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Ethics Introduction

The document discusses the concepts of ethics and morality, highlighting their definitions and distinctions. It explains that ethics pertains to theoretical principles of right and wrong, while morality relates to practical behavior judged by these principles. Additionally, it introduces the paradigms of 'the good' and 'the right', emphasizing that the former focuses on achieving goals and benefits, whereas the latter concerns adherence to rules and duties.

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RAMIL CUYA
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2 views

Ethics Introduction

The document discusses the concepts of ethics and morality, highlighting their definitions and distinctions. It explains that ethics pertains to theoretical principles of right and wrong, while morality relates to practical behavior judged by these principles. Additionally, it introduces the paradigms of 'the good' and 'the right', emphasizing that the former focuses on achieving goals and benefits, whereas the latter concerns adherence to rules and duties.

Uploaded by

RAMIL CUYA
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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ETH I C S

I NT R O D U C T I O N
PARED BY: RAMIL C UYA
P RE
INTRODUCTION
ETHICS (GREEK ETHIKA, FROM ETHOS,
―CHARACTER, ―CUSTOM), PRINCIPLES OR
STANDARDS OF HUMAN CONDUCT, SOMETIMES
CALLED MORALS (LATIN MORES, ―CUSTOMS), AND,
BY EXTENSION, THE STUDY OF SUCH PRINCIPLES,
SOMETIMES CALLED MORAL PHILOSOPHY.
FROM THE ETYMOLOGY OF ETHICS AND MORALITY,
THEY BOTH SPEAK OF CHARACTER AND A
CUSTOMARY WAY OF DOING GOOD/BAD AND
RIGHT/WRONG. CUSTOM REFERS TO TRADITION OR
COMMUNITY HABIT. HENCE, IT IS SOMETHING A
COMMUNITY OF PERSONS ALWAYS DOES IN A
PARTICULAR WAY; A WAY A PERSON OR
COMMUNITY USUALLY OR ROUTINELY BEHAVES IN A
PARTICULAR SITUATION.
ACCORDING TO GAFFNEY (1979), THE
DIFFERENCE IS BASICALLY BETWEEN THE REALM
OF THEORY AND THE REALM OF PRACTICE.
ETHICS REFERS TO A SET OF IDEAS, PRINCIPLES
OR CONVICTIONS DETERMINING WHAT ONE
CONSIDERS RIGHT AND WRONG IN MORAL
CONDUCT, WHEREAS MORALITY REFERS TO
PRACTICAL BEHAVIOR AS JUDGED ACCORDING TO
SOMEONE‘S IDEAS ABOUT RIGHT AND WRONG.
ETHICS POINTS TO HOW ONE THINKS ABOUT
RIGHT AND WRONG AND MORALITY POINTS TO
ACTUAL CONDUCT WITH RESPECT TO ITS
RIGHTNESS OR WRONGNESS. AT THE OUTSET,
ETHICS AND MORALITY HAVE SOMEHOW ALMOST
A COMPARABLE MEANING, ALTHOUGH ETHICS IS
SOMETIMES LIMITED TO THE CONCERN FOR THE
INDIVIDUAL CHARACTER AND MORALITY TO THE
RULES CONCERNING GOOD AND BAD.
ACCORDING TO MEACHAM (2011), THE
PRIMARY TASK OF ETHICS, OR MORALITY, IS
TO GUIDE ONE‘S ACTIONS. TO GUIDE ONE‘S
ACTIONS MAY SEEM OBVIOUSLY EASY. ANY
PERSON IN GENERAL, THROUGH THE RULE
OF THUMB, WOULD READILY DISTINGUISH
WHAT IS GOOD FROM WHAT IS BAD, AND
WHAT IS RIGHT FROM WHAT IS WRONG.
A STRIKING PROBLEM ARISES WHEN AN INDIVIDUAL COULD
HARDLY MAKE A FINE LINE DISTINCTION BETWEEN WHAT IS
GOOD FROM WHAT IS RIGHT. THIS IS BECAUSE WHAT IS RIGHT
DOES NOT NECESSARILY MEAN THAT IT IS GOOD, AND VICE
VERSA, WHAT IS GOOD DOES NOT NECESSARILY MEAN THAT IT
IS RIGHT. IN OTHER WORDS, THERE ARE MANY WAYS OF
THINKING ABOUT ETHICS WHOSE FOCUSES ARE ON WHETHER
SPECIFIC ACTIONS ARE GOOD OR BAD, OR RIGHT OR WRONG.
THEY HELP AN INDIVIDUAL DECIDE WHAT SHOULD BE DONE IN
A PARTICULAR CASE OR CLASS OF CASES, OR EVALUATE THE
ACTIONS THAT A PERSON HAS DONE.
MEACHAM (2011) DESCRIBES TWO WAYS OF
THINKING ABOUT ETHICS, WHICH MANIFEST
THEMSELVES AS TWO CLUSTERS OF
CONCEPTS AND LANGUAGE, OR DOMAINS OF
DISCOURSE, USED TO RECOMMEND OR
COMMAND SPECIFIC ACTIONS OR HABITS OF
CHARACTER: THEY ARE CALLED THE GOOD
AND THE RIGHT
THE GOOD AND THE RIGHT
THE GOOD HAS TO DO WITH ACHIEVEMENT OF
GOALS; THE RIGHT, WITH LAWS AND RULES. THE
GOODNESS PARADIGM RECOGNIZES THAT PEOPLE
HAVE DESIRES AND ASPIRATIONS, AND FRAMES
VALUES IN TERMS OF WHAT ENABLES A BEING TO
ACHIEVE ITS ENDS.
THE RIGHTNESS PARADIGM RECOGNIZES THAT
PEOPLE LIVE IN GROUPS THAT REQUIRE
ORGANIZATION AND REGULATIONS, AND FRAMES
VALUES IN TERMS OF DUTY AND CONFORMANCE TO
RULES. GOODNESS AND RIGHTNESS ―ARE NOT
COMPLEMENTARY PORTIONS OF THE MORAL FIELD
BUT ALTERNATIVE WAYS OF ORGANIZING THE WHOLE
FIELD TO CARRY OUT THE TASKS OF MORALITY.
THE GOOD

WHAT IS GOOD HAS TO DO WITH


BENEFITS. SOMETHING THAT BENEFITS
SOMETHING OR SOMEONE ELSE IS CALLED
GOOD FOR THAT THING OR PERSO
THE APPROACH TO ETHICS THAT EMPHASIZES
GOODNESS IS CALLED THE TELEOLOGICAL
APPROACH, FROM A GREEK WORD, TELOS,
WHICH MEANS ―END‖, ―PURPOSE‖, OR
―GOAL‖.
BIOLOGICALLY, WHAT IS GOOD FOR AN
ORGANISM HELPS THAT ORGANISM SURVIVE AND
THRIVE. INSTRUMENTALLY, WHAT IS GOOD FOR A
THING ENABLES THAT THING TO SERVE ITS
PURPOSE.
• THE GOODNESS APPROACH TO ETHICS USES THE
TERMS ―GOOD‖ AND ―BAD‖ AND THEIR VARIANTS
AND SYNONYMS TO EVALUATE ACTIONS, THINGS,
PEOPLE, STATES OF AFFAIRS, ETC., AS WELL AS
MAXIMS OR GUIDELINES FOR CONDUCT.
•THERE ARE DEGREES OF GOODNESS AND ITS
OPPOSITE, BADNESS. THAT SOME PLANTS NEED FULL
SUNLIGHT TO THRIVE AND OTHERS NEED SHADE
MEANS THAT FULL SUNLIGHT IS GOOD FOR THE
FORMER AND NOT SO GOOD FOR THE LATTER.
• AN ETHICS – A SET OF MORAL PRINCIPLES OR VALUES –
BASED ON GOODNESS APPLIED TO CONCERNS ABOUT
CHOICES BETWEEN COURSES OF ACTION WILL ASK
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ANTICIPATED OR HOPED-FOR
BENEFITS OF ONE COURSE OF ACTION AS OPPOSED TO
ANOTHER. AN ETHICS BASED ON GOODNESS APPLIED TO
CONCERNS ABOUT CHARACTER WILL ASK QUESTIONS
ABOUT THE ANTICIPATED OR HOPED-FOR EFFECTS ON
ONE‘S HABITUAL WAY OF APPROACHING LIFE OF ONE
COURSE OF ACTION AS OPPOSED TO ANOTHER.
THE RIGHT
WHAT IS RIGHT HAS TO DO WITH CONFORMANCE TO
RULES OR REGULATIONS. THIS IS EASY TO SEE IN NON-
ETHICAL SITUATIONS. FOR INSTANCE, THE RIGHT
ANSWER TO ―9 DIVIDED BY 3‖ IS 3. WE APPLY A
MATHEMATICAL RULE, THE RULE FOR HOW TO DO LONG
DIVISION, AND DERIVE THE RIGHT, OR CORRECT,
ANSWER. IN ETHICAL SITUATIONS, WE APPLY A MORAL
RULE TO DETERMINE WHAT THE RIGHT COURSE OF
ACTION IS.
IF ONE FINDS A WALLET WITH SOME MONEY IN IT AND
THE OWNER'S IDENTIFICATION AS WELL, THE RIGHT
THING TO DO IS TO RETURN THE MONEY TO THE
OWNER BECAUSE IT IS WRONG TO KEEP SOMETHING
THAT DOES NOT BELONG TO ONE, ESPECIALLY IF ONE
KNOWS WHO THE OWNER IS. THE MORAL RULE IN
THIS CASE IS ―IT IS WRONG TO KEEP SOMETHING
THAT DOES NOT BELONG TO YOU.‖
THE APPROACH TO ETHICS THAT EMPHASIZES
RIGHTNESS IS CALLED THE DEONTOLOGICAL
APPROACH, FROM A GREEK WORD, DEON, THAT
MEANS ―DUTY.‖ A PERSON DOES HER DUTY WHEN
SHE ACTS ACCORDING TO THE MORAL RULES. WE
COULD ALSO CALL THIS A RULES-BASED APPROACH.
(BY ―RULES‖ WE MEAN PRESCRIBED GUIDES FOR
CONDUCT, NOT GENERALIZATIONS THAT DESCRIBE
PHYSICAL REALITY, SUCH AS THE LAWS OF NATURE).
ACCORDING TO THE DEONTOLOGICAL APPROACH,
AN ACTION IS JUSTIFIED ON THE BASIS OF A
QUALITY OR CHARACTERISTIC OF THE ACT ITSELF,
REGARDLESS OF ITS CONSEQUENCES. THAT
CHARACTERISTIC IS ITS CONFORMANCE TO A RULE.
MORALITY IS CONCERNED WITH IDENTIFYING AND
OBEYING MORAL RULES. IT IS RIGHT TO OBEY THE
RULES AND WRONG TO DISOBEY THEM.
ANY PARTICULAR ACT CAN BE JUDGED RIGHT OR
WRONG ACCORDING TO WHETHER AND TO WHAT
EXTENT IT CONFORMS TO THE MORAL RULES. A
CENTRAL CONCERN, THEN, IS TO IDENTIFY THE
RULES SO ONE CAN MAKE SURE ONE IS ACTING IN
ACCORDANCE WITH THEM. ONCE THE RULES ARE
ESTABLISHED, ALL ONE NEEDS TO DO IN ORDER
TO BE MORAL IS TO DO ONE'S DUTY, WHICH IS TO
ACT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE RULES.
THE PRIMARY MEANING OF ―RIGHT‖ IN AN ETHICAL CONTEXT IS CONFORMANCE TO
MORAL RULES. THERE ARE A NUMBER OF OTHER USES OF THE TERM ―RIGHT‖ IN
ADDITION TO CONFORMANCE TO MORAL RULES, SUCH AS THE FOLLOWING:

1. CORRECT, TRUTHFUL, AS IN ―THE RIGHT ANSWER.‖ THIS IMPLIES


THAT RIGHTNESS IS EXCLUSIVE, THAT THERE IS ONE RIGHT ANSWER
OR OPINION AND THAT OTHERS ARE WRONG.
2. THE BEST POSSIBLE OPTION OR A VERY GOOD OPTION, AS IN ―THE
RIGHT CHOICE.‖ THIS ALSO IMPLIES EXCLUSIVITY, BUT IS
PROBLEMATIC. OFTEN ONE DOES NOT NEED TO DO WHAT IS BEST.
SOMETIMES ONE ONLY NEEDS TO DO SOMETHING GOOD ENOUGH TO
GET A USEFUL RESPONSE, A RESPONSE THAT GIVES FEEDBACK SO
ONE CAN FURTHER HONE ONE‘S STRATEGY, ONE‘S RESPONSE TO
WHAT IS HAPPENING.
3. FITTING, APPROPRIATE, IN HARMONY WITH THE WAY
THINGS ARE. THIS SENSE IS MORE AKIN TO THE
GOODNESS PARADIGM. IT ASSERTS AN AESTHETIC
COMPONENT OF RIGHTNESS, AS WHEN ONE
ARTISTICALLY PUTS AN ELEMENT OF A COMPOSITION IN
―THE RIGHT PLACE.‖
4. WHAT THE SPEAKER APPROVES OF OR ASSUMES
PEOPLE GENERALLY APPROVE OF. THIS IS AN
UNCRITICAL USAGE AND IS THE LEAST USEFUL.
DIRECTION: ANSWER THE QUESTION.
(15 POINTS ITEM) HOW DOES THE
SHUTTING DOWN OF ABS-CBN AND
NON-RENEWAL OF ITS FRANCHISE FALL
UNDER THE CATEGORY OF EITHER GOOD
OR RIGHT? OR BOTH GOOD AND RIGHT?
THANK YOU

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