Week 1-3 (1)

METALANGUAGE
In this section, the most essential terms relevant to studying Ethics are operationally
defined.
 Philosophy – (etymologically, the love of wisdom, from the Greek root phillien which
means love, and Sophia which means wisdom) the endless search for the ultimate
causes, reasons, and principles of everything that there is, which answers are sought
by the aid of human reason alone
 Ethics – etymologically, the characteristic way of acting – from the Greek root ethos;
or custom or traditional line of conduct – from the Greek word ethike, which, when
translated to Latin, becomes mos or moris – where the English term “morality” is
based from
ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE
Man’s mind always longs for understanding and making sense of the world around
us. Human civilization prospered much not when people started to live for survival, but
when man began to wonder. With so much that requires explanation, wonder marks the
beginning of man’s unquenchable desire to understand.
Wonder is the birth of Philosophy. Philosophy is the endless search for the ultimate
causes, reasons, and principles of all that there is – endless because each answer would
only give birth to more questions, thereby making Philosophy lean more towards the
process of arriving towards the answers more so than the answer itself. In seeking truth,
Philosophy uses human reason and rational justification instead of merely abiding by
established laws of history, culture, and religion.
The earliest recorded philosophers addressed their questions with that which was
observable in nature. As Philosophy progressed, the world was honored to have Socrates,
who – even though he never put any of his ideas or questions into writing – still remains to
be a philosopher archetype because of his student Plato. From asking about the way things
are, until questioning how a man can know, philosophers had developed lines of thought
most appropriate for their historical context. But even when Plato already allegedly
addressed almost every question thrown, with the western philosophical tradition being
that which consists of a series of footnotes to Plato1 , why does the philosophical search
still carry on until today?
For example, you may have read a lot of arguments circulating online, regarding
how the COVID-19 pandemic is best addressed. Even when we do not take an active part in
doing the primary decision-making regarding the pandemic, we form a lot of opinions
regarding the possible solutions. A lot of disputes arise when netizens no longer tackle the
issue at hand, most especially when they resort to attacking the arguer instead of the
argument. Situations like these could magnify the need of having rational, moral
justifications and reach logical conclusions, and so we, until today, still philosophize.
Or, imagine if the leaders of the country thought about instantly eliminating the first
person in the Philippines to ever be tested positive. To kill such patients could save many
Filipino lives. Once the patient is protected at all costs, it is likely that more Filipinos would
get infected (as it is now, apparently), and this third-world country with a poor healthcare
system would suffer in epic proportions, resulting in far greater loss of life. One can easily
compare the number of lives that will be lost (only one, that of the patient’s), versus the
number of lives that could be spared if the contagion is stopped in its earliest stage. But
why did we never resort to killing that one patient?
Man is programmed to question and challenge almost every truth ever encountered,
particularly on how he is ought to act. For Agapay, as quoted by Fernandez, without moral
perception, man is only an animal. Without morality, man as a rational and free being is a
failure.2
This course, in particular, focuses on that one branch of philosophy which helps us
examine and evaluate actions as good or evil, moral or immoral.
“I tell you that to let no day pass without discussing goodness and all the other
subjects about which you hear me talking and examining is really the very best thing that a
man can do, and that life without this sort of examination is not worth living.”3 To examine
what it means to lead a “good life” was a constant denominator in Socrates’ every critical
enterprise. But what does it mean to do good?
Etymologically, Ethics is the characteristic way of acting (from the Greek root ethos)
and custom or traditional line of conduct (from the Greek word ethike, which, when
translated to Latin, becomes mos or moris – where the English term “morality” is based
from). Given that, ethics and morality literally have the same meaning and are usually used
synonymously and interchangeably. But although coming from the same etymology, ethics
and morality still needs to be distinguished apart.
For Sambajon, as quoted by Fernandez, both Ethics and Morality are after the
goodness and evilness, rightness and wrongness of human acts. But in ethics, we
specifically study morality. Morality gives ethics a particular perspective of what to study
about – that is, the rectitude of whether an act is good or bad, right or wrong. Morality
provides with a quality that determines and distinguishes right conduct from wrong
conduct.4 So, for Babor, as quoted still by Fernandez, whilst ethics outlines the principles
and guidelines as to what is good and evil, it is morality that actualizes these principles.
Ethics is the “word” while morality is the “flesh”.5
Philosophically, Ethics, also known as Moral Philosophy, is the practical science of
the morality of a human act and of the good life. It deals with how man ought to live, with
the idea and the pursuit of the good.