PHILOSOPHY

- “philos” (love) and “sophia” (wisdom).

-academic study of anything
1st universities of the Western World
1. Plato-Academy
2. Aristotle-Lyceum ( a way of asking
big questions)
Branches of Philosophy:
1. Metaphysics- nature of reality
2. Epistemology- deals and studies the scope of
knowledge
3. Value Theory
a. Ethics- how humans should live with each other
b. Aesthetics- it's all about beauty and arts
4. Logic- exact and precise
- toolbox of a philosopher
- it's all about reasoning
ETHICS
- Greek “ethos” which means a characteristic
way of acting which also refers to the
principles and standards of human conduct.
-also known as MORAL PHILOSOPHY
-a Practical Sciece
(PRAXIS- Theory + Practice)
MISCONCEPTIONS ON ETHICS:
1. Feelings
- deviates from what is ethical
2. Religion
- ethics is not confined from religion
3. Law
- what may be legal may not be necessarily ethical
4. Society
- what may the society accepts is not necessarily
ethical
WHY IS ETHICS IMPORTANT:
- it will be a guide to reach our goal
- deepen our reflection how to live better
- offers wider perspective of the world
- reminds our duties, responsibilities and
accountabilities
- encourages to examine our life
- helps us realize what we ought to be for a beautiful
world
 MORAL ACTS
- good actions that result in good consequences
IMMORAL ACTS
- evil and wrong in itself; sinful actions according to
the code of ethics
AMORAL ACTS
- neither good or bad
-exhibit indifference
neutral
MORAL DILLEMAS
- situation in ethics where the human person is to
choose between two possible alternatives and the options
become limited
NON-MORAL DILEMMAS
- happens when we cannot make a distinction
between a good act from an evil act (e.g. what shoes to
wear)
DISTINCTION OF ACTIONS
1. Human Acts
- acts which are under the control of the will, done
knowingly and willingly
- responsile (response, able) ability to response
2. Acts of Man
- actions resulting from bodily functions
- ( e.g. breathing, sneezing)
THREE FOLD ELEMENTS OF HUMAN ACTS
1. Knowledge
- awareness of being conscious of one's actions including
its possible consequences
2. Freedom of the will
- the power which human person have in determining
their actions according to the judgement of their reason
3. Voluntariness
- act of consenting or accepting a certain action whether it
is done wholeheartedly, half-heartedly or non-heartedly
ETHICS OF BEING
- emphasis is on the character development which involves
the integrations of values, virtues and personhood
- who is the “good person”

ETHICS OF DOING
- focuses not only on the goodness of the person but on the
ability of the person to put into action his or her ethical
conviction
*on- voluntariness
a. PERFECT VOLUNTARINESS
- actualized by a person who is fully aware and who fully intend on act
b. IMPERFECT VOLUNTARINESS
- seen in a person who acts without the full awareness of his action or
without fully intending on an act.
c. CONDITIONAL VOLUNTARINESS
- manifested by a person who is forced by his cirmcumstances beyond his
control to perform an action which he would not do under normal
conditions
d. SIMPLE VOLUNTARINESS
- exhibited by a person doing an act willfully regardless of whether he like
to do it or not.
DETERMINANTS OF MORALITY
a. OBJECT CHOSEN
- that thing which your action is directed to
b. INTENTION
- the goal/motive of an action
c. CIRCUMSTANCES
- contribute to increasing or diminishing the moral
goodness or evil of human acts
CULTURE AND MORAL BEHAVIORS

CULTURE
- the way that non-material objects like- thoughts, actions,
languages and values- come together with material objects to
form a way of life
- things and ideas
MATERIAL CULTURE
- culture of things
e.g. red-stop; green-go

NON-MATERIAL CULTURE
- made up of intangible creations of human society-values,
symbols, customs and ideals
- also called as “formal culture”
- e.g. monument of rizal- heroism/freedom
SYMBOLS
- anything that carries a specific meanings that's recognized by
people who share a culture (e.g. cultures)

VALUES
- cultural standards that people use to decide what's
right/wrong and good/bad.
- they serve as the ideals and guidelines that we live by (e.g.
hospitality, collectivism)
NORMS
- the rukes and expectations that guide behavior within a
society
- what is normal and acceptable for the society
ETHNOCENTRISM
- when we judge some element of another culture, customs,
rituals, etc. from our own cultural perspective

CULTURAL RELATIVISM
- when we look at some aspect of a culture from the
perspective of the other person's culture
 LAWRENCE KOHLBERG'S THEORY OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT
(HEINZ DILEMMA)
LEVEL 1 - Pre-conventional
Stage 1- Punishment and Obedience
Stage 2- Individual Instrumental Purpose and Exhange

LEVEL 2- Conventional
Stage 3- Mutual Interpersonal Expectations, Relationships and
C0onformity (pleasing the society)
Stage 4- Social System and Conscience Maintenance (in
conformity with the rule)
 LAWRENCE KOHLBERG'S THEORY OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT
(HEINZ DILEMMA)

LEVEL 3- Post-Conventional
Stage 5- Prior Right of Social Contract of Utility (inculcate
value that transcends the law)
Stage 6- Universalized Ethical Principal (you can already fight
for it)