Prepared by: Ms. Denny Vell M.

Devaras, RPm
Objectives
At the end of the lessons, the students are expected to:

• define ethics and morality as well as its importance to

everyday living;
• distinguish the difference between ethics and morality; and
• examine their value of ethics as arts and science and its
branches.
Table of contents

01 Ethics 04 Importance of Ethics

Ethics as Arths
02 Morality 05 and Sciences

Branches of
03 Ethics and Morality 06
Ethics
01 Ethics
What is Ethics?
What does Ethics
mean to you?
Definitions of Ethics
 Ethics examines the rational justification for our moral
judgments; it studies what is morally right or wrong, just or
unjust.
 Moral principles that govern a person's behavior or the
conducting of an activity
 Deals with principles of ethical behavior in modern society
at the level of the person, society, and in interaction with
the environment and other shared resources
Ethics is not…

 Ethics is not equal to our feelings

 Ethics is not identified with religion
 Being ethical is not the same as following the law
 Being ethical is not the same as doing "whatever
society accepts”
What is Ethics?
Ethics is based on well-founded standards
of right and wrong that prescribe what
humans ought to do, usually in terms of
rights, obligations, benefits to society,
fairness, or specific virtues.
Ethics can be construed as theorizing about the proper
regulating mechanisms for our behavior

 It tells us what to aspire to and also constrains our

actions.
 It is informed by psychological elements (e.g. sympathy,
generosity, compassion, kindness, concern for others, or
even revenge or outrage)
Ethical Standards include:
 standards that impose the reasonable obligations to
refrain from rape, stealing, murder, assault, slander, and
fraud.
 those that enjoin virtues of honesty, compassion, and
loyalty.
 standards relating to rights, such as the right to life, the
right to freedom from injury, and the right to privacy.
 02
Morality
What is Morality?
Morality…
 is a set of values, beliefs, and principles that guide an
individual’s behavior and decisions
 is a code of conduct that is commonly accepted in a
particular society or culture.
 refers to the distinction between right and wrong, and is
usually based on an individual’s personal beliefs and
values
 Is closely related to ethics, which is a system of moral
principles.
Examples of morality includes:
 being honest

 treating others with respect

 helping those in need

 adhering to laws and social norms.

* While there are many different interpretations of morality,

all societies have some form of moral code that guides their
members.
Other examples:
 In most societies it is considered immoral to steal from another
person or to lie to them.
 In other cultures it might be seen as immoral to eat a certain type
of animal or to talk about someone behind their back.
 It also includes not taking advantage of people in vulnerable
positions, avoiding violence, and being generous and kind
towards others.
 Many people also believe that it is moral to take care of the
environment and act in ways that promote sustainability.
 Morality is based on personal
values and beliefs, so what one
person considers to be moral may
differ from another’s opinion.
However, by adhering to accepted standards of
behavior and recognizing the importance of taking
responsibility for our actions, we can all strive to create
a more ethical world.
Why is morality important?
 Morality is an important concept that guides the behavior
and decisions of individuals in a society.
 It is the foundation of ethical conduct, helping us to
distinguish right from wrong.
 It also involves developing strong character traits, such as
honesty and integrity
 Morality is an essential element of a functioning society
 03
Ethics and Morality
Connection and Differences
Ethics vs. Morality
 Conflict between Ethics and Morality
Morality
Morals are what you believe,
Morals are often based on religion
or culture
Morals usually deal with personal
conduct
For some, their morality deals more
with how we should behave in our
day-to-day lives
Ethics
Ethics are what you do.
Ethics are based on logic and
reason.
Ethics deal with professional
conduct
Ethics looks at all actions in general
– both good and bad.
Key Differences Between Ethics and Morality:
1. Ethics are a formal system of beliefs that guide our behavior,
while morality is more personal and can vary from individual
to individual.
2. Ethics are usually based on logical reasoning and a shared
set of values, while morality is often based on gut instinct or
religious beliefs.
3. Ethics tend to be more objective, while morality is often
subjective.
4. Ethics are universal, while morality is often culture-specific.
Key Differences Between Ethics and Morality:
5. Ethics are transcendent; they govern all aspects of life. Morality
deals with specific issues such as politics, economics, religion and
family matters. In contrast, ethics applies universally to every
aspect of life and when someone does something unethical, it has
more implications than just in one area.
6. Ethics applies to groups and organizations, while morality applies to
individuals. As a result, ethical practices don’t always mesh well
with organizational cultures and vice versa.
Key Differences Between Ethics and Morality:
7. Ethics asks people to think about what they do before they act;
morality asks people to examine their actions after the fact.
8. In terms of thinking through what we should do in certain situations,
ethics tells us how we should behave while morality only tells us if
we did the right thing once we’ve behaved in some way.
9. Ethics will help you determine whether your behavior was good or
bad, while morality may help you decide whether your intentions
were good or bad.
10. Both ethics and morality play important roles in shaping human
civilization.
 Importance of Ethics
04 Why is Ethics important?
Why is Ethics important?

 We can think of ethics as the principles that guide our

behavior toward making the best choices that contribute to
the common good of all
 Ethics guides us to make the world a better place through
the choices we make.
 when it comes to decision-making, ethics is everything
05
Ethics as an Art
and Science
Is Ethics an Art
or a Science?
Ethics as a Science
● ethics involves the systematic study of moral
principles and their foundations.
● This involves using reason and evidence to
analyze and evaluate moral claims and theories

Example:
● In consequentialism the moral value of an action is
determined by its overall consequences, and this principle is
analyzed and evaluated using logical and empirical reasoning
Ethics as an Art
● ethics involves the practical application
of moral principles to guide action
● This requires skill and creativity in
navigating complex and nuanced
ethical situations

Example:
● in a healthcare setting, a doctor may have
to balance the principle of preserving
patient autonomy with the principle of not
causing harm.
Ethics as an Art and Science
● Ethics can be considered as a combination of both
science and art.
● It is a systematic study of moral principles, but it also
requires practical wisdom, creativity, and the ability to
navigate complex and nuanced ethical situations.
● Ethics as a science provides the logical and rational
framework for moral principles, while ethics as an art
provides the practical wisdom and ethical judgement to
apply those principles in real-world situations.
 06
Branches of
Ethics
Four (4) Main branches of Ethics
1. Descriptive (Comparative) Ethics
2. Normative (Prescriptive) Ethics
3. Meta-Ethics (Analytical Ethics)
4. Applied Ethics
Descriptive or Comparative Ethics
● deals with what people actually believe (or made to believe) to
be right or wrong, and accordingly holds up the human actions
acceptable or not acceptable or punishable under a custom or
law.
● descriptive ethics is also called comparative ethics because it
compares the ethics or past and present; ethics of one society
and other.
● It also takes inputs from other disciplines such as anthropology,
psychology, sociology and history to explain the moral right or
wrong.
Normative or Prescriptive Ethics
 Normative Ethics deals with “norms” or set of
considerations how one should act.
 it’s a study of “ethical action” and sets out the rightness or
wrongness of the actions.
 It is also called prescriptive ethics because it rests on the
principles which determine whether an action is right or
wrong.
 Golden rule: “doing to other as we want them to do to us“
 Normative ethics also provides justification for punishing a
person who disturbs social and moral order.
Normative Ethics can be of the following types:
1. Virtue Ethics - focuses on one’s character and the virtues
for determining or evaluating ethical behavior.
○ Plato gave a scheme of four cardinal virtues viz: prudence,
justice, temperance and fortitude (courage).

2. Deontological – also known as duty ethics focuses on the

rightness and wrongness of the actions rather than the
consequences of those actions.
○ There are different deontological theories such as categorical
imperative, moral absolutism, divine command theory etc.
Examples of Deontological Ethics
a) Categorical Imperative or Kantianism – Kant said that the
human beings occupy special place in creation and there is an
ultimate commandment from which all duties and obligations
derive.
○ The moral rules, as per Kant, should follow two principles viz.
universality and principle of reciprocity.
b) Moral Absolutism - It believes that there are absolute standards
against which moral questions can be judged.
○ theft is wrong, regardless of context in which theft was carried out. It
ignores that sometimes wrong act is done to reach out to right
consequence.
Examples of Deontological Ethics
c) Divine Command Theory - an action is right if God has
decreed it to be right
○ As per this theory, the rightness of any action depends upon that
action being performed because it is a duty, not because of any
good consequences arising from that action.
Normative Ethics can be of the following types:
3. Consequentialism (Teleology) - the morality of an action
is contingent with the outcome of that action
○ the morally right action would produce good outcome while
morally wrong action would produce bad outcome
○ Based on the outcome, there are several theories such as
Utilitarianism, Hedonism, Egoism, Asceticism, Altruism
○ The core idea of consequentialism is that “the ends justify the
means“
Meta-Ethics or Analytical Ethics

 deals with the origin of the ethical concepts themselves

 It does not consider whether an action is good or bad, right
or wrong. Rather, it questions – what goodness or
rightness or morality itself is
 It is basically a highly abstract way of thinking about
ethics.
Key Theories in meta Ethics:
a) Naturalists and non-naturalists believe that moral language is
cognitive and can be known to be true or false
b) Emotivists deny that moral utterances are cognitive, holding that
they consist of emotional expressions of approval or disapproval
and that the nature of moral reasoning and justification must be
reinterpreted to take this essential characteristic of moral
utterances into account
c) Prescriptivists take a somewhat similar approach, arguing that
moral judgments are prescriptions or prohibitions of action, rather
than statements of fact about the world.
Applied Ethics

 deals with the philosophical examination, from a moral

standpoint, of particular issues in private and public life
which are matters of moral judgment.
 This branch of ethics is most important for professionals in
different walks of life including doctors, teachers,
administrators, rulers and so on
Key Domain of Applied Ethics
a) Decision ethics - ethical decision making process
b) Professional ethics - for good professionalism
c) Clinical Ethics - good clinical practices
d) Business Ethics - good business practices
e) Organizational ethics - ethics within and among organizations
f) Social ethics
Questions?