MODULE 1

Basic Concepts in Ethics

QUESTIONS BEFORE THE LESSON
TOPICS
Basic concepts in Ethics

• Ethics and Rules

• Ethics defined
• Moral Dilemma
• Freedom and morality
TOPIC QUESTIONS:
1. What are moral standards?
2. What is Ethics?
3. What are moral dilemmas?
4. Why is freedom the foundation of morality?
ETHICS AND
RULES
RULES

Rules– standards, regulations,

guides

Example: Etiquette, legal,

language, logic, aesthetics,
institutional, sports
RULES
Importance

• Order
• Get things done
• Prevent others from doing harm
RULES
Moral Rules

• Matters that can seriously injure

or benefit humans
• Validity rests on reason
• Preferred
• based on impartiality
• associated with special emotions

NON COMPLIANCE WILL INJURE

HUMANITY
 ETHICS
• ethos (ήθος) character
• Mores custom

BEHAVIOR

MORALITY
 ETHICS
• Ethics is a philosophical discipline
that studies, scrutinizes,
recommends, and systematizes
principles and ideas of right and
wrong action

• Ethics is a philosophical study of

morality
ETHICS
Central elements
• action
• Rules and values

human act (actus humanus)

act of man (actus hominis)
 Branches
• Descriptive
• Normative
• Metaethics
• Applied
 Elements
• Preeminence of Reason
• Universalizability
• Impartiality
• Dominance of Moral Norms
 MORAL
DILEMMA
MORAL DILEMMA
• situations wherein an agent is forced
to choose from two (or more)
conflicting moral options
MORAL DILEMMA
3 levels:
• Individual
• Organizational
• Structural
FREEDOM AND
MORALITY
FREEDOM
Freedom is the foundation of morality

• MORALITY
• Moral act = an expression of freedom
• FREE CHOICE
• Freedom means you can act with full
awareness and conviction, not by force
and necessity
• freedom and rules? Contradictory?
• RESPONSIBILITY
• Morality is exclusively human; only
humans are responsible
CONCEPTUAL SUMMARY