Ethics

Principles of Moral Behavior

ETHICS
▪ Comes from the Greek “ethos” which means
character.
▪ Branch of philosophy that studies morality.
▪ Stands to queries about what there is reason to do.
▪ It is also known as “moral philosophy.”
▪ Deals with the questions:
– What is the good?
– What is good?
MORALITY
▪ Comes from the latin “moralitas” which
means manner.
▪ Speaks of a code of behavior in regards to
standards of right or wrong behavior.
▪ Ethics and Morality could be
interchangerable.
Importance of Rules
to Social Beings
What are rules?
What is a social being?
RULES
▪ Refer to explicit or understood regulations or
principles governing conduct within a specific
activity or sphere.
▪ Tells us what is or is not allowed in a particular
context.
SOCIAL BEING
▪ According to Aristotle, man is
generally a rational animal and
a social being.
▪ Comes from the Greek socius.
Rules benefit social
beings in various manners
1. Rules protect social
beings by regulating
behavior
2. Rules help to guarantee
each person certain rights
and freedom
3. Rules produce a sense
of justice among social
beings
4. Rules are essential for a
healthy economic
system.
In short…
▪Society will not function
well without rules.
Moral vs Non-Moral
Standards
What is the difference between the two?
MORALITY
▪ Refers to the standards that a
person or a group of person has
about what is right and wrong or
good and evil.
MORAL STANDARDS
▪ Involve the rules people have about the kinds
of actions they believe are right and wrong.
▪ Example:
– Killing
– Stealing
– Oral Defamation
– Acts of Charity
MORAL STANDARDS
▪ Includes serious wrongs or significant benefits
▪ Ought to be preferred to other values
▪ Not established by authorities
▪ Are universal
▪ Based on impartial considerations
▪ Associated with special emotions
NON-MORAL STANDARDS
▪ Refer to the rules that are unrelated to moral
or ethical considerations.
▪ Example:
– Game rules
– School Rules
– Fashion
– Aesthetics
– Religion
 Dilemma
and Moral Dilemma
 DILEMMA
▪ Refers to a situation in which a
tough choice has to be made
between to or more options.
MORAL DILEMMA
▪ Situations in which a difficult
choice has to be made
between to courses of action
that entails transgressing
moral principles.
KEY FEATURES
▪ Agent is required to do each of the
actions.
▪ Agent can do the actions but he cannot.
▪ Agent thus seems condemned to moral
failure, no matter what he does.
▪ Neither of the conflicting requirements is
overridden.
Levels of Moral Dilemma
▪Personal Dilemma
▪Organizational Dilemma
▪Structural Dilemma
Only Humans
can be
Ethical
Why?
▪Rational, Autonomous, and
self-conscious
▪Moral and immoral acts
▪Moral community
Freedom as
Foundation of
Morality
Why?
▪Morality is a question of
choice.
▪Everyone who wishes to
function morally has to
make choices.
Minimum
Requirements for
Morality
Minimum Requirements for
Morality
▪Reason
▪Impartiality