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DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

GNED02 - ETHICS
Intended Learning Objectives:
After the completion of the chapter, students will be able to:
1. Compare and Contrast various kinds of laws;
2. Understanding what Moral and Non-Moral standards are;
3. Differentiate moral standards from Non-moral standards.

“Doubt is not unbelief, unbelief is usually rebellion against evidence. Doubt, as someone has said, is stumbling over a
stone we do not understand. Unbelief is kicking a stone we understand too well.” – Erwin Lutzer in, Christ Among
Other gods.

What is LAW?
Law is “an ordinance of reason, promulgated for the common good by one who has charge of society.” – Thomas
Aquinas.
“Ordinance of reason” - it means, these laws are results of serious study, deliberation, or public debate.
“Promulgated” – they are made known to the people who are bound to serve them.
“For the common good” – the laws purpose is the general welfare of the people.

I. VARIOUS KINDS OF LAWS:

1. The Eternal Law

– is the plan of God in creating all creatures, both animate and inanimate, giving to each of them its
respective nature.

– it is the “divine reason or will of God commanding that the natural order of things be preserved and
forbidding it be disturbed” (Thomas Aquinas).
 2. The Natural Law
- The participation in Eternal Law by rational creatures by virtue of being rational; that aspect of
the Eternal Law whereby the Creator governs and guides the moral actions of humans, such that
when obeyed, it leads humans to their proper end in this world.
- Natural Law Theory maintains that certain moral truths can be known by human reason apart
from the scripture or the revealed word of God.
- “the inner law of our true being, of our essential created nature, which demands that we actualize
what follows from it” (Paul Tillich).

3. The Human Law

- A particular application of natural law to local communities.

4. Divine Law
- the revelation of God’s law through Scripture to believers. One of the well-known Divine Law, is
the Ten Commandments.

II. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MORAL STANDARDS AND NON-MORAL STANDARDS.

MORAL STANDARDS:
- are norms that individuals or groups have about the kinds of actions believed to be morally right or
wrong, as well as the values placed on what we believed to be morally good or morally bad.
- normally promote “the good”, that is, the welfare and well-being of humans as well as animals and
the environment.
- therefore, prescribe what humans ought to do in terms of rights and obligations.”
- are the sum of combined norms and values.

Norms – are understood as general rules about our actions or behaviors.

Example: “We are always under the obligation to fulfill our promises”, or “It is always believed
that killing innocent people is absolutely wrong”.

Values – are understood as enduring beliefs or statements about what is good and desirable or not.

Example: “Helping the poor is good” or “Cheating during exams is bad”.

Characteristics of Moral Standards:

1. Moral standards deal with matters we think can seriously injure or benefit humans, animals, and
the environment.
 2. Moral standards are not established or changed by the decisions of authoritative individuals or
bodies. Indeed, moral standards rest on the adequacy of the reasons that are taken to support and
justify them.
3. Moral standards are overriding, that is, they take precedence over other standards and
considerations, especially of self-interest.
4. Moral standards are based on impartial considerations. Hence, moral standards are fair and just.
5. Moral standards are associated with special emotions (such as guilt and shame) and vocabulary
(such as right, wrong, good, and bad).

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 (we judge manners as good or bad)
Standards of Law (we judge something as legal or illegal)
Standards of Aesthetics (we judge art as good or rubbish)

- are matters of taste or preference.

Remember: “A careful observance of these types of standards does not make a moral person. Violation of said standards
also does not pose any threat to human-being.”

WHY THE NEED TO DISTINGUISH MORAL STANDARDS FROM NON-MORAL ONES?

Different societies have different moral beliefs and that our beliefs are deeply influenced by our own culture.
Examples:
1. In Traditional Muslims communities, the wearing of hijab is the most appropriate act that
women have to do in terms of dressing up. In Western societies, most people don’t mind if women
barely cover their bodies. As a matter of fact, the Hollywood canon of beauty glorifies a sexy and slim
body and the wearing of extremely daring dress.
2. The Callatians (A tribe of Indians) customarily ate the bodies of their dead fathers. The
Greeks practiced cremation and regarded the funeral pyre as the natural and fitting way to dispose the
dead.
3. Eskimos (or the Inuits are the indigenous people inhabiting parts of the northern circumpolar region
ranging from Siberia to Canada) marriage and sexual practices. Eskimos less regard for human life
(Infanticide is common; Old people were left out in the snow to die).

“What is a matter of moral indifference that is a matter of taste in one culture may be a matter
of moral significance to the other.”
Reference:
Agapay, R. (2008). Ethics and the Filipino. Second Edition. National Bookstore.
Rachels, J. (2004). The Elements of Moral Philosophy. Fourth Edition. New York:
McGraw-Hill College.
Retrieve from: http://library.lol/main/90CA58171CFF95F7E07D76A7D4DF47F7
Philonotes (2018, Jun. 8) Moral versus Non-moral Standards.
Youtube: https://youtu.be/SVYcETMuJg8