Topic 2 –

Foundations of Moral Valuation

 After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

• Identify the ethical aspect of human life and the scope of ethical
thinking;
• Define and explain the terms that are relevant to ethical
thinking; and
• Distinguish between a descriptive and a normative study of
ethics.
• Ethics, generally speaking, is about
matters such as the good thing that we
should pursue and the bad thing that we
should avoid; the right ways in which we
could or should act and the wrong ways
of acting.
• Ethics as a subject for us to study, is
about determining the grounds for the
values with particular and special
significance to human life.
 Kinds of Valuation
There are instances when we make value judgements that are
not considered to be part of ethics.
What Ethics is not.

1. Aesthetics
2. Etiquette
3. Technique / Technical valuation
 Aesthetics
• Aesthetics - is derived from the Greek word
aesthesis (“sense” or feeling”) and refers to
judgments of personal approval or disapproval
that we make about what we see, hear smell or
taste. In fact, we often use the word "taste" to
refer to the personal aesthetic preferences that
we have on these matters, such as "his taste in
music" or "her taste in clothes.“
• Aesthetics is concerned with the questions of
what is beauty, what is ugliness, and how can
beauty improve our lives, while ethics concerns
the questions of what is right, what is wrong, and
how can we make the best decisions.
 Aesthetics

For instance, I could say that this new movie I had just seen was a "good"
one because I enjoyed it, or a song I had just heard on the radio was a
"bad" one because it had an unpleasant tone, but these are not part of a
discussion of ethics. I may have an opinion as to what is the "right" dip
(sawsawan) for my chicken barbecue, or I may maintain that it is "wrong" to
wear a leather vest over a Barong Tagalog, and these are not concerns of
ethics. These are valuations that fall under the domain of aesthetics.
 Etiquette
• Etiquette - which is concerned with the right and wrong actions.
• Similarly, we have a sense of approval or disapproval concerning certain actions which can be
considered relatively more trivial in nature. Thus, for instance, I may think that it is "right" to
knock politely on someone's door, while it is "wrong" to barge into one's office. Perhaps I may
approve of a child who knows how to ask for something properly by saying, "please" and
otherwise, disapprove of a woman that I see picking her nose in public. These and other similar
examples belong to the category of etiquette, which is concerned with right and wrong actions,
but those which might be considered not quite grave enough to belong to a discussion on ethics.
To clarify this point, we can differentiate how I may be displeased seeing a healthy young man
refuse to offer his seat on the bus to an elderly lady, but my indignation and shock would be
much greater if I were to see a man deliberately push another one out of a moving bus.

Example: Somebody may approve the child who knows how to ask for something properly by
saying “please” and approve otherwise disapproved of a woman that I see picking her nose in
public.
 Etiquette
• Etiquette – it is concerned with the
right and wrong actions.
• It is a customary code which
indicates the proper and polite way
to behave in society.
• The main difference between
ethics and etiquette is that ethics
relate to principles or conscience
whereas etiquette relates to
behavior.
 Technique / Technical valuation
• Technique - the right and wrong way or method of doing things.
It is derived from the Greek word “techne” the English words “technique” and
“technical” which are often used to refer to a proper way or right of doing
things.

We can also consider how a notion of right and wrong actions can easily
appear in a context that is not a matter of ethics. This could also be when
learning how to bake, for instance. I am told that the right thing to do would
be to mix the dry ingredients first, such as flour or sugar before bringing in
any liquids, like milk or cream; this is the right thing to do in baking, but not
one that belongs to a discussion of ethics.
 Wrap up
• Recognizing the characteristic of aesthetic and technical valuation allows us to have a rough
guide as to what belongs to a discussion of ethics. They involve valuations that we make in a
sphere of human actions, characterized by certain gravity and concern the human well-being or
human life itself. Therefore, matters that concern life and death such as war, capital punishment,
or abortion and matters that concern human well-being such as poverty, inequality, or sexual
identity are often included in discussions of ethics. However, this general description is only a
starting point and will require further elaboration.
• One complication that can be noted is that the distinction between what belongs to ethics and
what does not is not always so clearly defined. At times, the question of what is grave or trivial is
debatable, and sometimes some of the most heated discussions in ethics could be on the
fundamental question of whether a certain sphere of human activities belongs to this discussion.
Are clothes always just a matter of taste or would provocative clothing call for some kind of moral
judgment? Can we say that a man who verbally abuses his girlfriend is simply showing bad
manners or does this behavior deserve stronger moral condemnation?
 - End -
Thank You