Introduction To Ethics

The Discussion Starts Here

 Ethics
 Comes from the Greek word “ethos”, which
means “character” or “manner.”
 Is the branch of philosophy that studies
morality or the rightness or wrongness of
human conduct
 Morality
 Principles concerning the distinction between
right and wrong or good and bad behavior
 Speaks of a code or system of behavior
regards to standards of right or wrong
behavior
Questions that are ethical in nature

1 What is good?

2 Who is a moral person?

3 What are the virtues of a human being?

4 What makes an act right?

 Moral Philosophy
Moral Values Principles Standards
Concepts
 Ethics Vs. Morals
Ethics are the rules you abide by in order to remain within a
community or profession
Ex: Ethics is the term used in conjunction with business, medicine, or
law

Morals are your personal values that run to the core of your very being
Ex: Do not steal, Tell the truth
Rules Benefit social beings in
various manners:
Rules protect social Rules produce a sense
beings by regulating of justice among
behavior social beings

Rules help to guarantee Rules are essential

each person certain for a healthy
rights and freedom economic system
Rules vs. Regulations
Rules are more
flexible; regulations
are more stringent
Rules are the set of
instructions given to the
public; regulations are rules
accepted legally by the
administration

Rules are set according Rules are part of the

to individuals and regulation, but
organizations; regulations are part
regulations according to of the law
the state
 Moral Standards
 Refers to the norms which we have about the types of actions
which we believe to be morally acceptable and morally
unacceptable
 Moral standards deal with matters which can either seriously
harm or benefit human beings
 Validity of moral standards comes from the line of reasoning
that was taken to support them and are not able to changed by
bodies of authority
 Some ethicists equate moral standards with moral values and
moral principles
 Non-Moral Standards
 Refer to rules that are unrelated to moral or ethical
considerations
 Ex:
 rules of etiquette
 fashion standards
 rules in games
 various house rules
 Religious rules
 Some traditions
 Legal statutes like laws and ordinances
 Drill
Item Moral Non Moral
Do not lie
Do not wear red clothes at the funeral
Do not kill
Do not talk while your mouth is full
Women should not do the wedding proposal
Do not steal
Do not have an affair while in a committed relationship
Do not litter
Do not dress indecently inside the church
Men should give their seat to women in public transportation
Do not start eating while others are still praying
Moral standards involve serious wrongs or significant
benefits
 Moral standards deal with matters which can seriously
injure or benefit human beings
 Ex: Violating some basketball rules may matter in
basketball but does not necessarily affect one’s life or
well being
Moral standards have the trait of universalizability
 It entails that moral principles must apply to all who are
in the relevantly similar situation
 Ex: “Do unto others what you would them do unto you”
Moral standards ought to be preferred to other values
 Moral standards states that a person has the moral
obligation to do something, then he is supposed to do that
even if it conflict with other non moral standards even self
interest
 Ex: It may be prudent to lie to save one’s dignity, but it is
morally wrong to do so
Moral standards are associated with special emotions and
vocabulary
 Prescriptivity indicates the practical or action guiding
nature of moral standards
 Ex: Do not kill, Do no unnecessary harm, and Love
your neighbor
Moral standards are based on impartial considerations
 Moral standards do not evaluate standards on the
basis of the interests of a certain person or group, but
one that goes beyond personal interests to a universal
standpoint in which each person’s interests are
impartiality counted as equal
 Ex: The fact that you will benefit from a lie and that
person will be harmed is irrelevant to whether lying is
morally wrong
Moral standards are not established by authority figures
 Moral standards are not invented, formed, or
generated by authoritative bodies or persons such as
nations’ legislative bodies.
 In principle, therefore, moral standards cannot be
changed nor nullified by the decisions of a particular
authoritative body.
Ethical Dilemma
Next topic
 Moral Dilemma
 Ethical Dilemma, also known as moral
dilemma, is a conflict in which you have to
choose between two or more actions and
have moral reasons for choosing each action
 What is common to the two well known
cases is conflict
 Doing both is not possible
Three Levels of Moral Dilemmas

1 Personal Dilemma

2 Organizational Dilemma

3 Structural Dilemma
 Example 1

Personal Dilemmas
These dilemmas are experienced and resolved
on the personal level. Since many ethical
decisions are personally made, most moral
dilemmas fall under this level.
 Example
 If someone makes conflicting promises, he
faces a moral conflict

 When an individual has to choose between

the life a child who is about to be delivered
and the child’s mother, he faces an ethical
dilemma
 Example 2

Organizational Dilemmas
These dilemmas refer to ethical cases encountered and
resolved by social organizations. This category
includes moral dilemmas in business, medical field,
and public sector
 Example
 A hospital that believes that human life should
not be deliberately shortened and that
unpreventable pain should not be tolerated
encounters a conflict in resolving whether to
withdraw life support from a dying patient.
 Example 3

Structural Dilemmas
These dilemmas refer to cases involving network of
institutions and operative theoretical paradigms. As
they usually encompasses multi sectoral institutions
and organizations.
 Example
 The prices of medicine in the Philippines which are
higher compared to other countries in Asia of similar
economic status. Factors affecting medicines prices
include the cost of research, presence of competition in
the market, government regulations etc. The institutions
concerned may want to lower the costs of medicine, but
such a move may ruin the interests or legal rights of
researchers, inventors, companies etc.
 Example
 Kalusugan Pangkalahatan, as a government mandate aims to
ensure that every Filipino shall receive affordable and quality
health benefits by providing adequate resources, health
facilities, and health financing. Nonetheless, health financing
is first and foremost a big issue here. Government could set
aside bigger budget for health for the implementation of this
provision. But then, this would mean cutting down
allocations on other sectors such as education or public
works.
Only Human Beings Can
Be Ethical
Only Human
Only human beings
beings are rational,
are part of the
autonomous and
moral community
self conscious

Only human
beings can act
morally or
immorally
 Moral Dilemma
The Robin Hood Robber: You witness a man rob a bank, but instead
of keeping the money for himself, he donates it to a local orphanage.
You know that this orphanage has been struggling for funding, and
the money will allow the children to receive proper food, clothing,
and medical care. If you report the crime, the money will be taken
away from the orphanage and given back to the bank.

What should you do?

The Unfaithful Wife: You are an emergency worker that has just been
called to the scene of an accident. When you arrive, you see that the
car belongs to your wife. Fearing the worst, you rush over, only to
see that she is trapped in her car with another man whom she’s been
having an affair.
You reel back in shock, as you step back, the wreck in front of you
comes into focus. You see your wife is seriously hurt and she needs
attention straight away. Even if she gets immediate attention, there’s
a high chance she’ll die. You look at the seat next to her and see her
lover, he’s bleeding heavily from a wound in the neck, and you need
to stem the flow of the blood immediately.
If you attend to your wife, her lover will bleed to death, and you may
not be able to save her anyway. If you work on the man, you can save
his life, but your wife will definitely die. What should you do?
The Sick Patients: You are a skilled doctor with five patients who all
need different organ transplants. There are currently no organs
available to give them, and if they don’t get their transplants soon,
they will all die. You have a sixth patient, who is dying of an
incurable disease. At the moment, you are giving him medicine to
ease his pain and prolong his life. He is a compatible organ donor for
your five other patients, but the medicine he is taking will keep him
alive just a day longer than they have left.

If you were to stop giving him medicine, he would die before them in
a very painful way, but you would then be able to use his organs to
save the other five. What should you do?
Thank You
Any Questions ?