Republic of the Philippines

BALIAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE

4018 Brgy. Isla, Pangil, Laguna

BCC LEARNING MODULE

Subject: ETHICS
Lesson Title: THE ACT
Semester/A.Y: Second Semester/ 2023-2024
Module No. 2

Intended Learning Outcome:

Students should be able to meet the following intended learning outcomes:

 Discuss the feelings and moral decision-making, reason and impartiality as minimum
requirements for morality.
 Enumerate and explain the steps to Moral Reasoning Process.
 Make recommendations on ethical issues using the eight moral reasoning processes.
Explain why the will is as important as reason

Target/Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, students should be able

 Understand the role of feelings in moral decision

 Identify reason and Impartiality.
 Analyze the moral situation and make moral decision using moral reasoning process.
 Understand the steps of Moral reasoning process.
 Developing the will and moral courage

The ACT
Every day, people are faced with decisions, big and small. There are decision makingprocesses that
may involve moral dilemmas. In this topic, Moral decision making will be thoroughly defined and
analyzed. No one can deny the fact that when the humanperson is placed in a moral dilemma, his/her
decision making can also be greatly affected by feelings. (Buenaflor, et. al,.2017)

You were robbed by a close relative. Are you going to forgive him or her and not file a complaint to
the authority? If a person were stranger, are you going to exercise forgiveness or demand
punishment?

FEELINGS AND MORAL DECISION MAKING

What is feelings and its roles in moral decision making?
It plays a major role in most of the
ethical decisions people make. Most
people do not realize how much their
feelings direct their moral choices. But
experts think it is impossible to make any
important moral judgments without
feelings.
Examples:

POSITIVE FEELINGS
Like gratitude and admiration, which some people mayfeel when they receive an act of compassion.
This in turnmay prompt these people to help others with kindness.
NEGATIVE FEELINGS

People often direct anger, disgust, or contempt to thosewho have acted unethically. This discourages
others from behaving the same way.
Theories that give focus on the role of feelings in Morality

1. Feelings as instinctive Response to Moral Dilemmas

Some ethicists believe that ethics is also a matter of emotion. Feelings are also seen as necessary
in ethical judgments as they are even deemed as instinctive andtrained response to moral dilemmas.
Reason and emotions are not really opposites.Both abstract inference and emotional institution or
instincts are seen as having relative roles in ethical thinking.

Feelings are also visceral or instinctual by providing motivations to act morally. Many ethicists
conclude that being good involves both thinking and feeling. Responses to situations driven by right
feelings may help in taking ethical decisions.

Example of this Theory:

When you see an old, emaciated and physically disabled beggar, you will immediately give
money or food out ofpity setting aside any thought or suspicion that the beggar may be faking
his condition.

Feelings aroused by suffering, such as sympathy and empathy, often lead people toact ethically
toward others. Indeed, empathy is the central moral feelings that mostcommonly motivate pro-
social activity such as self-sacrifice, cooperation, and generosity.

2. Feelings as obstacles to making the right decision.

This theory includes in Ethical subjectivism which is not about what things is good and bad. It is
about the nature of moral judgments. Holds that the truth or falsity of ethical prepositions is
dependent on the feelings, attitude, or standards of a person or group of persons. On the other hand,
this is our own mental activityis the only questionable fact of our experience. Ethical judgments are
simply expressions of one’s feelings.

Example of this Theory

Your boyfriend is married but you continue to fight for your adulterousrelationship because of LOVE.
Making right decision is a choice that is made by a person based on his or her ethics,values, emotions,
and subjective beliefs about what is right and wrong. Decisions ofthis nature tend to both have effects
to the person making the decision and to the people involved in the given situation or dilemma.
(Brendan Broviak 2018).
 REASON AND IMPARTIALITY AS MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR
MORALITY
“Humans have not only feelings but also reason, and reason plays a vital role in
Ethics”

David Hume (1711-1776), during the early part of his philosophizing, believed that virtue conformed
to reason. In order to distinguish the good and the bad, we have to consider reason alone (Hume 2004,
59).

WHAT IS REASON?
Reason is the basis or motive for an action, decision, or conviction. It refers to the capacity for
logical, rational, and analytic thought consciously making sense of things establishing. It verifies
facts by applying common sense and logic to justify changing practices, institutions, and beliefs
based on existing or newly existing information.
Example:
“I DON’T LIKE KILLING PEOPLE.”

This requires reasonable justification. Why do you not like killing people?
Truth in ethics entails being justified by good reason. That is, the rightful moral decisioninvolving the
chosen option that has the power of reason on its side.
If someone tells us that a certain action is immoral, we may ask why it is so, and if there is no
reasonable answer, we may discard the proposition as illogical.
If somebody expresses that a particular act is wrong and explains that it is because itdoes not happen
to fit his standard, then we also do not count his claim as a legitimateethical judgment.
Thus, REASON IS A NECESSARY REQUIREMENT FOR MORALITY

WHAT IS IMPARTIALITY?

Also called as even-handedness or fair-mindedness.

It is a principle of justice holding that decisions ought to be based on objective criteria, rather than
on the basis of bias, prejudice, or preferring the benefit to one person over another for improper
reasons.
It requires that we give equal and/or adequate consideration to the interests of all concerned parties.
It assumes that every person is equally important; that is, no one is seen as intrinsically more
significant than anyone else.
Can we consider an impartial action to be more moral?
The difficulty in making the decisions is that the situation that requires our decisions may have already
placed us in a dilemma. We have to ask the questions:

“Where shall we start?” or “What to do

next?”

When people experience decision-making, they need to have a direction that willenable them to
move constructively in order to make a resolution.
8 STEPS OF MORAL REASONING PROCESS (Buenaflor, et. Al.2017)

To address the ethical dilemma we encounter in our day-to-day living, the followingsteps serve as a
process that can be used in order to assure that all the necessary bases are covered:

1. Gather the facts. Before making a moral decision, it is important that thenecessary facts
are gathered. Ethical dilemmas can be resolved simply by clarifying the facts of the case
in question. This is the essential step prior to anyethical analysis and reflection on the case
In gathering the facts, questions like, “what do we know?” and “what do we needto know?” must be
asked.
2. Define the ethical issues. Ethical issues are considered as the competing interests or goods.
The competing interests are actually the reason why there is an ethical dilemma. This will
help the person analyze the interest that are contradicting one another.
For example, the right of the teacher to give a failing grade to students who are not academically
qualified and incompetent versus the obligation of the teacher to become charitable to the student.
3. Review relevant ethical guidelines. It is important to determine the different ethical
guidelines in order to determine which ethical guideline can be best applied to the issue. It
is indeed a fact that here, the biblical principles will be given primary considerations.
However, there may be other principles that mayhave more weight. The constitutional and
natural law principles must also be taken into account.
Teacher are entitled to their own values but in their work, teachers’ responsibilityin tied to their basic
task and its standard.
4. Obtain consultation. It is important to consult persons who are more competentin terms of
morality. One may consult a religious leader, or a well-revered person, or an elder on a
society who gained more wisdom than us.
Student’s moral views can at least provide a guide as to what ethical decision can be best made.
5. List the alternative courses of action. Making moral decisions require creative thinking
which will help one identity various alternative courses of action. Indeed, it may be easier
to make a decision when there is no alternative courseof action.

The more alternatives that can be listed, the better the chance that the list will include some
high-quality alternative for a better decision.

6. Compare the alternatives with the principles. From the listed alternatives, the next step is
to connect the alternatives with the moral principles that have a bearing on the case. Most
of the time, the case will already be resolved at this point because the principles will
eliminate all the other alternatives except one which will uphold the moral value.

In case that there are no clear decisions that may come into force at this point, then it is necessary to
get to the next step. The best thing here is that at this point, some alternatives have already been
eliminated.

7. Weigh the consequences. If the moral principles that have a bearing on the case do not yet
provide a clear decision, then it is necessary to consider the consequences of an action
8. Make a decision. After weighing all the consequences, a decision has to be made. Notice,
that in an ethical dilemma, one has to undergo the painful processof critical studies and
analyses.
When a decision has to be made already, it is also necessary to consider that decision should be
that which involves the least number of problems or negative consequences, and not the one that is
devoid of problems.

The step-by-step method may be of great help in making it easier for a person to make a moral
decision. However, the method may be not always guarantee that thedecision that will be made will
be the best decision. And so, it will still be importantto consider whether the action will be beneficial
of other people or not.

MORAL COURAGE

"Stand up for what is right even if you stand alone."

Morally courageous individuals act upon their ethical values to help others duringdifficult ethical
dilemmas, despite the hardship they may face in doing so. To be morally courageous means
standing up for what you believe even when it means that you do so alone (Murray, 2015).

How to develop will?

The following are some ways on how to develop will and moral courage (Mañebog, 2013):
1. Develop and practice self-discipline
One way to develop moral courage and will is to develop and practice self-discipline. The concept
of self- discipline involves the rejection of instant gratification in favor of something better.

2. Do mental strength training.

This method is never reserved for a few special people. One of the most simple and effective methods
under this mental strength training involvesdeclining to satisfy unimportant and unnecessary desires.

3. Draw inspiration from people ofgreat courage.

People usually admire and respect courageous persons who have won great success by manifesting
self- discipline and will power.

4. Repeatedly do acts that exhibit moral courage and will.

Practice makes perfect. If one wishes to nurture the moral courage and will in him, he must strive
doing the acts that manifest them whenever opportunity allows it.

5. Avoid deeds that show lack of moral courage and will.

Here are some examples; this involves evading acts that show irresponsibility, fearfulness, apathy,
rashness, imprudence, ill will, and naughtiness.

-end-