Republic of the Philippines

CAVITE STATE UNIVERSITY

Imus Campus
CaviteCivic Center, Palico IV, City of Imus, Cavite 4103
(046)686-7607/ (046) 471-6607
www.cvsu.edu.ph

DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

GNED02 - ETHICS

Intended Learning Objectives:

After the completion of the chapter, students will be able to:

1. Know the definition of Ethics & Morality.

2. Understand why it is important to study Ethics.

3. Introduced to important key terms of this subject.

Introduction: The story of a Hobbit and the “One Ring” in The Lord of the Rings: The fellowship of the
ring.

Given the opportunity to live a life as an invisible entity, we’ll be able to do anything we wanted to do with no
one, but ourselves, ever discovering what we had done.

Question: Why be Moral?

WHY STUDY ETHICS?

1. Ethics provide directions to people and societies.
2. Ethics seeks to ask moral questions.
3. Ethics are important because we face moral choices every day.
4. Ethics are important in facing a number of issues.

WHAT IS ETHICS?
– came from the Greek word ‘ethos’ which means ‘characteristic way of acting’, ‘habit’, or
‘custom’.
– it is the formal study of moral standards and conduct and is also often called ‘moral
philosophy’.
– it is referred to as the science of the morality of human acts.
Human acts – performed by a person who is acting knowingly, freely, and willfully.
Act of man – it is instinctive and not under the control of the freewill.
 – it is also the study of man as a moral being, one who is rationally able to distinguish
between right and wrong. It proposes how man ought to live his life – how to attain its
purpose and meaning.
– it is basically the study of what right and what is wrong in man’s behavior in the pursuit
of beauty and goodness in life

– it. means right living and good moral character, and it is in this context of good moral
character that man finds his true worth and perfection.

ETHICAL SYSTEMS:

1. Deontological systems (systems that are based on principles in which actions --- or character, or
even intentions --- are inherently right or wrong).

2. Teleological systems (systems that are based on the end-result produced by an action).

3. Relativism (system in which right and wrong are not absolute and unchanging but relative to one’s
culture).

WHAT IS MORALITY

- refers to certain codes of conduct put forward by a society or a group, or accepted by an

individual for his/her own behavior.

Key differences:

(a) Ethics is doing the ‘ought’ because it is ought rightly to do so; Morality is doing not just the
‘ought’ but that which has to be done because we have been taught to do so.
(b) Ethics grounds its arguments on Reason; Morality grounds its arguments on Tradition.

REFERENCES:

Agapay, R. (2008). Ethics and the Filipino. Second Edition. National Bookstore.

Zulueta, F. (2010). Introduction to Philosophy. National Bookstore.

Rachels, J. (2004). The Elements of Moral Philosophy. Fourth Edition. New York:
McGraw-Hill College.
Retrieve from: http://library.lol/main/90CA58171CFF95F7E07D76A7D4DF47F7

Scott, R. (2009). Moral Choices: An Introduction to Ethics. Zondervan Academic, Year:

2009.
Retrieve from: http://library.lol/main/2667687869B7E84AE8EF85002459AE66