ETHICS

RYA N B A L B U E N A K AT I G B A K
U N I V E R S I T Y O F B ATA N G A S
PART 1: The Foundations of Morality
OVERVIEW
TWO FACULTIES OF MAN
INTELLECT – gives man the capacity to
think.

WILL – gives man the capacity to make

decision
OVERVIEW

In our actions, which faculty do we follow?

e.g. Death Penalty

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FEELINGS AND MORALITY
 Western philosophers were reacting to the position of
the church scholars who asserted that religion is a
necessary foundation for morality.
 Moral decisions must be founded on religious laws and
doctrines.
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FEELINGS AND MORALITY
 David Hume believed that virtue is in conformity to
reason. Like truth, morality is discerned merely by ideas.
To distinguish the good and the bad, we have to consider
reason alone.
 Philosophers during the time of Hume placed greater
emphasis on reason over feelings.
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REASON AND MORALITY
 Plato argued that the function of reason is to rule
the appetites and emotions.
 Mind or intellect (nous) is the immortal part of the
soul gives man the capacity for truth and wisdom.
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REASON AND MORALITY
 René Descartes held that reason has prominence
over church laws and religious doctrines.
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REASON AND MORALITY
 Stoics upheld that the human person must be able to control his passions
with reason in order to live a moral life.
 Decision must be founded on the right reason (law) for this we have share
in common with the gods.
 Reason is the law.
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FEELINGS AND MORALITY
 Moral decisions would always involve feelings or
emotions.
 Moral decisions/judgments are formed not by
reason alone but through feelings.
 One’s view regarding the goodness and badness of
an action is based on passions, motives, volitions,
and thoughts.
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FEELINGS AND MORALITY
 Whatever action that would give the spectator a
pleasing sentiment would be considered as morally
acceptable, while those that would be unpleasing to
the spectators would be considered morally
unacceptable.
e.g. feeling of sympathy to others
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FEELINGS AND MORALITY
 A behaviour is considered to be virtuous if it is
useful or agreeable to people who are affected by
the action being considered.
 Interest should not be for one’s own but for
somebody else, that is, for the interest of those
which would be directly or indirectly affected by a
particular action.
 If an action is useful or agreeable to others and to
one’s self, it is then considered to be morally
acceptable.
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FEELINGS AND MORALITY
 Hume’s ethical theory is an empirical approach to
morality.
 Moral decisions are based not on judgments based
on reason but on feelings.
 Subjectivity over objectivity
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FEELINGS AND MORALITY
 CRITIQUE: Morality must be absolute and universal.
If it is based on feelings, then everything will
become subjective.
 For the religious moralists, Hume did not include the
role of God in determining the morality of one’s
action; hence, it is weak and groundless.
 However, usefulness and the good effect of one’s
action can still be the basis in determining whether
such action is considered morally acceptable or not.
(Utilitarianism)
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REASON AND IMPARTIALITY
 Thomas Nagel believed that morality must be
rooted not in feelings or emotions because that will
make morality subjective. Morality must be
objective.
 Morality should be rooted in reason.
 Feelings should not be the basis of morality because
one’s feelings may be different from the feelings of
others.
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REASON AND IMPARTIALITY
 Feelings may be irrational. They may be products of
prejudice, selfishness, or cultural conditioning.
 One’s moral decision may depend on the effect of
one’s action to the person’s involved.
Situation Analysis
THE CASE OF TRACY LATIMER

Tracy Latimer, a 12-year old victim of cerebral palsy,

was killed by her father in 1993. Tracy lived with her
family on a prairie farm in Canada. One Sunday
morning, while his wife and other children were at
church, Robert Latimer put Tracy in the cab of his
pickup truck and piped in exhaust fumes until she died.
Situation Analysis
THE CASE OF TRACY LATIMER

At the time of her death, Tracy weighed less than 40

pounds, and she was described as “functioning at the
mental level of a three-month-old baby.” Mrs. Latimer
said that she was relieved to find Tracy dead when she
arrived home and added that she “didn’t have the
courage” to do it herself.
Situation Analysis
THE CASE OF TRACY LATIMER

Robert Latimer was tried for murder, but the judge and
jury did not want to treat him harshly. The jury found
him guilty of only second-degree murder and
recommended that the judge ignore the mandatory
10-year sentence. The judge agreed and sentenced
him to one year in prison, followed by a year of
confinement to his farm.
Situation Analysis
THE CASE OF TRACY LATIMER

But the Supreme Court of Canada stepped in and ruled

that the mandatory sentence must be imposed.
Robert Latimer entered prison in 2001 and was paroled
in 2008.
Situation Analysis
THE CASE OF TRACY LATIMER

Legal question aside, did Mr. Latimer do anything

wrong? This case involves many of the issues that we
saw in the other cases.
One argument against Mr. Latimer is that Tracy’s life
was morally precious, and so he had no right to kill her.
Situation Analysis
THE CASE OF TRACY LATIMER

In his defense, it may be said that Tracy’s condition was

so catastrophic that she had no prospects of a “life” in
any but a biological sense. Her existence had been
reduced to pointless suffering, and so killing her was
an act of mercy.
Situation Analysis
THE CASE OF TRACY LATIMER

 Our answer to this moral issue must not be affected

by our emotions, but rather, by our reason. If our
decision will be based on the feelings of the family,
our moral decision will become subjective (moral
relativism) and we may not be able to arrive at a
moral decision that will be acceptable to everyone
else.
Situation Analysis
THE CASE OF TRACY LATIMER
 For Robert Latimer, the handicap case was not the
issue. To allow Tracy to live would be a torture
because after undergoing major surgery on her back,
hips, and legs, more major surgeries would still be
placed on the pipeline to cure Tracy. Also, the
expenses of all those procedures.
Situation Analysis
THE CASE OF TRACY LATIMER
 According to Robert, Tracy would not be able to live
a happy life due to her condition.
 The decision of Robert requires reasoning because a
father’s feeling for being the cause of the death of
one’s daughter would be emotionally unacceptable.
Situation Analysis
THE CASE OF TRACY LATIMER

 The basis of morality, for Nagel, must be on the

happiness that one’s action may cause to the others.
 If an action is going to cause harm to others, then
the action is considered to be evil.
Situation Analysis
 In terms of moral truth, discovering the truth can only be made possible if
one is guided by reason.
 Most philosophers would consider this as the essence of morality.
 The morally right is to do the action that is supported by rational
arguments.
 Moral judgments must be backed up by good reason.
Situation Analysis
 Remember: not every reason is good but they may still
be valid.
 It will now be the job of the person to discern (intellect/reason) which
action is good.
Situation Analysis
THE CASE OF TRACY LATIMER
 The act of killing Tracy would be considered as morally unacceptable
because each individual’s life is precious and therefore, nobody has the
right to take away one’s life.
 Reason tells us that everyone must be treated equally and a handicapped
person can still become an effective member of the society.
Situation Analysis
Things to remember
 Know the facts first.
 Prejudices must be set aside.
 Man should try to look at things according to how they are and not how
they wanted them to be.
 In decision-making, IMPARTIALITY is required. (No decisions must be
given more favor than the others.)
 The basis of morality must be REASON!
8 Steps to Moral Reasoning Process

1. Gather the Facts

 One should ask not only “What do we know?” but
also “What do we need to know?” in order to make
an intelligent ethical decision.
8 Steps to Moral Reasoning Process
2. Define the Ethical Issues
 Issues can be presented as ___ vs. ____. This will
help the person analyse the interests that are
contradicting one another.
 E.g., the right of the teacher to give a failing grade to
students who are not academically qualified versus
the obligation of the teacher to become charitable
to students.
8 Steps to Moral Reasoning Process

3. Review relevant ethical guidelines

 Determine the different ethical guidelines and
determine which can be best applied to the issue.
 Biblical, constitutional, and natural law principles
must be taken into consideration.
8 Steps to Moral Reasoning Process
4. Obtain consultation
 Since no one can be an expert in making moral
decisions, it is important to consult persons who are
more competent in terms of morality.
 One may consult a religious leader, or a well-revered
teacher, or an elder in a society who can have more
wisdom than us.
 The view of these people may not be our final
ethical decision but they can at least serve as a guide
to our decisions.
8 Steps to Moral Reasoning Process
5. List the Alternative Courses of Action
 Making moral decisions require creative thinking,
which will help one identify various alternative
courses of action.
 The more alternatives that can be listed, the better
the chance that the list will include some high-
quality alternative for a better decision.
8 Steps to Moral Reasoning Process
6. Compare the alternatives with the principles
 Most of the time, the case will already be resolved at
this point because the principles will eliminate all
the other alternatives except the one which will
uphold a moral value.
 In case that there are no clear decisions that may
come into fore at this point, it is then necessary to
get to the next step.
8 Steps to Moral Reasoning Process
7. Weigh the Consequences
 If the moral principles that have a bearing on the
case do not yet provide a clear decision, then it is
necessary to consider the consequences of an
action.
 It is important to take note of both the positive and
the negative consequences.
8 Steps to Moral Reasoning Process

8. Make a decision
 In an ethical dilemma, one has to undergo the
painful process of critical studies and analyses.
 Decisions must be on the least number of problems
or negative consequences, and not the one that is
devoid of problems.
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