Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of Ethics or moral philosophy, is a branch of

philosophy that involves systematizing, defending, philosophy which deals with moral standards,
and recommending concepts of right and wrong inquires about the rightness or wrongness of human
conduct. The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, behavior or the goodness or badness of personality,
concerns matters of value, and thus comprises the trait or character. It deals with ideas, with topic such
branch of philosophy called axiology. as moral standards or norms of morality of human
acts and moral agents, what makes an act obligatory
UNDERSTANDING MORALITY AND and what makes a person accountable
MORAL STANDARDS
Lesson 2: Moral and Non-Moral Standards
● Rules are not meant to restrict your freedom.
They are meant to help you grow in Moral standards are norms or prescriptions that
freedom, to grow in your ability to choose serve as the frameworks for determining what ought
and do what is good for you and for others. to done or what is right or wrong action, what is
● Any rule or law that prevents human persons good or bad character.
from doing and being good ought to be
repealed. They have no reason to exist. Non-moral standards are social rules, demands of
● Rules are meant to set order in society. etiquette and good manners. They are guides of
● Rules are intended for human persons. They action which should be followed as expected by
are not meant to limit a person’s freedom society.
which is the ability to choose and do what is
good. Rather rules are meant to help persons Classification of the Theories of Moral
choose and do what is good. Standards
● Those who do what is good don’t even feel
the presence of rule that prevents them from Consequence standard (teleological) states that an
doing what is not good. It is those who act is right or wrong depending on the consequences
intend to do the opposite of what is good of the act, that is, the good that is produced in the
that feel the suffocating and limiting world.
presence of a rule.
● When society is ideal, i.e. when all persons Not-only-consequence standard (deontological)
are good ad do only what is ideal then there holds that the rightness or wrongness of an action or
will be no more need for rules and laws rule depends on sense of duty, natural law, virtue
according to Lao Tzu. and the demand of the situation or circumstances.

What makes standards moral?

Etymology and Meaning of Ethics For theists, God is the ultimate source of what is
moral revealed to human reason.
The term “ethics” comes from the Greek word
“ethos” meaning “custom” used in the works of For non-theists, God is not the source of morality.
Aristotle, while the term “moral” is the Latin Moral standards are based on the wisdom of sages
equivalent. Ethics deals with morality. like Confucius, or philosophers like Immanuel
Kant.
 The Origin of Moral Standards: The evolutionist claims that the sense of moral
Theist and Non-Theist standards must have evolved with man not
something that was implanted in every human
The theistic line of thought states that moral person instantly at the moment of creation. Creation
standards are of divine origin. as a process may have taken place not only in 6
days as the creationist claims but in billions of years
For non-theistic line of thought, moral standards as the evolutionist asserts.
must have evolved as the process of evolution
followed its course. For the theists, belief in God strengthens them to be
moral.
Key Takeaways:
Lesson 3: Moral Dilemmas
Non-moral standards originate from social rules,
demands of betiquette and good manners. They are A pregnant woman leading a group of five people
guides of action which should be followed as out of a cave on a coast is stuck in the mouth of that
expected by society. cave. In a short time, high tide will be upon them
and unless she is unstuck, they will all be drowned
Moral standards are based on the natural law, the except the woman whose head is out of the cave.
consequence of one’s actions and sense of duty. Fortunately (or unfortunately), someone has with
him a stick of dynamite. There seems no way to get
Moral standards are based on natural law, the law of the pregnant woman loose without using the
God revealed through human reason or the “law of dynamite which will inevitably kill her; but if they
God written in the hearts of men.” do not use it everyone else will drown. What should
they do?
Moral standards are based on consequences
standards. That which leads to a good consequence Moral dilemmas are situations where two or more
or results like the greatest good of the greatest moral values or duties make demands on the
number is what is moral. decision-maker, who can only honor one of them,
and thus will violate at least one important moral
Moral standards are based also on non-consequence concern, no matter what he or she decides to do.
standards or sense of duty that you wish would be
followed by all. Respect for humanity, treatment of Moral dilemmas present situations where there is
the other as a human person, an act that is moral, tension between moral values and duties that are
springs from a sense of duty, a sense of duty that more or less on equal footing. The decision-maker
you which is wished by all and applies to all human has to choose between a wrong and another wrong.
persons. The decision-maker is in a deadlock.

For theists, the origin of moral standards is God Meaning of a False Dilemma
who “wrote his law in the heart of every person,”
the natural law. A false dilemma is a situation where the
decision-maker has a moral duty to do one thing,
For non-theists, the origin of moral standards is the but is tempted or under pressure to do something
moral frameworks formulated by philosophers like else.
Confucius, Immanuel Kant, Stuart Mill, et al.
Lesson 4: The Three Levels of Moral Dilemmas Structural – is a conflict of perspective of sectors,
groups and institutions that may be affected by the
1. decision.
Heinz’s wife was dying from a particular type of
cancer. Doctors said a new drug might save her. ● Differentiation versus Integration in
The drug had been discovered by a local chemist, Structural Dilemma
and the Heinz tried desperately to buy some, but the ● Gap versus Overlap
chemist was charging ten times the money it cost to ● Lack of Clarity versus Lack of Creativity
make the drug, and this was much more than the ● Flexibility versus Strict Adherence to Rules
Heinz could afford. ● Excessive Autonomy versus Excessive
Interdependence
Heinz could only raise half the money, even after ● Centralized versus Decentralized Decision
help from family and friends. He explained to the Making
chemist that his wife was dying and asked if he
could have the drug cheaper or pay the rest of the Resolving Moral Dilemmas
money later.
2. One way is to think of available alternative options
The mission of Catholic School is to serve the poor revealing that the dilemma does not really exist.
by giving quality education. It is torn between the
obligation to charge low tuition to help the poor Another way is “choosing the greater good and
and to pay better salaries to keep quality teachers. lesser evil.”

The principal ought to welcome and encourage One is only obliged to do something if and only if
parents and community participation in school he can do it. . .”do what you can where you are.”
affairs. Based on her experience, parents and
community are passive and so the principal always Lesson 5: Freedom as Foundation for Moral
ends up deciding and doing things just the same. Acts
She is obliged to observe parents’ and community
participation which do not give any input at all the Ethics Applies Only to Human Persons
same time she is obliged to accomplish things on
time. Unlike the lower forms of animals, human persons
have a choice or freedom, hence morality applies
Three Levels of Moral Dilemmas only to human persons.

Individual – this refers to personal dilemmas.It is an Dilemmas presuppose freedom. Freedom-loving

individual’s damn-if-you-do-and-damn-if-you-don’t societies have customary ways of training the young
situation. to exercise their freedom.

Organizational – is a puzzle posed by the dual Freedom and Moral Choice

necessities of a social organization and members’
self-interest. It may exist between personal interests Making moral choice is a necessary consequence
and organizational welfare or between group of for being free, a consequence of being a human
interests and organizational well-being. person.
Because a human person has freedom, he has a If we hold on to strict cultural relativism, it is not
choice and so is responsible for the consequences of possible to say that human sacrifice is wrong, or
his choice. that respect for the elderly is right. After all, those
are products of the culture. This takes any talk of
Lesson 6: Culture: How it Defines Moral morality right over the cliff, and into meaningless
Behavior gibberish.

What is Culture? Lesson 8: The Filipino Character

Culture is the integrated pattern of human The Filipino Character: Strengths

knowledge, beliefs, and behaviors. and Weaknesses

It is the set of means used by mankind to become Below is an excerpt of the Report “A Recovery
more virtuous and reasonable in order to become Program: Building a People, Building a Nation”
fully human. submitted on April 27, 1988 by the Task Force to
Pres. Corazon Aquino, the Senate and the members
As a moral agent, the human person is born into a of the press by then Sen. Leticia Shahani, the
culture. moving spirit behind the program.

Enculturation, Inculturation and Acculturation The Filipino character has weaknesses:

Enculturation is a process of learning from infancy - Extreme family centeredness

till death, the components of life in one’s culture. - Extreme personalism
- Lack of discipline
Inculturation refers to the missiological process in - Passivity and lack of initiative
which the Gospel is rooted in a particular culture - Colonial mentality
and the latter is transformed by its introduction to - Kanya-kanya syndrome, talangka mentality
Christianity. - Lack of self-analysis and self-reflection
- Emphasis on porma rather than substance
Acculturation is the cultural modification of an
individual group, or people by adapting to or The strengths of the Filipino character are:
borrowing traits from another culture.
- Pakikipagkapwa-tao
Culture definitely affects the way we evaluate and - Family orientation
judge things. - Joy and humor
- Flexibility, adaptability and creativity
- Hard work and industry
Lesson 7: Cultural Relativism - Faith and religiosity
- Ability to survive
Cultural relativism is the idea that a person’s
beliefs, values, and practices should b understood To help every Filipino child grow morally and
based on that person’s own culture, rather that be ethically, he must to helped acquire the strengths of
judged against the criteria of another. the Filipino character at the same time, he must be
realize that his strengths also become his source of
weaknesses.
Lesson 9: Universal Values - A moral agent should have the capacity to
rise above their feelings and passions and
Universal values are for human survival. act for the sake of the moral law.

- Are the ultimate bases for living together and From the Christian point of view, a human person’s
learning how to live together. Without respect for (moral agent) destiny in the world is not only to
human life by all then people will just kill each achieve cultural and moral perfection, but to attain
other. If honesty or truth telling is not valued by all, the eternal happiness of the soul after death of the
there will be endless lack of trust among people. body.

Using Kant’s criteria, universal values are values Lesson 2: The Development of Moral Character
that are willed to be the values of all. of the Moral Agent

Dr. Kent M. Keith came up with a list of Meaning of Defining Moment

fundamental, or universal moral principles that can
be found throughout the world- do not harm and do Defining moment refers to a significant
good. life-changing event in a person’s life

Every human act is directed toward an end.- St. St. Paul’s defining moment was when suddenly a
Thomas Aquinas light from heaven flashed around him on his way to
Damascus.
Existence precedes essence.- Jean-Paul Sartre
St. Augustine’s defining moment was when while
outdoors he heard the voice of a child singing a
CHAPTER 2: THE MORAL AGENT song, the words of which were, “Pick it up and read
it. Pick it up and read it.”
Lesson 1: Man as a Moral Agent
- Moral character is necessary for moral
The Human Person as a Moral Agent behavior.
- Moral character facilitates doing the moral
Moral comes from the Latin “mores” referring to action.
society’s patterns, standards, rules of doing things. - A person who has moral character does
moral actions more readily and more
Agent comes from Latin “agere” to do, act. willingly than one who does not. Therefore,
it is good to develop moral character.
- A moral agent is one who performs an act in - It is, therefore, best for all persons to
accordance with moral standards. develop moral character. Moral character is
- is the moral actor, one who acts morally. formed by repeatedly doing moral acts.
- is a being who is capable of those actions
that have moral quality, and which can be
properly denominated good or evil in a
moral sense.
- Only a moral agent is capable of human
acts. That’s why morality is for persons.