Social Science and Philosophy

SSP 123
No. Lesson CODE
Basic Principles and Concept of Social
1. SSP 123 -1
Science
Terminologies and theories prevalent SSP 123 - 2
2. within each disciplines and across
disciplines
Historical Foundations of the Social SSP 123 -3
3.
Sciences
Nature, Meaning and History of SSP 123 -4
4.
Philosophy
5. The Nature of Philosophical Inquiry SSP 123 -5
History and Development of Oriental SSP 123 -6
6.
and Western Philosophy
Logic, Meaning , fallacies and good SSP 123-7
7.
arguments
Ethics, Meaning, Division, SSP 123 -8
8.
Classification
9. Metaphysics SSP 123-9
10. Epistemology SSP 123-10
 Lesson 8
Ethics
Meaning,
Division and Classification
Specific Learning Objectives
After the end of this module, you MUST be able to:

1. Understand the nature of ethics, its meaning, division and classification

2. Explain the difference between an act being morally permissible and being
morally necessary

Topic: Ethics

Assessment Method/S:
1. Recitation
2. Quizzes
3. Midterm Examination

References:

1. Agapay, Ramon B. Ethics, and the Filipino, Manila: National Book

Store, 1999
2. Almeida, Adelaida B. Social Philosophy 2: Manila: Rex Book Store,
2005
.
 Information Sheet SSP 123 -8
Ethics, Meaning, Division and Classification

Learning Objectives:

After reading this INFORMATION SHEET, you must be able to:

1. Understand the nature of ethics, its meaning, division and classification

2. Explain the difference between an act being morally permissible and being
morally necessary

Introduction

Ethics (or Moral Philosophy) is concerned with questions of how people ought to act, and
the search for a definition of right conduct (identified as the one causing the greatest good) and
the good life (in the sense of a life worth living or a life that is satisfying or happy).

The word "ethics" is derived from the Greek "ethos" (meaning "custom" or "habit"). Ethics
differs from morals and morality in that ethics denotes the theory of right action and the greater
good, while morals indicate their practice. Ethics is not limited to specific acts and defined moral
codes, but encompasses the whole of moral ideals and behaviors, a person's philosophy of
life (or Weltanschauung).
As a branch of philosophy, ethics has three main subdivisions:

 meta-ethics asks questions such as: what do ethical statements mean? In what ways are
they the same as, and in what way do they differ from, non-ethical statements? Do
ethical statements have objective truth, or are they merely subjective expressions of
opinion or emotion? Are ethical statements ultimately reducible to non-ethical
statements? How can we know what is ethical and what is not?

Summary of Meta-ethics

Meta-Ethics
How we use ethical language and where
it comes from

Intuitionism Emotivism Prescriptivism

Our intuition tells us what What is right or wrong is When I say something is
is right or wrong. simply an emotional right I’m trying to get
response to a situation youto think the same

 normative ethics asks what are the basic principles of right or wrong:
is morality fundamentally about the consequences of our actions, the inherent nature of
the acts we perform, or our character as actors?

 applied ethics seeks to apply ethical principles to concrete social issues, such
as abortion, euthanasia, human sexuality, animal welfare, the environment, poverty, etc.
Applied ethics inevitably depends on the positions one adopts in the areas of normative
ethics and meta-ethics
Under the heading of Ethics, the major doctrines or theories include:

Altruism (or Ethical Altruism) is

an ethical doctrine that holds that individuals
have a moral
obligation to help, serve or benefit others, if
necessary at the sacrifice of self interest. More
precisely, an action is morally right if the
consequences of that action are more favorable
than unfavorable to everyone except the agent.
The term "altruism" (initially derived from the
Latin "alter" meaning "other") was coined
by Auguste Comte,

Cognitivismis the view that ethical sentences express propositions and can therefore
be true or false (i.e. they are truth-apt). Thus, to a cognitivist , moral judgments are capable of
being objectively true, because they describe some feature of the world.

Consequentialism (or Teleological Ethics) is an approach to Ethics that argues that the
morality of an action is contingent on the action's outcome or consequence. Thus, a morally
right action is one that produces a good outcome or result, and the consequences of an action or
rule generally outweigh all other considerations (i.e. the ends justify the means).
Cynicism (pronounced SIN-niss-ism) is a dark attitude toward
the world, especially toward human beings. Cynical people (also
called “cynics”) believe that human beings are basically motivated
by greed and self-interest; they are distrustful of others, usually
very negative, and suspicious of sentimentality.

Deontology (or Deontological Ethics)is a

theory that suggests actions are good or
bad according to a clear set of rules. Its
name comes from the Greek word deon,
meaning duty.

Actions that obey these rules are ethical,

while actions that do not, are not.

Ego means self; egoism can be thought

of as self-ism. Egoism is a theory, in
ethics, that human beings act or should
act in their own interests and desires. ...
For example, a cigarette smoker acts on
his desire to smoke; smoking causes
health problems that are not in one's
best interest.

Virtue Ethics emphasizes virtuous character

and that the formation of a virtuous character
is the first step towards morally correct
behavior.
Some examples of virtues are honesty,
loyalty, moderation and self-control