ETHICS – GE 8

CHAPTER 1
MEANING OF ETHICS
• Ethics deals with the principles of ethical behavior in modern society at the level of the
person, society, and in interaction with the environment and other shared resources.
• A branch of Philosophy that studies human acts and human conduct.
• Although there are subjects that study human conduct such as Psychology and Sociology.
Ethics has a deeper meaning in its standpoint by further delving into the aspect of human
acts.
• They are more concerned with the morality of human acts.
• In simplest word, Ethics is something that the society believes it is right to do.

Without ethics-There will be a total collapse of the whole human person and entire human
society.
ETHICS
Some definitions given by Philosophers:
Kant It is man’s rational duty

Mill and Bentham Because of pleasure and happiness

Fletcher It depends upon the situation

Lawrence Kohlberg Because of our fear of punishment

Saint Augustine and Aquinas Because there is God

Aristotle, Plato and Socrates Because of happiness

Mohammed Because of Allah

ETHICS
• Friedrich Nietzsche an atheist philosopher believes that God has nothing to do with
man’s quest for goodness. For Nietzsche, man could do good even without God.
• Etymologically, ethics derived from the Greek word “ethicos” or that which pertains to
“ethos”, the English translation of which is “custom” or “character”. From this ethics
is taken to mean as philosophical science that deals with the morality of human
conduct or human acts.
• There are four divisions or disciplines in philosophy.
Descriptive or speculative Discipline in philosophy that proceeds the question: what
is the nature (essence) of reality. (metaphysics-
philosophical)

Normative Discipline of philosophy that posits the question: what is

good and what is bad. (moral philosophy)

Practical Discipline in philosophy which reflects upon truth in

relation to action. (logic)

Critical Discipline in philosophy that posits the questions: what is

truth? (epistemology)
MEANING OF MORALITY

• Morality pertains to the standards of right and wrong that an individual

originally picks up from the community.

• From Latin word “mos or moris” which means custom. Morality actualizes
the theory. (doing ethics)

• This means that ethics does not actually guarantee that man will be moral
or good. One can only become moral (good human person) when one
applies ethics.
ETHICS VS MORALS
ETHICS MORALS
What they are? The rules of conduct recognized in respect to a particular class Principles or habits with respect to right or wrong conduct.
of human actions or a particular group or culture While morals also prescribe dos and don'ts, morality is
ultimately a personal compass of right and wrong.

Where do they come from? Social system - External Individual-internal

Why we do it? Because society says it is the right thing to do. Because we believe in something being right or wrong.

Flexibility Ethics are dependent on others for definition. They tend to be Usually consistent, although can change if an individual’s
consistent within a certain context, but can vary between beliefs change.
contexts.

The Gray A person strictly following Ethical Principles may not have any A Moral Person although perhaps bound by a higher
Morals at all. Likewise, one could violate Ethical Principles covenant, may choose to follow a code of ethics as it would
within a given system of rules in order to maintain Moral apply to a system. "Make it fit"
integrity.

Origin Greek word "ethos" meaning "character" Latin word "mos" meaning "custom"

Acceptability Ethics are governed by professional and legal guidelines within Morality transcends cultural norms
a particular time and place
POSTULATES OF ETHICS

Postulates are proven facts that need to be presupposed.

Ethics need not prove them; instead it takes them as they are because they
are already proven by other science. In moral philosophy, there are 3 basic
postulate:

The existence of God

The existence of intellect and free will; and

The spirituality and the immorality of the soul.

MAN IN THE CONTEXT OF HIS NATURE

Man is basically a being, a creature, whose destiny is to live in two world:

 the spiritual and

 the physical or material world.
Human = refers to anything exclusively pertinent to man.
Nature = from Latin word “natus” means “born ‘ or “nature” which means “to
be born” or “being born”. Nature- is the ultimate operation of reality.
Human Nature – refers to anything exclusively human which man intrinsically
possesses right at his birth. Human can be characterized as universal and static.
Universal pertains to all born humans and static because it remains as it is in
every man from birth(womb) to death (tomb).
THREE FOLD-LEVEL OF HUMAN NATURE

 Somatic level – refers to the body substance, constitution, or stuff of man and
secondarily to the bodily structure and color of man which are conditioned by man’s
culture and environment.

 Behavioral level – refers to the mode of acting of every man.

 Attitudinal Level – refers to the mental reaction of man to a given stimulus.

Attitudes can grow or stunted. Lies at the heart of every man’s uniqueness, this level
caters to individual attitudes toward life. Human nature changes only in terms of its
accidental constituents, i.e. the growth of the human body, the change or
development of one’s attitude, and the change of behavior which appropriate to the
human milieu.
ETHICS COMPARED WITH OTHER SCIENCES THAT DEALS WITH MAN
   
ETHICS
  Psychology is a descriptive philosophy Ethics guides man’s intellect to know moral truths
that treat of man’s intellect, free will and and man’s will to translate his intellectual knowledge
conduct. (How does man behave?) of moral truths and actions. (“Why does man ought to
PSYCHOLOGY
behave”)
 

Sociology deals with human relations. These proper laws postulate the moral values or order
SOCIOLOGY Human relations however, presuppose of right and wrong action.
proper setup or order in society.

LOGIC Logic is a branch of philosophy that deals  Ethics deals with man’s correct doing and correct
with man’s correct thinking. living.
 
  Anthropology deals with man’s origin and Ethics deals with the principles of right conduct as
the behavior or primeval man. applied to all men at all times.
ANTHROPOLOGY
 
  Moral theology bases its principles on Moral philosophy (ethics) bases its principles on
Faith or Divine Revelation and reason. reason.
MORAL THEOLOGY
MORALITY AND HUMAN EXISTENCE
1. Man is the only moral being by virtue of the following reasons:
• Man is being of action

• Man has intellect

• Man has will

2. Man as animal (and rational being)

As an animal

• Knowledge : Senses

• Appetency : Instinct

As Rational
• knowledge : sense and intellect

• Appetency : instinct and will

Human Person- Exists in this world as a physical and intellectual being.

This is explained in Plato's doctrine of collection. This doctrine states three

essential themes:
1.) That eternal and absolute ideas existed before we were born.
2.) That these ideas were continually reflected or recollected with a human soul.
3.) That the human soul therefore existed before we were born

3. Man as a rational animal

4. Intellect Compare with will

INTELLECT   WILL

Wisdom Highest Goal Virtue

Truth Goal Good

Thinking Function Doing

Knowing Purpose Choosing

5. Concrete Basis of Morality

ACTIONS   ACTIONS
 

Good Bad

Right Wrong

Good (better?) MAN Good (best?)

Bad (less) Bad (Worse, worst)