THE INQUIRY ON

PHILOSOPHICAL ETHICS:
AN INTRODUCTION
At the end of the lesson, the students should
be able to:
Define ethics.
Distinguish the concept of moral standards
from non-moral and amoral standards.
Articulate the differences of ordinary rules
from moral rules/standards.
There are various definitions of Ethics
such that anyone would be led to think
a universal one is impossible to
formulate.

Hence, many ethical discussions end in

controversies; some result to even more
divergent views about the subject.
Some views relate ethics to other words
like right, value, morals, good, evil,
happiness in their attempt to define the
term.

Some provide practical and common

questions that relate to acts, desires and
needs from which individuals find life’s
meanings and purposes.
 There are different definitions of
ethics because there are numerous
questions entailed in our views
regarding rightness and wrongness;
as well as the diverse responses to
these questions.
q What is your idea of Rightness?

Is it right to aspire for Is it right to long for

your dreams? material things?
q What is Happiness to you?

Good food? Fame?

Comfort? Honor?
 Love? Winning?

Beauty? Friendship?
q How would you like your Life to
be?

Free spirit? Knowledge seeker?

q What do you Value?

Faith?
Friendship?

Freedom? Existence?
 Right?
Good?
Happiness?
Values?
How am I supposed to live
this LIFE?
Give 3 answers for the
following:
1. What is your idea of rightness (moral
justness)?
2. What is happiness for you?
3. How would you like your life to be?
4. What is desirable for you?
5. What do you value?
 THE STUDY ON
MORALITY
Moral standards as opposed to
non-moral
and amoral standards
Why are there rules?
What rules do you find most
constricting?
How do moral standards differ
from other rules in our lives?
Etiquette: standards by which manners
are judged to be good or bad normally
dictated by a socio economic elite.
Athletic: standards by which we judge
how good or bad a game is played,
usually formulated by governing
bodies.
Legal: standards by which legal right or
wrong is judged in a democracy;
formulated by representatives of people.

Language: standards by which

grammatically right or wrong language is
judged, evolving through its usage.

Aesthetics: standards by which good or

bad art is judged dictated by a small
circle of art specialists.
Moral standards deal with matters that
can seriously injure or benefit human
beings.
The validity of moral standards rests on
the adequacy of reasons to support and
justify them, not on the decision of
majority or authoritative bodies.
Moral standards are to be preferred to
other values, including self-interest.
Moral standards are based on impartial
considerations.

Moral standards are expressed in

universalizable view point from an ideal
observer.

Moral standards are associated with

special emotions such as ‘guilt’,
‘shame’, ‘remorse’, ‘praise’, ‘pity’,
‘indignation’.
So what is common to all these
characteristics?
No other than society taken in
broadest sense….society is
interpreted philosophically as the
“other”.
Non compliance with moral
standards would seriously injure us as
human beings.
 Ethics and Morals

When do you say an experience

calls for a moral decision?

…a choice made
based on the
person’s ethics,
manners,
character…
Ethics refers to the rules of conduct
recognized in respect to a particular
class of human actions or a particular
group or culture.
Morals are the principles or habits with
respect to right or wrong conduct.
While morals also prescribe dos and
don'ts, morality is ultimately a personal
compass of right and wrong.
Ethics comes from the Greek word
"ethos" meaning”character”.

Moral comes from the Latin word

"mores" meaning “custom".
Ethics comes from social system (external
source). We do it because society says it is
the right thing to do.

Morality comes from individual

themselves (internal source). We do it (or
we do not do it) because we believe on
something being right or wrong.
Ethics is dependent on others for
definition. They tend to be consistent
within a certain context, but can vary
between contexts.

Moral is usually consistent, although can

change if an individual’s beliefs change.
Ethics is governed by professional and
legal guidelines within a particular time
and place.

Moral transcends cultural norms.

SOURCE: http://www.diffen.com/difference/Ethics_vs_Morals
Ethics is codes of conduct that pertain to a
community, family, company or a nation. On
the other hand, morality refers to personal sets
of beliefs about what is right and wrong.
Ethics is accepted by the entity of the
community but morals are not.
People have their morals that may or may not
be in sync with society’s ethics.
entails a reflective distance to critically
examine standards.
looks at values beneath the moral
standards (answers the questions of
WHAT and WHY we do the act)
looks into the agent who makes the
moral decision (level of maturity and
moral development).
It is about the moral decision
process (HOW we arrive at the
moral decision).

Ethics is not solely about theoretical

knowledge but the application of
that knowledge… how to transform
such knowledge into action in our
everyday life.
The Moral Balancer
You are the eldest of family of four. Two of your
younger siblings are in elementary while the
other one is in junior high school. You are in
your senior years in college and is likely to
graduate this coming April.
You were able to save PhP. 45,450.00 from
your allowances for the last two semesters. Your
parents who were both employed as ordinary
workers in a factory, knew all along that you
were allotting certain amount of your allowance
for your savings. So, every time they give your
weekly allowances, they added few pesos to
increase your potential savings.
The drastic increase in your savings
happened when you got a partial
scholarship last semester due to high
grades. The partial scholarship grant
provides 50% discount on the tuition fee.
You did not inform anymore your parents
about it since they knew that whatever
extra amount you shall have will be
diverted to your savings, which you did.
You have nothing in mind to buy at the time
you started doing this. But as time went on
and each time you dropped by in a nearby
department store, your longing to have a very
expensive watch, which costs PhP.
44,999.00, increases. You thought of having
the said watch because nobody among your
friends has it, and no one could even afford
to buy something of its kind. Your graduation
is nearing and you thought of buying it to
give yourself an advance gift.
Your parents do not oppose your decision to buy
a watch. Though, they have no idea how much
your savings already as well as the cost of the
watch you wanted. But you just learned from both
of them that their company is utilizing cost-
cutting measures due to potential recession.
Instead of six working days in a week, your
mother is assigned to work for four days while
your father is assigned for five-days in a week. As
a consequence, their respective income is
affected.

Given these circumstances, how do they affect

your decision to buy the watch?
1. Your parents do not know about the
50% partial scholarship grant.
2. You are the eldest in your family.
3. None of your friends has that kind of
watch.
4. Your parents do not oppose in your
idea of buying a watch.
5. The department store is just near the
place where you reside.
6. Given the current working scheme,
the salaries of your parents are
affected.
7. The watch costs P44,999.00.
8. You are a graduating student.
9. Your parents are ordinary workers
only.
10.You are a scholar because of your
high grades.
11.The watch is made in Italy.
12.Your parents have already paid in full
your siblings’ tuition fees.
13. The store sells genuine items only.
14. Your parents have enough savings.
15. You will graduate with honors.
 Write a brief case of personal
ethical problem to be discussed to
your group mates.

SOURCE:
Co, M. (2018). The Inquiry On Philosophical Ethics: An Introduction. [Powerpoint slides].