SSP4 MIDTERM 03 (NICOL-20210137) e.g.

, norms in the society

forget acting base on others, but on what you feels.

FEELINGS If you feel what you did is right or wrong.

"Is there really a norm of morality wherein we can

measure all acts according to its standards?"
"If we cannot determine the rightness of an action
based on the consensus of the majority should each
person make moral/ethical decisions based in his or her
own feelings, desires, and preferences?"
What is the moral standard in making ethical decision?
But one can raise the questions, are feelings reliable?
Can feelings be trusted to guide human behavior?
Some feelings, desires, and preferences are admirable
and excellent guides. Some men and women with
feelings of serving God and His Church can consider
entering the seminary formation or the religious life.

Medical doctors with feelings of reverence for life and

providing health to poor people can volunteer to do
In today's world, Individuality is highly prized. Even
missionary work to Africa or even in our own country
deciding on what type of car one is buying is colored by
where there is an acute need for medical doctors in the
individuality. I don't want to buy that model, everybody
provinces.
is driving that car, I want to be different, I am buying
from another manufacture.

Sometimes to be like other is considered very 7 Step of Moral Reasoning Process

undesirable to some who think of themselves as
Two models of moral reasoning process are easily
individualists. Some people maintain the illusion that
accessible, the one provided by Michael Davis (1999)
everything about them is unique. The viewpoint easily
and the other as developed at Josephson Institute of
spills over into ethical positions this is being reinforced
Ethics.
in movies and news that we watch.
Most of us are invited to make ethical choices which
One can observe that for some people, it is fashionable
require the ability to make distinctions between
to believe that morality is subjective and personal that
competing options.
is no act always and everywhere right or wrong.
Michael Davis (1999)
In essence, it gave the philosophical stand that
whatever a person believes it be right, is right for that 1. State the problem (are you affected or others?)
person, and what a person believes to be wrong is
wrong for that person. 2. Check the Fact (is there really a problem?)

3. Review Laws and Codes (in making the ethical

Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)
Who was especially important in the development of
ethical relativism and was largely responsible for its
emphasis on feelings rather than reasoned judgment.
"What I feel is right is right, when I feel it is wrong it is
wrong."
Rousseau believe that man are essentially good, but
because of art and sciences that let us to
imperfection/impurification.
decision must be knowledgeable of the persons who are
involved, what laws, professional codes, and other
practical constraint are imbedded in the problem?)
4. Identify Relevant Factors (check the circumstances)
5. Develop a List of Options (try to avoid dilemma, avoid
saying yes or no, don’t jump to conclusion)
6. Test the Options:
a. Harm Test (dose this option do less harm
than alternative?)
 b. Publicity Test (could I defend my choice
with this option before an ethics
committee?)
c. Defensibility Test (could I defend my
choice of this option before an ethics
committee?)
d. Reversibility Test (would I still think this
option is a good choice if I were adversely
affected it?)
e. Colleague Test (what do my colleague
says when I describe my problem and
suggest this option as my solution?)
f. Professional Test (what might profession
governing body for ethics?)
g. Organizational Test (what does my
company’s ethics affect of or legal consent
about this?)
more choices much better
Josephson Institute of Ethics
1. Stop and Think (ethical decision are important that
we need to avoid giving rush answers. This prepares us
for more thoughtful discernment and can allow us to
mobilize our intellectual discipline)
2. Clarify goals (what is your objective? Before choosing
a decision, we need to clarify first our short term or long
term aims, it is necessary to determine which our many
wants and don’ wants are affected by the decision.)
3. Determine Facts (be sure you have adequate
information to support an intelligent choice, in order to
determine facts, first resolve what you know and what
you need to know. One must be open and prepare for
additional information and to verify sanctions and other
ascertain information, in addition to this one must
consider the reliability and credibility of the people
providing the facts.)
(Consider the bases of the supposed facts)
(If the person is giving you information’s says he or she
personally her or something, evaluate tat person in
terms of honesty, accuracy and soundness of memory)
4. Develop Options (once you know what you want to
be achieve, and have made your best judgement as to
relevant facts, make a list of actions whom you can take
to accomplish your goal. If it’s really an important
ethical concern talk to someone you trust so that you
can broaden your perspective and think in new choices)
(If you think of one or to possible options, you are
probably not thinking enough.
5. Consider the Consequences (try to filter your choices
to determine if any of your option will violate any core
ethical values that you have, then eliminate any
unethical options.
Then try to identify who will be affected by the
decisions and how the decision is likely to affect them)
6. Choose (make the decision. If the choice is not
immediately clear try talking to people whose
judgement you respect, or take of a person of strong
moral character that you know or know of and ask
yourself what would they do in your situation.
If everyone found out about your decision, would you
be proud or comfortable?
If you are really confused or everything, just follow the
golden rule treat others on what you want to be
treated.
7. Monitor and Modify (ethical decision makers
monitor the effects of their choices, if they are not
producing the intended result or causing additional
unattended and undesirable results, they reassess the
situation and make a new decisions)
Reason and impartiality
Our feelings, desires and preferences can be beneficial
or harmful, noble or ignoble, praiseworthy or damnable,
and because they can either in harmony or in conflict
with other people's feelings, desires and preferences,
they obviously are not reliable criteria for analysis of
moral issues or trustworthy guidelines for action.
To make them the basis of our moral decisions is to
ignore those needs and accept them uncritically as the
measure of their own worth.
Having upheld reasoning and impartiality in morality,
we can now identify what criteria moral judgments
should meet to be considered adequate.

Although there is no complete list of adequacy criteria

or moral judgments, moral judgments should be logical,
based on facts and based on valid moral principles. If
one is lacking from these features, a moral judgment is
less than ideal. (memasabi) MORAL COURAGE

(Lakas ng loob) (hindi lahat ng bravery ay courage, Pero

Moral Judgments Should Be Logical lahat ng courage ay bravery

This implies several things. First, our judgments should Most of us have the basic understanding of moral
follow from the evidence. courage as the ability to take action for moral reasons
despite the risk of adverse consequences.
The connection between:
Courage is required to take action when one has doubts
1) the standard or fears about the consequences of such an act. The
concept of moral courage, therefore, involves
2) the behavior or policy and
deliberation or careful thought.
3) the moral judgment should be such that 1 and 2
We relate' moral courage with our concept of
logically entail 3.
courageous people as those who perform courageous
Forming logical moral judgments also means ensuring acts, but we can raise the question, what makes an act
that our moral judgments are consistent with our other courageous?
beliefs.

James Donald Wallace

Moral Judgment should be based on facts
In his book virtues and vices (1986) defines courageous
Adequate moral judgments cannot be made in a acts by using six conditions, each enough to recognize
vacuum. We must gather as the information supporting an act as courageous.
the moral judgment, the facts should be relevant, that
1. The person believes that it is dangerous to do the
is, actually relate to the moral judgment, complete, or
act.
inclusive of all significant data; and accurate or true.
2. The person believes that his doing the act is worth
the risks it involves.
Moral judgment should be based on valid moral
3. The person believes that is possible for him to do or
principles
not to do the act.
We know that moral standards. At the highest level of
4. The danger the person sees in doing the act is
moral reasoning, these standards embody and express
sufficiently formidable that most people would find it
global moral principles.
difficult in the circumstances to do it.
Sound moral judgments are based on valid moral
e.g., you witness a thief, and you choose to be brave
principles. Valid here refers to qualities that give the
and catch the thief
principles inner strength and a capacity to resist
challenge or attack. 5. The person is not coerced into doing the act by
threats of punishment.
6. The person is under self-control at least in the sense
of not being in a frenzy, stupor, or intoxication

7. The person at least believed he was doing good, and

we admire him for his effort to pursue what is good.