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TABLE OF CONTENTS
COURSE CODE: GE 6
TOPIC 1: Course Introduction
DESCRIPTIVE TITLE: Ethics
TOPIC 2: Ethics and Philosophy, Meta-ethics and
PREREQUISITE(S): None Normative Ethics

CREDIT UNITS: 3 TOPIC 3: Ethics and Critical Thinking, Formation

and Transformation of Self
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course focuses on
examining core concepts of Ethics through studying its TOPIC 4: Politics and Society
history and analyzing the different ethical theories and
approaches. Students will be describing ethics in terms TOPIC 5: Ethics and Religion
of freedom and moral reasoning. Also, students will give
application to ethics in terms of modern scenarios that TOPIC 6: Thomas Aquinas: The Natural Law
will identify its importance to the human (personal,
social, and professional) and society. TOPIC 7: Deontological Ethics

TOPIC 8: Utilitarianism
COURSE OUTCOMES: After successful completion of
the course, students should be able to: TOPIC 9: Asian Ethical Traditions

1. determine the basic concepts of Ethics; TOPIC 10: Ethics and Science

2. distinguish the differences between Ethics and TOPIC 11: Ethics and the Digital Age
Morality;
TOPIC 12: Ethics and Economy
3. identify the different stages of cognitive
development; TOPIC 13: Environmental Ethics

4. examine the connection of Values and Moral TOPIC 14: Justice and Fairness
Reasoning;

5. explore the essence of ethical theories and

approaches in factual circumstances; and Carino, Jovito V. (2018). Fundamentals of Ethics. C & E Publishing Inc.
Philippines

6. Explain the influence of ethical behaviour to society. De Guzman, J., Aquino, E. C., Tomas, R. D., Pacer, J. B., Madriaga, A. T.,
Benitez, G. C., Hualda, L. S., Puno, R. A., Banzon, J. B., & Bamba, L. M. (2017).
Ethics (Principles of Ethical Behavior in Modern Society). Mutya Publishing
House, Inc.

Pasco, Marc Oliver, Fullente Suarez, V. & Rodriguez, Agustin Martin (2018).
Ethics. C & E Publishing Inc. Philippines

Rodriguez, A., Suarez, V., & Pasco, M. (2018). Ethics. C & E Publishing, Inc

GE 6: Ethics | 1st semester, AY 2022-2023 1

 ADM– 002- 20- 0061
live, it is most likely that people apply it into their
lives without ever assessing whether the answer is
TOPIC 1: satisfactory or not. Therefore, it is most probable
Course Introduction: that a lot of people may have lived their whole lives
Ethics and Morality under a moral system that they would have
rejected if they had just given it a thought.

● For clearer distinction between ethics and morals,

Understanding Ethics and Morality see the table below.
● Ethics is the branch of philosophy that studies
morality which refers to the rightness and
wrongness of human conduct. Thus, ethics is often
also called moral philosophy as it evaluates moral
concepts, values, principles, and standards. It is
considered a normative study of human actions for
it is greatly concerned with the norms on human
conduct.

● It comes from the Greek word ethos which means

customs, characteristics or habitual ways of
doing things or actions that are derived from
one’s character.

● Ethics entails a process of reflection in which

people’s decisions are shaped by their values,
principles, and purpose rather than unthinking
habits, social conventions, or self-interest (i.e.
answers the question “ What should I do?”).
Therefore, it stands as an inquiry on the reason for
an action, or decision that a person may take.

Morals
● Ethics and morality, especially their adjective form
‘ethical’ and ‘moral’, are oftentimes used
interchangeably. However, the two terminologies
have their differences although both are bounded
by the concept of morality.
● While ethics is focused more on the norms to which
the concept of morality applies, morals or values
and principles define personal character. These
values and principles that help define one’s
character involves distinguishing right or wrong and
good or bad behaviours.
● Many people inherit their moral values from their
family, from the community and from culture – it is
rare for somebody to ‘shop around’ for the moral
values that most closely fits their personal beliefs.
Usually the process is unconscious. There’s a
challenge here though. If people inherit a ready-
made answer to the question of how people should
(Public Domain) Pixbaby
Ethics in the 21st Century
Globalization has connected the world like never before
and powerful countries will continue to be asked to
send their forces around the world to aid and assist
those in need. As a result, the future joint forces of
nations will likely face significant ethical challenges
because of the various cultural and social factors they
will encounter. To facilitate operational success and to
provide clarity for mankind, everyone, especially
leaders, must have clear codes of conduct developed
for their organizations prior to undertaking missions
around the world.
Broadcaster Rabbi Lord Jordan Sacks listed current
ethical and moral behaviors in the 21st Century:
➔ Trust in corporations and governments has
plummeted. Only 6 percent of young people today

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 ADM– 002- 20- 0061
trust corporations to do the right thing, down from since they are universally considered moral
60 percent a generation ago. principles concerning any type of human behavior
➔ Smartphones and social media are becoming while Philosophy has varied branches according to
addictive and having a bad effect on teenagers period, school, movement, country, subject matter,
(and adults too), who are spending between seven etc.
and nine hours a day looking at a screen. The longer
you spend on social media, the more miserable you
become.
➔ “We” society – “We’re all in this together” turned
into an “I” society: “I’m free to be whatever I
choose.”
➔ Children are the face of the future, having energy,
intelligence, passion and vision to make a more
moral society.
➔ People take responsibility and refuse to see
themselves as victims. By changing for the better,
people can find meaning and fulfillment in their
lives.

TOPIC 2:
ETHICS AND PHILOSOPHY, META-
ETHICS AND NORMATIVE ETHICS

Ethics and Philosophy

● Philosophy is the study of the fundamental nature
of knowledge, reality, and existence, especially
when considered as an academic discipline.
● As it is centered on the study of knowledge, reality
and existence, it answers questions such as “What
is real?”, “Why am I here?”, “What is my purpose?”
● Philosophy, in a much simpler lens, basically
involves a set of views and opinions from
distinguished people of the society.
● Ethics, as a branch of philosophy, entails moral
principles guiding man on rightness or wrongness
of his/ her conduct.
● Ethics consist of moral guidelines and advice a
human can follow in his lifestyle while philosophy
contains theories and ideologies postulated by
philosophers concerning a specific subject matter in
life. Hence, this is an important difference between
ethics and philosophy.
● There is no specific origin to be found in ethics.
However, ethics has a strong relation to religion
and morality of the society.
● Furthermore, one of the differences between Ethics
and Philosophy is that Ethics cannot be separated
according to period, country, and subject matter
Branches of Ethics
● Meta-Ethics attempts to answer the fundamental
philosophical questions about the nature of ethical
theory itself. For instance, identifying whether
statements such as “Lying is wrong.” or “Friendship
is good.” is true or false. Thus, meta-ethics aims to
examine the nature of moral philosophy as a whole.
■ Cognitivism views moral judgments are capable
of being true or false
■ Non-cognitivism views moral judgments are not
capable of being true or false. They are like
commands or interjections. Assuming there are
truths of morality, what sort of facts make them
true?
■ Subjectivism states that moral truths are
subjective. Therefore ethical views in the lens
of subjectivism may differ depending on one’s
values, cultures, etc.
■ Objectivism states that moral truths are
objective and are based on facts thus,
independent of values, culture, etc.

GE 6: Ethics | 1st semester, AY 2022-2023 3


● Normative Ethics is the study of what one ought to
do? What things make us moral? What is right and
wrong?
■ Axiology – The study of goodness and badness
■ Hedonism – The increase of pleasure and the
decrease of pain are the only things that are
good in of themselves
■ Desire Satisfactionism – The satisfaction of
desire is the only thing that is good in and of
itself
■ Non-naturalism – The theory that being good is
a simple property that is irreducible or
indefinable in terms of anything else
■ Egoism – The action is right if and only if it has
the best consequences for the person doing it
■ Utilitarianism – The action is right if and only if
it produces the best balance of goodness and
badness for everyone involved
■ Kantian Deontology – The action is right if and
only if the person acting could consistently will
that the act become a universal law
■ Virtue Theory – The study of what makes a
person morally praiseworthy
● Applied Ethics attempts to answer the difficult
questions actual people face in the real world (i.e.
on abortion, euthanasia, death penalty, premarital
and extramarital sex, and homosexuality).
TOPIC 3:
ETHICS AND CRITICAL THINKING,
FORMATION AND
TRANSFORMATION OF SELF
GE 6: Ethics | 1st semester, AY 2022-2023
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Ordinary Thinking Versus Critical Ethics
● Ordinary thinking is intuitive thinking. In this kind of
thinking you do not question your own opinions and
decisions. It’s also very likely that the opinions and
decisions that you make using ordinary thinking will
be biased and not completely objective.
● On the other hand, critical thinking is the kind of
thinking in which you actively think about your
decisions and your opinions. You look at life and its
problems with a very objective point of view. If you
perform critical thinking correctly its very likely that
the opinion you form will be free from bias and
logic. Also, the decisions you make using critical
thinking will also be objective.
● The major difference between critical and ordinary
thinking is speed. Ordinary thinking tends to be an
immediate response, although there is a big
possibility of error and bias. Critical thinking takes
some time for one to ponder, but the result is likely
better and more objective.
Ethics and Critical Thinking
● Critical thinking is a cognitive ability to analyze
various information, weigh situations when faced
with a set of possibilities, calculate the accuracy of
decisions and or words to be said while ethics is
used in reference to the perception of what is right
or wrong in a defined situation.
● The connection between critical thinking and ethics
is that there are no general hard and fast rules
regarding the application of ethics in various
situations, which is especially pertinent considering
the fact that what may be ethical in one situation
may be considered unethical in another context.
● Location and culture of the people involved also
play a very important role in the determination of
the exact ethical consideration to apply to a
situation, a process that can be greatly enhanced by
the application of critical thinking.
● An example of this can be seen in the practice of
ethics in the business world where something that
may be accepted in one culture may backfire in
another.
● One example is the issue of the ethical recognition
of the equality of women and men in the
workplace, which is a practice that may not be
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particularly welcome in a society where women are
culturally relegated to the background. In this
situation, the application of critical thinking will
allow the individual to weigh the situation in order
to come up with the best method for approaching
such an ethical consideration in that context in
relation to the manner in which the same individual
would behave in an entirely different context.
● Critical thinking plays a large role in ethics because
it is the process by which we determine for
ourselves whether or not something is right or
wrong.
● In a sense, critical thinking is a form of analysis and
determination of fact vs. fiction, identifying the
unknown, coming to an understanding. By taking
the path of a critical thinker, a person develops a
mental process of evaluation which helps to
determine their ethical standards.
● A connection between critical thinking and ethics
can be seen in the sense that the individual will
have to think of several methods for approaching
the issue of ethics, eliminating the most likely
approach until he or she settles on that which will
be the most acceptable for the situation.
● Another way of viewing the issue of the link
between critical thinking and ethics is by
considering the manner in which an individual can
differentiate between his or her own personal
ethical concepts and that of the organization. That
is to say that people have their own ethical
foundations that they must be able to categorize in
a separate compartment from that of the
organization.
GE 6: Ethics | 1st semester, AY 2022-2023
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Formation and Transformation of Self
● Formation is a radical transformation in all the
dimensions of human experience: affective, moral,
socio-political, intellectual, somatic, religious and
vocational dimensions. Since the spiritual
dimension is central to all the other dimensions,
transformation is essentially spiritual
transformation. In short, the goal of the spiritual
journey is transformation, and the purpose of
prayer and other spiritual practices is to foster this
transformation.
● Transformation – A Process of Conversion
○ Conversion: A turning from irresponsible
behaviour and a turning toward responsible
behaviour in some realm of experience – Gelpi
○ Initial conversion: a preliminary shift from
irresponsible to the responsible behaviour
○ Ongoing conversion: continuous, persisting
development in all dimensions
Dimensions of Transformation:
1. Religious and Spiritual Transformation
➔ To move away from idols and turn to true God of
Life
➔ To unconditional commitment to seek God’s Will
as revealed in the person of Jesus and his vision of
the Kingdom of God
➔ Strategies: Regular prayer, sacraments,
meditation, spiritual reading, fasting etc.
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2. Moral Transformation
➔ move from simple gratification of immediate
personal needs to living by consistent principles
of ethics and justice
➔ Formed conscience based on Christian moral
principles
➔ capacity to deal with moral dilemmas and
challenges faced in everyday life
3. Socio-political transformation
➔ move and grow beyond personal transformation
to socio-political transformation
➔ True personal transformation affects the society
by confronting the individual with the world, that
is the corporations, institutions, and vested
interest groups that promote other value
systems
➔ Effective participation in the struggle for justice,
peace
4. Intellectual Transformation
➔ to pursue the truth relentlessly and confront any
form of false ideology and personal prejudices
that rationalize sinful conduct
➔ move beyond mere knowledge of religious beliefs
and tenets, and have come to a personal
appropriation of these beliefs
➔ To understand and express their relationship to
God and Jesus Christ in personally meaningful
terms
➔ easily recognize beliefs that are inconsistent with
Gospel values and eliminate self- deceit and self-
righteousness
➔ sufficient grasp of the theological issues and
controversies surrounding their faith tradition to
formulate their own position or response to these
issues
5. Somatic transformation
➔ Somatic refers to the human body, to body
structure, and to bodily sensations, feelings—
including sexual feelings—and memories. It is the
physical manifestation of an individual’s spirit
➔ Somatic transformation is primarily about
wellness. It can co-exist with disease, and even
terminal illness
➔ to have life-affirming attitudes toward their
bodies— including sexuality—and will have
integrated these attitudes into their philosophy of
life.
➔ development of virtues such as temperance and
physical fitness
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➔ preventive measures such as proper diet,
exercise, and sleep to contribute effectively to
one’s vitality, somatic wholeness, and
transformation
6. Vocational/Charismatic transformation
➔ Move from a simple attraction to Claretian life
(formally the Congregation of Missionaries) often
mixed with mundane (boring) motives to deeper
conviction and appreciation of the “call
experience”.
➔ Progressive internalization of the vocational
values and their integration to the rest of life
➔ Claretian vocation becomes the organizing
principle of one's being and acting.
➔ One’s spiritual experience and relational life
comes to be centered in the vocational
experience of the crucified Christ and flow from
there
TOPIC 4:
.
POLITICS AND SOCIETY
Defining Politics and Society
● Politics refer to the activities of the government,
members of law-making organizations, or people
who try to influence the way a country is governed;
● whereas, a society is made up of a large group of
people who live together in an organized way,
making decisions about how to do things and
sharing the work that needs to be done. Thus, a
society may involve all people in a country, or in
several similar countries.
● Politics is rarely identified with citizenship. This is
rather ironic considering that politics is derived
from the Greek word polis or city state which
means a political community whose membership is
restricted mainly to its citizens.
Ethics and Politics
● Ethics is taken up in school to help you understand
yourselves and guide you on how to live your lives
well as well-lived life is a life fulfilled. Each
fulfillment, however, is an outcome not of
individual efforts but of cooperative activities with
other human persons. The means to achieve and
sustain this cooperation is the main task of politics.
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● Aristotle described human beings as political
animals. He meant that every human being is
always born into a community that requires
interaction with fellow human agents to achieve
personal fulfillment.
● No human can afford to live on his or her own; the
individual's existence points to his or her
dependence and interdependence on others,
according to Aristotle.
● Aristotle also said that only beasts or gods are
capable of solitary life, and humans are neither
beasts nor gods.
● Attaining happiness is a group effort and is never a
private enterprise. Being political is not simply
engaging in government wonk or assuming public
office. It is connecting with others in pursuit of
solidarity, an indispensable ingredient of one's
humanity.
● Solidarity connotes inclusion, participation, and
recognition. On the other hand, the opposite of
solidarity is discrimination or the disqualification of
an individual from exercising his or her rights for
failing to meet some imposed criteria.
● Inclusion takes place when there is room for
everyone regardless of religion, cultural
background, socio-economic status, or educational
and professional attainment.
Ethics and Society
● Citizens need a community in which they can be
integrated as they pursue their individual as well as
communal wellbeing. This community is the society
– the domain of politics and the center stage of a
citizen's political life.
● It is important for a given society to foster and
secure a way of life that allows each citizen to
experience the freedom of attaining his or her
fulfillment whether as an individual or as a member
of a larger community.
● For instance, democracy, rather than autocracy or
tyranny, may nurture a society better.
● The political climate in a given society is as good as
the amount of freedom its citizens enjoy.
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● Freedom is the conditio sine qua non or the
condition without which politics is impossible.
● German philosopher George Wilhelm Friedrich
Hegel maintained that one needs to be grafted in a
political community to experience freedom. For
Hegel, membership in such a community is not an
impediment to freedom but leads to the perfection
of freedom. Inclusion in a society entails certain
restrictions, which may be construed as limitations
of one's freedom. Laws or ethical obligations to the
other members of the community may impose
these restrictions.
TOPIC 5:
ETHICS AND RELIGION
Religion is an institutionalized system of spiritual
beliefs, values, attitudes and practices. For many,
religion is viewed as a way of life and even a path of
transcendence.
● It is naturally interconnected with ethics as
displayed by different religious sects and practices
such as Christianity, Islam and more.
● Religion is an ethical norm, as important as it is, but
not an exclusive basis for ethics. It plays an
important role in our moral values that is to
highlight the totality or wholeness of a person.
● Religion should aid in the formation of an
individual’s character and relationship with others.
Ethics Outside Religion
Ethics outside religion can either be antireligious or
irreligious. Anti-religious ethics promotes total
abandonment of religion while irreligious ethics
maintains an open perspective towards religion
however Is neither biased nor against it.
● A person can stand for similar values such that of
religion (e.g. care for human life, promotion of
dignity, justice, peace, law and order) without any
religious association.
● Ethics follow other norms and are not reliant only
on religion. One can exercise ethical values in moral
dilemmas without involving religious thought (e.g.
War on drugs; President Duterte’s take on
extrajudicial killings is definitely outside of his
religious views).
● The times is continuously evolving and with it
comes along the vast changes in the ways of life,
including how people think and interact. Popular
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culture tends to alter the traditional views and
practices of people.
● There are many aspects of humanity that need to
be recognized apart from religion, such as politics,
economy, environment, culture, education, science
and more.
TOPIC 6:
THOMAS AQUINAS -
THE NATURAL LAW
The Natural Law Theory
● The Natural Law approach to morality has a long
history. Cicero (106-43 BCE) stated True law is the
right reason in agreement with nature. It is applied
universally and is unchanging and everlasting´ The
Republic
● It was Aristotle who first developed this approach
to ethics but in seeking to combine Aristotle’s
thought with the Catholic Church's teachings,
Thomas Aquinas built on his thought and developed
a system of ethics known as Natural Law. The
Catholic Church to this day bases much of its
teachings, beliefs and practices on Aquinas’ natural
law theory.
GE 6: Ethics | 1st semester, AY 2022-2023
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● The key idea in Aristotle's natural law is that there is
an unchanging order (principle) to the changing
physical world and by understanding this we can
learn what is normal or natural for someone or
something to do, or be, or become. (its telos).
Aristotle distinguished between efficient and final
causes.
● As far as Natural law is concerned, we plant seeds,
water them etc. because this is the way they grow
and become plants. This is because there is
something within the nature of the seed which
responds to these conditions. On the other hand, a
seed left unwatered will generally die.
Thomas Aquinas (1225-74)
● The writings of Aristotle had been lost in the West
but had been preserved
amongst the Islamic
scholars of the East. They
were re-introduced into
Western thought shortly
before Aquinas took up a
position as a professor at
the University of Paris.
● Aquinas believed natural
law was the moral code
which human beings were naturally inclined
towards.
● God reveals specific commands but these do not go
against natural law but rather further and develop
it.
● This reflected Aquinas´ approach to theology
generally by which natural theology (which was
based on human reason) did not go against
revealed theology (which was based on revelation
by God).
● Aquinas said that moral life is the life which is lived
according to reason. ´
● Based on Aristotle’s idea of the ´good´ being that
which fulfils the purpose for which it was created,
Aquinas believed it was necessary to establish the
purpose for which humans were created by God.
4 Ends (Purposes) for which human beings have
been created:
1. To live harmoniously in society
2. To reproduce
3. To learn
4. To worship God
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Based on Aristotle's idea of efficient causes any
action which provides a means to these ends
(efficient causes) is considered ´good´. For example
– providing food to someone that is hungry, having
sex with your wife in order to have children,
studying philosophy or science, praying to God and
going to church
Apparent good versus Ideal good
● God makes human beings with a certain ideal
nature and this nature enables human beings to use
their reason and their experience to understand
what is right.
● Immoral actions or ´sin´ according to Aquinas are
not carried out because of evil intent or a corrupted
nature. Aquinas believed humans to be
fundamentally good as he believed we are all
created by God. The reason behind immoral action
is to confuse ´apparent good´ with the ´ideal good´.
Morally wrong actions are carried out by the
individual in the mistaken belief that they are ´good
´ when in fact they are ´not good´.
● God creates man with an ´ideal´ human nature that
we can all potentially achieve. Like the seed
reaching its potential of flowering. However, to ´sin´
is to fall short of this ideal (the good), literally
meaning ´missing the mark´ (as in archery). People
often miss the mark because they confuse apparent
good with the ideal good (for example, drinking
alcohol may make me feel more sociable – apparent
good – but the ideal would be to feel self-confident
and sociable without having to alter my body
chemically).
● No-one seeks evil for itself; it is only sought as an
apparent good and therefore rests on a mistake.
Hitler did not seek to do evil – he sought to do
what he thought was good but was mistaken. He
strove for the apparent good of ethnic cleansing
rather than the ideal (real) good of living
harmoniously with others.
Interior Acts and Exterior Acts
● Aquinas also distinguished between ´interior acts´
and ´exterior acts´ and is clear that the former are
the most important.
● An act may be good in itself but done for a wrong
intention – for instance giving to charity may be
good in itself but if it is done in order to attract
praise and attention, then it has been done from a
bad intention.
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● Therefore, our intentions as well as our actions are
important when seeking to live a virtuous and
moral life and striving to reach the potential for
which God has created us for.
TOPIC 7:
DEONTOLOGICAL ETHICS
Immanuel Kant’s
Deontological Ethics of
Immanuel Kant
★ Immanuel Kant was a
German
Enlightenment
philosopher who
wrote one of the most
important works on
moral philosophy,
Groundwork toward a Metaphysics of Morals
(1785). He was the proponent of deontological
ethics.
★ Deontology is a duty-based ethic derived from the
Greek word “deon” meaning “duty” or “being
necessary” . It refers to the study of duty and
obligation.
★ Deontology focuses on the act and not its intention
and consequence.
★ Rules can be expressed in 2 ways-- negatively (“Do
not lie” “Do not steal”) and positively (“tell the
truth” “keep your promises”)
★ Deontology is a category of normative ethical
theories that encompasses any theory which is
primarily concerned with adherence to certain rules
or duties.
★ Deontological theories hold that actions that are
morally right are those in accordance with certain
rules, duties, rights, or maxims.
★ Actions can be morally good, required, permitted or
forbidden
★ No matter how morally good their consequences,
some choices are morally forbidden.
★ What makes a choice right is its conformity with a
moral norm.
★ The Right is said to have priority over the Good. If
an act is not in accord with the Right, it may not be
undertaken, no matter the Good that it might
produce.
Maxim
★ A maxim is a principle that underlies or informs an
act or set of actions.

GE 6: Ethics | 1st semester, AY 2022-2023 9


★ Several acts may satisfy the underlying maxim or
principle
Imperatives
★ Imperatives are commands to act, thus prescriptive.
There are two kinds of imperatives - hypothetical
and categorical.
★ Hypothetical Imperatives are commands that are
not absolute, but conditional, and premised on
ones’ desires (e.g. If you want to pass the test, you
should study.)
★ Categorical Imperatives are absolute and
unconditional moral commands (e.g. You have to
study because it is your responsibility as a student).
Autonomous Reason, Goodwill, and Duty
★ Kant insists that every time we confront moral
situations there are formally operative a priori
principles that can be brought to the fore.
★ These are, for Kant, respectively, the foundation
(reason), source (goodwill), and motivation (duty)
of ethical living.
★ Reason functions as the very effort to think through
moral principles and apply what one knows to get
to the right thing to do.
★ Goodwill implies the achievability of what is known
through reason.
★ Duty is the obligation that follows what reason
deems as the action which is most worthy of our
humanity. It is motivated by one’s autonomous
and discursive reason, and goodwill.
TOPIC 8:
UTILITARIANISM
In this chapter, another ethical theory is to be tackled to
which the focus is on the consequences of one’s
decisions and actuations. Previously, Kantianism or
Deontology was of thorough view of morality as the
duty or responsibility of men whilst Virtue Ethics was
focused on one’s virtues and character. Utilitarianism,
on the other hand, sees the objective of morality as to
obtaining pleasure over pain that is happiness. Ergo, in
the context of utilitarianism, happiness is defined as the
predominance of pleasure over pain if not the absence
of it.
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Utilitarianism
❖ founded by Jeremy Bentham
(see portrait to the left) but
considered as the most
influential proponent was John
Stuart Mill
❖ The view of utilitarianism is
based on the consequences of
choices taken and actions
made. This is why it was known
to be a consequentialist
theory.
❖ Relative to consequences, the Benthamite doctrine
more importantly states that the greatest
happiness of the greatest number is the true
measure of what is right or wrong.
❖ Bentham proposed a guide to weigh in on choices
over which decisions or actions would potentially
result to pleasure over pain:
1. Intensity: How strong is the pleasure?
2. Duration: How long will the pleasure last?
3. Certainty or Uncertainty: How likely or unlikely
that the pleasure will occur?
4. Propinquity or Remoteness: How soon will the
pleasure occur?
5. Fecundity: What is the probability that the action
will be followed by sensations of the opposite kind?
6. Purity: What is the probability that it will not be
followed by sensations of the opposite kind?
The Greatest Happiness Principle (Principle of Utility)
Utilitarianism does not encourage one to just choose or
do whatever it is that makes one happy. It ascribes to
identifying higher and lower forms of pleasures that
bring happiness to man. This principle, then, was
considered as the supreme me
❖ Bentham’s version of utilitarianism, an action may
be considered right based on the potential amount
or quantity of happiness it can produce while Mill,
on the other hand, views rightness or wrongness of
an action not only on the amount of happiness but
also on the number of people to be considered (e.g.
choosing between your favorite fast food chain
which no one else in the family likes or choosing a
restaurant that can be considerable for everyone
like choosing Jollibee over Wendy’s).
❖ Morality is about fostering an existence that is, as
much as possible, exempt from pain and that one is
capable of enjoying pleasures befitting a human
person in terms of both quantity and quality which
not only benefits oneself, but also others.
 ADM– 002- 20- 0061
❖ Lower forms of pleasure: pleasures of the flesh abide by it. According to Mill, a man’s feeling for
(e.g. lust, hunger, immediate excitement, etc.) humanity constitutes the ultimate sanction on the
❖ Higher forms of pleasure: pleasures of the mind; principle of utility.
pleasures of a higher quality are those that employ ❖ Internal sanction is one’s conscience. It is the
distinctive human faculties such as intellect internalization of the external sanctions of morality
(choosing between the two: play games all week or to which a person may feel remorse each time he/
study your lessons for at least 4 hours every day?) she acts without considering the effect or
asure of morality consequences of actions towards other people’s
lives. Ergo, internal sanction is the ultimate
Ulititarianism Perspective - Guide Questions Before sanction of morality.
Making a Choice:
1. Is there a way to strike balance between the two
activities such that the importance of experiencing
the higher pleasure is not completely compromised
by choosing the other option?
2. If it is really restricted to choose only one activity,
which of the two options would make you truly
happy and content in doing exclusively in the
context of being a human person?
3. If you were allowed to experience the maximum
amount of pleasure derived from the activity you
want to do, are you amenable to be consigned to an
entire life of just doing it more than developing
other things? (e.g. playing games vs. studying)
4. Would someone from experience, such as your
parents or teachers, prefer to choose the activity
with immediate pleasures over the long work of
reaping happiness out of intellectual achievements
and the likes?

According to Mill, a person’s capacity to recognize

different levels or forms of pleasure is relative to his/her
embeddedness in a social, cultural and historical
context. The development of one’s capacity for
pleasures can either be inherent in a person or may be
due to the lack of opportunity to experience the higher
forms of pleasure. He further stated that the “capacity
for the nobler feelings is in most natures a very tender TOPIC 9:
plant, easily killed, not only by hostile influences, but by
mere want of sustenance…”
ASIAN ETHICAL TRADITIONS

The Ultimate Sanction
❖ External sanctions can be social or supernatural
sources such that the law or religious beliefs do not
really make a person follow or abide by it just
because they were punished. External sanctions
could be:
1. fear of displeasing God
2. fear of disapproval from other people
❖ A person can only be truly bound to moral
principles if one feels in him/herself the need to
There are beliefs that echo or are derived from Indian
and Chinese traditions. For instance, people believe that
if they do things, they could be victims of misfortune
because of Karma. Others believe that one ought to live
in a way that honors their ancestors. Most people
believe that the world is ordered by Heaven and that if
one wishes to have a good life, must understand that
order and live one's life according to it. It would be
profitable to study these traditions because they are

GE 6: Ethics | 1st semester, AY 2022-2023

11

closer to Asian moral sensibilities and have shaped
them.
Common Themes of Asian Spiritual and Intellectual
Traditions by Manuel B. Dy
1. One can immediately notice that religious thought
is intertwined with philosophical and ethical
thinking. There is no real separation of beliefs
about the transcendent and the cosmos, including
the traditional mythical beliefs. Dy says that at the
heart of all Asian philosophical thought is the quest
for emancipation.
2. Love and compassion is what binds intellectual
traditions. Human emancipation and human
fullness that is rooted in the transcendence from
suffering, finitude, disorder, strife, and maybe even
death becomes important that people live with love
and compassion. Compassion and love, they intuit,
are paths to tranquility, peace, and being whole.
3. Connectedness of personal cultivation and social
responsibility. Realizing one's goodness is
sometimes tied to fulfilling one's duty to one's
family, one's clan, and government.
4. Enlightenment. This means an awakening to the
true order of the universe which leads to an
awakening to the order to which human beings
align their existence. These traditions give human
beings a path to awareness of the true order of all
things, unclouded by human desire and folly, in
order to become what they ought to be.
5. Great teachings offer paths of "harmony with
oneself, with others, with nature, with a
transcendent”. For these traditions, the existing
transcendent order is the very basis of all forms of
existence. Human suffering and disquiet are rooted
in the person's inability or inadequate participation
in the order of things.
ADM– 002- 20- 0061
to the order of the cosmos and the forces that keep
it like the Rita. Most people take the Vedas to be a
handbook of prescribed rituals. The focus is on the
external rituals to realize good fortune, which leads
to a rethinking of the revelations of the Vedas
collected in the Upanishads.
● Upanishads. The writers of the Upanishads seek to
understand the fullness of human becoming by
realizing the deepest insight about the true nature
of the universe. They seek to articulate why and
how human beings could come to fullness through
the enlightenment about the transcendent,
unchanging reality of being. The expression of the
path to enlightenment is poetic deliberations on the
nature of being and the human realization of self in
this universe.
● Brahman, the Absolute God of Hindus, is a very
mysterious Being. In Hinduism He occupies the
highest place, as the creator and enjoyer of all
creation. The fullness of human existence is to find
one’s oneness which is one’s eternity with the
Brahman. “All is Brahman” correlates to greater
insight that “Brahman is Atman” and “Atman is
Brahman”. Atman is the self that underlies all
beings. It is the eternal self which is all our selves.
Buddhism

The Vedas and Upanishads

● Vedas are some of the oldest philosophical writings
in the world. These series of hymns to the most
ancient gods are a poetic articulation of the
structure and meaning of the universe. The hymns
themselves are considered direct revelations that
speak of the most sacred knowledge about the
world, its creation, and the principles of reality.
● Rita is the right order of the universe. It is the most
basic insight writings and the foundational principle
of all things. Each god is a manifestation of a force
or principle of the universe and the singing of their
hymns leads to the realization of a good life aligned

GE 6: Ethics | 1st semester, AY 2022-2023

12

It was born from the enlightenment of Gautama
Buddha (approx. between the 6th - 4th BCE). A
sheltered prince, Gautama Buddha sought the meaning
of existence when he realized that human life is
suffering. The Buddha's lifelong search led him to
extreme asceticism
(abstinence from worldly
pleasures). Nonetheless, he
discovered that enlightenment
and salvation could be
achieved in ordinary human
life if people are enlightened
about the nature of suffering.
People who seek to arrive at a
higher level of enlightenment,
where one can see "beyond
birth and death” need to
realize four truths called Pali
Chattari-ariya-saccani.
4 Noble Truths of Buddhism
(Pali Chattari-ariya-saccani)
1. Dukkha - life is suffering. In the cycle of death, life,
and rebirth, there is “constant suffering".
2. Karma - the cause of this suffering, particularly
"non-virtuous action, and the negative mental
states that motivate such actions. These afflictions
of the mind such as desire, hatred, and ignorance
which are rooted in the wrong valuation of self or
atman.
3. Nirvana - the dissolution of suffering which is the
fruit of the surrender of the ego. In this way, they
surrender hatred and desire because hatred and
desire are the fruits of the fact that there is no
individual self. There is an end to suffering and the
path beyond suffering is to transcend this illusion
and enter the state of nirvana. Clearly, the path to
Nirvana offers a foundation for a good life and
acting according to the good. It requires a
disciplined form of life in order to realize human
fullness.
4. Eightfold path (Astangika-marga) - refers to how
human beings ought to live free from suffering. It
provides a guidepost on how you act in this world.
a. correct view, an accurate understanding of the
nature of things, specifically the four noble truths;
b. correct intention, avoiding thoughts of
attachment, hatred, and harmful intent;
c. correct speech, refraining from verbal misdeeds
such as lying, divisive speech, harsh speech, and
senseless speech;
GE 6: Ethics | 1st semester, AY 2022-2023
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d. correct action, refraining from physical
misdeeds such as killing, stealing, and sexual
misconduct;
e. correct livelihood, avoiding trades that directly
or indirectly harm others, such as selling slaves,
weapons, animals for slaughter, intoxicants, or
poisons;
f. correct effort, abandoning negative states of
mind that have already arisen, preventing
negative states that have yet to arise, and
sustaining positive states that have already arisen;
g. correct mindfulness, awareness of body,
feelings, thought, and phenomena (the
constituents of the existing world); and
h. Correct concentration, single mindedness.
Chinese Philosophy and Confucian Ethics
Confucianism is a system of thought attributed to the
teacher Kongqui (the West as Confucius). He was an
aspiring civil servant who lived as a teacher of
governance, ethics, ritual, and was able to gather a
following around him. His main preoccupation is the
possibility of building a harmonious, ordered society.
He took his inspiration building a just kingdom from the
ancient Sage rulers, King Wen and King Wu and their
virtuous regent, the Duke of Zhou.
● He believed that if
people were able to
internalize or as
their own the ways
of these virtuous
people, the state
would be ordered
because it would
reflect Heaven. This
is what he taught
people: the way to
bear the order of heaven in conduct.
● Analects is a book of conversations compiled by his
followers and it is the main source of Confucian
teaching. They are a series of conversations,
anecdotes, and responses of the teacher and his
students' queries that are not arranged in any
order. There is one basic aspiration for any
Confucian, that is, to be a person who has the virtue
of ren, to be a person who has internalized the way
of Heaven. Heaven here does not indicate the
abode of God. It is the source of order balance, the
way of life and nature, the way of justice and

proper relationships. It is the order that must
govern one’s way of being for people to find their
peace.
● Ren is made up of two characters, ren meaning
human being, and erh, meaning two, indicating
thus that ren is the virtue that governs
interpersonal relationships. Ren is translated as
'benevolence,' 'kindness,' 'human heartedness,'
'humanity,' and when Confucius asked for its
meaning, he said, 'Ren is to love human beings.’
● The way to attunement (harmony) is to focus on
traditional ways such as filial piety, a respect for
and dedication to the performance of traditional
ritual forms of conduct, and the ability to judge the
right thing to do in the given situation were codified
in rituals and customs. This means being able to
support one's parents and take care of them. Keep
close to them and support them. Do not despoil
their name and make sure that one’s actions do not
bring shame to their reputation. This also means
that one should make sure that when they die, one
must properly carry out the rituals that honor them
in the prescribed ways.
Daoism
● a philosophy that responds to
Confucianism.
● Dao means a way or a path.
Confucians used the term dao
to speak of the way human
beings ought to behave in
society.
● Daoism puts more emphasis on the opening to the
way or path that makes itself present in the natural
order rather than in the ways of the state, the
family, and rulers.
In conclusion, Asian ethical systems are less about
becoming an autonomous, rational legislator of one’s
own laws. Rather, they are a quest to articulate human
correctness and oneness to the deepest order of reality
TOPIC 10:
ETHICS AND SCIENCE
The Relation Between Science and Ethics
The contentious relation between science and ethics is
part of an old story. The proponents of modern science
maintain that it is an autonomous domain and should
GE 6: Ethics | 1st semester, AY 2022-2023
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ADM– 002- 20- 0061
therefore, be free from any external constraints.
Science, they say, can only succeed in its exploration
for new forms of knowledge if it remains unhindered
and unburdened by any obligation to abide by any rule
or regulation except those it imposes upon itself. They
believe that science should be the sole determinant of
its own value. A value-free science, therefore, is not
necessarily a science immune to any value but one that
subscribes to no other value but its own. To remain
productive, science, they say, should be unyielding and
boundless in its intellectual pursuits. On this account,
ethical principles are not among the first things
considered by scientists.
➔ This common tendency among scientists is amply
and graphically demonstrated in the classic novel
Frankenstein authored by Mary Shelley. The novel
was named after its protagonist, Dr. Victor
Frankenstein, a young scientist who embarked on
an ambitious project of replicating the human form
by putting together body parts in his laboratory. Dr.
Frankenstein was the perfect figure of a scientist
obsessed with playing God. He wanted to show the
world that he too had creative powers and that
nothing could stand in the way between him and his
grand designs. No wonder the complete title of the
novel read Frankenstein or The Modern
Prometheus. It was an obvious reference to the
Greek mythological character Prometheus, the Titan
known to have tested and defied the omnipotent
Zeus. Dr. Frankenstein's goal was:
● to come up with a specimen that could rival God's
creation. He spared nothing in order to succeed in
this undertaking.
● When the experiment, however, failed, Dr.
Frankenstein ran away, scared and remorseful after
realizing what he had done.
● As he recalled "I beheld the wretch – the miserable
monster whom I had created. He held up the curtain
of the bed; and his eyes, if eyes they may be called,
were fixed on me. His jaws opened, and he muttered
some inarticulate sounds, while a grin wrinkled his
cheeks. He might have spoken, but I did not hear;
one hand was stretched out, seemingly to detain me,
but I escaped and rushed downstairs. I took refuge in
the courtyard belonging to the house which I
inhabited, where I remained during the rest of the
night, walking up and down in the greatest
agitation, listening attentively, catching and fearing
each sound as if it were to announce the approach of
the demoniacal corpse to which I had so miserably
given life."
 ADM– 002- 20- 0061
The fate of Dr. Frankenstein with his failed ➔ If scientism is right, then ethics definitely have no
experiment is a grim reminder of what happens to place in any scientific enterprise.
science when separated from basic ethical ➔ But scientism is not science and because they are
considerations. It was almost the same experience two different things, there is reason to believe that
confronted by Julius Robert Oppenheimer. ethics will be an abiding consideration in any
scientific endeavor.
➔ Julius Robert Oppenheimer was the American
physicist credited for the creation and consequent
deployment of the atomic bomb that leveled
Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. As a
scientist, Oppenheimer believed in the restricted
space for inquiry that must be enjoyed by science.
He also thought that ethical matters should be left
to the government and not to the scientists
themselves. However, after seeing how Hiroshima
and Nagasaki were utterly destroyed by the bombs
he himself helped create, Oppenheimer became a
global activist campaigning for control of the use of
nuclear bombs. He expressed his remorse by
admitting to former U.S. President Harry Truman
that he had blood in his hands

Understanding Science
This is not to suggest that science, as an intellectual
enterprise, can only succeed if it makes ethical
imperatives a primary concern.
● Scientists are not ethicists nor science, a subsidiary
discipline of ethics. It should be emphasized that
science and ethics are two different spheres and
can only be effective if they operate as such. The
aim is not to fuse the two but to establish a link
through which one can be more sensitive with the
other.
● In this context, it appears that the real cause of
tension is not science itself but a particular attitude
engendered by science. Scholars call this attitude
scientism. To paraphrase Mikael Stenmark, author
of the book, Scientism: Science, Ethics and Religion.
Scientism
It is a view which grants science the privilege or the
only reliable means of knowing and interacting with
reality. Scientism sustains the common modern belief,
which pits science and moral values in poles apart from
each other.
➔ By putting an unbridgeable gap between science
and ethics, scientism transforms science into an
unassailable main, immune to any criticism or
correction from anyone outside the community of
science practitioners.
GE 6: Ethics | 1st semester, AY 2022-2023
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Key Points
The function of ethics when it forays into the activities
of science is not really to intrude or interfere with its
explorations but mainly to underscore the larger
context of humane considerations which even science
cannot afford to ignore.
Science's pursuit of new forms of knowledge and new
experimental ventures should be encouraged, but such
pursuit is always contingent upon the basic ethical
norms to ensure that humanity's good is not
compromised in the name of progress.
● Science has a key role in promoting human
welfare.
● The achievements of stem cell research for
medical purposes showcase the great advantages
provided by Science.
● Ethics cannot be set aside in any scientific pursuit.
● Science as a tool of human progress is distinct from
scientism which considers science not as a tool but
as an end in itself.
● To be effective, both science and ethics must
retain their interdependence.
TOPIC 11:
ETHICS AND THE DIGITAL AGE
 ADM– 002- 20- 0061

From the description defined by law, it is clear that

cyberbullying may come in different forms. According to
The times are continuously evolving and progressing
studies, there are generally five common types of
into modernization. A lot of innovations have been
cyberbullying:
made over the years and are unceasingly developing
especially with things that make human labor and
1. Harassment – sending malicious messages or
consumption easier. Sure enough, with the increasing
threats to another person repeatedly (e.g.
ease of access with pretty much everything, ethical
Cyberstalking, from the word itself, implies virtually
issues of humanity also heighten. Advances in
staking a person is an example of harassment
technology make very timely ethical issues to which
especially when sending offensive or rude messages
almost everyone may encounter or have already
repeatedly)
encountered. In this chapter, several malpractices and
ethical issues in cyberspace are to be tackled such as
2. Flaming – similar to harassment but with display of
cyberbullying and intellectual property theft.
mutual hostility between to parties, that escalates
to heated exchange of harsh messages including
The worldwide web or the internet is coined with
emails, texts or insulting images
different names such as the digital sphere, cyberspace,
digital space and more. Obviously, it is because it opens
3. Exclusion – ejecting a person from a community or
up a whole new world that enables human beings to
chat group and has become a target of demeaning
virtually interact, communicate and gather information.
messages even after that person has been excluded
And similar to face-to-face interactions, it is also
possible to come across ethical dilemmas which
4. Outing – leaking out very private information of a
includes the following:
person/ group, whether in the form of photo, video
or mere posted data (e.g. scandals in social media)
A. Cyberbullying
Anti-Cyberbullying Act of 2015 (House Bill 5718)
5. Masquerading – assuming fake identity in order to
defined cyberbullying as acts of cruelty committed
send malicious messages to a particular target (e.g.
using the Internet or any form of electronic media or
celebrity bashers)
technology that has the effect of stripping one’s
dignity or causing reasonable fear or physical or
emotional harm. The bill further specifies acts of
bullying as:
a) repeatedly sending offensive, rude and insulting
message;
b) distributing derogatory information about the
victim;
c) posting or sending offensive photos of the victim
(whether digitally altered or not, or taken
without consent) with the intention to humiliate
and embarrass the victim;
d) breaking into an email, social networking or any
electronic account and using the victim’s virtual
identity to send, upload or distribute
embarrassing materials to or about others;
e) sharing the victim’s personal information or any
embarrassing information, or tricking the victim
into revealing personal or embarrassing
information and sharing it to others; and
f) Repeatedly sending messages that include threats
of harm or engaging in online activities that
cause fear on the victim’s safety.
GE 6: Ethics | 1st semester, AY 2022-2023
16

B. Intellectual Property Theft (IP Theft)
Another ethical dilemma in the digital space is
intellectual property theft or what is commonly called
for short as “IP theft.” Since it is very easy to obtain
information online with just one click. It is also rather
easy to claim this information as one’s own without
proper permission from the owner of a particular
content. Here are several types of IP theft.
➔ Plagiarism – most common form of IP theft; taking
digital material/s (usually narrative materials) and
passes it of as one’s own even though there is really
an existing author who published it
GE 6: Ethics | 1st semester, AY 2022-2023
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ADM– 002- 20- 0061
➔ Copyright infringement – failure to obtain
permission to use a copyrighted material (i.e. citing
a phrase from a published book/ article but failed to
acquire the “go signal’ of the author to be cited in
one’s own work is considered as a copyright
violation)
➔ Piracy – illegal acquisition and unauthorized
distribution of digital materials (usually music and
movies), (e.g. downloading torrent files and buying
pirated CD’s)
➔ Ripping – the process of removing a sound or movie
file from it’s protective environment and making it
readily available to the public free of charge (e.g.
burning CDs to recopy the original album)
C. Other Cyber Malpractices
● Digital predation – preying on people by
soliciting financial or sexual favors, sometimes
for the sheer pleasure of doing so (i.e. assuming
fake/ false identity to stalk and prey on particular
targets)
● Phishing – deceiving people to reveal vital or
highly confidential data about oneself such as
credit card number, bank details or social
security number by using a misleading email or
by enticing the target to register on a bogus web
page or by clicking a phony link
● Misinformation – spreading lies or fake news
A legal intervention on cyber malpractices, before
House Bill 5718, was mandated and was called as the
Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 (R.A. 10175) which
envisioned to address cyber offenses such that of
hacking (or illegal access), data interference, device
misuse, cybersquatting and other computer-related
offenses like computer fraud, cybersex, and child
pornography. According to this, the government is
committed to attain free, easy, and intelligible access to
exchange and/or delivery of information; and need to
protect and safeguard the integrity of computer,
computer and communications systems, networks, and
databases, and the confidentiality, integrity, and
availability of information and data stored therein, from
all forms of misuse, abuse, and illegal access by making
punishable by law such conducts.
In conclusion, it is noticeable that the cyberspace
definitely needs some attention to all malpractices and
that laws are very much crucial in promoting a safe and
healthy ethical climate. Laws, therefore, must be
enforced precisely.

TOPIC 12:
ETHICS AND ECONOMY
Ethics and Economics
Economics as a science with the study of wages, labors,
production and distribution of wealth. These involve
relationships among individuals (e.g. Wages between
employer and employee; Production between seller and
consumer ). At the heart of these behavior are moral
norms and moral rules that should guides people
behavior as they related with others
3 Ways in which Ethics Enters Economics by Charles K.
Wibler (1986):
1. Economics have ethical values that help shape the
way they do economics.
2. Economics actors (consumers, workers, business
owners) have ethical values that shape their behavior.
3. Economic institutions and policies impact people
differentially and thus, ethical evaluations are important
GE 6: Ethics | 1st semester, AY 2022-2023
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The Relation of Ethics to Economics
● Philosophers and writers viewed ethics as a matter
of choice.
● Individuals must make choices in their lives. This is
important to note – businesses don’t make choices.
Choices are made or implemented by individuals
within the economics enterprise.
● People in the government make choices, people in
educational institutions make choices, people in
business make choices, people with churches make
choices, everyone is forced to make choices and
even the choice not to choose is a decision.
Factors Affecting Ethical Behavior
1. Legal Interpretations: In secular societies, legal
interpretations are based upon contemporary
values and standards according to time, country or
situation.
2. Organization Factors: The organization too can
affect or influence participant’s behavior based on
the degree of commitment of the organization’s
leader conduct.
3. Individual Factors: Individuals come to work with
different values based on the personal values and
moral, family influences, peer influences and life
experiences.
Business Ethics
All organizations, regardless of their mission (e.g., profit
oriented, nonprofit) and size (large vs. small), should
establish an Organizational Ethical Culture that means:
1. Organization, which is defined as a group of
individuals or entities bound to achieve a shared goal;
2. Ethics, which is honorable behavior conforming to
the norm of the group;
3. Culture, which is a partner of shared beliefs
adopted by the group in dealing with its internal and
external affairs.
4 Different Levels of Business Ethics have Based on
Business Type (and how their actions are evaluated)
1. The society level defines ethical behavior and
assesses the effect of business on society.
2. The industrial level, which suggests that
different industries have their own set of ethical
standards (e.g., chemical industry vs.
pharmaceutical industry).
3. The company level, under which different
companies have their own set of ethical
standards.
 ADM– 002- 20- 0061
4. The individual manager level, at which each that the goal of land ethics is to preserve the integrity,
manager and other corporate participants are
stability, and beauty of the biotic community (an
responsible for their own ethical behavior.
ecological unit consisting of soils, waters, plants, and
animals).
One feasible way to judge ethical behavior is to focus on
determinants of business ethics and behavior such as
Care for Nature
corporate culture, incentives, opportunities, and
Environmental ethics emerged in the early 1970’s as a
choices.
sub-discipline of philosophy. It became heard of by
➔ Corporate Culture – Companies should promote a
posing a challenge to traditional anthropocentrism (a
spirit of integrity that goes beyond compliance.
philosophical view that humans are the most significant
➔ Incentives – Individuals within the company tend to
beings in the world). These are as follows:
act according to incentives provided to them in
1. It questioned the assumed moral superiority of
terms of rewards and the performance evaluation
human beings to members of other species on
process.
Earth.
➔ Opportunities – Effective corporate governance,
2. It investigated the possibility of rational arguments
internal controls, and enterprise risk management
for assigning intrinsic value to the natural
can reduce the opportunity for unethical conduct.
environment and its non-human contents.
➔ Choices – Individuals, in general, are given the
freedom to make choices and usually choose those
On the other hand, some environmental theorists
that will maximize their well-being.
advocate enlightened anthropocentrism (prudential
anthropocentrism). It generally views that all the moral
Attributes of an Ethical Culture
duties we have towards the environment are derived
1. Sense of employee responsibility.
from our direct duties to its human inhabitants or in
2. Freedom to raise concerns without fear of
other words, other beings and the environment itself.
retaliation.
3. Managers modeling ethical behavior and expressing
Climate Change and Ethics
the importance of integrity.
Climate change consists of long-term fluctuations in
4. An understanding by leadership of the pressure
temperature, precipitation, wind, and all other aspects
points that drive unethical behavior.
of the Earth's climate. According to the United Nations
5. Processes to find and fix these areas of pressure.
Framework Convention on Climate Change, climate
change is attributable directly or indirectly to human
activity that alters the composition of the global
atmosphere, in addition to natural climate variability,
TOPIC 13: and is observable over time.
ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS

Environmental ethics is the

discipline in philosophy that
studies the moral relationship of
human beings to, and also the
value and moral status of, the
environment and its non-human
contents. Its practical purpose is
to provide moral grounds for
social policies aimed at protecting
the Earth’s environment and
remedying environmental
degradation.

Aldo Leopold, a prominent wildlife ecologist (and

coined by most as father of wildlife ecology), sought
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Sustainable Development means meeting the needs of

the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs. It is a very
complex and broad based concept that incorporates
following principles, which are directly or indirectly
applicable to developmental activities:
(a) economic sustainability,
(b) ecological sustainability,
(c) social sustainability and;
(d) cultural sustainability.

2 Key Concepts of Sustainable Development

1. the concept of “needs”, in particular the essential
needs of the world’s poor, to which overriding
priority should be given; and
2. the idea of limitations imposed by the state of
technology and social organization on the
environment’s ability to meet present and future
needs.
In actuality, he core of sustainability is about ethics
because it calls on present people to :
1. consider the condition of the current population
2. consider the potential condition of future
populations who are the mercy of our production The question of our responsibility to the future zooms
and consumption patterns. in greater alarm. Thus, it is an ethical responsibility that

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should be addressed and better understood. Also for
this reason, sustainability forces us to face the
consequences of our behavior in a manner that is
different from other perspectives.
Therefore, it is imperative that people develop an
understanding of the ethical implications of
sustainability. This is in order for the present society to
be able to apply it as a solution for the many
environmental problems that are being faced or will be
faced, by present and future peoples.
TOPIC 14:
JUSTICE AND FAIRNESS
John Rawls (1921-2002)
American political
philosopher and the
most important political
philosopher of the 20th
century. Rawls rejects
utilitarianism and offers
several arguments
against such a theory.
He argues that
utilitarian thinking
cannot absolutely exclude systems such as slavery or
racial segregation there is nothing in the moral theory
to dismiss them from consideration. If slavery, for
example, is to the overall benefit of society, in that the
wellbeing of the slave-owners overshadows the
suffering of the slaves, then utilitarianism would be
required to accept slavery.
Rawls maintains that slavery is wrong under all
situations, regardless of any utility calculations, for it
does not respect the fundamental rights and liberties of
all persons. Slavery is wrong not because it is
unproductive or inefficient, but because it is unjust, for
it does not consider individual rights inviolable.
Justice as Fairness
Rawls somewhat used the elements of both Kantian and
Utilitarian Philosophy in describing a method for the
moral evaluation of social and political institutions. He
called his concept of social justice 'Justice as Fairness'
which consists of two principles:
1. Liberty Principle- First principle of social justice
which concerns political institutions. "Each person
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has the same and indefeasible [permanent] claim to
a fully adequate scheme of equal basic liberties,
which scheme is compatible with some scheme of
liberties for all."
This means that everybody has the same basic
liberties which can never be taken away. This first
principle is very Kantian in that it provides for basic
and universal respect for individuals as a minimum
standard for all just institutions.
2. Difference Principle- Second Principle of social
justice. This allows such inequalities but under
certain conditions. "Social and economic
inequalities are to satisfy two conditions. First,
they are to be attached to offices and positions
open to all under conditions of fair equality of
opportunity; second, they are to be to the greatest
benefit of the least-advantaged members of
society. The Second Principle recognizes that a
society could not avoid inequalities among its
people. In real world, inequalities result from things
such as a person's inherited characteristics, social
class, personal
The Thought Experiment (Original Position)
Rawls proposed that unless institutions such as the
constitution, economy, and education system
functioned in a just way for all, social justice would not
truly exist in a society. He revived the concept of 'social
contract' developed by philosophers like John Locke
and Jean Jacques Rousseau. Locke and Rousseau had
theorized that people in the distant past had fashioned
a social contract between themselves and their leader.
The contract encompassed that people would obey
their leader, typically a king, and he would assure their
natural rights. Believed to be the foundation of a just
society, this social contract concept was subscribed to
by Thomas Jefferson in writing the Declaration of
Independence.
Most political scientists however had dismissed the
social contract as an old-fashioned myth by the 20th
century. Aiming to revive the concept, Rawls devised a
hypothetical version of the social contract. It is known
as Rawls' 'thought experiment,' or the “Original
Position”.
● Rawls contended that only under a 'veil of
ignorance' could people reach a fair and impartial
contract as true equals not prejudiced by their
place in society. under the 'veil of ignorance,' these

fictional persons would not know their own sex, age
race, social class, abilities, preferences, religion,
life goals, or anything else about themselves. They
would also be unaware of the society from which
they came, though they would have general
knowledge about how social institutions
functioned.
● Rawls set up his 'thought experiment' with many
given systems of social justice principles from which
the imaginary participants would select for their
own society. Rawls was mostly interested to find
out what choice the group would make between his
own 'Justice as Fairness' concept and another called
'Average Utility.' This notion of justice called for
maximizing the average wealth of the people.
● Rawls argued that rational human beings would pick
four things, which he called the 'primary goods:'
1) wealth and income,
2) rights and liberties,
3) opportunities for advancement
4) self-respect. In the following and critical step,
the participants would have to deliberate on
how a society should go about fairly distributing
these 'primary goods' among its people.
Egalitarianism is a set of closely socio-economic
political theories that without exemption promote the
position that all society members ought to have exactly
equal amounts of resources. Egalitarian theories are
satisfied with the view that everybody should be given,
at all costs, a completely equal quantity of some basic
material goods, like money. But more refined
egalitarian thinkers are conscious that such a
distribution would have many shortcomings.
To elude such undesirable implications, the adherents
of egalitarianism searched for some complex measure
of goods that would be given to everyone in equal
amounts but would not commit similar bad
consequences. Measures like: "that everyone should be
equally happy, that everyone should have not only
equal amount of material resources but also an equal
power to use these resources (this proposal wants to
deal with unequal personal abilities), that everyone
should have an equal chance to be happy, and the like"
Rawls' 'Justice as Fairness' principle is often called
'Rawlsian egalitarianism.' One of its tenets suggests
that inequalities are permissible, and can even be to the
advantage of all, but only if they meet some conditions.
Thus, Rawls' principles are not strictly egalitarian, but
are not laissez faire either. Rawls is said to locate his
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notion of distributive justice in between these two
extremes.
Distributive justice is said to have occurred if rewards
and costs are allocated according to the designated
distributive norms of the group. The following are the
common types of distributive norms:
● Equity: Members' outcomes should be based upon
their inputs. Therefore, an individual who has
invested a large amount of input (e.g. time, money,
energy should receive more from the group than
someone who has contributed little. Members of
large groups prefer to base allocations of rewards
and on equity.
● Equality: Regardless of their inputs, all group
members should have an equal share of the
rewards/costs. Equality supports that someone who
contributes 20% of the group's resources should
receive as much as who contributes 60%.
● Need: Those in greatest needs should be provided
with resources needed to meet those needs. These
individuals should be given more resources than
those who already possess them, regardless of their
input.
● Responsibility: Group members who have the most
should share their resources with those who have
less.
Capitalist
Laissez-faire capitalist distributive justice is when
people, businesses, and corporations perform based on
their individual self interest for their own benefit. The
principal role of government is to allow a free and fair
market system, as well as to protect persons,
businesses, and corporations from taking the benefits of
their actions appropriated by others.
For Rawls, pure laissez-faire capitalism is also unjust,
because it tends to generate an unfair distribution of
wealth and income concentrated in the hands of a few,
which the effect deprives some if not most citizens of
the bask means essential to compete fairly for desired
benefits, offices, and posit"
Socialist
State socialist distributive justice is a system where the
government or a central authority controls the
production of goods and services. A better version of a
socialist distributive justice is democratic socialism also
known as 'welfare democracy’. This democratic socialist
distributive justice has a system of social insurance to

help disadvantaged persons. The system incorporates
free-market principles in producing goods and services
with general principles about compassion and concern
for others.
Responsibility of the State and Its Citizens
Taxation is a means by which the state and its citizens
accomplish their responsibilities to each other. It means
by which states or governments finance their
expenditure, basically and ideally for constituents, by
imposing charges on them and corporate entities.
Government expenditures fundamentally involve social
welfare programs for citizens. This relationship between
taxes and social welfare programs drives the
proposition that taxes are essentially 'socialist'.
Taxation and social welfare programs are related to
another concept called inclusive growth. Inclusive
Growth is the economic growth that creates
opportunity for all segments of the population and
distributes the dividends of increased prosperity both
in monetary and nonmonetary terms across society.
REFERENCES:
Textbooks
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Carino, Jovito V. (2018). Fundamentals of Ethics. C & E Publishing Inc.
Philippines
De Guzman, J., Aquino, E. C., Tomas, R. D., Pacer, J. B., Madriaga, A. T.,
Benitez, G. C., Hualda, L. S., Puno, R. A., Banzon, J. B., & Bamba, L. M. (2017).
Ethics (Principles of Ethical Behavior in Modern Society). Mutya Publishing
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Pasco, Marc Oliver, Fullente Suarez, V. & Rodriguez, Agustin Martin (2018).
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