“right” dip (sawsawan) for my chicken

MODULE I: ETHICAL
DIMENSION OF HUMAN barbeque, or I may maintain that it is

EXISTENCE “wrong” to wear a leather vest over a

What you can do and learn in this lesson: Barong Tagalog, and these are not

1. Identify ethical dimension of human existence concerns of ethics.

2. Assess their own ethical values and the social - These are valuations that fall under the domain
context of problems
of aesthetics. The word “aesthetics” is derived
3. Define ethics and explain how we decide what is
from the Greek word aesthesis (“sense or
right and wrong.
feeling”) and refers to the judgements of
4. Explore two different strategies for solving tough personal approval or disapproval that we make
ethical dilemmas and evaluate each based on their

effectiveness
about what we see, hear, smell, or taste. In fact,
Ethics – generally speaking, is about matters such as
the we often use the word “taste” to refer to the

good thing that we should pursue and the bad thing personal aesthetic preferences that we have on
that
these matters, such as “his taste in music” or
we should avoid; the right ways in which we could or
“her taste in clothes.”
should act and the wrong ways of acting. It is about
- Similarly, we have a sense of approval or
what is acceptable and unacceptable in human
behavior. disapproval concerning actions which can be

It may involve obligations that we are encouraged to considered relatively more trivial in nature.

meet. Ethics as a subject to study is about o Thus, for instance, I may think that it is
determining
“right” to knock politely on someone’s
the grounds for the values with particular and special
door, while it is “wrong” to barge into
significance to human life.
one’s office.
CLASSIFICATIONS AND TERMINOLOGY Perhaps, I may approve of a child who
Recognizing the notions of good and bad, and knows how to ask for something
right and wrong, are the primary concern of ethics. In properly by saying “please” and
order to start, it would be useful to clarify the following otherwise, disapprove of a woman that I
points. see picking her nose in public.
Kinds of Valuation - These and other examples similar examples
- Our first point of clarification is to recognize belong to the category of etiquette, which is
that there are instances when we make value concerned with right and wrong actions, but
judgements that are not considered to be part those which might be considered not quite
of ethics. grave enough to belong to a discussion on
o for instance, I could say that this new ethics.
movie I had just seen was a “good” one - To clarify this point, we can differentiate how I
because I enjoyed it, or a song I had just may be displeased seeing a healthy young man
heard on the radio was a “bad” one refuse to offer his seat on the bus to an elderly
because it had an unpleasant tone, but lady but by indignation and shock would be
these are not part of the discussion of much greater if I were to see a man deliberately
ethics. push another one out of a moving bus.
o I may have an opinion as to what is the - We can also consider how a notion of right and
wrong actions can easily appear in a context that is - One complication that can be noted is that the

not a matter of ethics. distinction between what belongs to ethics and

o This could also be when learning what does not is not always so clearly defined.

how to bake, for instance, I am told - At times, the question of what is grave and

that the right thing to do would be trivial is debatable, and sometimes some of the

to mix the dry ingredients first, such most heated discussion in ethics could be on the

as flour, or sugar before bringing inany liquids, like fundamental question whether a certain sphere
milk or cream; this
of human activities belongs to this discussion.
is the right thing to do in baking but?

not one that belongs to the

discussion of ethics.

o This could also be when learning

o Are clothes always just a matter of taste
how to play basketball. I am
or would provocative clothing call for
instructed that it is against the rules
some kind of moral judgment?
to walk more than two steps
o Can we say that a man who verbally
without dribbling the ball again,
abuses his girlfriend is simply showing
obeying this rule to not travel is
bad manners or does this behavior
something that makes sense only in
deserve stronger moral condemnation?
the context of the game and is not

an ethical prohibition.

- We derive from the Greek word techno the

English words of “technique” and “technical”

which are often used to refer to a proper way

(or right way) of doing things, but a technical

valuation (or right and wrong technique of

doing things) may not necessarily be an ethical

one as these examples show.

- Recognizing the characteristics of aesthetic and

technical valuation allows us to have a rough

guide as to what belongs to a discussion of

ethics.

- They involve valuations that we make in a

sphere of human actions, a characterized by

certain gravity and concern the human well-

being or human life itself.

- Therefore, matters that concern human well-

being such as poverty, inequality, or sexual

identity is often included in discussion of

ethics.
ETHICS AND MORALS
- This discussion of ethics and morals would

include cognates such as ethical, unethical,

- Branches:
immoral, amoral, morality, and so on.
o Metaphysics – wonders as to what
- The term “morals” may be used to refer to
constitutes the whole of reality.
specific beliefs or attitudes that people have or
o Epistemology – asks what isour
to describe acts that people perform.
basis for determining what we know.
- Thus it is sometimes said that an individual’s
o Axiology – study of value and is
personal conduct is referred to as his morals,
divided into:
and if he falls short of behaving properly, this
 Aesthetics – value of
can be described as immoral.
beauty.
- We also have terms such as “moral judgement”
 Ethics – value of human
or “moral reasoning”, which suggest a more
Action.
rational aspect.

- Ethics - can be spoken of as the discipline of

studying and understanding ideal human

behavior and ideal ways of thinking.

o It is acknowledged as an intellectual

discipline belonging to philosophy.

- With regard to acceptable and unacceptable

ways of behaving in a given field, we have

“professional ethics” (e.g., legal ethics for the

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 commonly thought of today as

particular discipline in a curriculum perhaps as a

subject that one could take, or a course in which

one could get a degree.

- The word philosophy is rooted in the Greek

words that translate to “love of wisdom”

(philia is the noun often translated into

English as some form of “friendship” or “love”,

while Sophia is the noun often

translated to English as “wisdom”).

 Moral Dilemma – when going beyond the matter of
choosing right over wrong or good over bad
and considering instead the more complicated
situation wherein one is torn between choosing one of
two goods or choosing between the lesser of two
evils.

Descriptive and Normative

- Descriptive study of Ethics – reports how

people, particularly groups, make their moral

valuations without making any judgment either

for or against these valuations.

o Work of a social scientist: historian,

sociologist or an anthropologist

- Normative study of Ethics – done in

philosophy or moral theology.

o What could or should be as the right

way of acting?

- It prescribes what we ought to maintain as our

standards or bases for moral valuation.

ISSUE, DECISION, JUDGEMENT

AND
DILEMMA
Moral Issue – a situation that calls for moral
valuation.

Example:

Imagine a situation wherein a person cannot

afford a certain item, but then the possibility presents

itself for her to steal it. This is a matter of ethics (and

not just law) in so far as it involves the question of

respect for one’s property.

Moral Decision – when one is placed in a situation

and

confronted by the choice of what act to perform.

Example:

I choose not to take something I did not pay for.

Moral Judgement – when an observer

makes an

assessment on the actions or behavior of someone.

Example:

A friend of mine chooses to steal from a

store, and I make an assessment that it is wrong.