MODULE 1

CHAPTER 1: RULES AND ETHICS

RULES AND ITS IMPORTANCE

■ Rules refer to a set of guidelines that have been put in place in different communities and have
been accepted by all.
■ Rules are useful tools in guiding and monitoring the interactions of humans in society.
■ Ethics is concerned with other people’s interests, with the interests of society with God’s interest,
with ”ultimate goods.” (Thomas Hobbes – Leviathan; Man by nature is brutish, selfish – 1 island
– 2 persons – 1 food/water – leviathan (government)–peace; government – protect)
■ So when a person ‘thinks ethically,’ they are giving at least some thought to something beyond
themselves.

WHY DO WE HAVE RULES?

■ They enable people to organize all the processes correctly, starting from house chores and
ending with more complicated issues as the functioning of as whole country.
■ A well-developed system of rules helps humanity to avoid chaos and many problems that the
lack of regulations may cause.
■ Law dictates what is proper and what is wrong.

IMPORTANCE OF RULES
■ Rules are important because they tend to protect the weaker class in society, as they might be
in a disadvantageous position if rules are broken. When rules are used in the right way.
■ Rules are vital in one’s life because peace and order are maintained, an important ingredient for
society’s development. If one violates the rule, a corresponding punishment is imposed.

ETHICS
■ Philosophical study of morality.
■ Ethics is derived from the Greek word ethos, which can mean custom, habit, or character of
disposition.
■ Ethics or Moral Philosophy is the scientific study of moral judgments. It is the discipline
concerned with what is morally good and bad, right and wrong.

BRANCHES OF ETHICS
■ Morality is often defined in two ways:
■ Normative Ethics: It defines what is right and wrong. Actions are judged by their merits,
allowing societies to develop codes of conduct for behavior. If your actions toward another
person align with how you want to be treated, they are moral. (How people should act?)
■ Descriptive Ethics: It simply studies how individuals or societies define their morals. It defines
morals in terms of their cultural or personal significance. Morals are seen as part of a greater
system that is not objective or unbiased but is created by a culture. What makes something
right or wrong in a specific culture?

WHY STUDY ETHICS?

■ His understanding of moral problems with be widened…
■ His critical faculties will be trained. He will know the reasons for his moral convictions (and
others’).
■ The study of Ethics will enable a person to understand better what his conscience is...
■ He will gain a clearer insight into his claims upon society and the duties he owes to society.
■ Finally, it can offer some considerations, from the standpoints of self-realization, self-sacrifice,
and service, that ought to help anyone in making such decisions.

CHAPTER 2: THE MORAL AGENT

MORALITY
■ Morality: standards that an individual or a group has, about what is right and wrong or good
and evil.
■ Morality is not imposed from the outside, but innate and can even be unconscious.
Morality can be used in two distinct broad senses.
■ Descriptive: certain codes of conduct put forward by a society or a group (religion), or own
behavior.
■ Normative: code of conduct put forwards by all rational persons.
■ MORALITY – Knowledge: Right and Wrong – Does good and avoid evil.
■ IMMORALITY – Knowledge: Right and Wrong, but he still does evil.
■ AMORALITY – Absence of Knowledge – There is no standard of right and wrong.
KEY FEATURES OF MORALITY
■ People experience a sense of moral obligation and accountability.
■ Moral values and moral absolutes exist (e.g. torture, rape, murder, etc.)
■ Moral law does exist (as basis of good and evil)
■ Moral law is known to humans. (Moral law is also called Law of Nature = everybody knows it by
nature)
■ Morality is objective (real right/ wrong)
■ Moral Judgments must be supported by reasons (without reasons, they are merely arbitrary)
■ Moral Absolute – There is no debate; Torture, Rape, murder
■ Man is a rational animal
Animality – Instincts, Survive, Emotions, Basic
Needs
Rationality – Capable of Choosing/ Freedom
■ Objective Morality – The act is right or wrong according to the merit of an act as accepted by
all.
■ Subjective Morality – An act is right or wrong depending on my perception – “According to
me” – personal preference.

MAN AS MORAL AGENT

■ A moral agent is a being that is “capable of acting with reference to right and wrong.”
■ A moral agent is an intelligent being who has the power of choosing and scope to act according
to his choice.
■ In order to be a moral agent, one must live in a society with others who they consider to have
moral rights.
■ A being capable of moral agency is one who possesses the means of judging rightly, and power
to act accordingly.

ARISTOTLE AND MORAL RESPONSIBILITY

■ Aristotle was the first to discuss moral responsibility.
■ He discusses that “only a certain kind of agent qualifies as a moral agent and is thus properly
subject to ascriptions of responsibility, namely, one who possesses a capacity for decision.
■ Moral agency is not just about which rules to follow; it comes from a way of life which Aristotle
called the virtuous life.

CHAPTER 3: STANDARDS AND DILEMMAS

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MORAL AND NON-MORAL STANDARDS

■ A Moral Standard: Norms or matters which can either seriously harm or seriously benefit
human beings.
■ Some ethicists equate moral standards with moral values and moral principles.
■ Developing a moral compass in children is a responsibility that should be shared by the family,
educational institutions, and the community.
■ Non-Moral Standards: Rules that are unrelated to moral or ethical considerations.
■ E.g. Etiquette, fashion, rules in games.
■ Religious rules, some traditions, and legal statutes (i.e., laws and ordinances) are non-moral
principles. However, they can be ethically relevant depending on some contexts.

HOW ARE MORAL STANDARDS FORMED?

■ A variety of factors influences moral standards:
■ Moral principles we accept as part of our upbringing
■ Values passed on to us through heritage and legacy
■ Religious values
■ Education values
■ behavior patterned of those who are around us
■ Standards of our culture
■ Our life experiences (reflections on these exp.)

CHARACTERISTICS OF MORAL STANDARD

■ Moral standards involve serious wrongs or significant benefits.
■ Moral standards ought to be preferred to other values.
■ Moral standards are not established by authority figures.
■ Moral standards have the trait of universalizability.
■ Moral standards are based on impartial considerations.
 ■ Moral Standards are associated with special emotions and vocabulary.

MORAL DILEMMAS
■ A Moral Dilemma is a conflict in which you have to choose between two or more actions and
have moral reasons for choosing each action.
■ A moral dilemma is a situation where:
1. You are presented with two or more actions, all of which you have the ability to perform.
2. There are moral reasons for you to choose each of the actions.
3. You cannot perform all of the actions and have to choose which action to perform.
■ 3 levels of Dilemma
1. Individual Dilemma – You alone is stuck (has to decide) in a dilemma situation
Example: when you are riding your car (2,000,000) and then you are confronted with a
situation wherein you have to throw your car in cliff; and where you have to run over the 5
children.
2. Organizational Dilemma – ten or more people involved in a decisions – you as an
organization.
Example: Tobacco – are you going to close the manufacturing of tobacco because you
know it can kill or cause cancer to people? Or you are willing to continue the production for
1,000,000 profits?

MORAL DILEMMAS IN THE ORGANIZATION

■ Even when organizations have great policies and procedures and follow the laws and regulations,
there’s still a high risk of unethical behavior.
■ Why do some organizations stumble when it comes to ethics? – in many cases, there are mixed
messages, such as inconsistent application of policies or a tendency to overlook borderline or
unethical behavior. This is the “It’s not my job” mentality.
■ Individuals may also feel the need to be obedient to authority, even when they are being asked
to do something they feel is wrong.
MORAL DILEMMAS IN THE HEALTH CARE SERVICE
■ “Carrie is a doctor working in a hospital. Due to an accident in the building next door, there are
deadly fumes rising up through the hospital’s ventilation system. In a certain room of the hospital
are four of her patients. In another room, there is one of her patients. If she does nothing, the
fumes will rise up into the room containing the four patients and cause their deaths.

The only way to avoid the death of these patients is to hit a switch that will cause the fumes to
bypass the room containing the four patients. As a result, the fumes will enter the room
containing the single patient (against her will). If she does this, the woman will die, but the
other four patients will live.

Should Carrie hit the switch in order to save four of her patients?

MODULE 2
CHAPTER 4: FREEDOM AND MORALITY

FREEDOM AND MORAL ACTS

■ Freedom: A concept which is involved in the moral domain, at the question: What should I do?
(Kant).
■ Kant Freedom
– Moral Law is that I know myself as a free person or the notion of autonomy – or law
itself.
– Kant’s Ethics is based on the concept of free will and autonomy.
– Freedom falls obedience to a law that I created myself.
■ Kant’s Morality and Freedom
– To act freely is to act autonomously. To act autonomously is to act according to the law
“I give myself”.

KANT’S MORALITY AND FREEDOM

Whenever I act according to the laws of nature, demands of social convention, when I pursue pleasure
and comfort, I am not acting freely. To act freely is not to simply choose a means to a given end. To
act freely is to choose the end itself, for its own sake.
For Kant, acting freely (autonomously) and acting morally are one and the same thing.
KANT’S NOTION OF MORAL LAW
■ Duty vs. Inclination (morality): Only the motive of duty, acting according to the law I give
myself, confers moral worth to an action.
■ Autonomy vs. Heteronomy (freedom): I am only free when my will is determined
autonomously, governed by the law I give myself. This is reason, a “pure practical reason”
that legislates a priori – regardless of all empirical ends.
■ Categorical vs. Hypothetical Imperatives (reason)
1. Hypothetical Imperative: Always conditional
2. Categorical Imperative: non-conditional; and is represented as good in itself..

CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE
■ Two formulations of the Categorical Imperative:
1. Act only on that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a
universal law.
■ “Maxim” – a rule, a principle that gives reason to action.
■ This “universalizing test” checks whether my action puts my interests and circumstances ahead
of everyone else’s.
■ Example: I want a loan but know I won’t have money to repay it. I’m considering making a
promise I know I can’t keep.
Can I make this a universal law?
If yes, All become promise-keepers, but “Who to trust?”

2. “Act in such a way that you always treat humanity, whether in your own person or in
the person of any other, never simply means, but always at the same time as an end.”
For Kant, Human existence has in itself an absolute value.

Role of Freedom in Morality

■ It is about the cultivation of virtue: the development of character traits so that choosing the
good becomes a matter of habit.
■ But a person, in order to be truly virtuous, must be free to cultivate the virtues.
■ There is no virtue in being temperate or charitable when you are being forced; it can be guided
by cultures or social institutions but it cannot be coerced. A virtuous man must always be a
free man.

Freedom: The Foundation of Moral Act

■ Freedom is humans’ greatest quality and it is a reflection of our creator.
■ Freedom is the power rooted in reason/ intellect and will, to act or not to act, and so to
perform deliberate actions on one’s own responsibility.
■ Every action you choose further determines our character.
■ Man as a rational animal (Rationality and Will separates human from animals).

Freedom and Free Will

■ We are not all equally free. There are many possible limits to our freedom: Both external and
internal.
■ External Freedom – Freedom from factors outside ourselves that limit or destroy our free will.
■ Internal Freedom – Freedom from interior factors that limit our free will.

Requirement of True Freedom

■ True Freedom is dependent upon truth - ”You will know the truth, and the truth will set you
free” (John 8:32).
■ Example: Lying to a teacher or to friends.
■ True freedom is oriented toward the good. We should not understand freedom as the possibility
of doing evil. Evil enslaves us and diminishes our ability to be free. True freedom requires
responsibility. There is no such thing as irresponsible freedom.
■ True freedom is when you do good, and become responsible to your action. Goodness and
responsibility are requirements of true freedom.
■ True freedom is when you are free from stress, problems and enemy; and you can sleep at night
at peace.

Human Acts vs Acts of Humans

■ Human Acts: Knowledge, Freedom and Voluntariness/ Will
■ Acts of Human: It does not make use of his intellect or will knowledge. His action is natural,
such as breathing, blinking and sneezing.
 ■ Man is created by God as a human person who can begin and control his own actions – man
can shape his own life, mature in goodness, and gain a perfection which is rooted in God.

■ A person is responsible for his voluntary acts. By progress in virtue, in knowledge of good, and
in self-discipline, he gains greater mastery.
■ Man’s responsibility and imputability can be lessened or nullified by ignorance, fear, habits, or
inordinate attachments or other factors.

■ The object directly chosen by the will determines the basic morality (good or bad). The person’s
intellect sees this as according to moral standards (good) or not (evil).
■ The person also has an intention which determines the act’s morality. One act can have a
multiplicity of intentions.
■ Only the act and the intention make an act good or bad. The circumstances can increase or
diminish the goodness or evil.
■ An act is good when the object, the intention, and the circumstances are all good.

CHAPTER 5: CULTURE AND MORALITY

CULTURE AND MORALITY
■ Culture – is derived from the Latin word “Cultura” or “Cultus” which means care or cultivation.
■ Culture as cultivation: Every human being is a potential member of his own social group.
■ Edward B Tylor: Culture is that complex who which includes knowledge, belief, law, art, moral,
custom, and other capabilities and habits acquired as a member of society.
■ Culture as the entire way of life followed by people, and everything learned and shared by people
in society (Hunt, et al, 1994).
■ Landis (1992): Culture is complex set of learned and shared beliefs, custom, skills, habits,
traditions, and knowledge common to members of society.

The Influence of Culture in Moral Development

■ Culture shapes its members on how they live and relate within themselves and with other
cultures (Bretzke, 2004).
■ Let’s consider the following points:
1. Culture is always social and communal
2. Culture defines the normative principles and behaviors of the society.
3. Culture develops restrictions and sets boundaries and limitations as they live and relate with one
another.
4. Culture conditions the mind: Culture helps in generating the character and identity of its people
including their moral character.
5. Culture identifies the authorities or the governing individuals or groups.

DYNAMICS OF CULTURE
CULTURAL RELATIVISM
■ It is an ability to understand a culture on its own terms and not to make judgments using the
standards of one’s own culture.
■ To consider: (1) To promote understanding of cultural practices esp. unfamiliar practices;
(2) To understand that no one culture is superior than another culture when compared to
systems of morality, law, politics, etc;
(3) There is no absolute standard of good or evil;
(4) any opinion on ethics is subject to the perspective of each person within their particular
culture.

Advantages of Cultural Relativism

1. It is a system which promotes cooperation
2. It creates a society where equality is possible
3. People can pursue a genuine interest.
4. Respect is encouraged in a system of cultural relativism.
5. It preserves human cultures
6. Cultural Relativism creates a society without judgment.
7. Moral Relativism can be excluded from cultural relativism.
8. We can create personal moral codes based on societal standards with ease.
9. It stops cultural conditioning.

Disadvantages of Cultural Relativism

1. It creates a system that is fueled by personal bias.
2. It would create chaos
 3. It is an idea that is based on the perfection of humanity
4. It could promote a lack of diversity
5. It draws people away from one another.
6. It could limit moral progress
7. It could limit humanity’s progress
8. Cultural relativism can turn perceptions into truth

CHAPTER 6: THE FILIPINO WAY

THE FILIPINO CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS
■ ”Mano po” - an act of respect
■ Mano – Spanish word for hand; while po is used at the end of the sentence when addressing
elders or superiors.
■ Filipinos are the most hospitable people – treating foreign visitors with utmost respect, during
fiestas and holidays.
■ For Filipinos, to be able to serve others gives them honor of showing true friendship.
■ There are other customs and Traditions

The Filipino Customs and Traditions

1. Close Family Ties
2. The Bayanihan
3. Courtship (Explain how the modern values are affecting our cultures in courtship)
4. Religion
5. Superstition
6. Marriage and Wedding Customs
7. Death
8. Society (Filipinos is singular as one nation - Malays, but plural in that it is fragmented
geographically and culturally)
9. Christmas in the Philippines
10. Fiestas
11. Living with Parents

Characteristics of Filipino Culture

1. The Filipino people are very resilient
2. Filipinos take pride in their families
3. Filipinos are very religious
4. Filipinos are very respectful
5. Filipinos help one another
6. Filipinos value traditions and culture
7. Filipinos have the longest Christmas celebrations
8. Filipinos love art and architecture
9. The Filipinos are hospitable people
Filipino Family Values
1. Pag-galang (Respect) 5. Hiya (Shame)
2. Paki-kisama (Helping Others) 6. Damayan System
3. Utang na Loob (Debt of Gratitude) 7. Compassionate
4. Pagpapahalaga sa Pamilya 8. Fun-loving Trait

Social Values of the Filipinos

1. High regard for amor propio (Self-esteem)
2. Smooth interpersonal relationships
3. Personal alliance system
4. The Compadre System
5. Utang-na-loob
6. Suki Relationship (Market-exchange partnerships)
7. Friendship

Weaknesses of the Filipino Character

1. Passivity and lack of initiative 6. Lack of Discipline
2. Colonial Mentality 7. Lack of Self-analysis and Reflection
3. Kanya-kanya Syndrome/ Crab Mentality 8. Ningas Cogon
4. Extreme Personalism 9. Gaya-Gaya Attitude
5. Extreme family centeredness
 MODULE 3

CHAPTER 7: UNIVERSAL VALUES

Basic Universal Values
■ Human beings are endowed with spiritual capacities.
■ An understanding of these positive virtues and values gives individuals and societies the moral
accountability that is the basis of human integrity.
■ However, mere knowledge of ideals and principles is not enough. There is always the need
to translate the ideals into action.

What is Universal Values

■ Universal values are formed by implied behavioral standards that are necessary to live in a
harmonious and peaceful society.
■ All people have certain values that come from their interior and guide their actions; however,
values can vary from one person to the other.
■ Universal values have the particularity to be socially shared.
■ We can say that goodness, solidarity, volunteerism and honesty are virtues you want in any
country or region. So, these are universal values.d

Schwartz Concept of Universal Values

■ S.H. Schwartz defined values as “conceptions of the desirable that influence the way people
select action and evaluate events.
Value Types:
1. Power - Social Status and prestige, control over people and resources.
2. Achievement – Personal success
3. Hedonism – Pleasure for oneself
4. Stimulation – Excitement, novelty and challenge in life
5. Self-direction – independent thought and action – choosing, creating, exploring
6. Universalism – Understanding, appreciation, tolerance and protection for the welfare of all
people and for nature.
7. Benevolence – Preservation and enhancement of the welfare of people with whom one is in
frequent personal contact.
8. Tradition – Respect, commitment, and acceptance of the customs and ideas.
9. Conformity – Restraint of actions, inclinations, and impulses likely to upset or harm others and
violate social expectations or norms.
10. Security – Safety, harmony and stability of relationships and of self.
11. Spirituality – the goal; of finding meaning in life (However, it does not seem to be recognized
in all cultures.)

Basic Universal Human Values

1. Happiness - Religion: Reward is heaven or nirvana; Eternal happiness is the ultimate value of
all religious people.
2. Peace – It is a basic condition for freedom and happiness.
3. Love – feelings of deep connectedness or oneness with any other human beings, animals,
plants, etc. Love may happen to us when we are able to be open to the beauty and nature of
other people.
4. Freedom – A basic condition for happiness is, however the experience of an inner, or mental
freedom; freedom from all kinds of stress, worry, anxiety, problems, obligations, and fears, often
directly or indirectly caused by the respectless egocentric or power-oriented mentality of many
others in our society.
5. Safety – Free of threat, fear and survival-stress.
6. Intelligence – the ability to perceive or infer information, and to retain it as knowledge to be
applied towards adaptive behaviors within an environment or context.
7. Human Respect – This creates trust and a friendly attitude towards the other.
8. Equality – Equality before law and equal protection of law. There shall be no place of
discrimination.
9. Justice – Proper administration of the law; the fair and equitable treatment of all individuals
under the law.
10. Nature – Man is part of nature, and our very human existence is dependent of nature and its
ecology. Hence, our highest human values of life itself and freedom, safety, peace, love and
happiness can only be realized in harmony with nature.
11. Health – A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence
of disease or infirmity. Mental health is level of cognitive or emotional well-being and an absence
of a mental disorder.
 CHAPTER 8: THE HUMAN DIGNITY
HUMAN DIGNITY
■ Dignity – comes from the Latin word, dignitas which means “worthiness.”
■ It implies that each person is worthy of honor and respect for who they are, not just for what
they can do.
■ In other words, Human dignity cannot be earned and cannot be taken away. It is an alienable
gift given to us by God. It originates from God, because we are created in His own likeness.
■ Recognition of the inherent dignity… of all members of the human family is the foundation of
freedom, justice and peace in the world.
■ The dignity of the human person is the foundation of morality.

DEVELOPMENT OF MORAL CHARACTER

■ What is Moral Character?
■ An idea which one is unique and can be distinguished from others.
■ It implies to how individuals act, or how they express themselves.
■ It is “human excellence” – When the concept o virtue is spoken, this would emphasize the
distinctiveness, but it all involves the combination of qualities that make an individual the way
he or she is.
■ When you have strong moral character, you’ll be judged by who you are rather than who you
pretend to be.
■ Importance of Having a Strong Moral Character
1. Achieve peace of mind – They take great pride in knowing that their intentions and actions
are honorable.
2. Strengthen trust – They enjoy meaningful relationships. People know that your behavior is
reliable, your heart is in the right place, and your word is good as gold.
3. Build a solid reputation – This helps them attract exciting opportunities.