MODULE 1 WHAT IS ETHICS?

Those refer to questions about the nature of

moral statements, the purpose and significance
WHAT IS ETHICS? of moral facts, and concerns about the
 Ethics or moral philosophy can be provisionally interpretation and justification of moral
described as the empirical study of moral statements.
decisions. It is a discipline concerned with what  In contrast to meta-ethics, normative ethics
is morally good and evil, right and wrong. The seeks to examine how human beings respond to
word often refers to any scheme or philosophy a moral question. This also aims to clarify and
of universal ideals or beliefs. prescribe common expectations on what human
 The concept is derived from the Greek word beings should do to interact with others in
“ethos” which may mean tradition, habit, society and in a meaningful way. (Maboloc,
character, or attitude. This is not only about the 2012)
nature of specific courses of action, but it is also
about the goodness of people and what it
means to lead a decent life. (Leandro, Jr &
Gubia-on, 2018)
 Moreover, ethics is a systematic analysis of the
nature of human actions. It is concerned about
the correctness and wrongness of the act. An act
is deemed to be right or wrong, based on the
intent, circumstances, or character of the act
itself.
 As a branch of philosophy, ethics is divided into
normative and meta-ethics.

Normative Ethics
 The purpose of normative ethics, which
concerns human behavior in general, is to
address our questions about the essence of
human behavior.
 Normative ethics, by definition, examine
whether or not a particular act should or should  Ethics is a set of rules that allows us to say right
not be carried out. from wrong, good from the bad.
 There are two fields of normative ethics: moral  Ethics can provide true, specific guidance to our
philosophy and applied ethics or practical ethics. lives.
 Moral philosophy deals with moral ideas  Ethical principles such as fairness,
such as what human beings "must do or trustworthiness, responsibility help direct us to
how human beings should be." This also cope more effectively with ethical dilemmas by
deals with our moral obligation, the removing actions that do not adhere to our
meaning of the act, or the purpose of the sense of right and wrong–our own moral
act. interests–without compromising others.
 On the other hand, applied ethics is a
philosophy that discusses strong and basic THE DIFFERENCES OF MORAL AND NON-MORAL
moral issues linked to abortion. STANDARDS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF MORAL
STANDARDS
Meta-ethics
 Meta-ethics is a discipline that relies on  Moral standards refer to the guidelines we have
meaning. It is a science that is seeking to on the types of acts that we find to be morally
address non-moral questions about morality. permissible and morally unacceptable.
 It primarily deals with issues that can either  Etiquette is a decorum, propriety means
potentially threaten or greatly benefit human reverence for the formal criteria governing
beings. conduct in a civilized society. Etiquette refers
 Moral standards normally promote the common conventional ways and uses the rules of
good, that is, the welfare and well-being of etiquette.
human beings, animals, and the environment.  Decorum implies modesty and a sense of what is
 Moral standards are a blending of norms and becoming or is fitting for a person of good
values. Therefore, norms plus values pertain to breeding: a fine sense of decorum.
moral standards. Norms as standards are basic  A statute is a written law passed by a legislative
guidelines regarding human acts. body.

There are several characteristics of morals standards  Legality and morality are distinct, but often
as mentioned by Velasquez (2012) such as and people are confused about these terms. We
vocabularies such as: believe that what is moral is also legal and that
(1) Moral standards entail serious harm or what is immoral is not good. Not all that is
benefit. lawful is moral.
(2) Moral standards are not determined by
authority figures.  The Professional Code of Ethics, consequently, is
(3) Moral standards should be adopted over a set of guidelines intended to help practitioners
other values, including self-interest. differentiate between right and wrong to guide
(4) Moral standards are focused on objective their decision-making. Such rules, also referred
considerations. to as the Code of Ethics, define the purpose and
(5) Moral standards are perceived to be ideals of the organization, how staff within the
universal. organization are to handle the issues, and the
(6) Moral standards are correlated with expectations to which workers are bound.
different feelings and vocabulary.
HOW MORAL STANDARDS ARE FORMED

 Non-moral standards, on the contrary, apply to There are certain moral standards that all of us hold
laws which are not related to social or legal in our actions in society. There are various factors on
considerations. Perhaps these criteria are not how moral standards are influenced:
inherently related to morality or, by their very (1) the moral values or principles that we conform
definition, lack of ethical sense. with, in our rearing;
 Examples of non-moral standards are the (2) the character and manners that imbibed with us
following: etiquette, statutes, code of by means of birthright;
professional ethics, etc. (Leandro, Jr & Gubia-on, (3) the religious values that our forefathers taught
2018) us;
(4) the values we learned from school;
(5) the moral conduct, ways and habits of those
people around us;
(6) the direct and implied cultural norms;
(7) our life experiences; and
(8) our critical thinking in these experiences.
MODULE 2 WHAT ARE MORAL DILEMMAS THREE LEVELS OF MORAL DILEMMAS
1. ORGANIZATIONAL ETHICAL OR MORAL DILEMMA
Kvalnes (2019), a moral dilemma is a situation in an organizational ethical dilemma refers to a
which a decision- maker must give preference to one situation that causes an organization to
moral principle over another. respond negatively or positively to an ethical
 Dilemmas occur when, confronted with a issue that affects staff, shareholders, and
challenging situation (e.g. equal treatment society, as well as corporate ethics and
for some versus job protection for others), customers. It includes also the leaders'
two or more of that kind of values disagree ethical actions in preserving financial
with the understanding of the decision- reporting integrity.
maker, or when one assesses the moral
option of another. Common ethical issues in the organization
 A person experienced with a dilemma must (1) Unethical leadership/bad leadership
decide whether the moral duty will be given behavior. A leader of the organization must
priority; "whatever action is taken will act with candor, be an example to his
offend an important moral value." subordinates, with upright moral values. He
 Self-inflicted dilemma - a moral dilemma or she doesn’t engage in abuse of leadership
may arise as a result of a prior personal authority, accepting inappropriate gifts and
mistake. other related unethical leadership.
 In a strict sense, a moral dilemma is a (2) Toxic workplace culture. A leader of the
situation in which moral values are of equal organization must focus on the development
importance. of work culture. He makes sure that his
subordinates have work-life balance,
Kurie & Albin (2007), a moral dilemma is a situation motivated and happy working in the
in which people assume that they should morally do organization, If not then the performance
one thing and that they should morally do another and productivity of the employees will be
thing, and occasionally a third thing or even a fourth affected.
thing, but they're not doing any of these mutually (3) Discrimination and harassment/ Peril of
contradictory choices together. employee favoritism. A leader must treat
fairly his or her subordinates and avoid any
Figar & Dordevic, (2016), The ethical dilemma or a form of discrimination and harassment.
moral dilemma is a situation whereby a person has (4) Unrealistic and conflicting goals. A leader
to make a decision. must have realistic and very clear goals so
 Among competing alternatives, which is the that his or her subordinates understand what
right (ethical) alternative and which is the the organization is going through, hence,
best? they can work together thoroughly until they
reach the goals of the organization.
The above definitions characterized moral dilemma (5) Use of the organization’s technology,
or ethical dilemma as: social media use, technology, and privacy
(1) Making an option to one moral value over the concerns. It is ethical that the technology of
other; the organization must only use for the
(2) A situation where moral values are equally organization’s transactions Social media use
significant; while in the office must be avoided as much
(3) A scenario where a person has a strong moral as possible so that important dealings with
reason in action, but not equally strong moral reason the clients must be prioritized.
in acting in another way; (6) Business travel ethics. There are times
(4) A state where a person should morally do one, that a leader and an employee are in official
two, or more and have difficulty in deciding any of business and in
those conflicting choices.
 doing that, they have per diem every meal specifically follow job requirements as to how
and must use the fund of the organization much the service or product fails.
appropriately. (4) Excessive Autonomy vs. Excessive
Interdependence
2. INDIVIDUAL MORAL DILEMMA When individuals or groups are too
Individual ethical or moral dilemma pertains independent, they are always isolated. On
to a situation where individuals confront with the other hand, if the units and
a number of factors such as peer pressure, responsibilities are too closely connected,
personal financial position, an economic and people are absentminded from work and
social status which may influence all waste time or excessive coordination.
individual ethical standards. Based on the discussion above, to avoid
Socialization is part of every individual's life. structural moral dilemma then
It is just a query as to whether an individual followingcharacteristics must be maintained:
remains aware of doing what is good and (1) Must have well-distributed jobs and the
what is right. laws, policies, rules, and regulations must be
balanced through lateral approaches.
3. STRUCTURAL MORAL DILEMMA (2) Must have an implicitly defined job
The structural moral dilemma is that description, roles, and duties to evade from
selecting a proper system of responsibilities gaps
and relationships, which is a continuing and overlaps.
universal challenge. (3) Must have a clear-cut expectation of the
Five concepts in the structural moral tasks in a wide range of goals
dilemma: (4) Must have a well-balanced
(1) Differentiation vs. Integration interdependence and coordination.
The conflict between the distribution of jobs
and the organization of numerous activities MODULE 3 FREEDOM AS FOUNDATION FOR MORAL
generates a classic dilemma. The more ACTS
complicated a task structure, the more
difficult it is to sustain a centered, tightly KANT’S PHILOSOPHY ON FREEDOM AND
coupled organization. When complexity MORALITY, THE PRINCIPLES OF JUSTICE AND
grows, the company needs more complicated FAIRNESS
and expensive management techniques.
Laws, regulations, and directives need to be 1. KANT’S PHILOSOPHY ON FREEDOM
balanced by lateral approaches.  Kant's definition of freedom is the right to
(2) Gap vs Overlap control one's actions based on reason, not
When the main tasks are not explicitly desire.
defined, the critical job will slip through gaps.  All of this can be simplified to the definition
In a similar manner, functions and activities of autonomy. The term Autonomy derives
can overlap, causing conflict, wasting time, from the Greek term, which translates into
and unintended duplication of self-legislator.
responsibilities.  There is only one inherent right, freedom
(3) Lack of Clarity vs. Lack of Creativity (independence from being limited by the
When employees are not clear about what option of another) to the degree that it can
they are expected to do, they often adapt coexist with the freedom of each other
their tasks to personal interests instead of following universal law".
system-wide goals that often lead to  As discussed in “Theory and Practice”
problems. Yet when people 's duties are over Freedom highlighted the autonomous right
defined, they comply with their positions and of all individuals to conceive of happiness in
procedures in a bureaucratic manner. They their way. Interference with another’s
 freedom is understood as coercing the  A will which acts out of obligation can be
other to be happy as the former sees fit.) described as a will which overcomes barriers to
the preservation of moral law. Dutiful will is
Immanuel Kant accentuates the following philosphy thus, a special case of good will which is evident
on freedom: under unfavorable conditions.

1. Individuals have the right to choose one's 2. PERFECT AND IMPERFECT DUTIES
conduct based on reason, not desire.  Having applied the categorical imperative, duties
2. Individuals have to abide by the rules that emerge because failure to perform them will
they follow. either result in a contradiction of conception or
3. Individuals are independent from being a contradiction of will.
limited by the option of others to the extent  The perfect duty is always true.
that they may coexist with each other's  There seems to be a perfect duty to tell the
freedom under universal rule. truth, so we must never lie.
4. Equality is the most among the various  Imperfect duty requires flexibility.
freedoms and freedom is the only inherent  Beneficence is an imperfect duty because we are
power.The three conceps of freedom are the not obligated to be absolutely helpful at all
freedom of a human being as a member of a times, but should choose the times and places in
state, the dignity of each person as a subject, which we are.
and the freedom of any member of the  Kant believes that perfect duty is more
commonwealth as a resident. important than an imperfect duty: when a
5. Individuals have an autonomous right to conflict of duty arises, perfect duty must be
be happy in their own way, and the carried out.
intervention of another's freedom means
forcing others to be happy. 3. CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE
 Categorical imperative command
KANT’S PHILOSOPHY ON MORALITY unconditionally. Irrespective of our wishes or
desires, a categorical imperative binds us as
Kant based his ethical philosophy on the idea that everyone has a responsibility not to lie, regarless
reason should be used to decide how people will of conditions and even though it is in our
behave. He did not attempt to recommend concrete interest to do so.
action but advised that reason should be used to  A hypothetical imperative is one that we must
decide how to behave. Below are the main Kant’s fulfill if we are to satisfy our desires or command
philosophy on morality. conditionally on your having a relevant desire.
 In addition to hypothetical imperatives,
1. GOOD WILL AND DUTY these bind us to the degree that we are part
 Kant based the idea of obligation on ethical law. of a community or society to which we owe
 Kant started his ethical philosophy by arguing an obligation, we can not get out of the
that the only virtue that can be categorical imperative and we can not opt
uncontroversially good is good will. out of being moral agents.
 No one virtue has this position, since any other  We owe an obligation to reason because we are
virtue may be used to accomplish unethical rational agents; thus, rational moral principles
ends. extend to all rational agents at all times.
 Good will is unique as it is always good and
retains its moral values even though it fails to 4. UNIVERSALIZABILITY
achieve its moral intentions.  When anyone acts, it's a maxim, or a principle.
 Good will is a wider conception than the will of For Kant, an act is only permissible if one can have
obligation. the principle that allows an action to be the universal
law by which everybody acts.
  The third concept of justice illustrates a
situation.
5. HUMANITY AS AN END IN ITSELF
 The second interpretation of Kant's Categorical TAXATION IN THE PHILIPPINES THE RULES
Imperative is to view life as an end in itself: “Act EMBODIED UNDER THE LAW
in such a way that you treat humanity, whether
in your own person or in the person of another, (1) Constitution: Article VI, Section 28 of the
always at the same time as an end and never Constitution provides that "the rules of taxation shall
simply as a means. be uniform and equal" and that "a democratic
 Kant argued that rational beings should never be system of taxation shall be established by the
viewed simply as a means to ends; they must Congress."
also be viewed as ends themselves, demanding (2) National law National Internal Revenue Code—
equal regard for their own logical motives. enacted as Republic Act No. 8424 or the Tax Reform
Act of 1997 nd subsequent laws amending it; most
Kant's expounded five moral philosophies. recently, the Law of the Republic No. 10963 or the
(1) The goodwill and duty where he described it as Law on Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion
one of a kind because it is always good and maintain was amended
moral values. (3) Local laws: the major sources of revenue for local
(2) Kant differentiate perfect and imperfect duties. government units ( LGUs) are taxes imposed under
(3) Kant also made a distinction between categorical the Republic Act No. 7160 or the Local Government
imperative and hypothetical imperative. Code of 1991 and those imposed on revenues levied
(4) Besides, universalizability is was set off by Kant. under state law.
The theory of universalizability centered on the (4) Taxes levied at national level are collected by the
action to be acceptable or permissible, this theory Office of Internal Revenue ( BIR), whereas those
must be applied to all citizens without any levied at local level ( i.e. provincial, city, municipal
contradictions. and barangay) are collected by the Office of Internal
(5) Humanity as an end itself of Kant pointed out Revenue (BIR).
that a human intrinsic worth does not depend on
something else, it does not depend on whether a  Under the 1987 Philippine Constitution
person loves his or her life or makes other people's mentioned above, “the rules of taxation shall be
lives better. A human being live so he or she has uniform and equal.”
value.

KANT’S PHILOSOPHY ON JUSTICE AND FAIRNESS

Kant’s corollary meaning of justice and fairness are
the following:
(1) Justice involves external acts through which an
individual may directly or indirectly influence others.
(2) Justice does not affect the desires, wishes, or
needs of others.
(3) Justice is concerned primarily with the nature of
interpersonal relationships and not with their
substance.

 The first two concepts of justice of Kant include

the voluntary ideals of benevolence and charity,
while justice concerns whether or not we value
the fair right of others to live their lives as they
see fit.