NEMSU-Cantilan Campus

DGTT Module 3

LESSON 1: Emotions / Feelings and Moral Decision-Making

The ethical theory provides only a clarification of the conceptual framework within which moral
reasoning takes place; it is, therefore, in the required sense, neutral as between different moral
opinions. In this way, there is no content for a moral prescription that is ruled out by logic or by the
definition of terms (Leaño, R, et.al.).
Furthermore, according to Blakeslee, et.al, 2007, emotion is never truly divorced from decision
making, even when it is channeled aside by an effort of will. Moreover, both our feelings and our
reason reflect our participation in a moral community, or more likely several moral communities.
However, conscience reflects out integration of moral sentiments and principles. We should test our
conscience by explaining to others the reasons for our moral presumptions and listening carefully to
concerns they may have. This is especially important when dealing with ethical issues among family
members or friends, but applies as well to concerns about the environment.

Abstraction
Human actions, since they are products of our thoughts and desires, reveal our moral
character. What we are and what becomes of us as persons depend on our choices and actions.
Every human act involves a person emotionally. (by Ramon Agapay, p.21)

Emotions and Feelings

For most people feelings and emotions are very much the same. Naturally, we would perceive
them as synonyms; two words with the same meaning. However, even though they are dependent on
each other, emotions and feelings are rather different things. While they have similar elements, there
is a marked difference between feelings and emotions.

What are Emotions?

Emotions are biological states associated with the nervous system brought on by neuro-
physiological changes variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavioral responses, and a
degree of pleasure or displeasure.
Emotions are lower-level responses occurring in the subcortical regions of the brain (for
example, the amygdala, which is part of the limbic system) and the neocortex (ventromedial prefrontal
cortices, which deal with conscious thoughts, reasoning, and decision making). Those responses
create biochemical and electrical reactions in the body that alter its physical state – technically
speaking, emotions are neurological reactions to an emotional stimulus.
(https://imotions.com/blog/difference-feelings-emotions/)
Emotions are physical and instinctive, instantly prompting bodily reactions to threat, reward,
and everything in between. The bodily reactions can be measured objectively by pupil dilation (eye-
tracking), skin conductance (EDA/GSR), brain activity (EEG, fMRI), heart rate (ECG), and facial
expressions. (https://imotions.com/blog/difference-feelings-emotions/)
Emotions describe physiological states and are generated subconsciously. Usually, they are
autonomous bodily responses to certain external or internal events.
 NEMSU-Cantilan Campus
DGTT Module 3

What are Feelings?

While emotions are associated with bodily reactions that are activated through
neurotransmitters and hormones released by the brain, feelings are the conscious experience of
emotional reactions. Originating in the neocortical regions of the brain, feelings are sparked by
emotions and shaped by personal experiences, beliefs, memories, and thoughts linked to that
particular emotion. Strictly speaking, a feeling is the side product of your brain perceiving an emotion
and assigning a certain meaning to it. (https://imotions.com/blog/difference-feelings-emotions/ )
Originally used in the English language to describe the physical sensation of touch through
either experience or perception, the word is also used to describe other experiences, such as "a
feeling of warmth" and sentience in general. In Latin, sentire meant to feel, hear or smell. In
psychology, the word is usually reserved for the conscious subjective experience of emotion. (from
Wikipedia)

A physical or emotional experience or awareness. (Cambridge Dictionary)

Feeling, in psychology, is the perception of events within the body, closely related to emotion.
The term feeling is a verbal noun denoting the action of the verb to feel, which derives etymologically
from the Middle English verb fallen, ―to perceive by touch, by palpation.‖ It soon came to mean, more
generally, to perceive through those senses that are not referred to any special organ. As the known
special organs of sense were the ones mediating the perception of the external world, the verb to feel
came also to mean the perception of events within the body.
Psychologists disagree on the use of the term feeling. The preceding definition accords with
that of the American psychologist R.S. Woodworth, who defines the problem of feeling and emotion
as that of the individual’s ―internal state.‖ Many psychologists, however, still follow the German
philosopher Immanuel Kant in equating feeling to states of pleasantness and unpleasantness, known
in psychology as an effect.

Difference Between Emotions and Feelings

A fundamental difference between feelings and emotions is that feelings are experienced
consciously, while emotions manifest either consciously or subconsciously.
(https://counseling.online.wfu.edu/blog/difference-feelings-emotions/ )
By contrast, feelings are subjective experiences of emotions and are driven by conscious
thoughts and reflections. This means that we can have emotions without having feelings; however,
we simply cannot have feelings without having emotions. The emotion comes first and is universal.
What kind of feeling it will then become varies enormously from person to person and from situation
to situation because feelings are shaped by individual temperament and experience? Two people can
feel the same emotion but label it under different names.
 NEMSU-Cantilan Campus
DGTT Module 3
What Causes an Emotion?

Scientists have discovered that our emotions are often caused by our thoughts. This means
two people could be in the same situation, but they might feel different emotions because they have
different thoughts (see Figure 1). Maybe you have noticed this with your friends and family. For
example, imagine two people were both at a neighbor’s house and this neighbor had a dog. One
person might think, ―This dog could hurt me!‖ and feel scared. This might happen if that person never
had a pet dog before. The other person might instead think, ―Oh, what a cute dog!‖ and feel happy.
This might happen if that person grew up having dogs as pets. This shows how, if two people have
had different experiences, they might have different thoughts and emotions in the same situation.

Figure 1 - A person can have different thoughts about the same situation. Different thoughts can then
lead to different kinds of changes in (1) what your body is doing, (2) what you pay attention to and
think about, and (3) how you want to act. When you notice these changes, you can use them to figure
out what emotion you are feeling.

Emotions and Decision-Making

Effects of Emotions in Decision-Making

One good reason to understand emotions is that it can help you figure out the best way to
make decisions between pounding them. To figure out how to respond, it is important to first decide if
your emotions match the current situation. Emotional reactions can be helpful when they happen in
the right situations. For example, if you feel scared of a snake, your emotion of fear will help you stay
away from snakes and avoid getting bitten. Or, if you get angry when someone does something mean
to you, your anger can let that person know not to be mean anymore. Or, if your family and friends
notice that you are sad after a friend moves away, your sadness can help them see that you need
their love and support.
However, sometimes these same emotions can be unhelpful if they happen in the wrong
situations. For example, if you get angry with a friend because he hurt you by accident, then this
 NEMSU-Cantilan Campus
DGTT Module 3
might just make your friendship worse. Or, if you are so scared of taking a test that you stay home
from school, then this might stop you from getting a good grade in that class. Or, if you are sad for too
long after a friend moves away, then this might make it harder for you to make new friends.
If emotion is helpful, you can listen to what it is telling you to do. But what should you do if
emotion is unhelpful? Scientists have found that there are some good skills you can practice, which
can help you deal with unhelpful emotions. One skill—called ―reappraisal‖—involves trying to change
your thoughts. For example, if you are scared to go to school to take a test, then you could try to find
another way to think about the less scary test. For instance, you might think, ―Well, I passed all of the
other tests I have had to take, so this one will probably be OK too.‖ Or, if you were angry with a friend
because he hurt you by accident, you might try to think, ―It was just bad luck—I know he didn’t mean
to hurt me.‖ If you change your thoughts about a situation, this can sometimes help change an
unhelpful emotion as well.
If you are feeling fear, and it is unhelpful in the current situation, then another useful skill is
called ―approaching your fear‖ - To understand how this works, first remember that, when people are
scared of something, they usually want to do everything they can to avoid it. For example, you might
not want to go to school because you are scared of giving a class presentation. The problem is that
when you avoid situations like this (situations that are not da then you can never learn not to be
scared of them anymore. Instead, if you force yourself to give many different class presentations,
then eventually you’ll probably stop feeling as scared of them (see Figure 2). Scientists have found
that approaching your fears (this means doing what you are scared of) is one of the best ways to
make your fears go away.

Figure 2
Figure 2 - In the example on the top, you decide to stay home from school because you are scared to
give a class presentation. In the future, you are always too scared to give class presentations. In the
example on the bottom, you are also scared to give a class presentation, but you decide to do it
anyway. In the future, you become less scared of giving class presentations. These examples show
how ―approaching your fears‖ can help you learn to be less scared in the future.
 NEMSU-Cantilan Campus
DGTT Module 3

Moral Emotions

Moral emotions are a variety of social emotions that are involved in forming and communicating moral
judgments and decisions, and in motivating behavioral responses to one's own and others' moral
behavior.
Emotions – that is to say feelings and intuitions – play a major role in most of the ethical
decisions people make. Most people do not realize how much their emotions direct their moral
choices. But experts think it is impossible to make any important moral judgments without emotions.
Inner-directed negative emotions like guilt, embarrassment, and shame often motivate people to act
ethically. Outer-directed negative emotions, on the other hand, aim to discipline or punish. For
example, people often direct anger, disgust, or contempt at those who have acted unethically. This
discourages others from behaving the same way. Positive emotions like gratitude and admiration,
which people may feel when they see another acting with compassion or kindness, can prompt
people to help others.
Emotions evoked by suffering, such as sympathy and empathy, often lead people to act
ethically toward others. Indeed, empathy is the central moral emotion that most commonly motivates
pro-social activity such as altruism, cooperation, and generosity.
Agapay (2015) had also pointed out that emotion is one modifier of a human act when he
admonished that, since our action is under the control of the intellect and will, some factors may
influence the intellect and will which we call as modifiers of the human act because they interfere with
the application of the intellect and will, which either reduce or increase accountability. One of these
modifiers is ―passions‖ which are psychic responses that are tendencies towards desirable objects
(positive emotion such as love, desire, delight, hope, and bravery), or tendencies away from
undesirable objects (negative emotions such as hatred, horror, sadness, despair, fear, and anger). In
themselves, passions are not evil, however, they predispose a person to act, and they need to be
subjected to the control of reason.
Man is not a robot devoid of feelings and emotions. Every human act involves a person
emotionally. Thus, we pray fervently, we work earnestly, we play eagerly, we eat heartily, or we live
happily. So, emotions are natural and beneficial. However, emotions need to be subjugated to reason
because unbridled passions could lead a person to his perdition. One must rein his emotions and
work to his advantage.
―It is evident‖, says Bernard Haring, ―that education, through proper discipline and cultivation of
emotional life is, in, many ways more significant than the tense straining of will power.‖ (The Law of
Christ, I-199)
Moral perfection, therefore, should come from within. We Filipino speak of a good person as
possessing ―mabuting kalooban‖. He is one who has the fallowing feelings and emotions:
―mapagmahal, matulungin sa kapwa, at may takot sa Diyos.‖ (Agapay, p.40)
So, while we may believe that our moral decisions are influenced most by our philosophy or
religious values, in truth our emotions play a significant role in our ethical decision-making.
 NEMSU-Cantilan Campus
DGTT Module 3

How can emotional intelligence help us make better decisions?

Both emotion and logic have a role to play in helping us make positive decisions. If we
understand where our emotions come from and start to notice how they affect our thinking and
behavior, we can practice managing our response, and learn to make better choices.
You can find out more about how to develop your emotional awareness in our guide to emotional
intelligence. You’ll soon feel confident in knowing when to listen to your emotions, and when to tune
them out.

LESSON 2: Reason, Impartiality, and Moral Courage

Abstraction
Is reason a requirement for morality?
A relevant definition of reason to our topic is ―the power of the mind to think, understand, and
form judgments by a process of logic‖ (Merriam-Webster 2017). However, one of the most influential
philosophers in the history of Western philosophy, Immanuel Kant, argued that reason alone is the
basis of morality, and once the person understood the basic requirement for morality, he or she would
see that acting morally is the same as acting rationally (Beck, 1960). In Kant’s view, the definition of
morality alone shows that a person must decide what to do. You, as a person, can think and reflect
on different actions and then choose what action to take. That a moral decision means mere desires
did not force you to act in a particular manner. You acted by the power of your will.

Is impartiality a requirement for morality?

Before discussing how impartiality is related to morality, it is important to understand what
impartiality is. It is a broad concept, but it is also identified as a core value in professional codes of
ethics. Impartiality is commonly understood as a principle of justice. It denotes that decisions should
be ―based on objective criteria rather than based on bias, prejudice, or preferring to benefit one
person over another for improper reasons‖ (Jollimore, 2011); impartiality stress everyone ought to be
given equal importance and not favor one class (people, animals, or things) capriciously.
How is impartiality a requirement for morality? For example, during an exam, you saw your
friend (who is sitting next to you) secretly open her notebook to look for an answer to one of the test
questions. Your teacher noticed that your classmate was doing something suspicious. He called your
classmate and asked if she was cheating. She surreptitiously closed her notebook and answered,
―No‖. Your teacher did not trust your classmate’s answer so he asked you. What will you say?
According to philosopher and professor Dr. James Rachels, for your decision to be moral, you should
think about how it will affect your friend, your teacher, the rest of your classmates, and how it will
affect you as a person. An impartial choice involves basing your decision on how all the persons in
the situation will be affected, and not to the advantage of a particular party that you favor.
Thus, for the question, ―are reason and impartiality a requirement for morality?‖ Let us go back
to what Dr. James Rachels (2004) said: morality ―at the very least is the effort to guide one’s action
 NEMSU-Cantilan Campus
DGTT Module 3
based on the most logical choice (reason) while giving equal importance to the interest of each
person affected by your decisions (impartiality).‖ The 7-step Moral Reasoning Model
A key distinguishing feature of a moral dilemma is that it typically arises when individuals or
groups might be harmed, disrespected, or unfairly disadvantaged (Beall, 2017). Most ethical
decisions lie in a gray area. Often you are faced with a situation where there are no clear-cut or
obvious choices; the situation cannot be determined by simple quantitative analysis of data. Ethical
decision-making requires interpretation of the situation, application of your values, and estimating the
consequences of your action. In real life, our situations do not involve between right and wrong; good
or bad. Oftentimes, it is about choosing between good and better or worse.
Knowing this, you would ask, how do you make ethical decisions? Here is a 7-step model for
ethical decision-making. Ethical decision-making is a process of evaluating and choosing among
alternatives in a manner that is consistent with moral principles (University of California, 2004).
Making ethical choices requires the ability to make distinctions between competing options. Here
are seven steps to help you make better decisions.
(Watch a video on YouTube about impartiality https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmGn3zC862Q )

The 7-step model for ethical decision-making

1. Gather the facts
2. Identify the stakeholders
3. Articulate the dilemma
4. List the alternatives
5. Compare the alternatives with the principles
6. Weigh the consequences
7. Make a decision
(Adapted from 2nd gen. CHED-GET, XU Training)

Gather the facts

Do not jump to conclusions. Ask questions (who, what, where, when, how, and why). There
may be instances when facts are hard to find or are not available because of the uncertainty that
surrounds ethical issues. Nevertheless, gather ass many facts as you can. Clarify what assumptions
you are making.

Identify the Stakeholders

Identify all the persons involved and will be affected in an ethical situation. Who are the primary
stakeholders? Who are the secondary stakeholders? Why are the stakeholders in the issue? Get the
proper perspective. Try to see the situation through the eyes of the affected.

Articulate the Dilemma

Once you have gathered the facts and identified the stakeholders, you must express the ethical
dilemma. What are the competing values? The purpose of articulating the dilemma is to make sure
that you understand the situation and the moral conflict you are facing. Awareness and
 NEMSU-Cantilan Campus
DGTT Module 3
comprehension are important in making the right decision, especially when there are lives that will be
affected.

List the Alternatives

Think creatively about potential actions, as there may be choices you neglected. This will help
ensure that you have not been pushed back into a corner. For example, you may already have
solution A and solution B. Try to brainstorm and come up with solutions C that might satisfy the
interests of the primary parties involved.

Compare the Alternatives with the Principles

In decision-making, specify the relevant values that you want to uphold in making your decision.
Then compare whether your alternative actions are in line with your values. Identifying the values and
comparing your action with these values is important because it will help identify if your alternative
action is illegal or unethical, thus making this action easy to discard.
Remember the scenario we presented early in our discussion where you were a junior executive,
and you accidentally found out that your officemate was making anomalous transactions at the
expense of your company? (Introduction, Topic 1, When do you say a situation is a moral experience)
You were in a dilemma on whether or not to divulge what you knew because you found out about the
anomaly by illegally logging in to your officemate’s computer. Your possible actions were to keep
quiet, confront your officemate, or report him to the administration. In this situation, what are the
values that need to be upheld? Let us say, the value is honesty. Does keeping quiet uphold honesty?
No. Does confronting your officemate uphold honesty? No. Does reporting your officemate to the
administration (even if you had to admit that you illegally used his computer) uphold honesty? Yes.
Thus, based on this list, you now know which among the three possible actions the moral decision is.
Why is it important to have a system in making decisions? In systematically considering your set
of values, the risk of overlooking is important principles and considerations are reduced. Hence, the
chance of doing something you will regret in the future is also reduced.

Weigh the Consequences

When considering the effects of your actions, filter your choices to determine if your options will
violate ethical values. Determine how all the stakeholders will be affected by your decision.

Make a Decision
Remember, deliberation cannot go on forever. You must avoid ―paralysis by analysis‖ or the state
of over-analyzing (or over-thinking) a situation so that a decision or action is never taken, in effect
paralyzing the outcome. There is no easy, painless decision to a moral dilemma.
However, it is also important that the decision you make reflects the value you want to uphold.

On Moral Courage
Moral courage is the courage to put your moral principles into action even though you may be
in doubt, are afraid, or face adverse consequences. Moral courage involves careful deliberation and
 NEMSU-Cantilan Campus
DGTT Module 3
mastery of the self. Moral courage is essential not only for only a virtuous life, but also a happy one
because integrity is essential to self-esteem.
However, according to philosopher Mark Johnson, acting morally often requires more than just
strength of character (Drumwright and Murphy, 2004). Johnson added it is important to have ―an
ability to imaginatively discern various possibilities for acting within a given situation to envision the
potential help and harm that are likely to result from a given action (Johnson, 1994).‖ This ability is
called moral imagination.
Moral imagination is [an] ―ability in particular circumstances to discover and evaluate
possibilities not merely determined by that circumstance, or limited by its operative mental mode or
merely framed by a set of rules or rule-governed concerns (Werhane, 1999).‖ Although it is a
necessary component, moral imagination is not sufficient alone for moral decision-making. Moral
reasoning is still needed.
How can one practice moral courage? This is where the ―will‖ comes into play. It takes
determination and willpower to act on and stand by your moral principles.

What is “will”?
Generally, ―will‖ is the mental capacity to act decisively on one’s desire. It is the faculty of the
mind to initiate action after coming to a resolution following careful deliberation (Joachim, 1952).
Within Ethics, ―will‖ is an important topic along with reason because of its role in enabling a person to
act deliberately.
On the concept of ―will‖ in Classical Philosophy, Aristotle said: ―The soul in living creatures is
distinguished by two functions, the judging capacity which is a function of the intellect and sensation
combined, and the capacity for exciting movement in space.‖ (Hett, 1964).
Why is the ―will‖ as important as reason?
Aristotle believed that ―will‖ is the product of intellect and sensation; and that ―will‖ give the
person the capacity for ―exciting movement in space‖. For example, Riza is torn between buying a
new smartphone or save up for a trip outside the country. On the one hand, she can afford the
smartphone now. On the other hand, she would be nowhere near her target travel date because her
savings is still far from enough. Riza weighed the pros and cons of buying a new phone and saving
up for her trip. Eventually, she decided to walk away from the store and go to the bank to deposit her
money. It was Riza’s ―will‖ that enabled her to walk out of the store without buying the phone she
liked.

Developing the “will”

Aristotle discussed the difference between what people decide to do and what they do. In
Aristotle’s philosophy, using intellect to decide is just one part of the moral decision. The resolve to
put the decision into action is the role of the ―will‖. He said since vice and virtues are up to us, ―we
become just by the practice of just actions; self-control by exercising self-control; and courageous by
practicing acts of courage (as translated by Baird, 2016).‖
Self-mastery, therefore, is the product of the ―will‖ that is achieved by actually putting rational,
moral choice into action.