PHILO 101 REVIEWER

ETHICS- Is deduced from the Greek word “ethos” meaning “customs” or “behaviors”

BEHAVIOR- is more attributed to human behavior and is therefore inherent to human beings

The term Ethos has an equivalent meaning in Latin word moris which means “morals”.

Ethics is not to be understood as specific to the nation but rather as inherent human.

Definition of ETHICS

Ethics is a mental-set, disposition or values.

Ethics is defined as:

-As a science, it deals with the morality of the human act.

- As a discipline, it is meant for the exercise of a human conduct, both ethical and unethical

- As a philosophical study, it guides the intellect in discerning concrete human conduct

Importance of Ethics

-It plays a critical role in shaping the individuals behaviors within a society

-Act as a self-governing system to keep human self-interest and the good of society at equilibrium because the eyes
of the law are not always available

-Society might fall into chaos if we accept that each of us could pick and choose what the right thing to do is.

The Human Act

-Human act is a conscious and free exercise of one’s faculties, therefore, consious and free

-Act of man is an act beyond the control of one’s will

-Morality or ethics is more concerned with human acts rather than acts of man

Constituents of Human Act:

Knowledge- resides in the intellect and is the mindfulness of what the moral agent is doing

Freedom- quality of the freewill by which one is able to choose between one or more alternatives

Voluntariness- quality of the human act whereby any commission or omission of an act is a result of the knowledge
which an agent has of the end

What is Morality?

-refers to set of standards that enable people to live cooperatively in groups.

-It’s what societies determine to be “right” and “acceptable”

7 Morals

1. Bravery- helped people determine hierarchies

2. Fairness- Think of terms like “meet in the middle” and the concept of taking turns.

3. Defer to Authority- it is important because it signifies that people will adhere to rules that attend to the greater
good
 - This is necessary for a functioning society

4. Helping the group- Traditions exist to help us feel closer to our grWoup

- This way you feel more supported, and a general sense of altruism is promoted

5. Loving your Family- This is a more focused version of helping your group

- Its the idea that loving and supporting your familly allows you to raise people who will
continue to uphold moral norms.

6. Returning favors- This goes for society as a whole and specifies that people may avoid behaviors that arent
generally altruistic.

7. Respecting others’ property- This goes back to settling disputes based on prior possession, which also ties in the
idea of fairness

STANDARDS/NORMS OF MORALITY

CONSCIENCE- The practical judgement that determines that an act is

good, therefore to be done, and evil, therefore to be avoided

LAW- is necessary to regulate acts of the freewill

KINDS OF LAW

NATURAL LAW, DIVINE LAW, HUMAN POSITIVE LAW

NATURAL LAW- a system of law that is purposedly determiined by nature, and thus universal

SOURCES/DETERMINANT OF MORALITY

 THE OBJECT OF THE ACT- the very substance of the act

- what was performed by the agent?

 MOTIVE OF THE AGENT – purpose for which a human agent does the act

- what specifically does the agent want?

 THE CIRCUMSTANCES – WHAT – the intended object of the act

- WHY – personal intention of the agent

- BY WHAT MEANS- tools or procedures used

- HOW – modes of doing the act

- WHEN- the time the act was performed

- WHERE- the spatial setting where the act is done

- WHO- the person who does/receive

KOHLBERG’S STAGES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT

PRE-CONEVNTIONAL STAGE- usually common among children

- judge morality of action based on direct consequences

STAGE 1- (obedience vs. Punishment) –an action is perceived as wrong because the perpetrator is punished or
egocentric

STAGE 2 – (self interest driven) –what’s in store for me

CONVENTIONAL STAGE – usually common among adoloscents

- judge morality of action based on societal views and expectations

STAGE 3 (Good intentions as determined by social consensus) –live to expectations by being good boy/girl

STAGE 4 (authority and social order) –important to obey rules to uphold social order

POST-CONVENTIONAL STAGE –known as principled level; marked by a growing realization of individual perspective
may differ from society.

- live principles universally, especially human rights

STAGE 5 – (social contract driven) –world has differing opinions, rights and values

STAGE 6 – (universal ethical principles driven) – based on abstract reasoning

IMMORAL – describes someone who purposely commits an offensive act, even though they know the difference
between what is right and wrong

NONMORAL – describes situations in which morality is not a concern

AMORAL- describes someone who acknowledges the difference between right and wrong, but who is not concerned
with morality

FREUD’S MORALITY AND THE SUPEREGO: SIGMUND FREUD suggested moral development occured as a person’s
ability to set aside their selfish needs were replaced by the values of important socializing agents

PIAGET’S THEORY OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT- JEAN PIAGET focused on the social-cognitive and social emotional
perspective of development.

B.F. SKINNER’S BEHAVIORAL THEORY- B.F. SKINNER focused on the power of external forces that shaped an
individual’s development

KOHLBERG’S MORAL REASONING: LAWRENCE KOHLBERG proposed 6 stages of moral development that went
beyond Piaget’s theory.

UTILITARIANISM – JEREMY BENTHAM AND JOHN STUART MILL

UTILITY- an act is good or morally right if it promotes happinness and bad or immoral if it tends to produce pain

KEY PRINCIPLE IS HAPPINESS

JEREMY BENTHAM’S MODEL OF UTILITARIANISM

HAPPINESS IS SIMPLY THE ABSCENCE OF PAIN

FELICIFIC calculus – measures the degree of happiness or pleasure that a specific action may produce

- also called utility calculus or hedonistic calculus

- it includes intensity, duration, certainty, propinquity, fecundity, purity and extent