“VALUE”

GEd 107
• Recognizing the notions of
good and bad, and right and
wrong, are the primary
concern of ethics.
 • Our first point of
clarification is to recognize
Kinds of that there are instances
Valuation when we make value
judgments that are not
considered to be part of
ethics.
• First, we could say that the new movie you had just
seen was a “good” one because you enjoyed it; or
• Second, a song you had just heard on the radio was a
“bad” one because it had an unpleasant tone.

• You may have an opinion as to what is the “right” dip

(sawsawan) for your chicken barbecue; or
• You may maintain that it is “wrong” to wear a leather
vest over a Barong tagalog.
• Those instances mentioned were not part of a
discussion of ethics; and those instances are not
concerns of ethics.

• Those valuations fall under the domain of

aesthetics (Grk: aisthesis - “sense” or
“feeling”)
• Aesthetics refers to the judgments of personal
approval or disapproval that we make about
what we see, hear, smell, or taste.

• 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.”
• You may think that it is “right” to knock
politely on someone’s door, while it is “wrong”
to barge into one’s office; and

• Perhaps, you may approve of a child who

knows how to ask for something properly by
saying “please”; and otherwise
• Disapprove of a woman that you see picking
her nose in public.
• Those instances mentioned have a sense of
approval or disapproval concerning certain
actions which can be considered more trivial in
nature.

• Those valuations belong to the category of

etiquette.
• Etiquette is concerned with the right and
wrong actions, but those which might be
considered not quite grave enough to belong
to a discussion on ethics.
• In learning how to bake, you were 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 the cream;
and

• In learning how to play basketball, you were

instructed that it is against the rules to walk
more than two steps without dribbling the
ball.
• Those instances does not belong to a
discussion of ethics or ethical prohibitions.

• Those instances fall under the context of

technical.
• Technical (Grk: techne – “technique”) is
used to refer to a proper way (or right
way) of doing things, but a technical
valuation (or right and wrong technique
of doing things) may not be an ethical
one.
• Recognizing the characteristics of aesthetic,
etiquette, 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; and even ethical standards on the nature of study or
even in the industry or work life are often included in
discussion of ethics.
(However, this general description is only a starting point and will
require further elaboration.)
 • Our second point of
Ethics clarification is on the use of
and the words “ethics” and
Morals “morals.” This discussion of
ethics and morals would
include cognates such as
ethical, unethical, immoral,
amoral, morality, and so on.
• We should be careful particularly on the use of
the word “not” when applied to the words
“moral” or “ethical” as this can be ambigous.

• One might say that cooking is not ethical, that is,

the act of cooking does not belong to a
discussion of ethics;
• On the other hand, one might say that lying is
not ethical, but the meaning here is that the act
of lying would be an unethical act.
• The term “morals” may be used to refer to specific
beliefs or attitudes that people have or to describe
acts that people perform.

• Thus, it is sometimes said that an individual’s

personal conduct is referred to as his morals, and if
he falls short of behaving properly, this can be
described as immoral.

• “moral judgment” or “moral reasoning”

• The term “ethics” can be spoken of as the discipline
of studying and understanding ideal human behavior
and ideal ways of thinking. (intellectual discipline
belonging to philosophy)

• Professional ethics (e.g., legal ethics for the proper

comportment of lawyers and other people in the
legal profession; medical ethics for doctors and
nurses; and media ethics for writers and reporters)
• Philosophy (Grk: philia – “friendship” or “love”;
sophia – “wisdom”) started among the ancient
Greeks around two and a half thousand years ago.
• A unique discipline that asks significant questions
that other fields are unable to address.

• Biology, Psychology, Metaphysics, Epistemology,

and Axiology
 A descriptive study of ethics
Descriptive reports how people,
and particularly groups, make their
Normative moral valuations without
making any judgment either
for or against these valuations.
(social scientist: either a
historian or a sociologist or an
anthropologist)
A normative study of ethics, as is
often done in philosophy or moral
theology, engages the question: What
could or should be considered as the
right way of acting? (what we ought to
maintain as standards or basis for
moral valuation / ethical action)
 • As the final point of clarification,
Issue, it may be helpful to distinguish a
Decision, situation that calls for moral
valuation. It can be called moral
Judgment, issue.
and
Dilemma • For instance, imagine a situation
wherein a person cannot afford a
certain item, but then the
possibility presents itself for
him/her to steal it.

• Capital punishment and

euthanasia
• When one is placed in a situation and
confronted by the choice of what act to
perform, he/she is called to make moral
decision. (e.g., You chose not to take
something you did not pay for)

• When a person is an observer who makes an

assessment on the actions or behavior of
someone, she is making a moral judgment.
(e.g, Your friend chooses to steal from a store,
and you make an assessment that is wrong)
• Finally, going beyond the matter of choosing right
over wrong, or good over bad, and considering
instead the more complicated situation wherein one
is torn between choosing one of two goods or
choosing between the lesser of two evils: this is
referred to as a moral dilemma
• e.g., A mother may be conflicted between wanting
to feed her hungry child, but then recognizing that it
would be wrong for her to steal
Identify what 1. The case of the tragic death of Cris
Anthony Mendez that was left
is asked or unresolved signify the _____ of one’s

being life.

described by
2. It involve obligations that we are
encouraged to fulfill, prohibitions
each item: that we are required to respect, or
ideals that we are encouraged to
meet.
3. Colloquially used to refer to initiation
rites in which neophytes may be
subjected to various forms of
physical abuse.
4. Ethics as a subject for us to study is about
determining the grounds of values with particular
and special significance to ______.
5. We should be careful on the use of this word when
applied to the words “moral” or “ethical” as this
can be ambiguous.
6. Metaphysics: _________
7. Axiology: _________
8. Epistemology: _________
9. Proper comportment of lawyers.
10. Prescribes what we ought to maintain as our standards or
bases for moral valuation.
11. Healthy young man refuse to offer his seat on the bus to an
elderly lady.
12. The new arrival clothes displayed on the shop was a good
one because it was advertised by a known artist.
13. Chess is a game played between two opponents on
opposite sides of a board containing 64 squares of
alternating colors. Eachplayer has 16 pieces: 1 king, 1
queen, 2 rooks, 2 bishops, 2 knights, and 8 pawns. The goal
of the game is to checkmate the other king
14. A man deliberately push another one out of a
moving bus.
15. He choose to have piercings over tattoos to look
more aggressive and dominant.
16. Philosophy started among the ancient Greeks
around ________, when certain people in the
Mediterranean made the mental effort of trying to
make sense of the world and of human life in a
unique way.
17. Kind of study that is often a work of the social
scientist.
18.Torn between choosing one of two goods or
choosing between the lesser of two evils.
19.Practice of executing someone
as punishment for a specific crime after a
proper legal trial.
20.Human behavior : _________
 It’s All in the Mind

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