BASIC CONCEPTS ON ETHICS - PASSION – Tendency of the sensible appetite
NATURE OF MAN
❑ Man is composed of body and soul
❑ Man has will and intellect (person)
❑ To will something, man has to know
beforehand
❑ Man cannot act unless he knows which is a
“better good”
❑ When man acts according to what he knows
is right, he acts freely
❑ Man is accountable with his actions
❑ Only man is capable of free acts
Inanimate object / nonliving beings has no soul
Plant has soul and it called vegetative soul
Function or capacity ng vegetative soul.
Growth, development and germination-
Aristotle
Animal naman ay sensitive/ apetetive soul
Ang kaluluwa ang nagbibigay buhay sa
katawan.
ETHICS
Ethics or moral philosophy can be provisionally
described as the empirical study of moral decisions.
It is a discipline concerned with what is morally good
and evil, right and wrong. The word often refers to
any scheme or philosophy of universal ideals or
beliefs
ETYMOLOGY - “Ethos” (CHARACTERISTIC WAY OF
LIVING ) “Mos, Moris” TRADITION OR CUSTOM
- Morality ITHIKI
- “Science of the morality of human acts.
SCIENCE - a systematically organized body of
knowledge on a particular focus. “shire” means to
know
- SPECULATIVE – Science that enlightens the mind
- PRACTICAL – Science that induces a certain action
MORALITY - quality of human acts by which they are
determined as good, bad, or indifferent
HUMAN ACTS - An act that is performed only by a
human being and thus is proper to man.
- Also called intentional or deliberate actions, or
Voluntary acts
ACTS OF MAN In contrary to human acts, it is
involuntary and instinctive and unintentional
HUMAN ACTS
CONSTITUENTS
– KNOWLEDGE, FREEDOM & VOLUNTARINES
SOURCES
- OBJECT – act itself (what)
- END – intention/purpose (why)
- CIRCUMSTANCE – adds moral dimension to an
action (who, where, how, to what extent, how much
MODIFIERS
- VIOLENCE – Physical force brought to bear in a
person to do an act which he does not will
- FEAR – Shrinking back of the mind on account of an
impending evil
- IGNORANCE – Lack of knowledge which a person
should have
towards pleasurable good - HABIT – Repeated
actions becoming a manner (good = virtue, bad =
vice
ETHICS / MORal philosophy VS MORAL THEOLOGY
MORAL PHILOSOPHY- relies solely on human reason
to investigate truths
MORAL THEOLOGY employs reason insofar as it is
enlightened by faith or divine revelation.
BRANCHES OF ETHICS
NORMATIVE ETHICS focused on the creation of
theories that provide general framework governing
man’s action
METAETHICS - study of how man engage in ethics
(nature of morality)
APPLIED ETHICS apply normative ethical theories to
specific issues
ETHICAL SYSTEMS
ATHEISTIC APPROACH ❑ This approach assumes
that only matter exists and that man is only
responsible to himself since there is no god who
creates and rules the universe. ❑ It favors science
than religion. ❑ It tries to centralized scientific
ideology. ❑ Its followers are called atheist
PRINCIPLES OF THE AETHEISTIC APPROACH:
❑ Matter is the only reality. ❑ Man is matter and
does not have spiritual dimension. ❑ Man is free
and must exercise his freedom to promote society’s
welfare. ❑ There is no life after death. ❑ Man is
accountable to the state
THEISTIC APPROACH ❑ It begins with the
assumption that God is the Supreme Lawgiver. ❑
Employs the aid of a favoring religion. ❑ God’s will is
the core of this approach. ❑ It believes that God is
the point of origin. ❑ With God’s will, man must
exercise his freedom
POSTULATED TRUTHS OF THE THEISTIC APPROACH:
❑ God is the Supreme Creator and Lawgiver. ❑ Man
is free and must use his freedom to promote his
personal and social interests along with his fellow
men. ❑ Man has an immortal soul which cannot die.
❑ Man is accountable for his actions, both good and
evil
NORMS OF MORALITY – Law & conscience
LAW “An ordinance of reason, promulgated for the
common good, by one who has authority and care
of the community.” -Thomas Aquinas
ORDINANCE OF REASON ❑ Product of reasoning ❑
Induces a kind of obligation ❑ Requirements:
efficacious and binding : Firm, stable, and enduring
PROMULGATED FOR THE COMMON GOOD ❑ There
must be a communication in the presence of the law
(the law must be known by the people) ❑
Promulgated: for the law to have a binding power
❑ Common good: purpose of the law
ONE WHO HAS AUTHORITY AND CARE OF THE
COMMUNITY ❑ Author: legislator of the law
❑ Care is an important element for a law to be for
the common good
LAW
ETERNAL & SCRUPULOUS CONSCIENCE ❑ Inclines one to judge
TEMPORAL
ETERNAL LAW ❑ “Divine reason (will of God)
commanding the preservation of the natural law and
forbidding its disturbance.” -Augustine of Hippo
❑ “Plan of divine wisdom, insofar as it directs all
acts, activities, and motion towards the final end.” -
Thomas Aquinas
NATURAL LAW ❑ “Participation of the rational
creatures in the eternal law” –Aquinas
❑ Man is subject to it from the very moment of his
birth. ➢Derived from the very nature of man.
➢Can be grasped by the human reason without the
aid of God. ➢Promulgated by God through man’s
reason
POSITIVE LAW ❑ “Laws made requiring some
specific action.”
❑ Divine Positive law: Derived from eternal law as
it appears historically to humans, especially through
revelation.
❑ Human Positive law: Human-made laws that
oblige or specify an action. ➢ Ecclesiastical law: law
of the Church ➢ Civil law: law of the State
CONSCIENCE- WITH KNOWLEDGE “CUM SCIENTIA “
- Therefore, man, because of conscience, has
knowledge whether his actions are morally
good or morally evil.
- “A practical judgement of reason upon an
individual act, as good to be performed, or
evil to be avoided.” -Paul Glenn
PRACTICAL JUDGMENT ❑ Indicates a course of
action ❑ It is not speculative judgment because it
does not enrich the knowledge by addition of newly
recognized truth
JUDGMENT OF REASON ❑ Designates the act of
reasoning out the right or wrong of a situation
before choosing what to do. ❑ Such reasoning
requires a principle or set of principles ❑ MORAL
PRINCIPLES ❑ SYNDERESIS (understanding of the
general principles of morality)
JUDGMENT UPON AN INDIVIDUAL ACT ❑ It judges
the act before and after action. ❑ Before action,
conscience judges the act as good to be performed
or evil to be omitted. ❑ After action, conscience
judges it as approved or disapproved. ❑ In a word,
conscience is a DICTATE or COMMAND
RIGHT OR TRUE CONSCIENCE ❑ Judges what is
really good as good and what is really evil as evil.
ERRONEOUS CONSCIENCE ❑ Judges what is really
good as evil and what is really evil as good
CERTAIN CONSCIENCE ❑ Subjective assurance of
the lawfulness or unlawfulness of certain actions to
be done or omitted ❑ Firm judgment in which the
“agent has no fear of being in error”
DOUBTFUL CONSCIENCE ❑ Suspends the judgment
on the lawfulness of an action ❑ Has uncertainty of
his actions and is aware that he might be in error
for a slight reason that moral evil exists where
actually it does not. ❑ A person with such
conscience is constantly afraid of committing evil
while others having such are seriously concern with
moral perfection.
LAX CONSCIENCE ❑ Tends to follow the easy way
and find excuses for omissions and mistakes
MORAL AND NON-MORAL STANDARDS
Moral standards involve the rules people have
about the kinds of actions they believe are morally
right and wrong, as well as the values they place on
the kinds of objects they believe are morally good
and morally bad
CHARACTERISTICS OF MORAL STANDARDS
- MS involve serious harm or significant
benefits
- MS are not established by authority figures
- MS ought to be preferred to other values
- MS are based on impartial considerations
- MS have the trait of universalizability
- MS are correlated with different feelings and
vocabulary
Non-moral standards refer to rules that are
unrelated to moral or ethical considerations. Either
these standards are not necessarily linked to
morality or by nature lack ethical sense. Basic
examples of non-moral standards include rules of
etiquette, fashion standards, rules in games, and
various house rules
MORAL DILEMMA
DILEMMA A situation in which a person is forced to
choose between two or more conflicting options,
neither of which is acceptable
MORAL DILEMMA Situations where the agent is
forced to choose between two or more conflicting
options, neither of which resolves the situation in a
morally acceptable manner
CONDITIONS
❑ The agent is obliged to make decisions about
which course of action is the best.
❑ There must be different courses of action to
choose from.
❑ No matter what course of action is taken, some
moral principles are always compromised.
LEVELS OF MORAL DILEMMA
❑ INDIVIDUAL MORAL DILEMMA
❑ ORGANIZATIONAL MORAL DILEMMA
❑ STRUCTURAL MORAL DILEMMA
INDIVIDUAL MORAL DILEMMA ❑ Personal
dilemmas are those experienced and resolved on
the personal level. Since many ethical decisions are
personally made, many, if not most of, moral
dilemmas fall under, or boil down to, this level
ORGANIZATIONAL MORAL DILEMMA ❑ Moral
conflicts encountered by social organizations like in
business, medical field, education, and public sector.
STRUCTURAL MORAL DILEMMA ❑ Moral conflicts
involving network of institutions (macro level). As
they usually encompass multi-sectoral institutions
and organizations, they may be larger in scope and
extent than organizational dilemmas.
“THERE IS NO PERFECT SOLUTION TO THE
PROBLEM”
According to Benjiemen Labastin, in moral
dilemmas, the moral agent “seems fated to commit
something wrong which implies that he is bound to
morally fail because in one way or another he will fail
to do something which he ought to do. In other
words, by choosing one of the possible moral
requirements, the person also fails on others."
FREEDOM AS FOUNDATION OF HUMAN ACTS
IMMANUEL KANT’S PHILOSOPHY ON FREEDOM
❑ Kant's definition of freedom is the right to control
one's actions based on reason, not desire. All of this
can be simplified to autonomy
❑ The principle, then, is not to live by the animalistic
rules forced on them from birth, but rather to live by
the laws that you enforce on yourself.
❑ Therefore, from Kant's point of view, libertarian
freedom is the subjugation of oneself to one's wish
❑ There is only one inherent right, "says Kant,"
freedom (independence from being limited by the
option of another) to the degree that it can coexist
with the freedom of each other following universal
law".
❑ As discussed in “Theory and Practice”, freedom
highlighted the autonomous right of all individuals
to conceive of happiness in their way. Interference
with another’s freedom is understood as coercing
the other to be happy as the former sees fit.
IMMANUEL KANT ACCENTUATES THE FOLLOWING
PHILOSOPHY ON FREEDOM:
❑ Individuals have the right to choose one's conduct
based on reason, not desire.
❑ Individuals have to abide by the rules that they
follow.
❑ Individuals are independent from being limited by
the option of others to the extent that they may
coexist with each other's freedom under universal
rule.
❑ Individuals have an autonomous right to be
happy in their own way, and the intervention of
another's freedom means forcing others to be happy
CULTURE AND MORAL BEHAVIOR
CULTURE AND ETHICS
❑ Zimmerman (2017) explicated culture as the
characteristics and awareness of a specific
community of people, including language, religion,
food, social behavior, etiquette, fashion, music, and
arts.
❑ It is the sum of attitudes, values, goals, and
practices shared by individuals in a group,
organization, or society.
❑ Cultures vary over time periods, between
countries and geographic regions, and among
groups and organizations.
❑ Culture reflects the moral and ethical beliefs and
standards that speak to how people should behave
and interact
❑ Cultural norms are the shared, sanctioned, and
integrated systems of beliefs and practices that are
passed down through generations and characterize
a cultural group.
❑ They act as prescriptions for correct and moral
behavior, lend meaning and coherence to life, and
provide a means of achieving a sense of integrity,
safety, and belonging
❑ These normative beliefs, together with related
cultural values and rituals, impose a sense of order
and control on aspects of life that might otherwise
appear chaotic or unpredictable.
❑ This is where culture intersects with ethics. Since
interpretations of what is moral are influenced by
cultural norms, the possibility exists that what is
ethical to one group will not be considered so by
someone living in a different culture
THE INFLUENCES OF CULTURE IN MORAL
DEVELOPMENT
Leano & Gubia-on (2018) shared five points in how
culture influences the moral development of the
people and these are the following:
❑ Culture is always social and communal by which
the relationship of the people towards one another
and their experience as people are the culture’s
meadow.
❑ Culture defines the normative principles and
behaviors of society.
❑ Culture, as best exemplified in the experience of
the people, develops restrictions and sets
boundaries and limitations as they live and relate
with one another.
❑ As culture helps in generating the character and
identity of its people, it also includes their moral
character.
❑ Culture identifies the authorities or the
governing bodies
CULTURAL RELATIVISM
❑ Cultural relativism is the ability to understand a
culture on its own terms and not to make judgments
using the standards of one’s own culture.
❑ Using the perspective of cultural relativism leads
to the view that no one culture is superior than
another culture when compared to systems of
morality, law, politics, etc.
❑ This is also based on the idea that there is no
absolute standard of good or evil, therefore every
decision and judgment of what is right and wrong is
individually decided in each society.
❑ The concept of cultural relativism also means
that any opinion on ethics is subject to the
perspective of each person within their particular
culture.
PROS AND CONS OF CULTURAL RELATIVISM
PROS:
❑ It creates learning opportunities that could make
humanity stronger.
❑ It eliminates the concept of separate, but equal.
❑ It creates a system of niche expertise.
❑ It encourages respect.
CONS:
❑ There will be actions taken that would be defined
by some as “violent,” “unsafe,” or “wrong.”
❑ It is based on a concept that people are perfect.
❑ It creates a personal bias.
❑ It eliminates the idea that reform or change can
be a good thing.
UNIVERSAL VALUES
❑ The word "value" means something that a
person or a group believes has merits being sought,
promoted, or privileged. This can be a thing (money,
food, art), a state of mind (peace, protection,
certainty), or a behavior that results from those
things or states of mind (protecting innocent people,
telling the truth, being creative).
❑ A value is a universal value if it has the same value
or worth for all. Universal values apply across the
world.
❑ Universal values can be understood in two
different ways:
➢ First, it could be that something has a universal
value when everybody finds it valuable.
➢ Second, something could have universal value
when all have reason to believe it has value
SCHWARTS CONCEPT OF UNIVERSAL VALUES
❑ Shalom H. Schwartz, along with colleagues in the
field of psychology, carried out empirical research
analyzing whether there are universal values and
what those values are. Schwartz described 'values'
as 'conceptions of what is important that affect the
way people choose action and evaluate events.'
(Sen, 1999).
❑ Schwartz's suggest that there are 56 specific
universal values and 10types of universal value
Below are each of the value types, with the specific
related values alongside:
❑ Power: authority; leadership; dominance, social
power, wealth
❑ Achievement: success; capability; ambition;
influence; intelligence; self-respect
❑ Hedonism: pleasure; enjoying life
❑ Stimulation: daring activities; varied life; exciting
life
❑ Self-direction: creativity; freedom;
independence; curiosity; choosing your own goals
❑ Universalism: broadmindedness; wisdom; social
justice; equality; a world at peace; a world of beauty;
unity with nature; protecting the environment; inner
harmony
❑ Benevolence: helpfulness; honesty; forgiveness;
loyalty; responsibility; friendship
❑ Tradition: accepting one's portion in life;
humility; devoutness; respect for tradition;
moderation
❑ Conformity: self-discipline; obedience
❑ Security: cleanliness; family security; national
security; stability of social order; reciprocation of
favors; health; sense of belonging
HAPPINESS ❑ Refers to good fortune; pleasure;
contentment; joy. For Aristotle, “happiness or
flourishing or living well is a complete and sufficient
good.
PEACE ❑ Freedom from disturbance; tranquility. It is
a state or period in which there is no war or a war
has ended
FREEDOM ❑ State of being free or at liberty,
freedom from control, interference, obligation,
restriction, hampering conditions. The ability to act
or change without constraint
SAFETY ❑ State of being free from the occurrence
or risk of injury, danger, death, or loss.
INTELLIGENCE ❑ Capacity for learning, reasoning,
understanding, and similar forms of mental activity.
RESPECT ❑ Formal expression or gesture of
greeting, esteem, or friendship. Due regard for the
feelings, wishes, rights, or traditions of others.
EQUALITY ❑ State or quality of being equal;
correspondence in quantity, degree, value, rank, or
ability.
JUSTICE ❑ Quality of being just; righteousness,
equitableness, or moral rightness. Giving someone
what is due.
LOVE OF NATURE ❑ Appreciation of the material
world, especially surroundings.
HEALTH ❑ General condition of the body or mind
with reference to soundness and vigor. Freedom
from disease or ailment.
Dignity is the state or quality of being worthy of
honor or respect. It refers to bearing, conduct, or
speech indicative of self-respect or appreciation of
the formality of an occasion or situation.
THE FILIPINO WAY
CHARACTERISTICS OF FILIPINO CULTURE
Dumaraos (2018) expounded some of the
characteristics of the Filipinos that set them apart
from any other culture and society:
❑ The Filipino people are very resilient. ❑ Filipinos
take pride in their families. ❑ Filipinos are very
religious. ❑ Filipinos are very respectful
FILIPINO STRENGTHS
PAKIKIPAGKAPWA-TAO Opening yourself to others
and feel one with others with dignity and respect
deal with them as fellow human beings.
FAMILY ORIENTATION A genuine and deep love for
family
JOY AND HUMOR Filipinos have a cheerful and fun-
loving approach to life and its up and down, pleasant
disposition, a sense of humor and propensity for
happiness that contribute not only to the Filipino
charm but also to the Filipino Spirit.
FLEXIBILITY, ADAPTABILITY AND CREATIVITY We can
adjust and to adapt to circumstances and the
surrounding environment, both physical and social;
adjusts to whatever happens even in unplanned or
anticipated events.
HARD WORK AND INDUSTRY Capacity for hard
work given to raise one's standard living of a decent
life for one's family.
FAITH AND RELIGIOSITY Faith in God - accepting
reality to comprehend as a human created by God.
Our innate religiosity enables us to comprehend and
genuinely accept reality in the context of God’s will
and plan.
ABILITY TO SURVIVE
EXTREME PERSONALISM Filipinos view the world in
terms of personal relationships; no separation
between an objective task and emotional
involvement. They always try to give personal
interpretation to actions i.e., take things personally.
EXTREME FAMILY CENTEREDNESS Excessive
concern for family manifests itself in the use of one’s
office and power as a means of promoting the
interest of the family, factionalism, patronage and
political dynasties, and in the protection of erring
family members.
FILIPINO WEAKNESS
LACK OF DISCIPLINE - PASSIVITY AND LACK OF
INITIATIVE - COLONIAL MENTALITY - KANYA-KANYA
SYNDROME - LACK OF SELF ANALYSIS AND
REFLECTION
DEVELOPMENT OF MORAL
CHARACTER
Moral character refers to the existence or lack of
virtues. To say that a certain person has a good
moral character means that he/she is a good person
and a good citizen with a sound moral compass.
- Development of moral character can be explained
by the following approaches: virtues, disposition,
and circular relations of acts and character.
MORAL CHARACTER
❑ Etymologically, the term “character” ancient
Greek term charaktêr, ( referred to the mark
impressed upon a coin. ) The term charaktêr later
came to refer more generally to any distinctive
feature by which one thing is distinguished from
others.
❑ In the contemporary usage, character often
refers to a set of qualities or characteristics that can
be used to differentiate between persons. In
philosophy, the term character refer to the
particularly moral dimension of a person.
❑ One way to explain character development is
through the virtue ethics approach. Virtue ethics
represents the concept that individual’s actions are
based upon inner moral virtue.
Virtue is a central concept in his Nicomachean Ethics
wherein there are two distinct of human
excellences, (1) excellences of thoughts and (2)
excellences of character.
Beauchamp (2021), suggests that virtue should not
be thought of as a moral requirement, rather, virtue
is a character trait that is socially valued
❑ Aristotle considered goodness of character as a
product of the practice of virtuous behavior. This
means that for Aristotle, virtuous acts are not the
end results of a good character. - means practicing
moderation
THE CIRCULAR RELATION OF ACTS AND
CHARACTER
REPETITION OF ACTION AND ITS EFFECT ON THE
PERSON
Actions can be repetitive or automatic in (at least)
three different ways: by habit, by education, and by
habitus:
❑ When an action is constantly repeated, over time
it can become a habit (the physician who
automatically writes a prescription for patients who
ask and no longer thinks it through).
❑ Actions become skills (education) through
repetition and experience (the baker automatically
stops kneading the bread dough when it reaches a
certain elasticity).
❑ A third way actions become automatic is through
what Aquinas calls habitus, that is, inclination or
disposition, an inclination, a willingness, to respond
charitably to anyone in need as the situation arises
TYPE OF ACTION
❑ Because human beings are body/soul unities,
actions of the body are actions of the self.
Aquinas calls these acts of a human being (actus
humanus) and distinguishes them from human acts
(actus humanis).
❑ Human acts are rational acts and are more closely
associated with character than are acts of human
beings,
STAGES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT
Lawrence Kohlberg, (1927-1987), is an American
psychologist and educator known for his theory of
moral development.
Kohlberg was the youngest of four children of Alfred
Kohlberg, a successful silk merchant of Jewish
ancestry, and Charlotte Albrecht Kohlberg, a
Protestant and a skilled amateur chemist.
He proposed that moral reasoning, which he
thought to be the basis for ethical behavior,
develops through stages
STAGES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT
LEVEL ONE: PRECONVENTIONAL
Reasoners judge the morality of an action by its
direct consequences. At the preconventional level,
morality is externally controlled. Rules imposed by
authority figures are conformed to in order to avoid
punishment or receive rewards. This perspective
involves the idea that what is right is what one can
get away with or what is personally satisfying.
STAGE ONE: OBEDIENCE AND PUNISHMENT
ORIENTATION
❑ Individuals focus on the direct consequences that
their actions will have for themselves. The individual
will obey in order to avoid punishment.
STAGE TWO: INSTRUMENTAL PURPOSE
ORIENTATION
❑ “What's in it for me” position. Right behavior is
defined by what is in one's own best interest (self-
interest orientation). The individual focuses on
receiving rewards or satisfying personal needs.
LEVEL TWO: CONVENTIONAL
People who reason in a conventional way judge the
morality of actions by comparing these actions to
social rules and expectations. At the conventional
level, conformity to social rules remains important
to the individual. However, the emphasis shifts from
self-interest to relationships with other people and
social systems.
STAGE THREE: INTERPERSONAL CONCORDANCE
ORIENTATION ❑ Individuals seek approval from
other people. They judge the morality of actions by
evaluating the consequences of these actions for a
person's relationships. (Conformity orientation)
STAGE FOUR: LAW AND ORDER ORIENTATION
❑ In stage four, individuals think it is important to
obey the law and conventions since it maintains
social order that is worth preserving. (Law-and-
Order Mentality)
LEVEL THREE: POST-CONVENTIONAL
At the postconventional level, the individual moves
beyond the perspective of his or her own society.
Morality is defined in terms of abstract principles
and values that apply to all situations and societies.
The individual attempts to take the perspective of all
individuals.
STAGE FIVE: SOCIAL CONTRACT ORIENTATION
❑ People have certain principles to which they
attach more value than laws, such as human rights.
❑ An action is wrong if it violates certain ethical
principles.
❑ The individual views laws and rules as flexible
tools for improving human purposes. Yet, when laws
are not consistent with individual rights and the
interests of the majority, they do not bring about
good for people and alternatives should be
considered.
STAGE SIX: UNIVERSAL ETHICAL PRINCIPLE
ORIENTATION
❑ According to Kohlberg, this is the highest stage of
functioning. However, he claimed that some
individuals will never reach this level.
❑ At this stage, the appropriate action is determined
by one’s selfchosen ethical principles of
conscience.
❑ These principles are abstract and universal in
application. This type of reasoning involves taking
the perspective of every person or group that could
potentially be affected by the decision.