ETHICS WEEK 3

 ETHICS- Greek word “ethos” which means “characteristics way of acting”. Its Latin equivalent is
mos, mores, meaning “tradition or custom”.
 Ethos includes cultural mannerisms, religion, political, laws, and social aspirations of a group of
people.
 In this study, ethos refers to those characteristics belonging to man as a rational being, endowed
with intellect and free-will.

The ethos of man as man is revealed in the following:

Man's Moral Sense

 Distinguishes between good and evil, right and wrong, moral and immoral.
 Feels an obligation to do good and avoid evil.
 Feels accountable for actions, expecting reward or punishment.
 Self-conscious of dignity and duty to do good and avoid wrong.
 Conducts according to "dictates of reason.

 “Ethics is defined as the science of morality of human acts.

 Actions reflect the motives of the doer.
 Ethics is said to be the study of human motivation, and ultimately, of human rational
behavior.
 That aspect of the subject matter which primarily interests Ethics is morality.
 Morality is the quality of human acts by which they are constituted as good, bad, or
indifferent. That which is good is described as moral; that which is bad is immoral, and that
which is indifferent is amoral.

Two Ethical Systems

Atheistic Approach to Morality

 Assumes only matter exists.

 Man is responsible to himself.
 Morality invented to meet human needs.
 Moral truths are temporary, mutable.
 Concept of good and evil is relative and changeable.

Atheistic theories propose the following principles:

 Matter is the only reality.

 Man is matter and does not have spiritual dimension.
 Man is free and must exercise his freedom to promote the welfare of the society.
 There is no life after death.
 Man is accountable only to the State.
 Theistic Approach

 Assumes God as Supreme Lawgiver.

 All must align with God's eternal creation plan.
 Man must exercise freedom according to God's will.
 Absolute moral principles unchangeable.
 Man accountable for actions.
 Requires reward or punishment in life or afterlife.

Theistic Theories postulate the following truths:

1. God is the Supreme Creator and Lawgiver.
2. Man is free and must use his freedom to promote his personal and social interests along with his
fellowmen.
3. Man has an immortal soul which cannot die.
4. Man is accountable for his actions, both good and evil.

MORAL STANDARDS AND NON-MORAL STANDARDS

Moral Standards

 Based on natural law, revealed through human reason or written in human hearts.
 Consequence standards: Those leading to the greatest good of the greatest number.
 Non-consequence standards: Respect for humanity, treatment of others as human beings, a
moral act derived from a sense of duty.

Non- moral standards originate from social rules, demands of etiquette and good manners. They are
guides of action which should be followed as expected by society.

 For theists, the origin of moral standards is God who wrote his law in the heart of every person,
the natural law. Belief in God strengthens them to be moral.
 For non-theists, the origin of moral standards is the moral frameworks formulated by
philosophers like Confucius, Immanuel Kant, Stuart Mill, etc.
 Evolutionists argue that moral standards evolved with humans, not instantaneously implanted
during creation, suggesting that creation may have occurred billions of years ago.

MORAL DILEMMAS

 A moral dilemma is a decision-making problem between two possible moral imperatives, neither
of which is unambiguously acceptable or preferable.
 A moral dilemma is a situation where a person has the moral obligation to choose between two
options both based on moral standards, but he/she cannot choose both, and choosing one
means violating the other.
 In a moral dilemma, one is caught between two options. It is a damn-if-you-do and damn-if-you-
don’t situation. One is in a deadlock.
False dilemmas are situations where the decision-maker has a moral duty to do one thing, but is
tempted or under pressure to do something else. A false dilemma is a choice between a right and a
wrong unlike a moral dilemma where both choices are wrong.

FRAME WORK

ARISTOTLE VIRTUE OF ETHICS

 Ethical individuals are virtuous, having developed good character or virtues.

 Virtues are achieved by actualizing potentials, with happiness being the highest.
 Happiness is the joy of self-realization and fulfillment.
 Virtue ethics is person-based, focusing on the moral character of the person carrying out an
action.
 It provides guidance on the characteristics and behaviors a good person should strive for.
 A good person is someone who lives virtuously, possessed and living virtues.

Basic Types of Virtue

 Intellectual virtues- refers to excellence of the mind (to understand, reason, and judge well)
 Moral virtues- refers to a person’s disposition to act well

Virtue as a Mean

 For Aristotle, virtue is the Golden Mean between two extremes. The virtue of courage is a mean
between two extremes of deficiency and extreme, namely, cowardice and foolhardiness,
respectively.
 Too little courage is cowardice and too much courage is foolhardiness.

AQUINAS AND NATURAL LAW OF ETHICS

 Ethics is a branch of philosophy focusing on happiness and good life.

 Aquinas believes the ultimate goal of human life is union with God, and ethical behavior is
crucial.
 Human nature is characterized by rational and animal parts, with rational being able to reason
and animal being driven by pleasure and pain avoidance.
 Aquinas views natural law as a set of principles discovered through reason, not imposed
externally.
 Natural law is objective and applies to all humans, regardless of culture or religion.

 For St. Thomas, what is right is what follows the natural law, the rule says, “do good and
avoid evil.”
 In knowing the good as distinguished from evil, one is guided by the Ten Commandments
which is summed up as loving God and one’s fellowmen.

 Another key concept in Aquinas’ ethics is virtue.

 Virtues are habits that enable human beings to act in accordance with natural law.
  Virtues are acquired through practice and habituation, and they enable human beings to
develop the capacity to act in accordance with reason and to control their desires.
 Virtues are also essential for achieving the ultimate goal of human life, which is union with God.

Two types of Virtues

 Theological virtues (faith, hope, and love) are infused into human soul by God and
enable human beings to participate in the divine life.
 Cardinal virtues (prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance) are acquired through
practice and habituation and enable human beings to live a good life in accordance with
natural law.

UTILITARIANISM

 Focuses on consequences, determining right from wrong.

 Determines the most ethical choice by producing the greatest good for the greatest number.
 Refers to the principle of utility or the greatest happiness principle.
 Quality (greatest good) and quantity (greatest number) criteria are the criteria.

Two utilitarianism models

 The quantitative model of Jeremy Bentham

 The qualitative model of John Stuart Mill

Quantitative Utilitarianism

 Focuses on utility maximization, maximizing overall happiness.

 Uses a hedonic approach to determine rightness or wrongness of actions.
 Bentham's principle: "It is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of
right and wrong."
 Right action maximizes pleasure and minimizes pain.

Qualitative Utilitarianism

 A branch of utilitarianism originating from John Stuart Mill.

 Categorizes pleasures and pains qualitatively, disregarding quantifiable proof of their
importance.
 Higher pleasures are worth more than lower pleasures.
 Lower pleasures are animalistic and base.
 Maximizing higher quality pleasures is crucial, even if total pleasure is quantitatively lower.

KANTS DEONTOLOGICAL ETHICS

The Ethics of Immanuel Kant

 Kant’s ethics is now referred to as deontological.

 From the Greek word “deon”- DUTY
 It focuses on “duty, obligation, and rights” instead of consequence or ends
  Deontological theories hold that actions that are morally right are those in accordance with
certain rules, duties, rights, or maxims

Rules can be expressed in 2 ways

 Negative- Do not lie, do not steal

 Positive- Tell the truth, Keep your promise

Basic Assumption

 No matter how morally good their consequence, some choices are morally forbidden.
 What make a choice right is its conformity with moral norm
 The Right is said to have priority over the good.

Legally and Morally Right

 What is legal must be at the same time moral according to Kant.

 An action is legally right if it is at the same time in accordance with universal law, that is, in
accordance with the categorical imperative

CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE

ACT ONLY ACCORDING TO THE MAXIM BY WHICH YOU CAN AT THE SAME TIME WILL THAT IT
SHOULD BECOME A UNIVERSAL LAW