Republic of the Philippines

SAINT JOSEPH COLLEGE

Maasin City, Southern Leyte

College of Liberal Arts

General Education Department

Teachers’ Notes
Emmarlone Salva Ravago | August 18, 2022

Part I – Basic Ethical Concepts

I. Ethics
A. What is Ethics?
B. Why Study Ethics?
II. Moral Standards
A. What are Moral Standards?
B. Moral Standards vs. Non-Moral Standards
III. Moral Dilemmas
A. What are Moral Dilemmas?
B. The Heinz Dilemma: A Sample Moral Dilemma

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 Ethics

What is Ethics?

• Ethics comes from the Greek word ethos (ἦ θος) which means “character” or “moral
nature.”

• Its Latin equivalent mos means “tradition, custom” (hence the term “morality”).

• It is the science of the morality of human acts. It is the branch of philosophy that is
concerned with the whole question of right and wrong, good and bad in human
action.

• As such, it provides specific guidelines as to what choices or actions are worth

pursuing and avoiding in specific situations.

Why is there Ethics?

• Ethics exists because man by nature:

1. is able to distinguish between good and evil, right and wrong, moral and
immoral;

2. feels within himself an obligation to do what is good and avoid what is evil; and

3. feels himself accountable for his actions, expecting reward or

punishment for them.

• Because of these, we can say that man is endowed by nature with a moral sense—he is
conscious of his moral capacity and responsibility, and therefore must submit to the
study of what is good and what is wrong.

• As such, man is expected to act morally, that is, according to the dictates of his reason.

What is the Study of Ethics?

• The study of ethics requires one to reflectively distance oneself from oneself and
from society in order to critically examine their moral standards.

 Specifically, it looks at the values beneath these moral standards (i.e., the
what or the why behind them).

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  It turns at the agent who makes the moral decision, especially to her level of
moral development (i.e., the who).

 It considers her moral decision-making process (i.e., the how).

References and Resources

• What is Ethics? https://youtu.be/KU_ZbH0cRzA

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Why Study Ethics?

1. Ethics helps you identify different kinds of moral values, and distinguish them
from other kinds of values

• Values are an essential part of life. They are responsible for how we see and
why we choose or do something. They help explain why we are different
from each other. Why a student who values his studies, for example, stays up
late during exams; or why a person who values his health sleeps early.

• There are many kinds of values, and not all values are equal. Some values,
like moral values, are more fundamental while others are mere preferences,
like our preferred food, car model, or fashion.

• Ethics helps you define what moral values are. It provides you with the
criteria for identifying and distinguishing them from other values.

• It helps you understand why moral values such as honesty and responsibility
are more important than non-moral ones, and how they are related to our
rights and responsibilities as human beings.

• On a practical level, it helps you see the real value of things and what being
morally good truly means in today’s value-driven world.

2. Ethics helps you see what moral values are at stake in a variety of situations

• Everyone has had the experience of looking at something a second time and
noticing many things that one previously missed. One reason for this
difference in perception is that one has learned more about what to look for
in such things.

• The same happens when you study ethics. Ethics allows you to see situations
—particularly dilemmas—from an “axiological” perspective (meaning from
the perspective of value).

• It teaches you what values—especially moral values—to look for in such

situations.

• This helps you judge a situation’s moral significance more objectively, weigh
its available choices carefully, and react properly.

• Ethics also helps you understand why people think, choose and act
differently from each other even given the same situation.

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 3. Ethics helps you decide what to do when faced with difficult moral choices

• You heard it said, “failing to plan is planning to fail.” Ethics helps you think ahead
and prepare for morally difficult situations.

• Its case studies allow you to exercise your moral imagination, to envision and
even feel the complexity and intensity of moral dilemmas in order to solve them.

• Moreover, ethics equips you with principles and processes that guide your moral
reasoning and help you arrive at sound moral decisions.

• Although it’s impossible to fully prepare for future events, studying ethics and
thinking about difficult situations in advance are definitely more helpful to
decision making than not doing them. After all, you may not have the time or
clarity of mind to think through such situations once they show up.

References and Resources

• Why Study Ethics? https://youtu.be/640EzaCa0Xg

• Clowney, David. “Why (and How) to Study Ethics.”

http://users.rowan.edu/~clowney/cmp/ETHINKS.HTM. Accessed 25 August 2021.

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 Moral Standards

What are Moral Standards?

• There are many kinds of rules in society (ex. dining etiquette, language grammar,
sports rules). They exist to give order and maintain peace in society.

• But one of the most important rules that all of us have to follow in order to ensure
everyone’s wellbeing is what is called a “moral standard”.

• A moral standard is a norm which a society (or an individual) has regarding which
actions are morally right and which actions are morally wrong.

• Moral standards

1. Deal with matters that can seriously harm or benefit human beings, such as
theft, rape, murder, etc.;

2. Their validity depends on the sufficiency of the reasons that support and
justify them;

 This means that their value and authority are not merely based on the
decision of the majority or of the authorities, but rather on their
soundness. For example, that one ought to tell the truth does not depend
on how many people will vote on it, nor on the legislature, but rather
because it is the sound and right thing to do.

3. Are to be preferred over other values, even self-interest (ex. being honest is
to be preferred over cheating, although cheating can help me graduate);

4. Are based on impartial or unbiased considerations—they are

“universalizable”, meaning they can be applied to most, if not all, situations
and to anybody regardless of their age, gender, race, etc.; and

5. Are associated with special—usually strong—emotions such as guilt, shame,

remorse, praise, etc.

 Killing, for example, can make a person feel deep and serious guilt and
regret, while saving the life of another makes one feel proud and
praiseworthy.

References and Resources

• What are Moral Standards? https://youtu.be/cthguH1xP-4

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 Moral Standards vs. Non-Moral Standards

Why Distinguish Moral Standards from Non-Moral Ones?

• First of all, it is important to note that different societies have different moral beliefs.

• For this reason, some values may have moral implications for one society, while none
for another.

• For example, the wearing of a hijab for women in traditional Muslim communities.

 For such communities, wearing a hijab is considered appropriate and modest.

As a matter of fact, for some, showing parts of a woman's body, such as the face
and legs, is considered immodest.

 However, in other parts of the world, especially in Western societies, most

people don't mind if women barely cover their bodies. As a matter of fact, some
societies glorify a sexy body and daring clothes.

 Western people may pity Muslim women for wearing a hijab, while some
Muslims may find women who wear daring clothes immoral.

• This clearly shows that different cultures have different moral standards: what is a
matter of moral indifference for one culture may be morally significant in another.

• Now the danger here is that one culture may impose its own cultural standards on
another, resulting in a clash in cultural beliefs and values.

• And as we have seen in history, this is usually done with violence, such as in religious
wars and ethnic cleansings.

• So how do we address this cultural problem?

• This is where the importance of understanding the difference between moral standards
and non-moral ones comes in.

• Understanding that certain standards in society—the non-moral standards—are based

on non-moral beliefs and values allows us to avoid imposing our own cultural standards
on others.

• In other words, if we know that a certain standard is based on a non-moral value, such
as etiquette, aesthetics, etc.—and is therefore a non-moral standard—then we do not
have the right to impose it on others.

• However, if such a standard were moral, that is, based on a moral value, such as not
stealing or killing people, then we may have the right to force others to act accordingly.

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 • In this way, we may be able to find a common moral ground, such as agreeing not to
steal, kill, and deceive other human beings.

The Difference between Moral Standards and Non-Moral Ones

Moral Standards Non-Moral Standards

• Are norms that individuals or groups • Refer to standards by which we judge

have about the kinds of actions they what is good or bad, right or wrong in a
believe to be morally right or wrong, as non-moral way.
well as the values placed on what we
• Ex. Standards of etiquette by which we
believe to be morally good or bad.
judge manners as good or bad; standards
• Usually promote “the good”, that is, the which we call “the law” by which we
welfare and well-being of humans, as judge something as legal or illegal; and
well as animals and the environment. standards of aesthetics by which we
judge art as beautiful or ugly.
 They do this by prescribing what
humans ought to do in terms of • Are matters of taste or preference.
rights and obligations.
 Hence, a scrupulous observance
• Deal with more serious cases; are sound, of these types of standards does
authoritative, significant and impartial; not make one a moral person,
and have strong emotional while their violation does not pose
consequences. any threat to human well-being.

• If a moral standard says, “do not harm innocent people or don't steal”, a non-moral
standard says “don't text while driving or don't talk while your mouth is full”.

References and Resources

• To follow

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 Moral Dilemmas

What are Moral Dilemmas?

• Every day we are flooded with many choices, most of which are simple and easy to
make, like am I going to wake up or continue sleeping?
• Every once in a while, however, we are faced with what seems to be the hardest
choice in our life, such as am I going to tell my mother that my father is cheating on
her and break our family apart, or am I going to keep quiet and continue living
together as though nothing happened?
• Situations like these make us feel disturbed, stressed, confused and even desperate
like never before. They don’t seem to have any right choice or solution.
• A moral dilemma is a situation in which a person (also called a “moral agent”) is
forced to choose between two or more conflicting options, neither of which solves
the situation in a morally acceptable way.
• For example, Mary is a religious and morally upright person. She considers killing
human beings absolutely wrong. One day, her obstetrician gave her the devastating
news that she was having an ectopic pregnancy—a kind of pregnancy wherein the
fetus develops outside the mother’s uterus, usually in one of the fallopian tubes—
and that her life was increasingly in danger. After seeking expert medical advice, the
doctors advised her to have an abortion immediately in order to save her life. Mary
is now faced with a moral dilemma and is forced to make a decision that is morally
unacceptable for her.
 Should she choose to continue her pregnancy and put her and her baby’s life
in danger? Or should she have an abortion and sacrifice her religious and
moral integrity?
• Take note that the key element in moral dilemmas is being forced to choose.
• If a person is in a situation in which she is not forced to choose between conflicting
options, then it cannot be said that she is in a moral dilemma. But rather that she is
merely in a problematic situation—one that she can get out of by looking for an
alternative solution.

The Three Conditions that Make a Moral Dilemma

• According to Karen Allen, an associate professor at Oakland University, in a 2012
article she wrote in The New Social Worker journal, there are three conditions that
make a moral dilemma:

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 1. The person or agent of a moral action should be obliged to make a decision
about which course of action is best.
 Going back to Mary’s case, she was obliged to choose either to
continue her pregnancy or to have an abortion.
2. There must be different courses of action to choose from. In other words,
there must be at least two conflicting options.
 Mary had at least two options: to continue her pregnancy or to have an
abortion.
3. No matter what course of action is taken, some moral principles are always
compromised. This means that there are no perfect solutions for moral
dilemmas.
 Whether Mary chooses to continue her pregnancy or to have an
abortion, the basic moral principle of protecting life (hers and/or her
baby’s) will be compromised.

References and Resources

• What are Moral Dilemmas? https://youtu.be/KfF5N1MaIxA

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 The Heinz Dilemma: A Sample Moral Dilemma

The Heinz Dilemma

• The Heinz dilemma is a frequently used example in ethics and morality classes. This
a well-known version of the dilemma used in the American psychologist Lawrence
Kohlberg's Essays on Moral Development.
• Heinz’s wife was dying because of a special kind of cancer.
• There was one drug, however, that the doctors thought might save her. It was a form
of radium that a local pharmacist had recently discovered.
• The drug was expensive to make, but the pharmacist was charging ten times what
the drug cost him to produce. The pharmacist paid $200 for the radium and charged
$2,000 for a small dose of the drug.
• Having run out of money already, Heinz went to everyone he knew to borrow the
money.
• However, he could only collect about half of what the drug costs.
• He told the pharmacist that his wife was dying and asked him to sell the drug
cheaper or at least let him pay later.
• But the pharmacist declined, saying, “No, I discovered the drug and I'm going to
make money from it.”
• So Heinz got desperate and broke into the pharmacist's laboratory to steal the drug
for his wife.
• Question: Should Heinz have broken into the laboratory to steal the drug for his
wife? Why or why not?

References and Resources

• The Heinz Dilemma https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjzXQdLab0Y

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