TORRES, ALYSSA ANDREA A

ETHICS O

Introduction to Ethics
- Ethics originated from Ancient Greece.
- Socrates is a philosopher that was influential.
- etiquette
- He etihke tekhne (the science of morals) or ethos (Greek) and mores (Latin)
o ethique (old French)
- Filipino Ethics is influenced by “religious doctrines and precepts” from priests or persons in authority.
- Rotary Four-Way Test
o Is it the TRUTH?
o Is it FAIR to all concerned?
o Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
o Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
- Ethics IS NOT:
o feelings
o religion
o law
o following culturally accepted norms
o science
- Ethics IS:
o is a study of what are good and bad ends to pursue in life and what is right and wrong to do in the
conduct of life
o practical discipline
o universal
o how one ought to live and what actions ought to do in the conduct of one’s life
o discipline in philosophy
o grounded on rationality
 learned personally
 reason
o can question morality
o an act of the rational human being

Why study ethics?

- ethics makes clear as to why one act is better than the other.
- ethics contributes an orderly social life by providing humanity some basis for agreement, understanding some
principles or rules of procedure
- moral conduct and ethical system both past and of the present, must be intelligibly appraised and criticized
- ethics seeks to point out to men the true values of life

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Norms of Morality
- set of standards prescribed by family, community, organization and society in general of “what is proper,” or
“what is good and right”
- technical norm
o man’s needs which come from his bodily space-time limitations
o has to do with survival and well-being
o e.g. (right way to eat, accepted way or performing a surgery, correct way of constructing a house, etc.)
o basis: “good” means good worker, industrious and productive while others are lazy
- societal norm
o need for group cohesion
o strengthening the bonds that keep the community together
o e.g. (proper attire, ways of speaking or of conducting oneself, etc.)
- aesthetic norm
o perceptual norms
o influenced by culture
o considered by the community as “ennobling,” “cathartic,” “heightening man’s existence,” or “beautiful”
o represent a certain free play and celebration of the human spirit
- ethical or moral norm (in the narrower or stricter sense)
o combines with religion to form “ethico-religious” norm
o ideal vision of man (perfection)
o non-negotiables
o community cherishes and considers of ultimate worth, which give ultimate sense and direction to human
existence
Definition of Morality

- man confronts or finds himself an ideal state

- constitutes a fundamental norm in relation to which his life and actions are judged to be either right or wrong,
good or bad
- practice of condquct
- based on traditions
- morality does NOT need a justification
- taught to do so by a communal conduct
- do’s and don’ts inherited from:
o family
o community
- custom and tradition
- an act of the received transmitted knowledge from society and cultures
Concept of Value
- what an individual or a group deems to be useful, desirable, or significant
- “ethics,” “morality,” “good and bad,” “right and wrong”
- corresponds to some need, desire or yearning of the human subject
- ethics does not begin as an idea or theory of a moral philosopher; essentially a dimension of man’s existence as a
socio-historical being
- Individual
o qualities of a thing which are desirable to any person as they answer their human need, desire or
yearning
o intrinsically desirable and thus what should be desirable for all men and all groups
- Group
o what a group desires and thus prescribes for the individual member as something to be desired
- Material
o physical objects with intrinsic purpose to an individual
- Technical Value
o proper way to do things
- Societal Value
o what a society values as a whole
- Aesthetic Value
o value of attractiveness or beauty
- Moral
o morality

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Ethical or Moral Value

- Moral issue
o situations that are often the source of considerable and inconclusive debate
- Moral decision
o when one is placed in a situation and confronted by the choice of what act to perform
- Moral judgement
o makes an assessment on the actions or behavior of someone
- Moral dilemma
o one is torn between choosing one of two goods or choosing between the lesser of two evils

Moral Reflection
- the traditional moral life and experience leads to something which brings about its transformation (moral
reflection)
- factors which lead to transformation
o process of psychological maturation
o very nature of ethical or moral experience
o 1. through moral tradition, external moral precepts are internalized and become one’s moral convictions
and reflected positions
o 2. moral experience demands or obliges and imperative of action hereby an induvial as a human person
reflects and acts on his own account and responsibility
o 3. encountering with other moral traditions calls for deeper reflection of one’s convictions and dialogue
with others for universally accepted moral principles
 which one is the right one? is there a set of elements common to all the moral traditions?
Ethical Theories
- concept of the good has an ontological bias towards the goal or fulfillment of being man
- deontological
o duty, law, or obligation
o rule-based
o deon (Greek for duty)
- teleological
o goals, ends, or consequences
o consequentialist theory
o telos (Greek for end or purpose)
o actions are evaluated as moral/immoral depending on whether they help or hinder in the achievement
of the chosen end
o egoism
 happiness or pleasure
 hedonism
o eudaimonism
 well-being
 e.g. (healthy food)
o utilitarianism
 general good, welfare of humankind

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Man as Rational Being

- Man as Intellect
o Towards the Truth
- Man as Will
o Towards the Good

Man as Intellect / Knower

- different from lower animals
o not just sustenance
- seeks that which is true, valid, and justifiable
- quoda modo omnia
o finite in bodily nature, man in some way is everything (infinite)
- It is the truth that must eventually be lived, truth that must be acted and done and realized.
Man as Will (Good and Truth)
- the truth that man learns must translate itself into concrete, specific actions in view of the absolute good
o the truth must be lived, realized, and acted upon, and thus it is good.

Definition of Conscience:
- man as Will which is fundamentally oriented to the absolute good
o rational tendency is the rational exigency for the absolute good
o “Good” is not merely this or that particular good, but “The Good”
o fundamental orientation remains and the restlessness of the human spirit continuous in the aspiration
for the end and the absolute good
- act of the intellectual judgment by which we apply the general principles of morality to the particular situation
o St. Thomas Aquinas
o notion of synderesis
 habit or disposition of the practical intellect
 man is in possession of the first principles of good and bad intuitively
 man is aware of an absolute demand or obligation to do the good and avoid evil
- conscience as concrete practical judgement
o fundamental principle to do good and avoid evil
Conscience
- inner sense of what is right or wrong in one’s conduct or motives, impelling one toward right action
- cum alia scientia
o application of knowledge to a specific individual
- sense of moral obligation or reasoned judgment
- keen sense of right and wrong
- not always correct
- erroneous conscious
o misunderstanding of the situation and values
o right, wrong, moral, immoral, defective, calloused or amoral
o doubtful – not sure an act is good or an act is evil
o false, subjective or self-serving conscience presents what is good as evil, and what is evil as good or
convenient
o antecedent bothers us before doing something
o consequent bothers us after doing something
- moral conscience
o past actions
 excuse, accuse, torment, cause remorse
o present or future actions

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7 Phases of Process of Action

- voluntas
o act of the will
o oriented toward the fundamental good
- intentio
o intention or motive
o disposes the self to view in terms of possible ends
- consilium
o intellectual act
o weighing the different possibilities
- consensus
o will-act
o consents and takes his responsibility in the situation
o choose one possibility: discernment
- sentencia
o intellectual act
o practical judgement of conscience
o judging what I ought or ought not to do
- election
o will-act
o follow the intellectual judgement of conscience or not
- imperium
o act of the will
 moves the self and sets into motion the concrete actions
Conscience in Crisis
- enlightenment on how one really ought to act
- constitutes a kind of rupture in the consistency of our existence
Concept of Judgment Event
- demands a purification of heart and a reinterpretation of the moral principle
- leads to a metanoia or a “conversion”
o metanoia – changing mind
o change of heart
- imperative where the good must be done even if it seems to go beyond or against the first principles of morality
- demands a self-critical and generous attitude regardless of past moral judgments and decisions
[ADDENDUM]
- subtle interplay between the intellect and the will
- in moments of crisis, conscience proceeds dialectically
- morality is not just a matter of good and bad, but the demand to be better, to be more and responsive to the
good
- morality is not primarily a theoretical knowledge of the good but also a practical knowledge
- morality is primarily action
Morality
- obligation, action, universality, freedom
- rightness and wrongness
o binding or obligatory nature of the action
- goodness and badness
o action’s conformity or nonconformity

Morality as Action
- doing and realizing of what man ought to do
- justifiable, reasoned, and done in the light of the truth

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Morality as Freedom
- man as a being who can truly act, who can truly be the cause, the origin and initiator of action and in this sense
free
- their actions are to a certain extent their own
o within control and responsible for them
- freedom of
o choice of the means
o choice of intermediate goals
o follow or not man’s necessary ultimate end
- human acts are voluntary acts; man knowingly and willingly does
- acts of man are involuntary acts; lack of consent and control, not imputable to man
- elicited act is the internal aspect of the act
- commanded act is the aspect which involves man with the outside world
Morality as Universality
- orients man towards a certain end and norm and places in relation to all places
- rule common to all
- man experiences themselves as being one among many
Morality as Obligation
- the good does not only present itself as being the good for all and universal
- presents itself as universally binding and obligatory
- signifies some kind of ought or imperative
- kinds of obligation
o technical
o social
o legal
o religious
o moral

Can ethics be taught? || 5 Major Findings (James Rest)

- dramatic changes occur in young adults in terms of problem-solving
- changes are linked to fundamental changes in how a person perceives society and their role in it
- extent to which change occurs is associated with number of years of formal education
- formal curriculum to influence awareness of moral problems and to influence the reasoning or judgement are
effective
- behavior is influenced by their moral perception and moral judgments

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Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development

- a person’s ability to deal with moral issues is not formed all at once; stages
- Pre-conventional Level (3-7)
o moral reasoning based on reward and punishment
o defines right and wrong in terms of authority
 self-interest
 avoiding punishment
o (1) punishment-obedience orientation
 infancy stage
 rules are fixed and absolute
 if act leads to punishment, it is wrong
o (2) instrumental-relativist orientation
 pre-school stage
 right way to behave is rewarded
 human relations are a way of exchange
 fairness, reciprocity, equal sharing are interpreted in a physical and pragmatic way
- Conventional Level (8-13)
o moral reasoning based on external ethics
o role expectations
 good boy attitude
 law and order morality
o (3) interpersonal concordance orientation
 school age
 right is what pleases or helps others
 loyalty, trust, respect
o (4) social structure orientation
 school age
 obedience to authority
 maintain social order
- Post-conventional Level (Adulthood)
o moral reasoning based on personal ethics
o abstract notions of justice
 social contracts
 principle
o (5) social contract orientation
 teen age
 utilitarianism
 recognition that rules should sometimes be broken
o (6) universal principles orientation
 applies individual principles of conscience
 follow self-chosen ethical principles based on judgments that are universalizable, irreversible,
and consistent
 love, compassion
Piagnet’s Moral Development
- Stage 1: Pre-moral (0-5)
o little understanding of rules
- Stage 2: Heteronomous Morality/Moral Realism (5-9)
o rules are rigid and given by adults
- Stage 3: Autonomous Morality/Moral Relativism (10 onwards)
o rules are changeable under certain circumstances and mutual consent

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Plato
- Greek Philosopher
o 429-348 BC
- Problem of Unity and Multiplicity of Things
o seeking for the prote hyle (primordial element/material)
 Thales – water
 Cenophanes – fire/energy
 Heracletus – air
o in a world of change there persists a consistency of things amidst the diversity
o logos or reason
 all-encompassing, self-governing order prevailing over all of reality
 in theology, divine
o kosmos
 ordered universe of earth, planets, and stars governed by eternal, immutable laws
o Heraclitus
 transience and oppositeness of things
 diversities are constantly under the same reason
o Parmenides
 permanence and unity of all being while allowing for secondary changes and differences
 (e.g. water to ice, hot, cold, rain, sea water)
- Theory of Ideas (or Forms)
o true or valid knowledge exists
 sciences of time, arithmetic, geometry, grammar, etc.
o there must be a world of permanent and immutable forms which are the proper object of human
knowledge (idealized plane of reality)
 source and foundation of the sensible or material world
 parousia; the good or the beautiful itself
 manifestations in the sensible world are imperfect; pale copy or reflection of the ideal world
 exhibits gradients of different degrees
o man is able to know
o ascending order of more inclusive/fundamental ideas within the ideal world
o movement and stillness < being and nonbeing < paramount idea of the Good (Idea of ideas)
o what constitutes as a chair? what is a spoon supposed to look like?
o sensible world = imitation
o ideal world = reality
o human knowledge is the grasping of the ideal forms
- Theory of Reminiscence
o man is a reflection of the duality of the sensible and ideal worlds
o man is composed of a body and soul
 body – earth, water, air, and fire
 soul – sensation (aesthesis), opinion (doxa), mind or intellect (nous)
 quintessence (aether)
o sensation

 cloudy reflections of the ideal forms in sensible things
 desire (epithumia)
 seeking satisfaction in a changing world (formless)
o opinion
 not free from error
 spirit (thumos)
 spontaneous tendency towards everything beautiful and good
o mind or intellect
 will (boule)
 soul’s tendency towards Good
o there was a time when the soul was not bonded to the body
 as the result of the Fall of man, the soul was exiled to the material world and imprisoned in the
body
 man is forgetful of the world of ideas of his previous existence
o the soul is called to reminisce, to recall the ideal forms of its previous state
 material world serves as a reminder to remember the ideal world
o fallen state’s tendencies
 imprisonment in the body
 soul is dragged down
 disquietude
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 yearning for that which is ideal

o the life of man is a return to the good

Aristotle
- student of Plato
o 384-323 BC
- The Purpose of Man
o proper function (ergon)
o fulfillment of being
o body and soul
- A Morally Virtuous Act
- Practical Reason
- The Act of Contemplation
- Morality in Human Reasonableness
- “What shall I be?”
- Virtuous Man
o practices the measured act
o not deficient, not excessive
o comes from a habitual practice
- Golden Mean:
Vice ofVirtue Vice of Excess
Deficiency (Moderation)
Cowardice Courage Foolhardiness
Insensibility Temperance Licentiousness
Stinginess Generosity Prodigality
Meanness Magnificence Vulgarity
Humility Highmindednes Vanity
s
Lack of Wholesome Overambitious
ambition ambition

Ethics of Doing
- “moral norms which ought to be followed”
- behavior guided by rules
Ethics of Being
- character ethics
- concerned with the kind of person a human being ought to be
- formation of character, patterns of action, right vision of life, basic values and convictions which move a person
to do the right thing
Virtue Ethics
- virtues = dispositions, attitudes, habits that form the character of a person
- develops a person’s highest potentials
- arete = virtue; refers to genuine moral excellence of characters
- eudaimonia = humans should actin ways that seek purpose and meaning
- phronesis = practical wisdom; importance of rational decision-making based on empirical evidence
Ethics of Care
- emphasis on empathy and concern for the needs of others
- care and responsibility develop from an individual’s feelings of interconnectedness with others
- particular individuals
- RELATIONSHIPS
- contextual
- arises from experience

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Carol Gilligan
o critic of Kohlberg
o psychologist that studied the moral development of women

STAGE GOAL
st
1 Pre-conventional Care for oneself
Selfishness to responsibility for others
2nd Conventional More care for others
The self is a person too
3rd Post-conventional Principle for care of
self and others is
accepted

- preserve and nurture those concrete and valuable relationships with specific persons
- care for those with whom we are concretely related by attending to their particular needs, values, desires, well-
being as seen from their POV
- encompass larger systems of relationship leading to a “communitarian ethics”
- provides a corrective to other ethical principles that emphasizes impartiality and universality
Ethics of Justice
- expression of autonomy
- characterized by rationality
- emphasis on individual rights
- impartiality
- RIGHTS & FAIRNESS
- Compensatory Justice
o reimbursement for a past injustice
- Retributive Justice
o imposition of punishment and penalties on those who do wrong
o procedural justice
 fair decision procedures
- Distributive Justice
o fair distribution of benefits and burdens
o societal
o common good

When making a moral decision, ask…

- does the action maximize social benefits and minimize social injuries?
- is the action consistent with the moral rights of those affected?
- will the action bring just distribution of benefits and burdens?
- what kind of person will one become upon making this decision?

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UTILITARIANISM
-Actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of
happiness.
General View
The criterion of ethical conduct is to produce as great a balance of good over bad as possible.
Happiness is the only intrinsic good, and unhappiness the only intrinsic bad. Each person's happiness is as important as is
anyone else's
Utilitarianism in three stages:
(1) Principle of Utility: At the heart of utilitarianism is the Principle of Utility which asserts: The doctrine that we ought
to act so as to promote the greatest balance of good over evil
(2) Pleasure Principle: We must figure out what the good is. For utilitarians, the good is Pleasure. Thus, utilitarianism
asserts - The doctrine that we ought to act so as to promote the greatest balance of pleasure over pain.
3) Maximization Principle: Utilitarianism also asks whose pleasure is to be maximized. The answer is the greatest
number of people. And so utilitarianism asserts - The doctrine that we ought to act so as to promote the greatest
happiness for the greatest number
TWO EARLY FORMULATIONS
Jeremy Bentham – Quantity over Quality
By the Principle of Utility is meant that principle which approves or disapproves of every action whatsoever, according to
the tendency which it appears to have to augment or diminish the happiness of the party whose interest is in question,
or what is the same thing in other words, to promote or to oppose that happiness. (The Principle of Morals and
Legislation)

John Stuart Mill – Quality over Quantity

Utility must take account of the fact that some pleasures (e.g. pleasures of knowledge) are qualitatively preferable to
others (e.g. the pleasure of a full stomach).

ACT VS RULE (UTILITARIANISM)

ACT:
 Act utilitarianism holds that the principle should be applied to particular acts in particular circumstances.
 Act utilitarianism holds that an act is right if, and only if, no other act could have been performed that would
produce a higher utility
 The great strength of act utilitarianism is that it invites us to deal with each case as unique. When the
circumstances of another case are different, we might, without being inconsistent, choose another of the
possible actions.
RULE:
 Rule utilitarianism maintains that the principle should be used to test rules, which can in turn be used to decide
the rightness of particular acts.
 Rule utilitarianism maintains that an action is right if it conforms to a rule of conduct that has been validated by
the principle of utility as one that will produce at least as much utility as any other rule applicable to the
situation.
 The rule utilitarianism is not concerned with assessing the utility of individual actions, but of particular rules. All
that we have to establish is that following a certain rule will, in general, result in a situation in which utility is
maximized.

LIMITATIONS OF UTILITARIANISM

1. In its traditional form, it is difficult to use when dealing with values that are difficult and perhaps impossible to
measure quantitatively
2. It ignores the questions of rights (individual entitlements to freedom of choice and to well-being) and justice
(how benefits and burdens are distributed among people).

• Rule utilitarianism (vs. case utilitarianism tries to answer this by proposing the evaluation of rules instead of cases.

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EMMANUEL KANT’S CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE

 For Kant, the consequences of an action are morally irrelevant.

 Rather, an action is right when it is in accordance with a rule that satisfies a principle he calls the "categorical
imperative."
 Act only on that maxim which you can will to be a universal law.
 A categorical imperative prescribes what we ought to do without reference to any consequences.

There are 3 forms of the categorical imperative:

1. The universal law

Act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law"

2. Treat humans as ends in themselves

"Act so that you treat humanity, both in your own person and in the person of every other human being, never merely as
a means, but always at the same time as an end"

3. Act as if you live in a kingdom of ends

"Act as if you were through your maxim a law-making member of a kingdom of ends"

Maxim = succinct formulation of a fundamental principle, general truth, or rule of conduct.

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