PECP301

WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY
 WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY
• From two Greek word – philos (wisdom) and Sophia (love)
• The systematic enquiry into the fundamentals of reality and how the world operates
• The search for the ultimate truth
• The search for wisdom, truth and knowledge. Philosophy “seeks wisdom and deep
understanding and not simply knowledge”
• Protagoras of Abdera: a philosopher is a lover of wisdom
• Philosophy is the love of wisdom
• Clement Oniang’o – “the search for a comprehensive view of nature, an attempt at a universal
explanation of things”
• Philosophy is an activity people undertake when they seek to understand fundamental truths
about themselves, the world in which they live and their relationship to the world and each
other
• Ian Martindale – philosophy “ is not a body of knowledge but an activity of seeking a
reflective understanding of ourselves and of the natural and social world we inhabit”
 BRANCHES OF PHILOSPHY

MAIN BRANCHES
• Metaphysics,
• Epistemology,
• Logic,
• Ethics
 METAPHYSICS

• It studies the nature of reality, what exists in the world, what it is like and how it is
ordered
• It deals with clarification of how people can understand the world like existence ,
space, time, cause, effect….etc
• Metaphysics questions the existence of God and the reality of everything
• Morris Lazerowitz – metaphysical theories “….are perfectly well understood and that
the debates about them are debates over whether they are true or false
• Metaphysics asks questions concerning the origins of the physical universe , the matter
(stuff) from which it is made of and the laws which are present in nature
• What is reality, how does the world exist and what is its origin or source of creation?
Does the world exist outside the mind? How can the incorporeal mind affect the
physical body? Is there a God? etc
 IMPORTANCE OF METAPHYSICS IN LIFE AND BUSINESS

• It seeks to explain the world around us hence helps humanity to deal with reality
• Interpretations of reality lies in metaphysics
• Metaphysics studies the true nature of reality by looking at how human beings use
experience, knowledge and beliefs to make judgements about the physical world and
which decisions to take
• It is the foundation from which human beings perceive and give meaning to the world
• Metaphysics analyses who we are, why we are here, the true nature of reality, our
experiences, the forms, our feelings and our behaviour
• Gives meaning to life and life activities as it deals with the role of the human mind in
perception of both the physical and non-physical reality
• Aristotle: everything that that exists is within the scope of metaphysical enquiry
 LOGIC

• The Study of human reasoning

• Assesses human’s validity and truth when reasoning
• Assessing and analysing the validity of each and every claim
• Logic from the Greek word logos which means reason, rule, idea or word
• Logic evaluates good and bad reasoning
 EPISTEMOLOGY

• Deals with issues related to knowledge forms and theories

• Concerned about what we can know about the world and how we can know
 ETHICS

• The study of human behavioural conducts

• Ethics has to do with right and wrong in human interactions
• Formulates principles to guide moral decisions whether in private or public life
• Without these principles it is difficult for human beings to govern their behaviour
• Ethicists try to come up with answers of what makes humans good or bad and should every
human being treat one another
ETHICS PYRAMID (Tilley’s ethics pyramid)
• Elspeth Tilley (2005) proposes a structured approach to thinking about
ethics.
• The ethics pyramid involves three basic concepts: intent, means, and
ends.
• Intent: the first major consideration to be aware of when examining
the ethicality of something is the issue of intent. To be an ethical
speaker or listener, it is important to begin with ethical intentions.
• means used to communicate with others: According to McCroskey,
Wrench, and Richmond (2003), “means” are the tools or behaviors we
employ to achieve a desired outcome.
• Ends: according to McCroskey, Wrench, and Richmond (2003), ends
are your desired outcomes
 PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
Definition of terms: Profession and ethics
• PROFESSION : The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) defines “profession” as “[a]n occupation in
which a professed knowledge of some subject, field, or science is applied; a vocation or career,
especially one that involves prolonged training and a formal qualification.”
• Characteristics of a profession: a personal service, not a good. Each requires specialized education
and the exercise of independent judgment, even if the service provider is technically an employee.
Each profession has duties to the public in addition to their individual clients. Professionals use
their best independent judgment to accomplish appropriate results that best fit the interests of
their clients. Professionals do not allow their independent judgment to be impaired by outside
influences (Buhai, S 2016:250)
• ETHICS: norms for conduct that distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable behavior. Ethics
is the philosophical study of morality. This is a general study of goodness, right action, applied
ethics, meta-ethics, moral psychology and metaphysics of moral responsibility. The general study
of goodness and right action is the main task of ethics. Ethics is that science which is concerned
with moral behaviour or with right or wrong and good or evil of human behaviour. It propounds
those principles which make our conduct moral. The word Ethics is derived from the Greek word
 PROFESSIONAL ETHICS CONTINUED…..

• “Professional ethics” is a term that can be understood in different ways. First, professional
ethics is a code of values and norms that actually guide practical decisions when they are
made by professionals. Second, professional ethics is a fully idealized set of values whose
purpose is to explicate the best possible world in which the given profession could be
working. All professions have nowadays formulated their own codes of conduct that explicate
their own best values, conduct, and consequences. It can then be said that professional ethics
is a declaration and manifestation of good intentions that are supposed to characterize a
given profession. Third, professional ethics may be a critical philosophical discipline, and as
such a part of the wider field of applied ethics. In this case, normal methods of philosophical
ethics are applied to professional decisions, planning, and action in order to evaluate,
criticize, and develop them.
• Professional ethics can be understood from the point of view of its service ideal and its related
values
 THREE MAIN BRANCHES OF ETHICS
• 1. Meta-ethics- consists in the attempt to answer the fundamental philosophical questions
about the nature of ethical theory itself. Meta-ethics investigates the source of our
morality/moral behaviours and how are ethical terms defined and conceptualised. It provides
the structure and meaning of ethical terms as they are used in philosophy.
Examples: (i). Are ethical statements such as "lying is wrong", or "friendship is good" true or false?
2. Applied Ethics- consists in the attempt to answer difficult moral questions actual people face
in their lives. Involves examining specific controversial issues in various fields of life. These
controversial issues include abortion, euthanasia, whistleblowing, the death penalty, homo
sexuality, sensationalism, suicide etc.
• 3. Normative ethics- norms that how one should act and behave in society. It is also called as
prescriptive ethics.It is the study of what makes actions right or wrong, what makes situations
or events good or bad and what makes people virtuous or vicious.
• The principal purpose that normative ethical theories serve is to articulate and advocate an
ethical code, i.e., to provide justifiable and reliable principles to determine what is moral (and
immoral) behavior.
 Normative ethics continued……..
• Normative ethics involve a more practical task to arrive at moral standards that regulates
right and wrong.
• Normative ethics look at questions like (i) should I use my room mate’s laptop without asking
his/her permission (ii) should I steal food to give my starving family.
• Answers to these questions come from major ethical theories like utilitarianism, Kantian
deontology, virtue ethics, etc.
• Normative ethical theories are classified into three main groups which are teleological,
deontological and virtue ethics.
• These types of theories differ in how they determine the moral worth of an action – whether
an action is morally right or wrong, permissible or impermissible.
• . Each theory emphasizes different points – a different decision-making style or a decision
rule—such as predicting the outcome and following one’s duties to others in order to reach
what the individual considers an ethically correct decision.
 Normative ethics continued
Consequentialism
• Consequential Ethics/Teleological Ethics: Teleology finds its etymology in the Greek word
‘telos’ which means “end” and logos, “science”.
• It determines the moral worth of any action by the consequences or outcomes of that action.
• Consequentialism: holds that the rightness or wrongness (etc.) of actions depends entirely on
the moral value (goodness) of the consequences.
• The modern form of the consequentialist theory of utilitarianism derives from 19th century
British philosophers such as Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill.
• Rather than maximise individual welfare, utilitarianism focuses on collective welfare and it
identifies goodness with the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people: the
'greatest happiness principle‘,i.e, the greatest good for the greatest number of people.
• Utilitarian ethical theories are based on one’s ability to predict the consequences of an action.
To a utilitarian, the choice that yields the greatest benefit to the most people is the one that is
ethically correct.
 Consequentialism continued….
• There are two types of utilitarianism, act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism.
• Act utilitarianism subscribes precisely to the definition of utilitarianism— a person performs the acts that
benefit the most people, regardless of personal feelings or the societal constraints such as laws.
• Act utilitarianism assesses each separate act according to whether it maximizes
pleasure over pain. For example, if telling a lie in a particular situation produces more overall pleasure than
pain, then an act utilitarian would support lying as the moral thing to do.
• Rule utilitarians, disturbed by the unpredictability of act utilitarianism and its potential for abuse, follow a
different approach. Rule utilitarianism holds that general rules must be established and followed even though,
in some instances, following rules may produce less overall pleasure than not following them. It applies
utilitarian principles in developing rules; thus, it supports rules that on balance produce the greatest
satisfaction.
• Determining whether telling a lie in a given instance would produce greater pleasure than telling the truth is
less important to the rule utilitarian than deciding whether a general practice of lying would maximize society’s
pleasure. If lying would not maximize pleasure generally, then one should follow a rule of not lying even though
on occasion telling a lie would produce greater pleasure than would telling the truth.
• Rule utilitarianism takes into account the law and is concerned with fairness. A rule utilitarian seeks to benefit
the most people but through the fairest and most just means available. Therefore, added benefits of rule
 Normative ethics continued
Deontology
• The theory that an action is right if and only if the person performing the act could
consistently will that the act become a universal law. The deontological class of ethical
theories states that people should adhere to their obligations and duties when engaged in
decision making when ethics are in play. This means that a person will follow his or her
obligations to another individual or society because upholding one’s duty is what is
considered ethically correct. A person who adheres to deontological theory will produce very
consistent decisions since they will be based on the individual’s set duties. Historically, the
most influential deontological theory of morality was developed by the German philosopher
Immanuel Kant (1724-1804).
• The term deontology finds its etymology in the Greek word “Deon”, meaning ‘duty,’ or
‘obligation,’ or ‘that which is necessary, hence moral necessity’. The deontological approach
rejects that the moral worth of any action depends on its consequences.
 Deontology continued
• Example: In early nineteenth-century America, many members of the anti-slavery movement argued that slavery was wrong,
even though slaveholders and southern American society in general, economically benefited from it. The slaveholders were
also able to condition the slaves to the point where they actually enjoyed living under slavery. From a teleological
perspective, slavery might appear to be an ideal economic institution. Everybody is satisfied and happy!
• A deontologist, however, would argue that even if the American government conducted a detailed cost/benefit analysis of
slavery and decided that it created more pleasure in society than pain (good for majority), it would still be wrong.
• Hence, slavery is wrong, not because of its negative consequences, but because it violates an absolute moral rule. According
to this theory, some actions are morally obligatory irrespective of their consequences
• Categorical Imperative of Kant - Immanuel Kant did not agree with what he had heard of Utilitarianism and thought that
morality rarely had anything to do with happiness. Kant holds that the moral life does not have any place for feeling, emotion
or sentience.
• A moral life is a rational life. He started by asking what it is that distinguishes a moral action from a non-moral action one. He
concluded that a moral action is one which is done from a sense of duty, rather than following inclinations or doing what we
want.
• For Kant, the only thing that is unqualifiedly good in this world is a good-will, the will to follow the moral law regardless of
profit or law to ourselves. For him, there is only one such categorical imperative, which he formulated in various ways. “Act
only according to that maxim (rule) by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law”.
• It implies that what is right for one person becomes right for all and what is wrong for one is wrong for all. If you cannot
universalise your action in order to make it right for all, then it is wrong for you too.
 Virtue Ethics
• Aristotle proposed the theory of Virtue Ethics. He based his ethics upon ontological reasoning.
• This theory says that morally right action is to be guided by the virtues ( honesty, integrity,
courage, bravery and so on).
• Aristotle says that by honing virtuous habits, people will likely make the right choice when faced
with ethical challenges.
• The virtue ethical theory judges a person by his/her character rather than by an action that may
deviate from his/her normal behavior. It takes the person’s morals, reputation, and motivation
into account when rating an unusual and irregular behavior that is considered unethical.
• For instance, if a person plagiarized a passage that was later detected by a peer, the peer who
knows the person well will understand the person’s character and will judge the friend
accordingly. If the plagiarizer normally follows the rules and has good standing amongst his
colleagues, the peer who encounters the plagiarized passage may be able to judge his friend
more leniently. Perhaps the researcher had a late night and simply forgot to credit his or her
source appropriately. Conversely, a person who has a reputation for academic misconduct is
more likely to be judged harshly for plagiarizing because of his/her consistent past of unethical
 Virtue Ethics continued
the doctrine of the mean

• This doctrine tells us how virtue can be attained. According to Aristotle virtue consists in
striking what he calls the golden mean. The golden mean can only be attained when human
beings are able to moderate their human acts
• Aristotle defines the golden mean as the virtues that exist between two vices, i.e, the vice of
excess and the vice of deficiency.
• Aristotle presents virtue as a mean between two vices,e.g, bravery between cowardice and
foolhardiness/rashness . Generosity between stinginess and prodigality.
• Aristotle identified some of the moral virtues including wisdom, honesty, integrity, courage,
bravery, etc.
 HUNHU/UBUNTU
• Ubuntu or Hunhu ethics is an African philosophical entity which shows how Africa has its own
way of reasoning. It brings in the notion of communitarianism through common ownership,
sharing, oneness etc. Ubuntu emphasises the importance of a group or community. Ubuntu
philosophy upholds societal values as the whole community sets standards that each and
every individual has to follow.
• J.S Mbiti “I am because we are; and since we are therefore I am”
• Core tenets of Ubuntu: respect, human dignity, compassion, solidarity and consensus. All
demand conformity to the group
• Ubuntu is an African philosophy which centers on the relationships between people in a
community and the principles they are supposed to follow and it is translated as “humanity
towards each other”. It is a major and central subject in African philosophy as it emphasise the
need for oneness through the community and it is opposed to the Western notion of
individualism
 HUNHU/UBUNTU continued

• Mangena (2012:9) Ubuntu ethics is the ‘power intrinsic to the capacity for dialogue and it
places the community at the centre of all moral deliberations in which communality is vital’.
• The ethics of Ubuntu entails that the concerns and wishes of the whole community should be
considered more than an individual’s desires.
ETHICAL FRAMEWORKS AND THEORIES THAT APPLY TO DIFFERENT
PROFESSIONS
medical ethics

• Medical ethics: ethical standards in medicine. It is the branch of ethics that deals with moral
issues in medical practice.
• Ethics is and always has been an essential component of medical practice.
• The study of ethics prepares medical students to recognize difficult situations and to deal
with them in a rational and principled manner. Ethics is also important in physicians’
interactions with society and their colleagues and for the conduct of medical research.
• Medical ethics, particularly those related to medical practice and societal responsibility, are
essentially formulated on the basis of the justice theory developed by the moral philosophers
 medical ethics continued
• There are four principles, which form the fundamentals of justice theory as applied to the medical care.
• Principle of non-maleficence: It is also summed up in the axiom, first do no harm, or that the medical
intervention should not cause harm to the patient seeking care.
• Principle of beneficence: This principle stipulates that the medical intervention not only should not harm,
but should also be intended for the benefit of the patient.
• Principle of autonomy: It is also in harmony with the liberal democratic ethos of individual liberty and
choice. Essentially it means that the patient is an independent individual and any medical intervention
should be done only after full information is given and the patient has expressly consented for such an
intervention. This also gives the patient a right to make choice as to what kind of medical intervention is
best suited for him or her. The right of patients to make decisions about their healthcare has been
enshrined in legal and ethical statements throughout the world. The patient has the right to self-
determination, to make free decisions regarding himself/herself.
• Principle of justice: This principle makes it clear that the doctors are responsible to the society and that
they must follow the non-discriminatory way of medical practice.
• The professionals do face ethical dilemmas in day to day medical practice. These dilemmas are sought to
be resolved, in a case to case basis, by weighing each principle as applicable to the situation.
 Confidentiality in medical practice

• Confidentiality: The physician’s duty to keep patient information confidential has been a
cornerstone of medical ethics since the time of Hippocrates. The Hippocratic Oath states:
“What I may see or hear in the course of the treatment or even outside of the treatment in
regard to the life of men, which on no account one must spread abroad, I will keep to myself
holding such things shameful to be spoken about.” The Oath, and some more recent versions,
allow no exception to this duty of confidentiality. Confidentiality is also important because
human beings deserve respect. One important way of showing them respect is by preserving
their privacy.
 LEGAL ETHICS

• Legal ethics may be defined as: The minimum standards of appropriate

conduct within the legal profession, involving the duties that its members
owe one another, their clients and the courts ... the written regulations
governing those duties or the code of conduct among lawyers which
governs their moral and professional duties toward one another, toward
their clients, and toward the courts.
• The term legal ethics refers to "... the system of professional regulations
governing the conduct of lawyers".
 ENGINEERING
• Engineering Ethics is the activity and discipline aimed atETHICS
(a) understanding the moral values that ought to guide engineering profession or practice,
(b) resolving moral issues in engineering, and
(c) justifying the moral judgments in engineering. It deals with set of moral problems and issues
connected with engineering.
• Engineering ethics is defined by the codes and standards of conduct endorsed by engineering
(professional) societies with respect to the particular set of beliefs, attitudes and habits
displayed by the individual or group.
• Another important goal of engineering ethics is the discovery of the set of justified moral
principles of obligation, rights and ideals that ought to be endorsed by the engineers and
apply them to concrete situations.
 EDUCATIONAL ETHICS
• The school is said as the miniature of society and a formal agency that provides education to students. Teaching
and the teachers are the two major key of this society without which the educational process cannot function
properly. So, a teacher has to always know about his massive responsibilities and understand his profession. The
codes of professional ethics have a great significance in this regard. So, the absence of these professional ethics in
teachers may influence on the development of students. Some significant professional codes of ethics for teachers
are as follows-
• A teacher should always be aware about his own roles and responsibilities and must respect the privacy of other
members of their own school.
• They must have proper knowledge about student’s needs and a deep vision of fulfilling the present needs,
requirements and aspirations of the learners.
• He / she should always show due respect to various spiritual and cultural values, diversity, social justice,
democracy, freedom and the environment.
• Teachers should show affection, care and love to students and build good pious and respectful relationship with
students.
• Teachers should be honest, dedicated and reliable towards school and students.
• Teachers should maintain cordial and reverential relationships with all the stakeholders ofschool. They must try to
win trust of his pupils, colleagues, parents, school management and the public as well.
• They should always keep them away from the conflict between their professional work andprivate work which
 EDUCATIONAL ETHICS continued
• In education, there are four principles of ethics. They are-
• Honesty:- Honesty means being trustworthy, loyal, truthful, sincere, fair etc. which is a very important trait to have in
education. The strong bonding of teacher and student in a school always comes from mutual trust and respect. But, it is
seen that in today’s world students and academicians are running only after academics, marks etc. and most of them
have forgotten about the importance of values and morals in the educational setting. But, success doesn’t come only
from academics but also we must have the morality to complement our knowledge. It is one of the important individual
assets that a person always should have. So, in the education system students should be provided knowledge along with
moralities and ethics and they must guide properly from their childhood to develop honesty among them.
• Confidentiality:- Confidentiality means not disclosing or revealing one’s commitment or information to the unauthorized
people and this is also a very important ethics in education. when a student faces any stress, crisis or challenge they seek
helps from students affair professionals and it is the responsibility of them to maintain confidentiality about them.
• Conflict of interest:- The conflict of interest may occur when the best and highly preferable interest of a person is not
similar or doesn’t match the best interest of another individual or organization to which an individual experience loyalty.
Therefore, in a school environment students personal interests should be given proper priorities and it is a big
responsibility of teachers.
• Responsibility:- Responsibility is also a very vital and important ethics in education among all other ethics. It is the
responsibility of students to show proper respect and careful manners to their teachers as well as other classmates in
school and teachers should take strong initiative regarding teaching students about their responsibilities.