After studying this module, you should be able to:

1. Discuss the nature of mores and values in

ethics;
2. Explain the difference between values and
moral values;
3. Differentiate between a moral judgment and a
moral decision; and
4. Explore the difference between intellectual
choice and practical choice.
A.The Realm of Morality:
Ethics and Mores
Ethics is the branch of philosophy that deals with
the systematic questioning and critical examination
of the underlying principles of morality.
 Normative ethics

Ethics

Meta ethics
B. The Role of Society and the Individual in
the Emergence of Mores
William Graham Sumner, a well-known sociologist and
anthropologist, claims that our notion of what is ‘right’ stems
from our basic instinct to survive.

folkways customs
MORES refer to customary behavior.
Mores become the compelling reason to do what ought
to be done, because it is the right thing to do to
preserve and protect society. Mores exert social
pressure on the individual to conform to society’s
expectations in terms of character and behavior — that
is, to come as close as possible to the ideal man or
woman.
Even as society defends and preserves its mores, these same mores
may change to adapt to new conditions.
According to Sumner, this point can be summarized thus: “The
‘morals’ of an age are never anything but the consonance between
what is done and what the mores of the age requires.”
Consequently, with regard to morality one always has to
consider two points of view - the point of view of society,
together with its customs, social rules, and social sanctions,
and that of the individual or the free moral agent who develops
habits in the course of following the social norms established
by society. Ultimately, it is still the individual, in his/her
capacity as a rational and free moral agent, who will decide
whether to follow these norms.
On the other hand, society is not homogenous, because there is an
interplay of varying views and groups where the individual
belongs.
 family

Church
peer YOU groups
(free moral
agent)

Media school
Therefore, the individual plays a pivotal role as a free
moral agent in analyzing, choosing, and valuing what
he/she considers as most important when he/she
makes his/her choices
To a certain extent, society coerces its
members to follow its rules to maintain order.
Conscience is the “power” that fuels
mores.
rules Conscience law
Positive Customary
Laws Laws Formulated and are
Part of the custom of
products of rational
our society
reflection

Ex. Constitutional
Ex. Lending loans
and Penal Code of
with collateral
the Philippines
 Crescive • Products of our mores like our very
institutions rich religious practices

• Products of rational reflection

Enacted
• Ex. Banking system, land titling
institutions
system
Ethics and Moral Reasoning in Everyday Life

Freedom Morality

What is freedom and how is it exercised

in the real of morals?
 agent

Man is never
Sarte)

compelled or
free moral

determined;
he is totally
by (John Paul

free and
totally
Unconstrained

responsible
for all the
things that he
does
RADICAL FREEDOM

MAN

Man is nothing else but that which he

makes of himself
be free
condemned to
Man is
When you exercise freedom in making your choices,
you are taking control and assuming full responsibility
for those choices. However, there is one important
caveat: you are free but this freedom is not absolute.
You cannot do anything that you please without taking
into consideration the norms of your society.
Mores are there to serve as a form of social
control to limit, govern, or regulate your behavior
in order to maintain order in your society.
Freedom of the human person in the moral sense of the
word assumes that one is a free moral agent. Moral in
this sense refers to the freedom to make one’s choice in
accordance with one’s own moral discernment of what
is good and bad, and one is taking full responsibility for
one’s own actions and is using his/ her rational and
empathetic capacity as a moral being. Aside from our
reason and critical thinking, we also have the ability to
empathize or to feel what other beings feel and to
situate ourselves in their shoes.
Activity: Read Benedict R. (1934) Anthropology and the
Abnormal. Journal of General Psychology and answer the
questions below:
1. Explain Benedict’s concept of the “normal/ abnormal” and relate it
with Summer’s discussion of the mores of society.
2. Explain and analyze the normal practices or norms in the cultures of
the tribes described by Benedict in terms of the discussion about
mores and social sanctions to maintain, preserve, and protect the
welfare of one’s society.
3. Compare the norms described by Benedict to our own standard of
“normal/ abnormal” in our culture. How will you justify the
“abnormal practices?”
 Necessary Conditions for Morality:
Freedom and Obligation

According to John Mothers head, there are two

necessary conditions for morality to occur:
freedom and obligation.
 animals do not people do plan for
plan for the future the future
Our discussion of freedom entails this basic presupposition:
That the human person is free in the exercise of making
choices in the realm of morality — that is, in making choices
with regard to determining what is the right thing to do in
situations and circumstances in his/her own life. This can be
summarized in our Filipino saying, “Buntot mo, hila mo!” It is
taking full responsibility for your actions and being
obliged to do so.
When was the last time you blamed other people for a mistake
that you made? There is a tendency for people to
blame others for their choice of a course of
action. For example, a couplewho freely choose to marry
each other out of love could, when the marriage sours, blame
eachother for their predicament and end up saying he/she was
forced or coerced by the other into the marriage. However, it
is one’s obligation to oneself to exercise one’s capacity for
deliberation and reflection by thinking about the
consequences before making a decision. In other words, this is
an exercise of one’s rationality to the fullest without
forgetting one’s humanity and his/her capacity for empathy.
Only Humans are Moral

According to Mothershead, conduct refers to

deliberate human action. It is a result of the
process of reflection based on the idea that the human
person is endowed with the capacity to think and plan
his/her own life using his/her rationality and to weigh
the consequences of his/her actions.
Value Experience: Values and Moral Values

Valuation process happens when we make choices and

indicate our preferences,for example, when we like or
dislike, approve or disapprove, favor or disfavor. Values
are the result of this process of value experience where you set which
priorities to pursue. They may also be considered as imperatives that you
have set your mind to do.
According to Mothershead, “All values are priorities with respect to some
aspect of human experience. This is usually expressed by saying that values
are imperatives; they make a claim upon us, whether we admit the claim or
not.”
How does values become moral values?

Mothershead argues that a value can become a moral value if it becomes an unlimited priority in its scope of
relevance in our life. This is to say that one is willing to give up other values in order to promote what s/he
considers as a moral value. Thus, a moral value takes precedence and priority over other values.
Money could also become a moral value for some people
who set aside other values, like family ties or friendship, for
the sake of money.
‘Mukhang
pera yan’

‘Walang kai-kaibigan o kamag-anak, lahat

pera pera lang ang katapat’,

‘Diyos niya
ang pera!’
Moral Judgments and Moral Decisions

According to Mothershead, “Making moral

judgments is budgeting actions”.
Furthermore, for him, “[a] moral decision is
the most important class of moral
judgments” because it “has reference to the
judger’s own future action.” Our moral
decisions reflect our choices as to what
should be included or excluded in our life.
This is what freedom entails — to make these
choices, and in effect, to plan and budget our
life, including mapping out plans for the
future.
 Intellectual Choice and Practical Choice
“What do I ought to do given “What am I inclined to do
this situation?” given this situation?”

intellectual choice practical choice

Reflection:
1. What are your values and moral values. Give at
least five (5) examples each. Cite one (1) concrete
example where you fought for your moral value.
2. What moral judgment and moral decision do
you usually practice? Give at least one (1)
example.
3. What intellectual choices do you even violate
and what practical choices do you do instead? Give
at least three (3) examples.