Philosophy is the systematical study of ideas and When ethics deals with morality of the human act, it

issues, a reasoned pursuit of fundamental truths, a means the goodness or badness, rightness or
quest for a comprehensive understanding of the wrongness, or the acceptability or unacceptability of
world, a study of principles of conduct, etc. every human.
domain of human experience raises questions to
Dr. James Rachels – a philosopher who specialized in
which philosophy’s technique and method apply.
ethics. “At the every least morality is the effort to guide
The different Branches of Philosophy one’s conduct by reason

study of ethics or morality today is generally divided into

Epistemology. A branch of philosophy that addresses
three main areas, namely:
the philosophical problems surrounding the theory
1) meta-ethics, - consists in the attempt to answer the
of knowledge and truth. fundamental philosophical questions about the nature of
ethical theory itself
Metaphysics. A branch of philosophy is concerned
2) normative ethics, - is the study of what makes actions
with the nature of ultimate reality. It is customarily
right or wrong, what makes situations or events good or
divided into ontology and metaphysics bad and what makes people virtuous or vicious (Klement,
n.d
Ontology. philosophical study in general, or of what
3.)Applied Ethics consists in the attempt to answer
applies neutrally to everything that is real.
difficult moral questions actual people face in their lives
Aesthetic. A branch of philosophy concerned with (Klement, n.d.). The moral questions addressed under
Applied Ethics are mostly about the social issues that we
the essence and perception of beauty ang ugliness.
usually experience in the present time
Cosmology. A branch of philosophy that deals with
Classifications of Normative Ethics
the study of the universe as a whole, including its
past and its future. 1. Deontology - Morality Whether something is right and
wrong doesn’t depend on its consequences. Actions are
Social and Political philosophy. Branch of philosophy right or wrong in themselves
primarily concerned with the nature of legitimate -We each have duties regarding our own actions
authority, nature of society, and the relation
2. Teleology is a theory that determines the moral value of
between the individual, the community, and the
actions by their outcomes or results (De Guzman, 2018).
state. So, an action is good if it is done or in pursuit of a moral
goal or end.
Philosophy of Man. The study of all aspects of
human and culture. It examines such topics as how 3.Utilitarianism, sometimes called consequentialism, is a
people live, what they think, what they produce, and theory that bases morality on the consequences of
how they interact with the environment. actions. So, an action is good if it produces the “best”
consequences among the rest of the alternative actions.
Logic. Commonly known as “the art and science” of
correct thinking. It is a study that deals with the 4. Virtue ethics is a theory that is character-based rather
than act-based like deontology or teleology. When we say
principle of valid reasoning.
that it is character-based, it means that we judge or
Ethics. Is the normative science of the conduct of determine goodness
human beings living in society; a science which 3 applied ethics -consists in the attempt to answer difficult
judges the conduct to be right or wrong, to be good moral questions actual people face in their lives.
or bad.
1. Bioethics - abortion, euthanasia, surrogate motherhood,
Etymologically, ethics is derived from the Greek word cloning and genetic manipulation, mutilation, etc.
“ethos”, or that which pertains to ethos the English
2. Human Sexual Ethics - human sexuality, pre-marital sex,
translation of which is “custom” or “character”.
extra-marital sex, pornography, contraception, loveless
Ethics is often called moral philosophy, a study that and casual sex, rape, etc.
deals with the principles and laws governing the 3. Environmental Ethics - animal welfare and rights,
morality of human act. environmental sanitation, pollution control, kaingin,
cyanide fishing, etc.
4. Business Ethics - harassment, job discrimination,
employer-employee relationship, whistle blowing,
Relationship of ethics to other
unprofessionalism, false advertising, etc. Sciences
5. Social Ethics - poverty, child labor, war on drugs, death ethics and Logic- logic is the science and art of
penalty, racial discrimination, gender discrimination correct reasoning. Ethics is the science of good and
proper living.
Difference between Ethics & Ethics and Psychology- according to Lupato and
Morality Cornista, psychology is the scientific study of
behavior and cognitive(mental) processes.
Ethics= reflection Ethics and Sociology- Sociology is the scientific study
 Provides principles on the morality of of society and culture while Ethics is concerned with
human acts. moral order, which also includes social order.
 It doesn’t guarantee that man will be
Ethics and Economics- Economics is the proper
normal.
allocation and efficient use of available resources for
 Provides the theory of principles of right
the maximum satisfaction of human wants.
and wrong or goodness or badness.
Ethics and Education- education liberates men from
Morality (the action of doing ethics)
ignorance not only from ethical standards but also
 Morality is nothing else but doing of ethics. from laws that are implemented by the society.

Division of Ethics Ethics and Law- law imposed by the society must be
fair, just, and humane.
general Ethics- present truths about human acts,
Ethics and Art- man’s artistic creation must be a
and from these truths deduce the general principles
noble purpose, which should not be offensive to
of morality. General ethics is applied to individual in
morality.
relation to himself, to God and to his fellow men.
Ethics and Political Science- the study of state and
Special Ethics- it applies to the principles of general
government. Politics covers the administration and
ethics in different departments of human activity,
management of our government.
individual and social. It includes man’s relation to the
family, to the state and to the world (international
Ethics). Nature of Man
Importance of ethics MAN IS THE ONLY MORAL BEING- man has intellect
that separates him from all brute creation. Man has
1.ethics means living in proper way and it is in the the ability to think before doing particular action.
development of a good moral character and virtues Man may foresee the consequences of his action.
that finds perfections and understands his purpose
of existence. MAN AS A RATIONAL BEING- man’s action are in
accordance with reason. Every action he makes has
2.everybody aims to have peace and harmony purpose and meaning. it is the duty of man to be
among people, which is indeed the common interest moral according to Immanuel Kant.
of the people and the government. The first way to
the moral development of the people is to educate MAN AS ANIMAL- similarly, both man and animals
them. posses appetency and knowledge. Animals as similar
to man need also to gratify their instinctive sexual
Morality- latin word “moralitas. which means manner, -Deal with matters we think can seriously injure or
character, proper behavior. benefit humans, animals and the environment;
-Not established or changed by the decisions of
Social way of acting it implies consensus and the authoritative individuals or bodies;
adhesion of society.
- Overriding, that is, they take precedence over other
Norms and social rules it is guided by the culture of
standards and considerations, especially of self-
society
Collective it is what one builds from the consensus of interest;
several morals -Based on impartial considerations; Associate with
special emotions and vocabulary.
Moral standard-force other to act accordingly,
affect other people. Non moral standard- refers to standards by
Standard- a level of quality of attainment, used to which we judge what is good or bad and right or
measure idea, norm, or comparative evaluation. wrong in a non-moral way. are matters of taste or
preference. Have no right to impose others. do not
Moral standard involve the rules people have about
affect other people
the kinds of actions they believe are morally right
and wrong, as well as the values they place on the refers to rules that affect the choice of a person but
kinds of objects they believe are morally good and are not linked to moral or ethical considerations,
morally bad. Some ethicists equate moral standards
with moral values and moral principles. Some non-moral standards of any society could be
the table manners, general etiquette, clothing etc.
“the good” that is, the welfare and well-being of
humans as well as animals and the environment Govern individual life, aspirations and desires and
Norms- that individuals or groups have about the may decide a person’s place in his group.
kinds of actions believed to be morally right or Immoral person/ unethical -knowingly violates
wrong, human moral standards, (alam na mali
Values- places on what we believed to be morally ginagawa parin,)
good or morally bad. Amoral person may also violate moral standards
Consistency- it may differ from society to society and because he/she has no moral sense.
culture to culture. Example of non moral standards- Standards of
Norms is the general rule of action + the value etiquette, The law, Standards of aesthetics
Enduring beliefs about what is good and desirable, or ETIQUETTE- set of rules on how an individual should
not = moral responsibly behave in society.
Moral character refers to “the existence or lack of virtues
Characteristics of non-moral standards- Welfare of
such as integrity, courage, fortitude, honesty and loyalty
non-beings, Relies on Authority Law, Religion,
Philosophical Views on Moral Character Tradition, Limits Hegemony, Self Interest X emotions
and vocabulary
In Confucian tradition, personality meant “an achieved
state of moral excellence”. Moral development was Example of non moral standards-
attributed to the “four beginnings” of the human
personality, namely: 1) the heart of compassion (jen), 2) Standards of etiquette by which we judge manners
the heart of righteousness (ren), 3) the heart of propriety as good or bad, Standards we call the law by which
(Li), and 4) the heart of wisdom (Zhi). we judge legal right and wrong, Standards of
aesthetics – good or bad art, The athletic standards
CHARACTERISTICS OF MORAL STANDARDS
how well a game is being played
Welfare of beings, Relies on Sound Reasoning,
Overriding Hegemony, Impartial, Fair and Just,
Emotions and Vocabulary.
Dilemma refers to a situation in which a tough choice must Universal values refer to the values that are common to all
be made between two or more options, especially more or cultures.
less equally undesirable ones
Patricia Licuanan, a former commissioner of CHED and a
Types of dilemmas distinguished Filipino psychologist

Personal dilemmas are those that are encountered and According to Aristotle, each person has a built-in desire to
resolved personally by the individual. Personal dilemmas be virtuous and that if a person is focused on being a good
may be caused by the individual him/herself, by another person the right actions will follow effortlessly and you will
person, or by a group do good things. Aristotle also put up a school in Athens
called Lyceum
Organizational dilemmas are those “encountered and
resolved by social organizations. This include moral Telos is a Greek term which means “end” (or purpose).
dilemmas in business, medical field and public sector According to Aristotle, “every action and pursuit is thought
to aim at some good
Structural dilemmas are dilemmas encountered and
resolved by network of organizations. Structural dilemmas According to Socrates, ethics is the investigation of life.
are multi-sectoral and larger in scope than organizational The unexamined life is not worth living
dilemmas
John Rawls and the Theory of Justice
Freedom: Responsibility for One’s Act and to Others
According to St. Thomas, Natural Law is based on the two
Only human beings can be ethical because, 1) only human fundamental authority the Bible and Aristotle
beings are rational, autonomous (free) and self-
conscious, 2) only human beings can act morally or Three kinds of act: Voluntary=knowledge and approval
immorally, and 3) only human beings are part of the Involuntary=knowledge and lack of approval.
moral community. Non-voluntary=no knowledge, and no approval
Only voluntary act can be held accountable
THE MORAL AGENT THE MORAL AGENT
Prudence – this virtue is an exercise of understanding that
A. Culture and Moral Behavior helps us know the best means in solving moral problems in
which we encounter in the concrete circumstances
1. Culture and Its Role in Moral Behavior
2. What is Cultural Relativism? Why is it not tenable in Justice – The habit is an exercise of the will to give or
ethics? render what is due to another. It may be in the form of
3. Why are There Universal Values? material or immaterial things, to the person who rightly
4. The Filipino Way: An Asian and a Filipino Understanding owns or belong it
of Moral Behavior
5. Strengths and weaknesses? Fortitude – The habit of the will to exercise courage and
bravery despite facing grave danger especially when
B. The Moral Agent: Developing Virtue as Habit serious injury or threat to life is at stake.

1.How is Moral Character Developed: The Circular Relation Temperance – The habit is an exercise of the will to
of Acts that Build Character and Acts that Emanate from demonstrate proper control and restrain in the midst of
Character strong attraction to pleasurable acts. The key word here is
moderation.
The father of cultural anthropology, Edward Tylor stated
that in general, culture is the way of life of a group of Legal Rights- Legal rights refer to all the rights that you
people that “includes their knowledge, belief, art, morals, have (as stated in any existing law) as a citizen of the
law, customs Philippines, or any particular country.

Plato implied that if a person’s cultural surroundings Moral Rights- Moral rights refer to those rights attributed
reward conformity to agreeable norms to all moral entities (Gallinero, 2018). These rights are
independent and precisely existed before any legal rights.
Cultural relativism is the view that an action is morally
right if one’s culture approves of it. James Rachels laid 5 Human Rights-“They are best thought of as being both
claims of cultural relativists as to why right or wrong is moral and legal rights. The legitimacy claims of human
only a matter of cultural standards. is not acceptable in rights are connected to their status as moral rights.
ethics because of the dangers that it brings when making
moral decisions. As cited by Gallinero
There are 5 generations existing in our time, they are

1. the traditionalists,
2. baby boomers,
3. generation X,
4. generation Y or the millennials,
5. generation Z.

Religion is a “specific fundamental set of beliefs and

practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or
sects”

Religion is not ethics. Any religion will assert that its

religious codes and practices (including religious moral
codes and moral practices) represent a clear road to
salvation or enlightenment

Cultural sensitivity- Being aware that cultural differences

and similarities between people exist without assigning
them a value – positive or negative, better or worse, right
or wrong.

Ethnocentrism- when one believes their culture to be

superior to other cultures, using their culture as the
standard to which other cultures should be compared with
regard to beliefs, attitudes, and practices.

Filipino values- The ten most depicted traits were the

following: pakikisama, hiya, utang na loob, close family
ties, bahala na, amor propio, bayanihan, hospitality, ningas
cogon, and respect for elders.

A cultural boundary, or cultural area, defines a geographic

area wherein a group of people share the same cultural
practices and traditions.

Ethical issues are much more practical in that they are

dealt with using a set of rules that lay down what is
allowable.

Moral issues is much more personal - a personal desire to

be good and issues may be judged using this more
personal code of behavior.

Moral relativism is the view that moral judgments are true

or false only relative to some particular standpoint (for
instance, that of a culture or a historical period) and that
no standpoint is uniquely privileged over all others.