Chapter 1

UNDERSTANDING MORALITY
AND MORAL STANDARD
PRESENTED BY GROUP 1
MEMBERS:
ABELLA, Niño Angelo
ABERIN, Julius
NAVAL, Jerick
ROC, Johnella
SOLLER, Charlie Arl
TEBIA, Jowie
Lesson 1: THE IMPORTANCE OF RULES
What is Rule?

 an accepted principle or instruction that states the way things are or should be
done, and tells you what you are allowed or are not allowed to do.

 Rules are means to set order. Rules (the Philippine Constitution and other laws
included) are meant for men. The greatest Teacher, Jesus Christ preached
emphatically, “The Sabbath is made for man and not man for the Sabbath”. The
law of Sabbath to keep it holy and observe rest, is meant to make man whole by
resting and by giving him time to thank and spend time in prayer and worship
for his own good.
 In a democratic country like the Philippines, we often hear the statement "No one is above the law"
including the highest official of the country. We are al subject to rules or else court chaos.

 Rules are not meant to restrict your freedom. They are meant to help you grow in freedom, to grow
ability to choose and do what is good for you and for others. If there are rules or laws that restrict
your ability or strength to do good, they are suffocating laws and they are not good laws.

 (Confucius, Loa Tzu) It is like saying one no longer needs the rule or law because one has become
mature and wish enough to discern what ought to be done. This is an ideal state which the ancient
Chinese sages. It refers to as state of no more rules, no more laws, because people discern what is
right or good and do what is right or good without thinking or a rule are law, people are no longer in
need of a government because they can govern themselves. It is a state where one owns the moral
standard not just abide by the moral standard.
 THE IMPORTANCE OF RULES
 Maintaining order and safety: Rules establish boundaries and guidelines for behavior, helping to prevent
chaos and ensure the safety and well-being of individuals within a community.

 Promoting fairness and equity: Rules can help ensure that everyone is treated fairly and impartially.
They establish standards of conduct that apply to all members of society, regardless of their background or
status.

 Protecting rights and freedoms: Rules can protect the rights and freedoms of individuals by establishing
limits on the power of governments and other institutions.

 Promoting accountability and responsibility: Rules hold individuals accountable for their actions by
setting clear expectations and consequences for violations. This encourages people to act responsibly and
consider the consequences of their behavior.
Lesson 2: MORAL AND NON-MORAL STANDARD
 The term "ethics" comes from the Greek word 'ethos" meaning "custom" used in the works
of Aristotle, while the term "moral" is the Latin equivalent. Based on the Greek and Latin
etymology of the word "ethics", ethics deals with morality.

 Ethics or moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy which deals with moral standards,
inquires about the rightness or wrongness of human behavior or the goodness or badness of
personality, trait or character. It deals with ideas, with topics such as moral standards or
norms of mortality of human acts and moral agents, what makes an act obligatory and what
makes a person accountable.

 Moral is the adjective describing a human act as either ethically right or wrong, or
qualifying a person, personality, character, as either ethically good or bad.
Moral Standards or Moral Frameworks and Non-Moral Standards
 Moral standards are either consequences standards (like Stuarts Mill's utilitarianism) or non-consequence
standards (like Aristotle's virtue, ST. Thomas' natural law, or Immanuel Kant' good will or sense of duty).

 The consequence standards depend on results, outcome. An act that results in the general welfare, in the
greatest good of the greatest number, is moral. To take part in a project that results in the improvement of
the majority of people is, therefore, moral.

 The non-consequence standards are based on the natural law. Natural law is the law of God revealed
through human reason. It is the "law of God written in the hearts of men." To preserve human life is in
accordance with the natural law, therefore, it is moral. Likewise, the non-consequence standard my also
be based on good will or intention, and on a sense of duty. Respect for humanity, treatment of the other as
a human person, an act that is moral, springs from a sense of duty, a sense of duty that you wish will
apply to all human persons.
 On the other hand, the non-moral standards are social rules, demands of etiquette and good
manners. They are guides of actions which should be followed as expected by society.
Sometimes they may not be followed or some people may not follow them. From time to
time, changes are made regarding good manners or etiquette. In sociology, non-moral
standards or rules are called folkways. In short, non-moral actions are those where moral
categories cannot be applied.

 Examples of non-moral standards are rules of good manner and right conduct, etiquette,
rules of behavior set by parents, teachers, and standards of grammar or language,
standards of arts, standards of sports set by other authorities.
Classification of the Theories of Moral Standards

Garner and Rosen (1967) classified the various moral standards formulated by moral
philosophers as follows:

 1. Consequence (teological, from tele which means end, result, or consequence)

standard states that an act is right or wrong depending on the consequences of the
act, that is, the good that is produced in the world.

 The consequence standard can also be a basis for determining whether or not a
rule is a right rule. So the consequence standards states that the rightness or
wrongness of a rule depends on the consequences or the good that is produced in
following the rule.
 2. Not-only-consequence standard(deontological), holds that the rightness or wrongness of an
action or rule depends on sense of duty, natural law, virtue and the demand of the situation or
circumstances. The rightness or wrongness of an action does not only depend or rely on the
consequence of that action or following that rule.

 Rosen and Garner are inclines to consider deontology, be it rule or act deontology, as the better
moral standards because it synthesizes or includes all the other theory of norms. Under this
theory, the rightness or wrongness of an action depends on (or is a function of) all of the
following:

 a) Consequences of an action or rule, what promotes one's greatest good, or the greatest good
of the greatest number;

 b) Consideration other than consequences, like the obligatoriness or the act based on natural
law, or its being one's duty, or its promoting an ideal virtue. Deontology also considers the
object, purpose, and circumstances or situation of the moral issue or dilemma.
What Makes Standards Moral
 For theists, believers in God's existence, moral standards are commandments of
God revealed to man through prophets. According to the Old Testament, the Ten
Commandments were revealed by God to Moses. One who believes in God vows
to Him and obliges himself/herself to follow His Ten Commandments. For theists,
God is the ultimate source of what is moral reveled to human persons.

 For non-theists, God is not the source of morality. Moral standards are based on
the wisdom of sages like Confucius or philosophers like Immanuel Kant.
 In China, B. C., Confucius taught the moral standard, "Do unto
others what you like others to do no unto you' and persuaded people
to follow this rule because it is the right way, the gentleman's way.
Later, Immanuel Kant, the German philosopher, formulated a
criterion for determining what makes a moral standard moral. It is
stated as follows: "Act only in according to what maxim whereby
you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law."
The origin of Moral Standards: Theist and Non-Theist
 With the Divine source concept, moral standards are derived from natural law,
man's "participation" in the Divine law. The moral principle, "Do good and avoid
evil" is an expression of natural law. Man's obliging himself to respect the life,
liberty, and property of his fellowman arises from the God-given sacredness,
spirituality, and dignity of his fellow man. It arises from his faith, hope, and love
of God and man.

 With the evolutionary concept, the basics of moral standards - do good, avoid evil
- have been observed among primates and must have evolved as the process of
evolution followed its course.
 Are These Theist and Non-Theist (Evolutionary)its Origin of
Moral Standards Reconcilable?
 The evolutionist claims that altruism, a sense of morality, can be observed from man's fellow primate -
the apes and monkeys, and, therefore, it can be said that the altruism of human persons evolved from the
primates. However, the evolutionist cannot satisfactorily argue, with factual evidence, that the rudiments
of moral standards can be observed from the primates. Neither can it be scientifically established that the
theist view, that man's obliging himself to avoid evil, refrain from inflicting harm on his fellowman, is a
moral principle implanted by God in the hearts of men.

 But the concept of creation and evolution are not necessarily contradictory. The revelation of the norms
of Divine origin could not have been instant, like a happening in one fell swoop." it could happened
gradually as man evolved to differ from the other primates. As the evolutionists claim creation may be
conceived as a process of evolution. Hence, the biblical story of creation could have happened in billions
of years instead of six days.