ETHICS

ETHICS
LECTURE 1

PRELIMINARY
NOTIONS
 Objectives:
1. explain what ethics is;
2. differentiate ethics from technical, societal, and aesthetic and
recognize what are ethical problems;
3. Apply the concepts to actual life experiences from news,
events, and everyday experiences.
 Outline of the discussion
Introduction to Ethics
-Definition
-Ethics and morality
Value (moral &non-moral problems)
-Aesthetics vs. Ethics
-Etiquette vs. Ethics
-Technique vs. Ethics
Source of Authority
-Law
-Religion
-Culture
-Reason
 Ethics
or
Moral Philosophy
Etymologically, WHAT
custom, IS
Ethos(Gk) usage, ETHICS
Mores (Latin) character
?
moral
morality
morals
Ethics
//
Morality
ETHICS VS. MORALITY
to refer to specific
discipline of studying
beliefs or attitudes
and understanding the
that people have to
ideal of human
describe acts or
behavior and ideal
perform. (Bulaong,
ways of thinking
2017)

THEORY PRACTICE

ethical or unethical moral or immoral

ETHICS VS. MORALITY
The study of standards Influenced by society,
of conduct and moral culture and religion
judgment.
commandments, rules,
The study of morality traditions
(way of life)

discipline subject matter

Ethics is the practical science of the morality of
human conduct.

It studies the rightness and wrongness of human actions.

 Professional
Ethics
Ways of behaving in a given field

Doctors, teachers, lawyers, public

officials and other professionals follow
certain code of ethics.
 TYPES OF ETHICS
NORMATIVE META-ETHICS APPLIED
-prescription -descriptive -actual
-seeks to set -aims to understand application of
norms or the nature and moral theories
standards that dynamics of ethical -“Sapat na ba ang
regulate right and principles pagmamahal? o
wrong conduct - “ano ang Tama pa ba na
-”magmahal” pagmamahal? mahalin ko siya?”
In the discussion, the terms ethical and
moral will be used interchangeably.

According
to Reyes (2009), “ethics and
morals are ordinarily used as
equivalent terms in Western
language that refers to
traditional manners,
customs, habits, systems of
values or character of
the community.”
ETHICS
G R
B W
I
In ethics, we
O are putting a
R
G A O
O H
value on our
actions. D N
D T G
 BUT not all
that is valued to be
good and bad are
part of ethics.
 ETHICS VS. AESTHETICS
“aesthesis” (Gk) which means sense or feeling - TASTE
The valuation of its goodness or badness is more
on personal aesthetic preference and it is not the
case in ethics.
example- taste in music, taste in clothes
ETHICS VS. ETIQUETTE
what is proper to do in
specific situations.
ethics ≠ etiquette due to certain degree
example: saying “please”, “opo at po” to
elders
ETHICS VS. TECHNIQUE
“techne” (Gk) which means the
proper
way of doing things.

example: how to bake, how to cook

adobo, how to play basketball
Ergo, problems raised in aesthetics, etiquette or
technique should not be discussed in Ethics.

We judge them as good or bad in a non-moral

way.

Issues about life or man’s well being are

discussed in Ethics.
Ethics aims to shed light on
the basic questions:

What should I do?

What is the right conduct?
What principles should
govern our moral decision-
making?

How should I live?

What is a good life?
Moral issue - situation that calls for moral valuation
Moral decision- you are in situation confronted by
the choice what act to perform
Moral judgment- making judgment on other’s action
or behavior
Moral dilemma- decision between two or more
morally sound options
 HOW CAN WE
DETERMINE GOOD
AND BAD ACTION?
What is the source of
authority in Ethics?
L
A
W
 Law guides people in the society.
It prohibits us to do what is wrong.
Moral imperative-> Do not kill an innocent person.
Legal imperative-> Do not commit murder/ homicide.

We could say that an action is ethically wrong

because it is prohibited by the law and ethically
right if allowed by it.
 wHat is legal is also moral.
Actions that are acceptable in legal
matters are good/right/moral/ethical.

Thus, law appears to be a good

source of authority in Ethics.
 wHat is legal is also moral.
Actions that are acceptable in legal
matters are good/right/moral/ethical.

Thus, law appears to be a good

source of authority in Ethics.
a.There are laws that are
ethically questionable to us.
“Not all legal are moral.”
Meaning, following the law is
not necessarily doing what is
morally right.
 Anti-
Mendicancy
Law
Reproductive Health Law (RH)
b. Breaking the law is
not always immoral
act.
R
E
L
I
G
I
O
N
RELIGION All things whatsoever ye would that
men should do to you, Do ye so to
them; for this is the law and the
standards guides us
prophets. Matthew 7 :1
of good to become
and bad a good Do not do to others what you This is the sum of duty, do
would not like yourself.Then naught onto others what
that come person. there will be no resentment
you would not have not have
from a against you, either in the
them do unto you.
Divine family or in the state.
Mahabharata 5, 1517
Authority Analects 12:2

who is No one of you is a believer

Hurt not others in
perfect. until he desires for his brother
ways that you yourself that which he desires for
would find hurtful. himself.
Udana-Varga 5,1 Sunnah
• Christian’s
commandment of love
• A Jew following the
law of Kosher
• A Muslim adhering to
the four pillars of Islam
We think that what is
right can be derived
from religious beliefs
and teachings.

God is the source of

all goodness.
Adhering to
God’s will leads
us to moral life;
while acting
immorally is
basically
disobeying God.
BUT should morality be based on religion?
 Socrates on Euthypro
Is the holy loved by the gods because it is
holy? or it is holy because it is loved by the
Gods?
Is it good because God commanded it or is
it good in itself that is why God
commanded it?
.
The moral directives from world’s greatest
religions are imprecise and general.

Christians follow the commandment “Thou shall

not kill.”

Still, there are disagreements on the issues of

abortion, death penalty or even euthanasia.
We are not certain about what God wants
us to do. There are different religions in
the world.
MULTIPLICITY OF RELIGION
Meaning, each religion can be different in beliefs and
laws. To illustrate, for some killing is unjustifiable and to
others it is.
And the case of the
people who don’t
believe in God
(Atheists).

Can’t they be moral

persons?
C
U
L
T
U
R
E
 A culture is ‘way of life’ of a group of
people.

Includes moral values and behaviors, along

with knowledge, beliefs and symbols that
they accept.
 Cultural relativism
A form of moral relativism
-no act is good or bad objectively

Meaning, different moral principles apply to

different persons or groups. Claiming that various
cultures have distinct standards of right or wrong.
 Cultural relativism

Multiplicity of culture is the reason why

culture cannot be source of authority in
ethics.
 Law, religion and
culture CANNOT be
sources of authority in
Ethics.
 So, what is the source of authority in
Ethics?

Ethicists would confer that the

source of authority in ethics must
be common to all men.
REASON.

It is the
source of
authority
in Ethics.
KILLING THE INNOCENT
I do not kill……..
because I am afraid of the punishment. (law)
because it is against the ten commandments. (religion)
because it is unacceptable to society. (culture)

because it violates the principle of respect to

one’s life/human life. (reason)
 Thus, things about law, religion and
culture cannot be an argument for Ethics.
Moral theory is a system of ideas which is
used to evaluate our valuing of actions and
concludes decision on a certain action.

Virtue ethics - “person” rather than action based (moral character)

Natural law- “human nature”
Deontology- rule-based actions (duty)
Utilitarianism- the greatest amount of good for the greatest
number of people