CHAPTER 1

THE ETHICAL DIMENSION OF HUMAN EXISTENCE

ETHICS
- is about matters such as the good thing that we should pursue and the bad thing that we should avoid.

KINDS OF VALUATION
1. AESTHETICS – is derived from the greek word aesthesis (sense of feeling)
and refers to the judgments of personal approval or
disapproval that we make about what we see,hear,smell, or
smell.
• 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”.

2. ETIQUETTE – concerned with right and wrong actions

3 .TECHNICAL - derived from the Greek word “techne” the English words “technique”
and technical are often used to refer to a proper way of doing things.

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 .
•ETHICS AND MORALS
This discussion of ethics and morals would include cognates such as
ethical ,unethical ,immoral, amoral,and morality. The term MORAL may be used to refer to specific
beliefs or attitudes that people have or to describe
acts that people perform. Ethics is acknowledge as an intellectual discipilne
belonging to philosophy.

DIFFERENT PROFESSIONAL ETHICS:

LEGAL ETHICS- proper comportment of lawyers and other people in the legal profession
MEDICAL ETHICS- for doctors and nurses
MEDIA ETHICS- for writers and reporters
• PHILOSOPHY
is rooted in the Greek words that translate to “ love of wisdom” philia means love..Sophia
means wisdom.
AREAS OF PHILOSOPHY
1. METAPHYSICS- wonders as to what constitutes the whole of reality
2. EPISTEMOLOGY- asks what is our basis for determining what we know
3. AXIOLOGY- refers broadly to the study of value and is often divide into:
aesthetics- concerns with the value of beauty
ethics- concerns with the value of human actions
• DESCRIPTIVE STUDY- reports how people make their moral valuations without
making any judgment either for or against these evaluations.
NORMATIVE STUDY- often done in philosophy or moral theology,engages the
question : What could or should be considered as the right way of acting?

ISSUE,DECISION,JUDGMENT, AND DILEMMA

MORAL ISSUE – used to refer to those particular situations that are often the
source of considerable and inconclusive debate.
• MORAL DECISION- when one is placed in a situation and confronted by the
choice of what act to perform.
MORAL JUDGMENT- when a person is an observer who makes an assessment
on the actions or behavior of someone.
MORAL DILEMMA- wherein one is torn between choosing one of two goods
or choosing between the lesser of two evils.
• Reasoning
a person’s fear of punishment or desire for reward can provide him a reason for acting in a
certain way.

Principles – rationally established grounds by which one justifies and maintains

her moral decisions and judgments.
Moral Theory- a systematic attempt to establish the validity of maintaining
certain moral principles .We can use the term framework, a structure through
which we can evaluate our reasons for valuing a certain decision or
judgment.
• PLATO- The GREEK thinker,credited as one of the pioneers of PHILOSOPHY.

THE APOLOGY OF SOCRATES

written by Plato, Socrates makes the claim that it is the greatest good for a person to spend
time thinking about and discussing with others these questions
on goodness and virtue.
• SOURCES OF AUTHORITY
LAW –one’s guide to ethical behavior, cannot tell us what to pursue, only what to avoid.
POSITIVE LAW- refers to the different rules and regulations that are posited or put forward
by an authority figure that require compliance.
RELIGION- obliged to obey God in all things.(Divine Command Theory)
CULTURE- what is ethically acceptable or unacceptable is relative to,or that
is to say,dependent on one’s culture.This position is referred to as CULTURAL
RELATIVISM.
• THREE THEORIES ABOUT ETHICS

1. SUBJECTIVISM – the recognition that the individual thinking person(the subject) is at the
heart of all moral valuations.She is the one who is confronted
with the situation and is burdened with the need to make a decision or judgment. (closed-
mindedness)

2. PSYCHOLOGICAL EGOISM - a self-serving desire

3.ETHICAL EGOISM – we may act in a way that is beneficial to others, but we should do
that only if it ultimately benefits us.