings, moral character traits-
either virtues or vices-are also
considered as disposition.
 Moral character traits are those
disposition of character for which is
suitable to hold agents morally
responsible.
Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development
 American psychologist Lawrence
Kohlberg is best known for this theory of
stages of moral development. In the
principle, he agreed with the Swiss
clinical psychological Jean Piaget theory
of moral development but wanted to
develop his ideas further.
 Kohlberg pinpointed three distinct levels
of moral reasoning each with two sub-
stages composing his so-called sic
stages of moral development. He
believed that people can only pass
through these levels in the order listed.
Each new stage replaces the kind of
reasoning typical of the previous stage.
Some do not achieve all the stages.
Six Stages of Moral Development
(Kohlberg)
Level 1: Pre-conventional
Stage 1 – Obedience and Punishment
Stage 2 – Individual and Exchange
Level 2: Conventional
Stage 3 – Interpersonal Relationships
Stage 4 – Maintaining Social Order
Level 3: Post-Conventional
Stage 5 – Social Contract & Individual Rights
Stage 6 – Universal Principles
WEEK 8
Getting to the Highest Level, Conscience-
Based Moral Decisions
Another way to view Kohlberg’s stages,
especially when combined with Piaget’s theory
is as follows (“Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral
Development)
Stage 1: Respect for power and punishment
– A young child (age 1-5) chooses what to do-
what is right-according to what he/she wants to
do and can do without getting into trouble. In
this level, to be right, one ought to be obedient
to the people in power and thus, avoid
punishment. The motto in this stage seems to
be: Might makes right.
Stage 2: looking out for #1 - Children (age 5-
10) are disposed to be egotistic or self-serving.
The lack of respect for others' rights but may
give to others the assumption that they will get
as much or even more in return. Instead of
loyalty, gratitude, or justice, the case is more a
matter of "you scratch yours" The motto here
seems to be: "What's in it for me?"
Stage 3: Being a "Good Boy" or "Nice Girl."
- In this stage, people (age 8 16) have shifted
from pleasing themselves to pleasing important
others, usually parents, teachers, or friends.
They seek approval and thus conform to
someone else expectations. When charged
with doing something wrong, their behavior is
to be justified by stating "everyone else is
doing it" or "I didn't intended next anyone." The
motto here: "I want to be nice.”
Stage 4: Law and order thinking - the
majority of people (16 years old and older)
have internalized society's rules about how to
behave, They feel indebted to conform, no
longer to just family and friends, but also the
society's laws and customs They realize that it
is important to do one's duty to maintain social
order. In this stage, individuals believe that
anyone breaking the rules deserves to be
punished and "pay his/her debt to society." The
motto here is: "I'll do my duty”.
Stage 5: Justice through democracy - In this
stage, people understand the underlying moral
purposes that are supposed to be served by
laws and social customs. When a law in
democracy ceases to serve a good purpose,
they thus feel the people ought to get active
and change the law. Respect the law and a
sense of obligation to live by the rules are
present, as long as rules were established
fairly and fulfil a moral purpose. The motto
here: "I'll live by the rules or try to change
them."
Stage 6: Deciding on basic moral principles
by which you will live your life and relate to
everyone fairly- In this stage, rare people
have evaluated many values and have
rationally chosen a philosophy of life that truly
guides their life. Morally developed, they do not
automatically conform to tradition or others'
beliefs, and even to their emotions, intuition, or
impulsive notions about right and wrong
WEEK 9
Bigyang limos ang mga pamilya o
batang namamalimos sa kalsada, sa loob ng
mga establisyemento at loob ng mga sasakyan
ito ay LABAS SA BATAS AT MAY
KARAPATANG PARUSA.
Ayon sa Presidential D____ No. 1563 o
ANTI-MENDICANCY LAW, ang pagbibigay
limos ay HINDI ISANG PARAAN NG
PAGTULONG bagkus ito pa ay nakadaragdag
sa kaso ng mga aksidente at kriminalidad,
lalong lao na sa mga bata.
Ang PALAGIANG PAGBIBIGAT NG
LIMOS sa mga bata ay nakakasama; nabubuo
sa kanilang isipan na hindin na kailagang mag-
aral at magtrabaho upang kumita hanggang sa
ITO AY TULUYANG MAGING KULTURA
Introduction
This module explores the role of feelings
in moral decisions and the disadvantages of
over-reliance on feelings. A lot of people may
not be aware when their behavior diverts from
ethical standards because their emotions and
moods get the better part them
Feeling and intuitions or what we call as
“moral emotions” play a major role in most of
the ethical decisions people make.
Decisions people make vary when they
are happy from when they are sad or emotional
Words that come out of your mouth
sometimes are also affected by the emotions
that we feel. And so with our actions.
 Never reply when you angry
 Never make a promise when you are
HAPPY
 Never make a decision when you are
SAD.
Moral Dilemmas
 Ethicist believe that ethics is also matter
of emotion. They hold that moral
judgment at their best should also be
emotional.
 Feelings are seen as also necessary in
ethical judgment.
 Reason and emotional are not really
opposites. Both abstract inference and
emotional intuition or instincts are seen
as having relatives roles in ethical
thinking.
Right Decisions
 Feelings and emotions, however, can
become obstacles or impediments to
becoming ethical. This is the case
especially when feelings’ roles in ethics
are misinterpreted or exaggerated.
Two Related Models in Ethics
1. Ethical Subjectivism – is not about
what are things are good and what
things are bad, it also does not tell how
we should live or what moral norms we
should practice instead, it is theory
about the nature of moral judgments.
Holds that the truth or falsity of
ethical propositions is dependent on the
feelings, attitudes, or standards of a
person or group of person.
Analyzing Ethical Subjectivism
 Ethical subjectivism suggests that we
are to identify our moral principles by
simply following our feelings. On a
positive note, it allows us to think for
ourselves because it implies that we
need to agree with culture or society.
 Ethical Subjectivism also has
implications that are contrary to what we
believe about the nature of moral
judgments.
 Ethical Subjectivism also implies that
each of us is infallible as long as we are
honestly expressing our feelings about
moral issues.
2. Emotivism – is improved version and
naïve version of ethical subjectivism.
Also known BOO-YAY/HOORAY-BOO
theory of ethics.
Evaluating Emotivism
 Emotivism provides morality with
insufficient explanations in denying
moral truths and moral knowledge, it
seems to dilute what morality is instead
of elucidating it.
  In effect, emotivism also fails to
distinguish moral judgments dorm mere
expressions of personal preference.
Ethics-Without-Feeling also appears to go
against Christian philosophy’s emphasis on
love, for love is basically strong liking desire or
emotion.
Our moral compasses are also strongly
influenced by the fleeting forces of disgust,
fondness, or fear
The feelings or emotions involved in moral
thinking should be anchored on careful
consideration of a full range of right goals,
including altruistic ones.