PHILOSOPHY

GEC 108 - ETHICS

 Laguna State Polytechnic University
Santa Cruz Campus
S.Y. 2020-2021
College of Engineering

GEC 108- ETHICS

“THE NATURE AND FUNCTIONS OF PHILOSOPHY”

Group 1 Members:
Artiaga, Alexis S.

Atienza, Joylen M.

Balagtas, Camille P.

November 2020
DEFINITION OF PHILOSOPHY

Traditionally philosophy is defined as love of wisdom because it came from two Greek
words philos (love) and Sophia (wisdom). You might find it strange to connect love to
philosophy. You might think of philosophy as a purely intellectual discipline which has nothing to
do with love. You might believe love is romance, poetry, intense passion in which you are willing
to lay down your life. But you will see that philosophy can also be pursued passionately. In fact
some people like Socrates died for truth. It is this centrality of love to philosophy that we call
people who engages in philosophy as philosophers (lovers of wisdom).

ORIGIN OF PHILOSOPHY

Greece is the birthplace of philosophy in the West. To be more precise it is the ancient
Greek city of Miletus in the Western coast of what is now Turkey that gave birth to philosophy. It
is in this city that the first philosopher in the West, Thales, lived. Thales is the Father of
Philosophy in the Western civilization. He lived between 624 and 546 BCE a contemporary of
the Lydian king Croesus and the statesman Solon (Stumpf and Fieser,2008). What made
Thales a philosopher is his desire to know the ultimate stuff that makes up the different things
we perceived. You see when we look at the world, we encounter different things: people, trees,
clouds, mountains, rivers, etc. Now Thales believed that despite the different things we
encounter there is one underlying stuff or substance in which everything is composed. He
believes that there is One in the Many. Thales was the first individual who tried to reduce the
multiplicity into a unity (Jones,1969). But his explanation of natural phenomena is devoid of
gods and goddesses of the old religion of Greece. It is completely rational. It represents a
departure from the mythological religion of Greece. Thales approach highlights the difference
between religion and philosophy. Religion rests on faith while philosophy rests on reason.

PHILOSOPHICAL ACTIVITY

Thales greatest contribution to philosophy is not his identification of water as the

ultimate stuff of the universe. His greatest contribution is the problem he posed “What is the
ultimate stuff of the universe?” and his approach in solving that THALES 12 problem. Studying
Thales makes us realize that philosophical activity is characterized by three things:

First in terms of scope philosophy involves the widest generalizations (Rand, 1982).
While people concern themselves with shoes and clothes, the latest gossip about their favorite
celebrities, their crushes, philosophers concern themselves with big issues pertaining to the
truth, , the good, the just, the beautiful, and the existence of practically all things. While
scientists concern themselves with scientific knowledge, historians with knowledge of the past,
economists with knowledge of supply and demand, philosophers concern themselves with the
nature of knowledge as such (which embraces all types of knowledge previously mentioned and
more).

Second philosophy is all about fundamentals. A fundamental is the root cause that
explains almost everything in a given context. To understand this imagine that knowledge is like
a building with levels. Now the higher level depends on the lower levels (Peikoff, 1991). If
somehow the lower level crumbles then all the higher levels that rest upon it will collapse. A
fundamental is like the lower floor that supports everything above it. That kind of support is
exactly what philosophy provides. If somehow philosophical ideas like consciousness and
existence disappear then knowledge of any kind will not make any sense because there will be
nothing to know (existence) and no one to know (consciousness).

Third philosophy is driven by the desire to integrate things in to a one coherent whole.
As the celebrated philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel said “The true is the Whole
(Peikoff, 1991).” If you notice Thales wants to reduce the multiplicity of things into a single stuff.
He desires to find the One in the many.

CONCEPT OF PHILOSOPHY

Who is a philosopher?

“…A philosopher… has…[a] structure of thought unified by a purpose for his own life and for
mankind.” Will Durant, The Story of Philosophy

Plato in his book (Republic) too said " He who has a taste for every sort of
knowledge and who is curious to learn and is never satisfied may be justify termed a
philosopher."

The Greek philosopher Socrates said - "Philosopher is one, who has a thirst for

knowledge."

Philosophers are commonly called “thinkers,” but really, that is not an adequate
definition of a philosopher. A philosopher looks at the world in wonder. He seeks the underlying
meaning of things; he wants to understand it and codify it into a system of thought. If he
succeeds in this task, he often feels compelled to share his system with the world, even
knowing it is likely futile. This is because he loves the world, despite the difficulty it has given
him.

If a man, who is thirsty for knowledge, he is philosopher. A true philosopher is he who

loves to know, who loves to search truth.

Few philosophers think that - Every Rational person is philosopher. Because every
rational person has many philosophical questions i.e. who am I? where have from I
come? what will after death? what is life? who has created the world? etc. Everybody wants to
get answer of these question.                                            

MEANING OF PHILOSOPHY

 Etymological meaning of philosophy

The word Philosophy's origin is Greek word 'Philosophia'. Philosophia means 'love of

knowledge', 'pursuit of wisdom', 'systematic investigation. English word 'Philosophy' comes from
a combination of two Greek word, which are 'Philo' and 'Sophia'. 'Philo' means 'love' and
'Sophia' means 'wisdom’. The literal meaning of philosophy is 'love of wisdom'.
.                      
 Specific Meaning of Philosophy
o To be precise and definite, one may call philosophy as that deep thinking and mediation
which concerns itself to the God, the soul and nature.
o This concentration and deep thinking are for revealing the hidden and immortal of
immortal realities of existence namely- what is the nature of life, whence human being
has come and what will be his final destination, how does external nature affect human
life.
 Wider Meaning of Philosophy
o It is a particular way of looking at things. Philosophizing involves thinking, criticism and
the process of solving the philosophical problem through different philosophical
methods.

PHILOSOPHY AS AN ACTIVITY
  Human being has a unique facility to reason, it stems from our self-conscious ability to
know that we exist. We are not like computers which simply manipulate information and
are not self-aware.
 Philosophy involves thinking in abstract ideas.
 This sort of thinking helps us to ask questions that concern our existence in relation to
our place as individuals in a puzzling world.
1st: It allows us to work out whether the question is meaningful (And that we are
justified of in pursuing an answer.
2nd: It help us to work through the problem, obtain a conclusion and decide whether
that conclusion is valid. Whether or not the conclusion is true will depend on the truth
contained in the argument.

PHILOSOPHY AS A WAY OF LIFE

According to Aldous Huxley, “Man live in accordance with their philosophies in

life, their conception of the word”

PHILOSOPHY AS A SCIENCE

 Both philosophy and science enquire with truth

 According to John Brubacher, “Philosophy is the science of sciences, It has been called
mother of sciences because the independence of today were an integral part of
philosophy at one or his other times of past years”

CHARACTERISTIC OF PHILOSOPHY

 It is search for truth and reality

 It is universal, although its method and questions remain the same, interpretations and
application will differ from place to place
 It is based on inquiry about life and existence
 It is a way of life
 It is an attempt to answer the ultimate question of life
 It is a search for knowledge and wisdom
 It is a conceptual rather than a practical activity
 It is an explanation of the puzzling features of things
 It is digging beyond the obvious
  It is the search for principles which underlie phenomena
 It is theory building from these principles
 It is a living force

FUNCTIONS OF PHILOSOPHY

1. Normative- The word normative refers to the norms or standards. So, the normative
functions of philosophy mean setting of norms, goals, principles standards and etc.

According to Taneja, “When a man is faced with the difficulties, strains and stresses,
contradictory situations, unforeseen circumstances and intriguing problems, philosophy
enable him to consider the pros and cons at correct solution”

2. Speculative- Philosophy strikes a synthesis within the array of facts and bits of
knowledge gathered from various sources. It leads the man from common sense
approach to rational and perspective approach.
3. Critical- It classifies concept, tests hypothesis, establishes consistency, presents unity
of outlook and inspires logical reasoning.

PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE

Philosophy of language is the reasoned inquiry into the nature, origins, and usage of
language.

For Analytic Philosophers, it is concerned with four central problems: the nature of meaning,
language use, language cognition, and the relationship between language and reality.

For Continental philosophers, it tends to be dealt with, not as a separate topic, but as a part of
logic, history or politics.

It asks questions like

"What is meaning?"
"How does language refer to the real world?"
"Is language learned or is it innate?"
"How does the meaning of a sentence emerge out of its parts?"

THE NATURE OF MEANING

  Geoffrey Leech (British Linguist) posited that there are two essentially different types of
linguistic meaning: conceptual and associative.
o The conceptual meaning of an expression have to do with the definitions of words
themselves, and the features of those definitions. This kind of meaning is treated by
using a technique called the semantic feature analysis.
o The associative meaning of an expression has to do with individual mental
understandings of the speaker.

 Five different kinds of attempts at explaining what a linguistic "meaning" is:

1. Idea theories of meaning claim that meanings are purely mental contents provoked
by signs.
2. Truth-conditional theories hold meaning to be the conditions under which an
expression may be true or false.
3. Use Theorist perspectives understand meaning to involve or be related to speech
acts and particular utterances, not the expressions themselves.
4. Verificationist theories is the meaning of a sentence is its method of verification or
falsification.
5. Pragmatist theory of meaning is any theory in which the meaning of a sentence is
determined by the consequences of its application.

REFERENCE
 Gottlob Frege (German Philosopher, Logician, and Mathematician) was an advocate of a
mediated reference theory. Theories of reference, it is an investigation into how
language interacts with the world. Frege divided the semantic content of every
expression including sentences, into two components: sense and referents.
o The sense of a sentence is the thought that it expresses.
o The referents are the objects in the world that words pick out.

 Bertrand Russell (British Philosopher) held that the only directly referential expressions
are the logically proper names.

MAJOR PROBLEMS IN PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE

1. Vagueness
2. Problem of universals and composition
 3. The nature of language
4. Formal versus informal approaches
5. Translation and Interpretation

5 BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY

1. EPISTEMOLOGY
“Episteme”= Knowledge, understanding
“Logia”= Science, Study

In Philosophy, Epistemology is the study of knowledge in general.

 Examples of Epistemological Questions are:

1. What does knowledge mean?
2. How does a person get to know something?
3. What is the basis for true knowledge?

 What is knowledge?
Knowledge is justified, true belief. It means that:
1. The person must be able to justify the claim
2. The claim itself must be true.
3. The person must believe in it.

 To justify a belief, belief(claims) must be justified. This is done by using evidence.

o Evidence must be of good quality
o Evidence should also be logical and reasonable.

 Two major branches of Epistemology

1. Empiricism
2. Rationalism

2. METAPHYSICS - Derived from the Greek meta ta physika ("after the things of nature");
referring to an idea, doctrine, or posited reality outside of human sense perception. In
 modern philosophical terminology, metaphysics refers to the studies of what cannot be
reached through objective studies of material reality.

3. AESTHETICS - is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature and appreciation
of art, beauty and good taste. It has also been defined as "critical reflection on art,
culture and nature". The word "aesthetics" derives from the Greek "aisthetikos", meaning
"of sense perception".

 In practice, we distinguish between aesthetic judgments (the appreciation of any

object, not necessarily an art object) and artistic judgments (the appreciation or
criticism of a work of art).
 Aestheticians ask questions like "What is a work of art?", "What makes a work of art
successful?", "Why do we find certain things beautiful?", "How can things of very
different categories be considered equally beautiful?"
 Judgements of aesthetic value rely on our ability to discriminate at a sensory level, but
they usually go beyond that. Judgments of beauty are sensory, emotional, and
intellectual all at once.
 According to Immanuel Kant, beauty is objective and universal (i.e. certain things are
beautiful to everyone). But there is a second concept involved in a viewer's
interpretation of beauty, that of taste, which is subjective and varies according to class,
cultural background and education.

4. ETHICS (MORAL PHILOSOPHY) - is concerned with questions of how people ought to

act, and the search for a definition of right conduct (identified as the one causing the
greatest good) and the good life (in the sense of a life worth living or a life that is
satisfying or happy).
 The word "ethics" is derived from the Greek "ethos" (meaning "custom" or "habit").
Ethics differs from morals and morality in that ethics denotes the theory of right action
and the greater good, while morals indicate their practice.
 It asks questions like "How should people act?" , "What do people think is right?",
"How do we take moral knowledge and put it into practice?", and "What does 'right'
even mean?".
 Socrates, as recorded in Plato's dialogues, is customarily regarded as the father of
Western ethics. ("There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance")
 Subject Areas of Ethics:
 1. Normative Ethics (or Prescriptive Ethics) is the branch of ethics concerned
with establishing how things should or ought to be, how to value them, which
things are good or bad, and which actions are right or wrong. It attempts to
develop a set of rules governing human conduct, or a set of norms for action.
2. Descriptive Ethics- Just explains how things are, what people’s moral belief
are.
3. Applied Ethics- Applied Ethics is a discipline of philosophy that attempts to
apply ethical theory to real-life situations.
4. Meta-Ethics is concerned primarily with the meaning of ethical judgments, and
seeks to understand the nature of ethical properties, statements, attitudes, and
judgments and how they may be supported or defended.

5. LOGIC - Logic (from the Greek "logos", which has a variety of meanings including word,
thought, idea, argument, account, reason or principle) is the study of reasoning, or the
study of the principles and criteria of valid inference and demonstration.

 Aristotle defined logic as "new and necessary reasoning"

 Logic often divided into two parts,
1. Inductive reasoning- Derives general principles from specific observations.
2. Deductive reasoning- Reasoning flows from general to specific.
References:
Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person (Bernal, Ferrer and Alac. 2020) Retrieved
date: October 3, 2020
https://www.slideshare.net/mobile/ShvetaArya/concept-of-philosophy
https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/philosophy_of_language
https://www.philosophybasics.com/branch_philosophy_of_language.html
https://www.evphil.com/philosophy-101.html
https://www.pbs.org/faithandreason/gengloss/metaph-body.html
https://www.philosophybasics.com/branch_ethics.html
https://www.philosophybasics.com/branch_aesthetics.html
 Laguna State Polytechnic University
Santa Cruz Campus
S.Y. 2020-2021
College of Engineering

GEC 108- ETHICS

“MORAL STANDARDS VS NON-MORAL STANDARDS”

Group 2 Members:
 MORAL STANDARDS VS NON-MORAL STANDARDS

Morality may refer to the standards that a person or a group has about what is right and
wrong, or good and evil. Accordingly, moral standards are those concerned with or relating to
human behavior, especially the distinction between good and bad (or right and wrong) behavior.

MORAL STANDARDS – are norms that individuals or groups have about the kind of actions
believed to be morally right or wrong as well as the values placed on what we believed to be
morally good or morally bad. It has connection in morality about the rightness or wrongness of
an action. Moral Standards normally promote “the good” that is the welfare and well-being of
humans as well as animals and the environment.

NORMS + VALUES
General values Enduring beliefs about
about actions or what is good and
= MORAL STANDARD
behaviors. desirable or not.
Ex. Killing innocent Ex. Helping the poor is
people is wrong. good.
Cheating in exam is
bad.
NON-MORAL STANDARDS- these standards refer to standards by which we judge what is
good or bad and right or wrong in a non-moral way.
Examples:
 Standards of etiquette- by which we judge matter by good or bad.
 The Law- by which we judge something as legal or illegal.
 Standard of Aesthetic- by which we judge art as good or rubbish.

CHARACTERISTICS OF MORAL STANDARD:

1. Moral standards involve serious wrongs or significant benefits.

It deals with matters we think can seriously injure or benefit humans, animals,
and the environment.

2. Moral standards ought to be preferred to other values.

 Moral standards have overriding character or hegemonic authority. If a moral
standards states that a person has the moral obligation to do something, then he/she is
supposed to do that even if it conflicts with other non-moral standards and even with self-
interest.

3. Moral standards are not established by authority figures.

Moral standards are not established or changed by the decisions of authoritative bodies
or persons such as nations’ legislative bodies. These values ought to be considered in the
process of making laws. In principle therefore, moral standards cannot be changed nor nullified
by the decisions of particular authoritative body. One thing about these standards is that it’s
validity lies on the soundness or adequacy of the reasons that are considered to support and
justify them.

4. Moral standards have the trait of universalizability.

It means that everyone should live up to moral standards. To be more accurate, it entails
that moral principles must apply to all who are in the relevantly similar situation.

If one judges that act A is morally right for a certain person P, then it is morally right for
anybody relevantly similar to P. This characteristic is exemplified in the Golden Rule, “Do unto
others what you would them unto you (if you were in their shoes)”.

5. Moral standards are based on impartial considerations; hence moral standards are fair
and just.

Moral standards do not evaluate standards on the basis of the interest of a certain
person or group but one goes beyond personal interests to a universal standpoint in which each
person’s interests are impartially counted as equal.

Impartiality is usually depicted as being free of bias or prejudice. Impartiality in morality

requires that we give equal and/ or adequate consideration to the interests of all concerned
parties.

6. Moral standards are associated with special emotions and vocabulary.

These moral standards are generally, put forth as injunction or imperatives such as “Do
not kill”, “Do unnecessary harm” and “Love your neighbor”. These principles are proposed for
use, to advise, and to influence to action. This feature is used to evaluate behavior, to assign
praise and blame, and to produce feelings of satisfaction or of guilt.
 If a person violates a moral standard by telling a lie even to fulfill a special purpose, it is
not surprising if he/she starts feeling guilty or being ashamed of his behavior afterwards. On the
contrary, no much guilt is felt if one goes against the current fashion trend.

DILEMMA

Dilemma is a situation where a person is forced to choose between two or more

conflicting options, neither of which is acceptable. The difference of dilemma from a typical
problem is it has options, but these options are not clear if the result will be good or bad. When
dilemmas involve human actions which have moral implications, they are called ethical or moral
dilemmas.

Moral Dilemma

Moral dilemma is a situation that begs a person to choose between two or more alternatives
with equal weight wherein both alternatives are either good or both are evil, but the person
cannot do both or all actions.

The difference of moral dilemma from dilemma is that it concerns about the goodness or
rightness of our choices.

If you've heard of ethical dilemma, it's difference to moral dilemma is ethical dilemma is
choosing the greater good and lesser evil. Meaning, ethical dilemma is about rules. If there’s a
dilemma about following rules vs. breaking rules, then you have an ethical dilemma.

Three conditions that must be present in moral dilemmas:

1. The person or the agent of a moral action is obliged to make a decision about which course
of action is best.

2. There must be different of courses of action to choose from.

3. No matter what course of action is taken, some moreal principles are always compromised.

According to Benjiemen Labastin:

In moral dilemmas, the moral agent "seems fated to commit something wrong, which implies
that she is bound to morally fail because in one way or another she will fail to do something she
ought to do. In other words, by choosing one of the possible moral requirements, the person
also fails on others." - Benjiemen Labstin
Three levels of Moral Dilemma:

1. Individual/Personal Dilemma.

- Conflict arrives when a person is asked to choose between two values for him/her, it entails
choosing between one's duties to his/her loved ones or for another person.

- When your decision in a situation where there is moral conflict is the cause of either your own
or another person/s' potential harm.

Example:

A girl is driving along the road and she stopped at an intersection. On her right side, she saw a
bunch of children inside a day care bus. On her left side, she saw a truck without a driver, and it
will going to hit the day care bus. The dillema in this situation is whose live/s will she choose, if
she dodge the truck, it will cause her life but the children's lives will be saved, but if she move
forward, the truck will hit the day care bus and it will cause the children's lives.

2. Organizational Dilemma.

- Encountered by institutions, business, or organizations in their decision-making process, at

this level the dilemmas that the organization's experiences usually affect or involves more than
one person and they can be part of internal group or part of an external stakeholder.

- When a member or members of the organization is in a situation where there is moral conflict,
and the decision will potentially harm either some members of the group or the entire
organization itself.

Example:

There's patient A, who's been comatose and confined in the hospital for 8 months and has a
little chance of surviving. On the other rooms, 4 patients from an accident are needing
immediate attention, they need major internal organs for example the heart, lungs, the liver, and
pancreas; these are the organs they need immediately. If those patients are given the organs
they need, they have a high chance that they will survive. If you are the doctor, and patient A
has no family or relatives left, patient A's hospital bill is already large, and patient A's organs are
healthy. So the moral dilemma is, are you willing to sacrifice the life of patient A to save the lives
of the 4 other patient?

3. Structural Dilemma.
- It affects a network of institutions and operative theoretical paradigms like universal care,
juvenile laws, and immigration. This type of dilemma can affect a community and even society
at large.

- When a person or group of people who holds high-level positions in the society faces a morally
conflicting situation wherein the entire social system is affected.

Example:

A man is running for the position of town mayor. During the campaign period he promised the
indigenous people in his community to help protect the virgin forest just to gain their votes. But
at the same time he also seeks financial support from a mining corporation and he promised to
support the corporation's mining projects for economic development if he won the election.
Fortunately, the man won the election. Now, he is faced with the dilemma of fulfilling his promise
to the indigenous people and at the same time allows the mining corporation to destroy their
forest so they can get big amount of funds for new projects that can help improve the
community and the economy.

FREEDOM as FOUNDATION for MORAL ACTS (Part 1)

FREEDOM is the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance
or restraint, and the absence of any factors that blocks decision-making.

Some types of FREEDOM are:

 Freedom of assembly

 Freedom of association

 Freedom to bear arms

 Freedom of education

 Freedom of movement

 Freedom of the press

 Freedom of religion
  Freedom of speech

Based on the definition of freedom, a person with freedom can act how he/she wants
to or say what he/she wants without any restraint. FREEDOM is predominantly an inner
construct. The legendary Holocaust survivor, Viktor Frankl said: “Everything can be
taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s
attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way (in how he
approaches his circumstances).”

In other words, to be free is to take ownership of what goes on between your ears, to
be autonomous in thoughts first and actions second. Your freedom to act a certain way
can be taken away from you – but your attitude about your circumstances cannot –
making one's freedom predominantly an internal construct.

On the other hand, LIBERTY is the state of being free within society from oppressive
restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views.
LIBERTY is predominantly an external construct which is categorized into two: the
NEGATIVE and POSITIVE LIBERTY.

NEGATIVE LIBERTY is the absence of constraints on, or interference with, a

person’s possible action.

POSITIVE LIBERTY is the possession of the capacity to act upon one's free will.

For example, The Bill of Rights is a charter of negative liberties – it says what the
state cannot do to you. However, it does not say what the state must do on your behalf.
This would be a positive liberty, an obligation imposed upon you by the state.

VALUE OF FREEDOM

 Freedom is valuable for the individual and also for society.

For the individual, freedom is a pre-requisite for spiritual and moral growth.
A person who as they grow older is not given more and more responsibility and
the freedom that goes with it does not fully mature. Human beings are treated as
 moral agents because they are held to be responsible for their actions. If a
person is not free then they are not responsible. For example, if someone is
physically forced to pull a trigger and kill someone they are not treated as a
murderer. Freedom enables a person to make decisions that will affect their
future. It gives them the chance to take or not to take opportunities that occur
instead of having such decisions made by someone else. Thus, freedom enables
a person to become responsible, following their own lights, pursuing and creating
beauty, truth and goodness.

 Freedom allows people to pursue their interests within the framework of

law.

It means that people are not controlled and not part of someone else's
plans and purposes. On the contrary, as long as they do not break the law, a
system of general rules that apply to everyone, they can live where they choose,
follow whatever career they wish, buy, sell and trade without restriction, read and
write what they like, espouse whatever beliefs and opinions they hold, associate
with whomever they wish and form clubs, groups, and parties without seeking
anyone's permission. In short, the freedom to follow their conscience. Such a
person would naturally live within the moral law. Of course, if a person breaks the
law committing murder or stealing, they can expect a fair trial followed by an
appropriate punishment.

It has been called a catallaxy by Friedrich August von Hayek. These

relationships are primarily regulated by manners, tradition, custom and in the last
resort by laws which describe the limits of acceptable behavior beyond which the
state will intervene to punish transgressors. Freedom within the law is thus the
basis for a peaceful society as it makes it possible for people with
incommensurate religions and opinions to live side by side as neighbors.

INNER AUTONOMY

FREEDOM can also signify inner autonomy, or mastery over one's inner condition. 
This has several possible significances according to Susan Wolf:

 the ability to act in accordance with the dictates of reason;

 the ability to act in accordance with one's own true self or values;
 the ability to act in accordance with universal values (such as the True and the
Good); and
 the ability to act independently of both the dictates of reason and the urges of
desires, i.e., arbitrarily (autonomously).

This is to be distinguished from license, which is undisciplined freedom. The

former is responsible and expected to issue in a good result for oneself and others,
while the latter is irresponsible and selfish, not being able to contribute anything
constructive to society. If the social contract contains some universal values, then
positive freedom mentioned above may be similar to this responsible type of freedom.

There is an even more internalized type of freedom. In a play by Hans Sachs, for
example, the Greek philosopher Diogenes speaks to Alexander the Great, saying: "You
are my servants' servant." The philosopher has conquered fear, lust, and anger,
whereas Alexander still serves these masters. Although the king has conquered the
world without, he has not yet mastered the world within. This kind of mastery is
dependent upon no one and nothing other than oneself.

One important issue is: Does inner freedom always issue in a good result? The
answer unfortunately is in the negative in reality. However, people such as Saint
Augustine said that the type of freedom which is attained by saints beyond this world
always results in good things because it is the libertas (liberty) in the sense of
being non posse peccare (not able to sin). According to him, it is different from
the posse no peccare (ability not to sin) which Adam and Eve possessed even before
their fall.

“Freedom can be achieved through inner sovereignty.”

 For me, this means that the person has control over his/her own self, that person
is considered free from his/her own restraints. That person has the ability to think and
act for his own self.

Philosophy of Freedom

We must not trade off the legitimate rights and interests of any human being for anything else.

Immanuel Kant- a known philosopher for his “Kantian Liberalism”.

He is great at metaphysics, a philosophy of existence. He believes freedom for the

people is a great sign of good governance. Similar to the Republic, Kant suggests that
the power of a government is based on its citizens. Otherwise, powerless citizens
means an imperialized branch is present.

Morality is a question of choice. Every situation will come. There are factors to be
considered:
 1. Decision-Making; through multiple questions upon yourself, it is noticeable
before engaging in a certain action, someone must think of cause and effects of
a certain action.
2. Values Applied; refers to the cultural appropriations for a certain field , a
workplace, or in a community where someone belongs.

Hence, you must not be judged for a single action, but must be enriched with several
decisions considering what is ethically right or wrong. You must not be judged based on
the denotative means of freedom, but with true freedom.

Sources:

● Immanuel Kant: Philosopher of Freedom

https://www.learnliberty.org/blog/immanuel-kant-philosopher-of-freedom/

https://fee.org/articles/immanuel-kant-and-the-philosophy-of-freedom/
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Santa Cruz Campus
S.Y. 2020-2021
College of Engineering

GEC 108- ETHICS

“CULTURE, CULTURAL RELATIVSM”

Group 3 Members:
CULTURE

Edward B. Tylor defined culture as a complex whole which includes knowledge, belief,
art, law, morals and other capabilities and habits acquired by the people as members of
the society.

ELEMENTS OF CULTURE

1. Symbols-refers to anything that represents something else

e.g. Universally, cross is a symbol of Christianity

2. Language - It is a system of symbols that allows people to communicate with one

another

a) Spoken Language

b) Written Language

c) Non-verbal Language

3. Values- It is defined as culturally defined standards that people use to describe what
is desirable, good and beautiful and that serves as broad guidelines for social living.

-Character Value

-Work Value

-Personal Value

4. Beliefs- It refers to specific ideas that people hold to be true. While values refer to
abstract motions of what is desirable, beliefs are more specific ideas of what is true or
false.
5. Norms-These are rules and expectations by which a society guides the behavior of its
members.

a) Folkways- Norms for routine or casual interactions.

b) Mores- coined by William Summer which refers to norms of great moral significance

c) Law- refers to the formalized and codified rules of a society.

Components of Culture

Culture is divided into two basic components: the things that we think and the
things that we have.

Non-material Culture, are the things that we think. It is the ideas, beliefs, and
knowledge created by members of society.

These includes: beliefs, values, rules, norms, morals, language, organizations,

and institutions.

Example of superstitions is not going straight home after attending a funeral,

popularly known as ‘pagpag’, believing that the spirit will follow you home. Another is a
common line used by Filipinos when knocking someone’s door which is ‘Tao po, it is not
simply asking if someone is inside the house but is assuring the people inside that the
knocker is not a harmful supernatural creature.

Material Culture on the other hand, are the things that we have. It is the physical
things that members of a society create.

Example of these are tools, weapons, utensils, machines, ornaments, art,

buildings, monuments, written records, religious images, clothing, and any other
ponderable objects produced or used by humans.
 Some weapons that were originally from our country are bolo, kampilan, and
kalis. And for clothing we have baro and saya.

Material culture is the tangible aspect of culture while non-material culture refers
to intangible aspect.

Characteristics of Culture

1. Culture is learned.
Culture is being passed down from one generation to another. It is said
that no individual is born with a sense of his culture. We can learn culture by
observation, listening, and asking.
Example:
The use of po and opo and pagmamano to the elders is some that
were taught to us by our parents. Another is how native people teach their
children to hunt for boys and cook for girls.
2. Culture is shared.
Meaning no culture belongs to an individual. The people living in the same
society share the same culture and it can also be exchange.
Example:
The people living in the Philippines use the same language.
Another is, if you marry someone from another country you and your partner will
likely exchange or adopt each other’s culture.
3. Culture is cumulative.
It is passing shared knowledge from one generation to another and being
added to what is existing that changes and develop culture.
Example:
The evolution of transportation, before we use horses to travel but
now we have cars, busses, trains, and more.
4. Culture is dynamic.
 Meaning culture is not permanent. It responds to motions and actions
within and around them.
Example:
Anything that is related to Korea became very popular in our
country and most of us tend to learn their language and culture that our country
learned to adopt.
5. Culture is diverse.
People interpret their culture however they want and act from their social
location. And it is something we should be careful of to avoid assuming that their
culture is the only practical or right way.
Example:
When we greet people in the Philippines we say hi or shake their
hands, but in countries like Japan they bow as a signed of greeting or respect.
Another is how Muslims and American clothed themselves, Muslims covers their
whole body including their hair and except their eyes while Americans usually
wear revealing clothes, but is does not tell that the other is right and another is
wrong.
6. Culture is a whole.
It is a system with many mutually interdependent parts. For example, the
choice of a marriage partner involves many different parts of a culture such as
religion, economic class, age, education and ideals of beauty and romance.

CULTURAL DIVERSITY

HIGH CULTURE

- This refers to cultural patterns that distinguish a society’s elite. This is what we
usually call as high-end culture, those that are lived and experienced by rich and
famous.

POPULAR CULTURE

- This refers to the cultural patterns that are widely held by a society’s population.
SUBCULTURE

- A subculture is a unique culture shared by a smaller group of people who are

also a part of a larger culture.

COUNTERCULTURE

- These are cultural patterns that strongly oppose what is widely accepted within a
society.

CULTURAL CHANGE

INVENTION

- It is a process of cultural change wherein new cultural item, which can be either
material or non-material aspect are created.

DISCOVERY

- It is a process of cultural change by which something existing is recognized and

more understood by the people in the society.

DIFFUSION

- It is a process of cultural change in which cultural traits are shared or become

widespread from one society to another.

VIEWS ON CULTURE

ETHNOCENTRISM

 the practice of judging another culture by the standards of one’s own culture
 looks at its own culture as more superior to others
 a belief that one’s group is at the center of everything and all others are sealed
and rated with reference to it
XENOCENTRISM

 the practice of judging of one’s own culture based on the standards of others
 contrary to ethnocentrism, it looks at its own culture as inferior compared to
others

CULTURAL RELATIVISM

 the practice of judging a culture based on its own standards

 Unlike ethnocentrism and xenocentrism, it advocates that no culture is superior
or inferior to others; it is just a matter of perspective.

CULTURAL RELATIVISM

 is the ability to understand a culture on its own terms and not to make judgments
using the standards of one’s own culture
 promotes understanding of cultural practices that are not typically part of one’s
own culture
 values may be considered as right, appropriate and moral in its own cultural
setting
 a view that no one’s culture is superior than another culture when compared to
systems of morality, law, politics, etc.

CATEGORIES

ABSOLUTE

 everything that happens within a culture must and should not be questioned by
outsiders

CRITICAL
  it creates questions about cultural practices in terms of who is accepting them
and why

ADVANTAGES

1. Respect for Other Cultures

2. Creates a Society which is Free from Judgment

3. Preserves Cultures

DISADVANTAGES

1. Promotes a Lack of Diversity

2. Allows Opinions and Perceptions to Become Universal Truths

3. Limits the Progress of Humanity

 Laguna State Polytechnic University
Santa Cruz Campus
S.Y. 2020-2021
College of Engineering

GEC 108- ETHICS

“FILIPINO WAY OF UNIVERSAL VALUES”

Group 4 Members:
dela Torre, Lorraine

delos Santos, Renmar

Doria, Dave Roswell

Doria, John Albert

A. Greetings

In Filipinos, how one greets is determined by the age and relationship of the people.
When greeting strangers, a soft handshake accompanied with a smile is common among
men. Among women, a smile and a hand wave is the usual greeting. Close friends and
family may accompany a handshake with a pat on the back. Females may hug and kiss to
greet each other. Typically, people greet each other by saying, ‘kumusta kayo’ (‘how are
you?’ in Tagalog). If the person you are greeting is older than you but within the same
generation, it is expected that you will refer to that person as 'kuya' for males and 'ate' for
females. These terms do not have direct translations into English.

Mano

The common gesture used to greet is known as ‘mano’, often referred to as ‘bless’ in
English. Mano is performed as a sign of respect towards elders and as a way of accepting a
blessing from the elder. It is usually done towards those who are older by two generations or
more. For example, a niece will perform the mano gesture to her aunt. Similar to kissing a
hand, the person offering a mano will bow towards the offered hand and press their
forehead on the hand. Sometimes they will ask ‘mano po’ to the elder in order to ask
permission to perform the gesture. It is usually performed when visiting an elder or upon
entering a house or gathering. Although the mano gesture is still widely used, some Filipinos
have replaced the gesture with the ‘beso-beso’ (a cheek to cheek kiss).

B. Family Values
Family is considered to be the foundation of social life for most Filipinos. The nuclear
family is the core family unit however bonds are often tight knit among extended family
members. Indeed, people may be encouraged to have a relationship with their aunts and
uncles that is just as strong as the relationship with their parents. Close familial relationships
often go beyond one’s genetic connections or bloodlines to incorporate distant relatives,
close neighbours or friends. For example, it is common to hear people refer to distant
relatives or non-relatives with familial terms such as ‘tita’ (aunt), ‘tito’ (uncle), ‘lola’
(grandmother) and ‘lolo’ (grandfather). One instance is when a grandchild refers to their
grandparent’s friend or cousin as lola or lolo.
Filial Piety

Filial piety is an important concept in Filipino culture. It is understood as essential in

order to maintain the collective face of the family and to avoid experiencing hiya (see Social
Interactions and Hiya in ‘Core Concepts’). Many Filipinos hold the belief that each family
member has several duties and responsibilities they must uphold. Observing one’s duties
and responsibilities is important in order to correctly respect others and to ensure harmony
among family members. For example, family members are required to show respect to their
elders at all times. The opinions of younger family members’ and children’s opinions are
considered to be secondary to their superior. Moreover, those requiring age care are nearly
always taken care of by their children or grandchildren.

Household Structure and Transnational Families

In a Filipino household, it is common to find three generations living together. Often,

grandparents play a large role in raising their grandchildren. Extended family will often live
relatively close to one another and will come together during large celebrations. It is
common to find families in the Philippines that have some members who return to their
family home during weekends after spending a week in major cities for work or study.
Since the 1970s, the Philippines has been exporting labour abroad, with some members
engaging in paid labour abroad while many remain in their home town or village. This means
that many Filipino families are spread across the world. Filipino society has widely adapted
to the change in family structure. Some parents will leave their child in the Philippines in
order to seek labour abroad to better support their family left behind. In turn, they will send
back remittances to their parents or siblings who have been given the duty of caring for the
child. It is also common to find aunts, uncles and godparents taking care of their nieces,
nephews or godchildren, by sending remittances back to the Philippines in order to pay for
their education.
Those living abroad with left behind families will attempt to see their family once a year
by returning home to the Philippines during their break from work in another country. This
can be particularly difficult for those with children or elderly parents in the Philippines. In
order to support their families in the Philippines, Filipinos abroad will send a ‘balikbayan
box’, containing various items such as clothing, household objects and gifts for their family.
In the Australian context, it can be quite emotionally distressing for some Filipinos in
 intercultural marriages to be denied the opportunity to send remittances home or unable to
visit their family, as they feel they are failing to uphold their duty towards their family.
Gender Roles
At times, Filipino society is tagged as patriarchal. This is in part due to machismo
attitudes and the masculine standards of many Filipino men. However, the Philippines is
closer to exhibiting a matriarchal society. The female influence is significant throughout the
country, with many women holding senior roles throughout business and the government. In
the household structure, it is often a matriarch in charge. Generally, the head of the
household is usually the oldest female, often the grandmother (lola). Income from family
members are often pooled together, then the matriarch will look after the family finances.

Dating and Marriage

In the Philippines, dating often comes in stages, beginning with courtship. Typically, a
man will try to impress a female by courting her. If the woman considers the man to be a
good suitor, they will continue dating. Individuals have a significant level of freedom in terms
of choosing marriage partners, although the choice of a spouse may be influenced by the
preferences of the family. In some families, it is expected for the prospective partner to gain
approval of their potential in-laws. However, in urban areas, dating and marriage practices
tend to be less conservative and are becoming more influenced by the West.

Expectations and practices of marriage are heavily shaped by the Catholic Church.
Marriage is understood as a milestone and it is expected that individuals will one day marry
a suitable partner. Having children out of wedlock is generally frowned upon in Filipino
society. Thus, many couples will marry prior to giving birth to their child to avoid social
repercussions. Monogamy is the norm and divorce is both socially stigmatized and illegal.
However, views on marriage are changing. For example, there is now more acceptance of a
person’s choice to remain single if they wish to be so.

C. Key Values of Filipino People

Located between the South China Sea and Philippine Sea, the Republic of the
Philippines contains a diverse set of landscapes, languages and cultures. Various countries
– such as Spain, China and the United States – have interacted with and impacted Filipino
culture. A sense of national identity and pride emerged out of struggles for Philippine
independence. However, loyalties remain foremost with one’s family and place of birth. Key
values such fellowship, respect and acceptance are found throughout the culture, with many
Filipinos displaying a warming and hospitable demeanour.
National and Local Identity
Given the diversity of the Philippines, the unifying element of Filipino culture is a
complex matter. A sense of national identity emerged out of the long-standing struggle for
independence. In contemporary Philippines, many Filipinos are acutely aware of the colonial
history of their country. For example, José Rizal, a national hero in the struggle for
Philippine independence, is a highly revered and well-known figure whom many Filipinos
look up to as a role model of a virtuous person.

Social Interactions and ‘Hiya’

Social hierarchy in the Philippines is determined according to age and social status.
Nearly all Filipinos are taught from an early age about the importance of the underpinning
social hierarchy. Gestures, terms of address and communication styles vary depending on
who one interacts with and their relative positions in the social hierarchy. For example, it is
expected that, if you are referring to someone who is older than you but within the same
generation, you use the terms kuya for males and ate for females (for example, ‘Ate Jess’).
Failing to do so is considered highly disrespectful and a lack of acknowledgment of the
established hierarchy.
Kapwa (fellowship or togetherness) is a core value that explains Filipinos’ interpersonal
behaviour. The term generally refers to a shared identity whereby people bond together
despite differences in wealth or social status. Kapwa is related to the collectivistic nature of
Filipino society. It is believed that, what is good for one person will be good for the collective
and ought to be shared with fellow people. Being branded as not having any kapwa is an
insult as it implies that the person does not belong to a community.
The concept of ‘hiya’ is also one of the underpinning factors influencing how Filipinos
behave and interact with others. While hiya translates roughly into English as ‘shame’ or
‘embarrassment’, on a deeper level it refers to one’s sense of self, propriety and respect.
Filipinos may be more motivated to succeed by a fear of shame rather than fear of failing the
task at hand. To avoid experiencing shame, they may try to give face to those around them
through complimenting them and avoiding direct criticism. Individuals will often try to be
generous and hospitable to avoid hiya and to maintain kapwa.
 Warmth and Acceptance
Filipinos are usually very warm and friendly people who enjoy conversing with those
around them. It is common to find strangers engaging in conversation or sharing stories to
family, friends or foreigners about their hometown, family or country. Filipinos are often
expressive and sentimental while maintaining a light-hearted demeanor. For example, the
word ‘hugot’ (‘to pull out’) is often used to describe someone drawing out deep sentimental
memories or experiences. Indeed, Filipinos are often willing to share stories of their past that
may be considered personal.
Alongside their warming and light-hearted demeanor, the general approach to life is of
acceptance. ‘Bahala na’ (come what may) captures the strong belief among many Filipinos
that whatever may happens is a part of God’s will. Any individual or group success is often
attributed to fate or God rather than efforts. This indicates a fatalistic attitude throughout
society whereby Filipinos are generally accepting of theirs and others circumstances.
However, this does not mean Filipinos are passive. Rather, they are hardworking and will
often do their best to help themselves and their family.

D. The Filipino Etiquette

Basic Etiquette
Filipinos tend to dress modestly, especially when in public. It is expected that the elderly
and those of a higher social status are treated with respect. Given large family sizes and
typically small living quarters, Filipinos are generally not demanding of privacy. Within one
family, possessions are typically thought to be communal and shared. Thus, it is expected to
be open about one’s possessions and space. Many Filipinos avoid blasphemy and cursing
as it may cause themselves to lose face. Filipinos typically have a relaxed approach towards
timekeeping and punctuality. It is common for Filipinos to arrive an hour or two hours after
the designated time. This is commonly referred to as ‘Filipino time’. However, Filipinos will
observe punctuality in a formal context such as important business meetings, appointments
or when visiting the doctor.

Visiting
Do not refer to the woman of the house as ‘hostess’ as this has an alternative meaning
in the Philippines that is offensive. It is common practice to remove one’s shoes
before entering someone’s home. The host may offer you slippers to wear inside the home.
 Try to accept any refreshments offered. Refusing them is considered impolite. To display
their hospitality, Filipinos will often use their finest crockery and cutlery when they have a
visitor. It would be polite to comment on it out of acknowledgement for their efforts. If there is
a visitor, Filipinos are reluctant to take the last serving of any shared food served at a meal.
If someone is eating and someone walks past, many Filipinos will offer the person passing
by to stop and eat. However, this is not a literal offer but rather out of respect.

Eating
Nearly all meals are served with rice. If a meal is not served with rice, it is normally not
considered a main meal but rather a snack. Many Filipinos eat with their hands or with a
spoon and fork. However, they will often try their best to accommodate for their guests by
finding suitable cutlery for their guest. It is considered rude to lean on one’s arms when
present at the dinner table.
Filipinos may allow food to go cold before eating it as they wish to have all the dishes
present on the table before serving. It is common to leave food at the table just in case
someone else arrives or is hungry later.

Gift Giving
Presentation is important, so Filipinos will take considerable effort to make sure their
gifts are well presented and wrapped. Filipinos will often put a lot of thought into their gifts
and will give sentimental, thoughtful and/or practical gifts. Gifts are generally not opened
when received. Often one will thank the giver and set the gift aside.

E. Religion and Its Values

The Philippines is unique among its neighbours in the South East Asian region in that
the majority of Filipinos identify as Christian (92.5%). More specifically, 82.9% of the
population identify as Catholic, 2.8% identify as Evangelical Christian, 2.3% identify as
Iglesia ni Kristo and 4.5% identify with some other Christian denomination. Of the remaining
population, 5.0% identify as Muslim, 1.8% identify with some other religion, 0.6% were
unspecified and 0.1% identify with no religion. The Catholic Church and state were officially
separated in the 1990s, yet Catholicism still plays an prominent role in political and societal
affairs.
 Christianity in the Philippines
There continues to be a process of cultural adaptation and synthesis of Christianity into
the local culture since the introduction of the religion into the Philippines. The denomination
of Christianity that became most embedded in Filipino culture is Catholicism, which was
introduced in the Philippines during the early colonial period by the Spanish. Catholic ideas
continue to inform beliefs throughout Filipino society such as the sanctity of life and respect
for hierarchy. As a branch of Christianity, Catholicism believes in the doctrine of God as the
‘Holy Trinity’, comprising of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Like most Catholics,
many Filipinos accept the authority of the priesthood and the Roman Catholic Church, which
is led by the Pope.
For many Filipinos, the time of ‘fiesta’ is an important event within the community. During
the Catholic event of fiesta, the local community comes together to celebrate the special day
of the patron saint of a town or ‘barangay’ (village). It is a time for feasting, bonding and
paying homage to the patron saint. Houses are open to guests and plenty of food is served.
The fiesta nearly always includes a Mass, but its primary purpose is a social gathering of the
community. On a day-to-day level, Catholic iconography is evident throughout the
Philippines. Indeed, it is common to find churches and statues of various saints all
throughout the country. Moreover, many towns and cities are named after saints (for
example, San Miguel [‘Saint Michael’] located in Luzon and Santa Catalina [‘Saint
Catherine’] located in Visayas).
In terms of other Christian denominations, there is a strong presence of Protestant
traditions in the Philippines, in part due to the United States colonisation of the country.
Many teachers from the United States were Protestants who were responsible for instituting
and controlling the public education system of the country. As such, they had a strong
influence over the Philippines, particularly with the dispersing of Protestant attitudes and
beliefs. The Philippines also contains a number of Indigenous Christian Churches, such as
the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (Independent Philippine Church) and Inglesia ni Kristo
(Church of Christ). These churches are usually popular among the marginalised in society
who feel disconnected from the Catholic Church.

F. Do’s and Don’ts

Do’s
 Observe hierarchical relations determined by age and status. Showing respect is a core
part of Filipino culture and is often demonstrated through speech. Show an interest into the
wellbeing of your Filipino counterpart’s family. In the Philippines, family is an important
component in an individual’s life. Acknowledge your counterpart’s education and English
proficiency. Many Filipinos are fluent in English. Avoid talking to them in overly simplified
English as this may be interpreted as patronising. Smile when meeting people. Filipinos are
renowned for being joyful people who try to show warmth where they can. Compliment
people’s efforts and hospitality. For Filipinos, hospitality is an essential component of
interaction and they will often go to extreme lengths to be hospitable to their company.

Do Not’s
Approach questions about income, standard of living or things that would often be
considered personal in Australia with sensitivity. These topics are not always welcomed in
discussion. However, it is not uncommon for Filipinos to ask questions relating to age, work
and level of education to ensure they address you correctly in future interactions. Avoid
directly criticising the Philippines as a country. This may not be well received and criticisms
from a foreigner may be interpreted as an insult. Do not publicly display signs of anger,
raising your voice or shouting in front of those older or superior to you. Any confrontational
or aggressive behaviour may bring hiya (shame or embarrassment), tarnishing your
reputation. Try not to be offended if your Filipino counterpart makes frank comments about
people’s body shape. Unlike in Australia, it is not considered taboo or rude to make
comments such as, “Oh, you’ve put on weight” or "Do you have a boyfriend/girlfriend?".
Such comments are not intended to be hurtful, invasive or offensive.

Source:
https://culturalatlas.sbs.com.au/filipino-culture/filipino-culture-do-s-and-don-ts#filipino-culture-do-
s-and-don-ts
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Santa Cruz Campus
S.Y. 2020-2021
College of Engineering

GEC 108- ETHICS

“TAXATION: (Justice and Freedom)”

Group 5 Members:
Garin, James Franco

Francisco, Maui John

Garrote, Marvin

Guico, Justin
Taxation (Justice and Fairness)

What is Fairness?

 freedom from prejudice and quality of treating people equally

What is Justice?

 moral application of the law

Attributes:

Blindfolded

Scale

Sword

Snake and book

What is Taxation?

 It is an organized system of raising money to finance the government.

PRINCIPLES OF FAIRNESS and JUSTICE

TAX RATES

- Governments vary the tax rates to distribute the tax burden between individuals or classes of
the population involved in taxable activities.

Established on the principle of ability to pay, a fair share means those earners of the lower-income
bracket should not be taxed as much as those of the high-income bracket.

PRINCIPLES

1. Horizontal Equity

- People in equal positions should pay the same amount of tax.

2. Vertical Equity

- The idea that a tax system should distribute the burden fairly across people with different
abilities to pay.

a) Proportional tax - takes the same percentage of income from all people.

b) Progressive tax - takes a higher percentage of income as income rises

 c) Regressive tax - takes a smaller percentage of income as income rises.

Kinds and Forms of Taxes

 Tax on Purchases

 Tax on Property

 Tax on Wealth

 Tax on Income

Tax on Purchases

 Sales Tax
 is a tax paid to a governing body for the sales of certain goods and services.
 Excise Tax
 Excise taxes are internal taxes that are levied on the sale of specific goods and services, such
as alcohol, fuel and tobacco.

 VAT ( Value-added tax)

 A value-added tax (VAT) is a consumption tax placed on a product whenever value is added
at each stage of the supply chain, from production to the point of sale.

Tax on Property

 Property tax is a tax paid on property owned by an individual or other legal entity

Tax on Wealth (DEATH TAX)

 Estate Tax
 Inheritance Tax

Estate Tax VS Inheritance tax

The estate's liabilities are subtracted from The beneficiaries are liable for paying this tax,
the overall value of the deceased's property although a will sometimes provide that the
to arrive at the net taxable estate. estate should pick up this tab as well.

 Gift Tax
- A gift tax is a federal tax applied to an individual giving anything of value to another
person. 
Income tax

- Income tax is a type of tax that governments impose on income generated by businesses and
individuals within their jurisdiction.

Corporate income tax

- A corporate tax is a levy placed on a firm's profit by the government. The money collected from
corporate taxes is used as a nation's source of income.
- Tax rates increases depends on the income of the corporation.
- The corporate income tax is one of the most controversial types of taxes.

Social Responsibilities and Paying Tax

Corporate Social Responsibility

- Each corporation should carry its fair share in taxation for each fiscal year.

Financial Controller

- Tax guru in a company

- Traditionally responsible purely for financial reporting
- It is becoming partly accountable in meeting the company's net income tax or NIAT.

Tax Evasion

- A failure to pay legally due taxes.

Tax Avoidance

- Happens when tax payers exploits some legally permissible alternative methods of assessing
taxable property or income in order to reduce tax liability.

Global Corporation

- Corporations whose operations are primarily global in scope

Multinational Corporation

- Has a tight, lean headquarter staff.

- It scatters its functions -- Research and development, accounting, procurement and sales.

Source:

http://jmbm.blogspot.com/2016/09/taxation-when-principles-of-fairness.html?m=1
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Santa Cruz Campus
S.Y. 2020-2021
College of Engineering

GEC 108- ETHICS

“MORALITY”

Group 6 Members:
Hutalla, Ricky Jr.

Lopez, Mark Gerard P.

Lucilo, Bryan E.

Malabanan, Jake Erroll J.

 Name Topics

Hutalla, Ricky Jr.  What is Morality?

 Relationship between Morality
and Ethics
 Stages of Moral Development

Lopez, Mark Gerard P.  Approaches to the study of

Morality
 To whom or what does Morality
apply?

Lucilo, Bryan E.  Origin of Morality

 Tradition or Customary and
Reflective Morality

Malabanan, Jake Erroll J.  Morality, Law, and Religion

 Why should human beings be
moral?
 MORALITY

What is morality?

Morality derives from the Latin moralis meaning customs or manners. In general
meaning, morality is principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or
good and bad behavior. In biblical meaning, morality follows the pattern of faith directly,
the "how one is to act" is related to an encounter with God through faith. Moral living is
response to the Logos or Word of God.

What is the difference between Morality and Ethics?

Generally, the terms ethics and morality are used interchangeably,

although a few different communities (academic, legal, or religious, for example)
will occasionally make a distinction. Both morality and ethics loosely have to do with
distinguishing the difference between “good and bad” or “right and wrong.”

Many people think of morality as something that's personal and normative,

whereas ethics is the standards of “good and bad” distinguished by a certain community
or social setting. For example, your local community may think adultery is immoral, and
you personally may agree with that. However, the distinction can be useful if your local
community has no strong feelings about adultery, but you consider adultery immoral on
a personal level. By these definitions of the terms, your morality would contradict the
ethics of your community. In popular discourse, however, we’ll often use the terms
moral and immoral when talking about issues like adultery regardless of whether it’s
being discussed in a personal or in a community-based situation. As you can see, the
distinction can get a bit tricky.

It’s important to consider how the two terms have been used in discourse in
different fields so that we can consider the connotations of both terms. For example,
morality has a Christian connotation to many Westerners, since moral theology is
prominent in the church. Similarly, ethics is the term used in conjunction with business,
medicine, or law. In these cases, ethics serves as a personal code of conduct for people
working in those fields, and the ethics themselves are often highly debated and
contentious. These connotations have helped guide the distinctions between morality
and ethics. Ethicists today, however, use the terms interchangeably. If they do want to
differentiate morality from ethics, the onus is on the ethicist to state the definitions of
both terms. Ultimately, the distinction between the two is as substantial as a line drawn
in the sand.

The Stages of Moral Development

Psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg established his stages of moral development in

1958. This framework has led to current research into moral psychology. Kohlberg's
work addresses the process of how we think of right and wrong and is based on Jean
Piaget's theory of moral judgment for children. His stages include pre-conventional,
conventional, post-conventional, and what we learn in one stage is integrated into the
subsequent stages.

 Pre-Conventional Stage-The pre-conventional stage is driven by obedience

and punishment. This is a child's view of what is right or wrong. Examples of this
thinking: “I hit my brother and I received a time-out.” “How can I avoid
punishment?” “What's in it for me?” 
 Conventional Stage-The conventional stage is when we accept societal views on
rights and wrongs. In this stage people follow rules with a good boy and nice
girl orientation. An example of this thinking: “Do it for me.” This stage also
includes law-and-order morality: “Do your duty.”
 Post-Conventional Stage-The post-conventional stage is more abstract: “Your
right and wrong is not my right and wrong.” This stage goes beyond social norms
and an individual develops his own moral compass, sticking to personal
principles of what is ethical or not.

Approaches to the study of Morality

There are two major approaches to the study of morality:

1. The scientific or descriptive approach emphasizes the observation of human

behavior and the positing of conclusions based on those observations.
Psychologists, for example, have claimed that human beings are basically selfish
 based on observations of conduct. This approach is descriptive in that it is ‘value-
free’ making no judgments about the rightness or wrongness of the behavior.

2. A second approach is more properly philosophical and has two parts.

a. The first part is normative or prescriptive. How should or ought we to act?
b. The second part is metaethical. A metaethicist is committed to the analysis of
the language, concepts reasons and foundational structure of ethical systems.
Thiroux’s text is committed to synthesizing all of these approaches.

Morality in different aspects

Morality may be applied to four areas:

1. Religion. Morality determined by relation between human being and
supernatural being.
2. Nature. Morality determined by relation between human being and nature.
3. Individuality. Morality determined by relation the individual has to him or
herself.
4. Society. Morality determined by relation between human being and society.
Most moral systems involve all four of these areas with one being primary.

Origin of Morality

Morality can be considered as having a subjective or objective origin;

Objective - that is outside of human beings

Subjective - strictly within human beings

Two forms of Morality

We can separate morality into two forms:

1. Customary or traditional morality. Traditional morality refers to the moral

systems handed down through custom from generation to generation. We might
call this static morality
 2. Reflective morality. Reflective morality requires that moral ideas are carefully
examined and tested. Traditional morality can become reflective and dynamic
when those moral ideas that are simply handed down and accepted are
subjected to analysis and criticism.

Morality, Law and Religion.

Morality also overlaps with Law and Religion but shouldn’t be confused with them.

1. Morality and law. Morality and law are not the same although of course they
overlap. Law might be thought of as a public codification of morality for a culture,
although certain laws in that system, or even the system itself, might be deemed
immoral, e.g., apartheid. Law is not a necessary attribute of morality although
morality may well be thought to be a necessary attribute of law.

2. Morality and religion. Is morality dependent upon religion? Can you be moral and
non-religious?

Morality need not be based exclusively on religion for five reasons.

1. Supernatural existence cannot be proven.
2. Non-religious people can be moral.
3. Religious foundation for ethics is difficult to establish.
4. Which religion would be best ethically?
5. How could it be shown that one religion is best?
Therefore, no necessary connection between ethics and religion.

Why should human beings be moral? Why should human beings do what is right?

1. Enlightened self-interest – I will be better off

2. Tradition and law – best to do because some authority says so

3. Shared human needs, goals, desires and objectives

Referrences:

https://www.britannica.com/story/whats-the-difference-between-morality-and-
ethics#:~:text=Both%20morality%20and%20ethics%20loosely,certain%20community
%20or%20social%20setting.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/basics/ethics-and-morality#the-stages-of-moral-
development

https://wps.prenhall.com/wps/media/objects/855/875571/IM_PDF/im_ch01_1.pdf
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Santa Cruz Campus
S.Y. 2020-2021
College of Engineering

GEC 108- ETHICS

“FEELINGS AND REASON”

Group 7 Members:
Matti, Andre Charles

Manaig, Ian Garret

Palasin, John Joseph G.

Plaza, Emmanuel P.
Feeling and Reason

Feelings

 An emotional state or reaction

 A natural instinctive state of mind deriving from one’s circumstances, mood or
relationships with others.

Feelings in ethical decision making:

 Upsurge of feelings is natural and what we do with them is what makes us ethical
or unethical.
 Feelings and intuitions or what we call as “moral emotions” play a major role in
most of the ethical decisions people make.

Two Related Models in Ethics

1. Ethical Subjectivism

It holds the truth or falsity of ethical propositions is dependent on the feelings,

attitudes, or standards of a person or group of feelings.

2. Emotivism

 It is a naive version pf ethical subjectivism. This version says that a moral belief
is true if it is held with sincerity and conviction.
 To say that an act is right, or a person is good, is merely to emote, just to
express emotion.

There are pieces of evidences to support the idea that emotion is also a necessary
component leading to ethical decisions and ethical behavior. The arousal of emotion
influences moral reflection and ultimately moral behavior.

 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.

Feelings cannot be solely relied upon, but feelings and reason may complement each
other. 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.

Reason

One of the classic definition of human being as a species is that Man is a rational
animal. When we say humans are rational animals we don’t mean that every person is
rational all the time in the sense of being logically or objective, because sometimes a
person can make a decision without being reasonable or logical. But what we are
talking about is that man is capable of thinking, and using logic, it’s always there in us.
All of us have this capability that’s why we can say that we are a rational animal.
Because we have the capacity to think we have what we call reason.

One of the definition of reason is that it is a cause, explanation, or justification for

an action or event. So basically it is the basis of why things happen. It is also capacity of
consciously making sense of things, applying logic, when justifying our practices, and
beliefs based on new or existing information.

Factors Affecting/Influencing Reason

 Cognitive bias - a systematic error in thinking that occurs when people are
processing and interpreting information in the world around them and it affects
the decisions and judgments that they make.
 Age – the more knowledge we have the more we can think objectively and
logically. Let’s say for example since we are already in college we can say that
we might have a greater knowledge than those who are younger than us which is
those who are in primary school or even high school. We can also say that older
people that have more experience to various things in life, making them more
 mature and that makes them think more objectively than those younger than
them. So that’s why it can affect reason.
 Beliefs - An acceptance that something exists or is true, especially even one
without proof. This almost the same as cognitive bias. Sometimes we are incline
to focus more on the information that supported our point of view
 Feelings - an emotional state or reaction. I think we can’t separate reason to
feelings, I believe a person can’t purely be rational, our feelings always affect our
way of thinking. But I think it should be balance, our feelings and being rational
should be balance. Let’s say when our feelings and emotions is greater than our
capabilities to think more rational we tend to become impulsive, sometimes we
don’t look for facts before we act and that results to being irrational, but when you
balance being rational to your feelings I think it can help us think morally and
ethically and it make us more humane in our reasons and decisions. So I think
when we balance our feelings or our heart to our mind we can make the best
decisions.

Ethical Reasoning and Impartiality

Ethical Reasoning

Ethical reasoning involves respecting other individuals and their rights,

and making informed choices that benefit other individuals, society as a whole,
and the environment, in a manner that requires the individual to be aware of and
process the principles of right and wrong as they relate to human conduct.
Individuals demonstrate personal and social responsibility by being dependable
and accountable, while being sensitive and responsive to the well-being of others
and aware of the possible consequences of their actions.

Roles of Ethical Reasoning in our life:

 Highlighting acts that enhance the well-being of other people.
 Highlighting acts that harm the well-being of other people.
When an act enhances the well-being of others, it is worthy of praise from others,
when an act harms or decreases the well-being of others, it is worthy of criticism.
For many people, the desire to receive these responses from others guides the
development of their personal set of ethical standards.

Approaches to Ethical Reasoning:

 Utilitarian- is a theory of morality, which advocates actions that foster
happiness or pleasure and opposes actions that cause unhappiness or
harm.
 Egoism- is the normative ethical position that moral agents ought to act in
their own self-interest.
 Deontology- is the normative ethical theory that the morality of an action
should be based on whether that action itself is right or wrong under a
series of rules, rather than based on the consequences of the action.
 Relativism- is the belief that there’s no absolute truth, only the truths that
a particular individualor culture happen to believe.
 Justice- involves the application of fairness to individuals in population
groups or communities.
Impartiality
Impartiality can be described as the principle that decisions ought to be
based on objective criteria, rather than on the basis of bias, prejudice, or
preferring to benefit one person over another for improper reasons.

Ethical/Moral Impartiality

The plausibility of identifying the moral point of view with the impartial point of
view, or of defining morality in terms of an impartial observer, presumably lies in
the thought that such views capture the idea that morally speaking, every person
is equally important. Whatever such conceptions may get wrong, then, one thing
they seem to get right is the idea that there is a close and important connection
between moral impartiality and equality.
 Consequentialist moral theories and Impartiality - Consequentialist moral
theories hold that moral evaluations and justifications must ultimately be
 grounded in the value of the consequences of the actions, rules, policies,
strategies, character traits, etc. that are being evaluated
 Deontological moral theories and Impartiality - Many deontologists insist
that consequentialism errs by failing to accord proper significance to the
moral agent as an individual. Deontology is a theory that suggests actions
are good or bad according to a clear set of rules. Its name comes from the
Greek word deon, meaning duty. Actions that obey these rules are ethical,
while actions that do not, are not.

DECISION MAKING

Decision making is the process of making choices by identifying a decision,

gathering information, and assessing alternative resolutions. Using a step-by-
step decision-making process can help you make more deliberate,
thoughtful decisions by organizing relevant information and defining alternatives.

STEPS IN ETHICAL DECISION MAKING

 Define the ethical issues

 Identify the affected parties
 Identify the consequences
 Identify the obligations (principles, rights, justice)
 Consider your character and integrity
 Think creatively about potential actions
 Check your gut
 Decide on the proper ethical action and be prepared to deal with opposing
arguments.

Meanings

DEFINE THE ETHICAL ISSUES

Don’t jump to solutions without first identifying the ethical issue(s) in the situation.
There may be multiple ethical issues – focus on one major one at a time.
Define the ethical basis for the issue you want to focus on.
IDENTIFY THE AFFECTED PARTIES

Try to see things through the eyes of those individuals affected

IDENTIFY THE CONSEQUENCES

Think about potential positive and negative consequences for affected parties by
the decision. Consider what your decision would be based only on consequences
– then move on and see if it is similar given other considerations.

IDENTIFY THE OBLIGATIONS

Obligations should be thought of in terms of principles and rights involved

Formulate the appropriate decision or action based solely on the above analysis
of these obligations.

CONSIDER YOUR CHARACTER AND INTEGRITY

Consider what your relevant community members would consider to be the kind
of decision that an individual of integrity would make in this situation.
What specific virtues are relevant in the situation?
Think about how your decision will be remembered when you are gone.

THINK CREATIVELY ABOUT POTENTIAL ACTIONS

Be sure you have not been unnecessarily forced into a corner

If you have come up with solutions “a” and “b,” try to brainstorm and come up
with a “c” solution that might satisfy the interests of the primary parties involved in
the situation

CHECK YOUR GUT

Even though the prior steps have argued for a highly rational process, it is always
good to “check your gut.” Intuition is gaining credibility as a source for good
decision making – knowing something is not “right.” Particularly relevant if you
have a lot of experience in the area – expert decision-making
DECIDE ON THE PROPER ETHICAL ACTION AND BE PREPARED TO DEAL WITH
OPPOSING ARGUMENTS

Consider potential actions based on the consequences, obligations, and

character approaches. How can you protect the rights of those involved (or your
own character) while still maximizing the overall good for all of the stakeholders?
What arguments are most compelling to you to justify the action ethically? How
will you respond to those with opposing viewpoints?
 Laguna State Polytechnic University
Santa Cruz Campus
S.Y. 2020-2021
College of Engineering

GEC 108- ETHICS

“DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WILL AND REASON,
MORAL THEORIES AND MENTAL FRAME”

Group 8 Members:
Patawe, Limbert

Quindoy, Mariefe L.

Ramos, Kathleen Honey D.

 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WILL AND REASON

Will

- used to express futurity

- used to express desire, choice, willingness, consent, or in negative constructions

refusal

- used to express a command, exhortation, or injunction

- used to express frequent, customary, or habitual action or natural tendency or

disposition

- used to express inevitability

- used to express determination, insistence, persistence, or willfulness

- used to express capability or sufficiency

Reason

- a statement offered in explanation or justification

- a rational ground or motive

- a sufficient ground of explanation or of logical defense

- the faculty or process of drawing logical inferences.

- is the capacity of consciously making sense of things, applying logic, and adapting or

justifying practices, institutions, and beliefs based on new or existing information.

Will

Will, generally, is the faculty of the mind that selects, at the moment of decision, a
desire among the various desires present; it itself does not refer to any particular desire,
but rather to the mechanism responsible for choosing from among one's desires. Within
philosophy, will is important as one of the parts of the mind, along with reason and
understanding. It is considered central to the field of ethics because of its role in
enabling deliberate action.
Why the will is as important as reason in ethics?
Within philosophy, will is important as one of the parts of the mind, along
with reason and understanding. It is considered central to the field of ethics because of
its role in enabling deliberate action.

Kant's theory of the will

- Immanuel Kant's theory of the will consists of the will being guided subjectively by
maxims and objectively via laws. The former, maxims, are precepts of what is
considered pleasurable, displeasurable, or neither.

- On the other hand, laws are objective, apprehended a priori—prior to experience.

In other words, Kant's belief in the a priori proposes that the will is subject to a before-
experience practical law—this is, according to Kant in the Critique of Practical Reason,
when the law is seen as "valid for the will of every rational being", which is also termed
as "universal laws".

- We can divide the world into beings with reason and will like ourselves and things
that lack those faculties. ... Moral actions, for Kant, are actions where reason leads,
rather than follows, and actions where we must take other beings that act according to
their own conception of the law into account.

Reason

- Reason is the general human capacity for resolving, through reflection, the
question of what one is to do

- Practical reason defines a distinctive standpoint of reflection. When agents

deliberate about action, they think about themselves and their situation in characteristic
ways. What are some of the salient features of the practical point of view?

- Theoretical reasoning, understood along these lines, finds paradigmatic

expression in the natural and social sciences.

Theoretical Reason
 Theoretical reason, interpreted along these lines, addresses the considerations that
recommend accepting particular claims as to what is or is not the case. That is, it
involves reflection with an eye to the truth of propositions, and the reasons for belief in
which it deals are considerations that speak in favor of such propositions’ being true, or
worthy of acceptance.

Practical Reason

Practical reason, by contrast, is concerned not with the truth of propositions but with
the desirability or value of actions. The reasons in which it deals are considerations that
speak in favor of particular actions being good, or worthy of performance in some way.

Reason and Will can generally be consider as standing in an antithetical

relationship

This fact originates from different historical development of the ff.

Nature law – Reason

Legal Positivist Theories – Will

Brief history ( Juridicum by Ronald Dworkin and Joseph Raz)

- Ancient Greek history in sixteenth and seventeenth Century

- Nature law this is mean the Nature of Morality not the Nature law

- Nature law Consisted of set of rules to steered the behavior of man

Base on the two philosopher

1 Legal positivist theories have historically been considered originating from the free will
of the human being. This means that if the law is made by man the law is valid even if
totally lacking any kind of reason or morals.

2 Here we can see two contraposed concepts of law. Natural law (and reason) is the
first concept and legal positivism (and free will) is the second concept of law. In this
discussion will follow on those factors throughout history that have determined the
emergence of such contraposed concepts as reason and will. The discussion will have
its basis in certain theories related to the tradition of natural law and in certain theories
related to the tradition of legal positivism.

Difference between will and reason

The will is guided by reason, where, as determined by reason, action is performed

according to rational requirements, or laws of reason. ... Reason has, in other words,
the capacity to direct action. Further, where the will is guided by reason, it is free.

SUMMARY OF DIFFENCE IN WILL AND REASON

As to what I have understood, having a will is basically having freedom. Each
individual has their own freedom: Freedom to communicate, freedom to pursue each
one’s dream, freedom to live each life on how they wish it to be. An individual has their
own soul; hence, they are responsible for every decision they have in their life.

Now this is where reason kicks in. Reason is more or less the ‘purpose’ of an
individual in their life. Either it be long term or short term, a reason is something than
every single living being seek for every single day. A reason can change from time to
time. Every single one with their own free will is looking for a reason to live. Although
there is a bigger chance that a person will not achieve all the desired results in his
hands. They still hold on to that ‘reason’ or purpose on why they decided to do such
things.
 As a summary to the comparison, all individual has their own free will. If an
individual has a free will, then he will continuously find a reason on how to use his will
and freedom. An individual needs a will (freedom) in order to move. A reason on the
other hand is the end goal or the purpose of every individual who has a will.

MORAL THEORY

- It Identifies the essence of rightness.

- It provides us with very general forms or standards, that can make help us make
sense of our moral experiences, judgement and principles.

- explains why a certain action is wrong -- or why we ought to act in certain ways

 ETHICAL SUBJECTIVISM
 CULTURAL RELATIVISM
 ETHICAL EGOISM
 DIVINE COMMAND THEORY
 VIRTUE ETHICS
 KANTIAN THEORY
 UTILITARIANISM

ETHICAL SUBJECTIVISM

- What is right and wrong vary from individual to individual; there is no independent,
objective morality.

CULTURAL RELATIVISM

- we recognize that morality differs in every society, and is a convinient term for
socially approved habits

ETHICAL EGOISM
 - It is the normative ethical position that moral agents ought to act in their own self-
interest.

DIVINE COMMAND THEORY

- Is the view that morality is somehow dependent upon God, and that moral
obligation consists in obedience to God's commands.

VIRTUE ETHICS

- Right and wrong are characterized in terms of acting in accordance with the
traditional virtues.

KANTIAN THEORY

- The rightness or wrongness of actions does not depend on their consequences

but on whether they fulfill our duty.

UTILITARIANISM

- An action is right if it tends to promote happiness and wrong if it tends to produce

sadness, or the reverse of happiness—not just the happiness of the actor but that of
everyone affected by it. 

MENTAL FRAMES

- Mental frame is a frame through which we view the world. We attend to what is
inside our frame, oblivious sometimes to what occurs inside our frames, which can lead
to dangerous blind spots.

- Frames can be useful insofar as the direct our attention toward the information we
seek. But they can also constrict our peripheral vision, keeping us from noticing
important and perhaps, opportunities. Once liberating, mental models can become
shackles.
Framing Bias/effect

- Blanking all parts of the universe that

are outside the frame. Framing becomes
easily a damaging mental bias, which
distorts the perception and analysis of an
issue and whole decision-making process.

Framing Bias

- The framing bias gives a selective (framed) and simplistic picture of reality. This
leads to flawed decisions with unwanted effects. This has some relation with heuristic:

- Representativeness Heuristic in which we take simplified stereotypes as models,

and;

- Availability heuristics such as our first perception/ interpretation of things, or the

memory of a recent event or data seen as similar, but often unrelated or irrelevant, that
jumps into the mind.

Cognitive Bias

- Cognitive bias where people decide on options based on whether the options are
presented with positive or negative connotations; e.g. as a loss or as a gain. People
tend to avoid risk when a positive frame is presented but seek risks when a negative
frame is presented.

- Is the principle that our choices are influenced by the way they are framed through
different wordings, settings, and situations.

Some of these biases are related to memory.

 - The way you remember an event may be biased for a number of reasons and that,
in turn, can lead to biased thinking and decision-making.

Other cognitive biases might be related to problems with attention.

- Since attention is a limited resource, people have to be selective about what they
pay attention to in the world around them.

Types of Congnitive Biases

Actor-observer bias: This is the tendency to attribute your own actions to external
causes while attributing other people's behaviors to internal causes.

Anchoring bias: This is the tendency to rely too heavily on the very first piece of
information you learn.

Attentional bias: This is the tendency to pay attention to some things while
simultaneously ignoring others.

Confirmation bias: This is favoring information that conforms to your existing

beliefs and discounting evidence that does not conform.

False consensus effect: This is the tendency to overestimate how much other
people agree with you.

Functional fixedness: This is the tendency to see objects as only working in a

particular way.

Halo effect: Your overall impression of a person influences how you feel and think
about their character. This especially applies to physical attractiveness influencing how
you rate their other qualities.

Misinformation effect: This is the tendency for post-event information to interfere

with the memory of the original event. It is easy to have your memory influenced by
what you hear about the event from others. Knowledge of this effect has led to a
mistrust of eyewitness information.
 Optimism bias: This bias leads you to believe that you are less likely to suffer from
misfortune and more likely to attain success than your peers.

Self-serving bias: This is the tendency to blame external forces when bad things
happen and give yourself credit when good things happen.

The Dunning-Kruger effect: This is when people who believe that they are smarter
and more capable than they really are. For example, when they can't recognize their
own incompetence.
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Santa Cruz Campus
S.Y. 2020-2021
College of Engineering

GEC 108- ETHICS

“KANT AND RIGHTS THEORY”

Group 9 Members:
Revilla, Erika A. 
Salvador III, Antonio E.
Sarmiento, Mary Grace C.
Soriano, Deejay C.
 KANT AND RIGHTS THEORY
 
A. KANTIAN ETHICS
 
Immanuel Kant
• Immanuel Kant is a German thinker and regarded by many as the most
significant philosopher in the modern era. His major contributions to ethics can
be found in his two major works entitled “The Foundation of the Metaphysics
of Morals” and “The Critique of Practical Reason”.
 
Kantian Ethics
• Kant categorically rejects that ethical judgments are based on feelings. For
him, feelings even serve as obstruction to our discernment from right and
wrong. His ethical theory instead bases moral judgments on reason alone,
 
Kantian Ethics
1. Good Will 
• Kant believes that when we wish to determine the moral status of an action, we
consult reason. An act either accords with reason or it does not. If it accords
with reason, we must do it, if not, we must avoid it. 
 
2. Maxim 
• Maxim is a general rule or principle which serves as a guide to action. 
 
Two Classes of Maxim
1. Hypothetical Imperative 
• Hypothetical Imperative is a rule for obtaining some desire ends.
 
 2. Categorical Imperative
• Categorical Imperative commands a person to act in a particular ways
regardless of what goals one looks for or what one’s ends may be.
 
B. ANALYSIS OF KANTIAN ETHICS
 
• Sensible and plausible - many have said that ethical system of Immanuel
Kant was sensible and plausible because if this kind of behavior was applied
universally people will be emotionally strong and could easily cope up on this
cruel world. However, golden rule “Do unto others what you want others do
unto you” was also applicable on Kant’s system and that situation that we
choose others to experience might get back to us one day. 
 
• Lack of solution to instances - there is a conflict of duties, for example, a
person promise to keep a secret, and then another person ask him about it.
He cannot tell the truth without making his promise. But Kantian ethics
inflexibly demands that he ought to do both always, and in all circumstances,
which in this case is logically impossible. 
 
• Inconsistent - because Kant completely disregarded the consequences of
moral evaluation of actions. Not all situations have the consequences that are
easy to deal with.
 
 
C. RIGHTS THEORY
 
Rights Theory
 
 In law, Immanuel Kant proposed the principle of rights. He saw a
distinctive correlation, yet difference between the intent of the law and the
enforcement of the law.
 
For Kant:
The principle of rights theory is the notion that in order for a society to be
efficacious “government must approach the making and enforcement of laws
with the right intentions in respect to the end goals of the society that it
governs. Members of society agree to give up some freedoms for the
protection enjoyed by organized society, but government cannot infringe upon
the rights that citizens have been promised.”
 
Right based ethics - is a broad moral in which Kant’s principle of theory is
included. The concept of right based ethics is that “there are some rights,
both positive and negative, that all humans have based only on the fact that
they are human”

Positive vs. Negative

Positive Rights – is a right to be subjected to an action of another
person or group; positive rights permits or oblige action.
Example: The right to jury trial
 
Negative Rights -is a right not to be subjected to an action of another
person or group; negative rights permits or oblige inaction.
Example: The right to express ideas or opinions with freedom as an
individual
 
These rights can be classified as:
 Natural rights - are those that are moral.
Example: The right to liberty
 
Conventional rights - are those created by humans and reflect society
values.
Example: The right to not be tortured
 
 
• The United States is said to be founded upon a Right Based Ethics
System in which citizens are held to have certain unalienable rights. 
 
• John Locke is one of the main supporters of this  systemwhich takes the
viewpoint of what the ideal  world looks like and  generates a right system
based upon those ideas.
 
• The Bill of Rights of the United States of America is a document that
characterizes the type of of rights that are embraced by Rights based ethical
Systems.
 
• The Universal Declarations of Human Rights also upholds and manifest the
values of a Rights Based Ethical System.
 
• Some ethical theorist define the term right “as a justified claim that individuals
and groups can make upon other individuals or upon a society, to have a right
is to be in a position to determine by one’s choices, what others should do or
need to do”
 
 
D. LEGAL RIGHTS VS. MORAL RIGHTS
 
Legal rights – denotes all the rights found within existing legal codes. As
such, they enjoy the recognition and protection of the law. Questions as
to their existence can be resolved by just locating the pertinent legal
instrument or piece of legislation.
Example: Article V of the 1987 Constitution has the heading Suffrage
which pertains to voting rights.
 
Moral rights – are rights that “exist prior to and independently from their
legal counterparts.” The existence and validity of a moral right is not
deemed to be dependent upon the actions of jurist and legislators. 
Example: The rights not to be discriminated against on grounds of color
and rights to political participation in apartheid South Africa.
 
“What is legal is not always moral. And sometimes what is moral is not
necessarily legal in a particular country”
 
Not  Moral but Legal
Example: Smoking Cigarettes in Public
 
Not  Legal but  Moral
Example: When a child is hungry and he stole a loaf of bread from the
shop.
 
• It must be clear, therefore that human rights cannot be reduced to, or
exclusively identified with legal rights. In fact, some human rights are best
identified as moral rights. Human rights are meant to apply to all human
 beings universally, regardless of whether or not they have attained legal
recognition by all countries everywhere.
 
 
UTILITARIANISM
 
A. UTILITARIANISM EXPLAINED
 
Utilitarianism explained
 
• Utilitarianism is known as a consequentialist theory, a subclass of teleological
moral theory.
• Perhaps the most prominent moral philosophy in the last two centuries
• A teleological ethical system judges the rightness of an act in terms of an
external goal or purpose.
• “It is a theory of normative ethics that asks if a specificaction is good
or bad? Moral or immoral. “
• “GOOD is the existence of pleasure and the absence of pain” – Utility
• Something is good if it does more good than harm for a lot of people.
• Moral = increases the amount of happiness of people in the world.
 
Consequentialist ethics
• “It proposes that actions, rules or policies should be ethically measured and
evaluated by their consequences, not by the intentions or motives of the
agent.”
 
Absolutists
• Believe in a natural law or in natural rights which render some acts- those
which violate those rights or conflict with that law as immoral, no matter what
their outcomes are.
• While Consequentialists on the other hand believes that there is no class of
actions which must be ruled out in advance independent of their
consequences.
 
Utilitarianism
• Utilitarianism is the most influential consequentialist theory.
• Derived from the Latin term “Utilis which means useful”.
• Utilitarianism basically states that what is useful is good, and that the
moral values of actions are determined by the utility of its consequences.
 
The principle of utility can be applied to either particular actions or
general rules. The former is usually called ‘act utilitarianism’ and the
latter, ‘rule utilitarianism’.
 
Rule Utilitarianism
• The Principle of Rule Utilitarianism is used to decide the validity of rules of
conduct. 
• A moral rule such as promise keeping is established by evaluating the
consequences of a world in which people broke promise at will and a world in
which promises were binding
Act Utilitarianism
• The principle of utility is applied directly to every alternative act in a situation of
choice.
• The right act is then defined as the one that brings about the best results, or
the least amount of bad results.
B. ORIGINS AND NATURE OF THE THEORY
 
Origins and nature of the theory
 
• Jeremy Bentham - Bentham’s Utilitarianism
• John Stuart Mill - Mill’s Utilitarianism
 
Bentham’s Utilitarianism
• Bentham explains that utility means that property in any object, whereby it
tends to produce benefit, advantage, pleasure, good or happiness or to
prevent the happening of mischief, pain, evil or unhappiness.
• Bentham created a detailed method, the ‘Hedonic Calculus or Felicific
Calculus’ to calculate the quantitative worth of pleasures. 
• The method has 7 criteria or an ingredient that allows one to quantify the
amount of pleasure or pain an action brings about.
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
Mill’s Utilitarianism
• John Stuart mill is the most famous proponent of Utilitarianism after Bentham.
• Made the doctrine the subject of his philosophical treatise (Utilitarianism)
published in 1863
• Like Bentham, He advocates the ‘Greatest Happiness Principle’ which states
that it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of
right or wrong.
• He Differs from Bentham
• Mill rejects the purely quantitative treatment of the principle of Utility.
• He Introduces the so-called secondary Principles
• He Believes that past experiences teach us which kind of action promote
happiness and which do not.
• Secondary principles serve as practical rules, giving knowledge about the
tendencies of actions when no better information is available.
- “It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be
Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied.”
- “Happiness and Unhappiness are the basis of good and evil.”
 
C. AN ANALYSIS OF UTILITARIANISM
 
Comparing it to Kantian Ethics
1. Utilitarianism is a direct negative reaction of Kantian Ethics
2. Kant is based on motive.
3. Utilitarianism is based on the consequence
 
As a moral theory, utilitarianism is attractive because:
1. It matches the views we tend to hold.
2. Anchored in pain and pleasure concept.
3. Simulate cause and effect.
 
• Utilitarianism also allows for exception to the rule if justified by the
consequence. Take the case of lying to protect another from sure danger.
- For Kant this is transgressing.
 
The theory nonetheless receives criticisms.
1. It is not easy to foresee with certainty the consequences of an action.
2. Demands to perform computation.
 
• Moreover, utilitarianisms principle that the total number of outcomes should be
considered before an act can be declared right or wrong is problematic.
• If we take account only the immediate amount of pain and pleasure we may be
misguided.
• If we can determine the rightness or wrongness, we have to wait considerably
long.
• By giving moral importance exclusively to the consequences of an action, it
may also bring about complication.
 
D. BUSINESS FASCINATION WITH UTILITARIANISM
 
• Utilitarianism basically teaches people that a decision regarding business
conduct is good if and only if that decision generates the greatest good for the
greatest number of people.
• Good is defined as the net benefits.
• Moral Choices must be evaluated by calculating the net benefits.
• One good example is a pharmaceutical company.
• Business executives normally embrace this approach.
 Laguna State Polytechnic University
Santa Cruz Campus
S.Y. 2020-2021
College of Engineering

GEC 108- ETHICS

“GLOBALIZATION AND ITS ETHICAL CHANGE”

Group 10 Members:
Umali, Maika S.
Vitalicea, Micaela A.
Vivas, Eunice E.
NATURE OF GLOBALIZATION

"The planet we live in, is now an incredible shrinking planet." - Alex Macgillivray (2006)

WHAT IS GLOBALIZATION

1. Globalization means the speedup of movements and exchanges (of human beings,
goods, and services, capital, technologies or cultural practices) all over the planet.
2. The process by which businesses or other organizations develop international influence
or start operating on an international scale.
3. Globalization is the process of interaction and integration among people, companies,
and governments worldwide.

Business Ethics (also Corporate Ethics)

 A form of applied ethics or professional ethics that examines ethical principles and moral
or ethical problems that arise in a business environment.
 Applies to all aspects of business conduct and is relevant to the conduct of individuals
and entire organizations.
 Aims at inculcating a sense of value orientation within company's employee as to how to
conduct business responsibly.

GLOBALIZATION ACCORDING TO EXPERTS

1. According to Banaag, et., al (2016), “Globalization is the process of socio-cultural and

economic integration and standardization through the breakdown of national barriers and
increased interdependency in the global setting.”
2. According to Dr. Vincent Cable, 1999, Chatman House, London. He essentially refers to
a mixture of international and multinational offshore and global activities and involves a
general progression from the domestic to the global.
3. According to Shariffm, Ismael, “Global Economic Integration,” 2003. Globalization is the
worldwide process of homogenizing prices, products, wages, rates of interests and
 profits.

Based on the statement of Shariffm, Ismael, it relies on three (3) forces for development:

1. The role of human migration.

2. International trade.
3. Rapid movements of capital and integration of financial markets.

FIVE CONCEPTIONS OF GLOBALIZATION

1. Internationalization - a corporate strategy that makes the manufacturers' products as

adaptable as possible, so they can easily enter the national markets.
2. Liberalization - free trade and borderless; nations are reducing their restrictions and
regulations in their economies.
3. Universalization - the process of worldwide spread of culture, ideas, objects and
experiences.
4. Modernization - less developed countries try to acquire the characteristics of western
industrialized societies
5. Deterritorialization - the expansion of interaction and relationship not tied to or
dependent on particular localities

PROCESS OF GLOBALIZATION

Globalization, according to sociologists, is an ongoing process that involves

interconnected changes in the economic, cultural, social, and political spheres of society. As a
process, it involves the ever-increasing integration of these aspects between nations, regions,
communities, and even seemingly isolated places.

1. Advancement and spread of technology is a vehicle to globalization. Here are some

examples of globalization, brought to us by the gift of technology:
Before we can’t easily access information because we rely on books and other
readable materials but as the time passes by through the help of technology the Internet
is a major contributor to globalization, not only technologically but in other areas as well,
like the cultural exchanges of art. Consider how we can enroll in online educational
programs from anywhere in the world and access new information on virtually any topic.
 Gadgets such as cellphones and laptops that are commonly useful right now to our
online education and connect people all over the world like never before. There are a
multitude of platforms through which people can communicate too, including Facebook
Messenger, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Snapchat.

2. In general, companies go international because they want to grow or expand operations.

The benefits of entering international markets include generating more revenue,
competing for new sales, investment opportunities, diversifying, reducing costs and
recruiting new talent. One of the biggest advantages of international expansion is
increase in business growth. Entering overseas markets allows faster growth for
businesses. By extending the businesses global footprint, new audiences experience
your product or service. This could lead to further expansions
3. Capital flows between countries can yield significant benefits. They allow investors to
diversify their risks and increase returns, and they allow residents of recipient countries
to finance rapid rates of investment and economic growth, as well as to increase
consumption.
4. Increased migration is one of the most visible and significant aspects of globalization:
growing numbers of people move within countries and across borders, looking for better
employment opportunities and better lifestyles. Although migration is usually seen as
problematic, it contributes to sustainable development. Then, tourism is one of the most
important areas that globalization affects. Even could be said that the tourism is
established with globalization and its rapid growth support the globalization. Besides it
provide to meet different cultures. Also important changes and fast development can be
observed in countries which aim to support the tourist demands and needs.
5. It can increase interaction because increased communication between peoples through
various forms and channels of media especially via the internet are now brought by
technology. Before we can communicate or interact with others through mails or letters.
Due to globalization there are technological advancement that are develop and improved
our communication and interaction easier and more effective.

TYPES OF GLOBALIZATION

1. Financial globalization is an aggregate concept that refers to increasing global linkages

created through cross- border financial flows.
 2. Economic globalization refers to the increasing interdependence of world economies as
a result of the growing scale of cross-border trade of commodities and services, flow of
international capital and wide and rapid spread of technologies.
3. Technology is the vital force in the modern form of business globalization. Technology
has helped us in overcoming the major hurdles of globalization and international trade
such as trade barrier, lack of common ethical standard, transportation cost and delay in
information exchange, thereby changing the market place. Technology is the physical
and organizational enabler; without appropriate technology, there would be no
globalization because it is through technology that we extend social control across the
dimensions of space and time.
4. Political globalization refers to the growth of the worldwide political system, both in size
and complexity. That system includes national governments, their governmental and
intergovernmental organizations as well as government-independent elements of global
civil society such as international non-governmental organizations and social movement
organizations.
5. Cultural globalization refers to the transmission of ideas, meanings, and values around
the world in such a way as to extend and intensify social relations. This process is
marked by the common consumption of cultures that have been diffused by the Internet,
popular culture media, and international travel.
6. Sociological globalization where information moves almost in real-time, together with the
interconnection and interdependence of events and their consequences. People move
all the time too, mixing and integrating different societies.
7. Ecological globalization is the accounts for the idea of considering planet Earth as a
single global entity – a common good all societies should protect since the weather
affects everyone and we are all protected by the same atmosphere. To this regard, it is
often said that the poorest countries that have been polluting the least will suffer the
most from climate change.
8. Geographic globalization is the new organization and hierarchy of different regions of the
world that is constantly changing. Moreover, with transportation and flying made so easy
and affordable, apart from a few countries with demanding visas, it is possible to travel
the world without barely any restrictions.

IMPACTS OF GLOBALIZATION

POSITIVE IMPACTS
1. The share and transfer of technological know-how and best practices of multinational
companies to the local industry. Technological progress is a key driver of improvements
in incomes and standards of living. Therefore, the way technology spreads across
countries is central to how global growth is generated and shared across countries.
2. The opportunities presented to the local labor market and industry to penetrate foreign
markets and have their share in it. It allows companies to find lower-cost ways to
produce their products. It also increases global competition, which drives prices down
and creates a larger variety of choices for consumers. Lowered costs help people in both
developing and already-developed countries live better on less money.
3. The intensive competition drives countries to level-up their competitive advantage and
strengthen its economic structural base. Competition can be related to product and
service cost and price, target market, technological adaptation, quick response, quick
production by companies etc. When a company produces with less cost and sells
cheaper, it is able to increase its market share.
4. The free-flow of resources that are made available and accessible through free trade
and merging economies. It increasingly free flow of ideas, people, goods and services.
5. The interconnectivity and close partnership brought about by institutional linkages, and
facilitated by the communication and transportation network brought by technological
advancement.

NEGATIVE IMPACTS
1. The damaged culture caused by forced reorientation and adoption of international
standards and incompatible foreign cultural practices. The globalization of technology
destroys local culture and making the world more similar. This is also known as cultural
unification. Globalization also brings new values that are not dear to us. Apart from all
the benefits globalization has had on allowing cultural exchanges it also homogenized
the world’s cultures. Now many cultures are able to interact with each other which cause
the individuality of that culture to fade.
2. The expanding corporate empire, international financial institutions hold governments
and people of poor countries hostage to secure concessions. Global terrorism can stem
from the adverse effects of globalization, imbalance of power, disparity of players, and
power vacuum. Failed states, separatist minorities and radicals use terrorism as warfare
in order to counterbalance the power gap or to consolidate their authority.
 3. The fact that there are winners and losers in the globalization setting as not all societies
equally benefit in the arrangements of unequal playing fields.
4. The gap between the rich and the poor has widened due to capitalist exploitation over
cheap labor and price manipulation.
5. The consequences of open borders are prone to laundering, drug trafficking, sex
trafficking, human trafficking (illegal immigrants), etc.

WHAT IS THE EFFECT OF ETHICS IN THE ECONOMY?

1. Ethics create credibility with the public. A business that is ethically good will attract more
customers/investors. They will be respected even though a person barely knows them.
Public's feedback will surely affect the business.
2. Ethics give management credibility with employees.
a. If you work for a company that has a good background, it will also reflect on you as
an employee. Values are supported to be a common language to bring leadership
and its people together.
3. Ethics help better decision making.
a. An ethical attitude helps the management make better decisions. Even though it
takes them longer because respect for ethics will force the management to consider
various aspects like economic, social and ethical.
4. Ethics and profits
a. A company that is inspired by ethical conduct is also a profitable one. And because a
company that is ethically good will attract more customers.
5. Law cannot protect the society, ethics can.
a. People in an industry often know the dangers in a particular technology better than
the regulatory board so it is up to the ethics of those people who are in charge to be
ethical.

THE MORAL DILEMMAS OF GLOBALIZATION

1. Labor Standards
a. Child Labor is one of the biggest problems in the world and it is still rampant in most
developing countries because big organizations chose to outsource their workforce
 because it is low cost. Work safety is also a problem because other countries don't
even treat their workers right.
2. Environment Standard
a. As the technology progresses, problems also arises. The abused of using the natural
resources that it started to be rare, especially in society with poor environmental
regulations. Some emerging countries even chose to lower their environmental
standards just to attract foreign investors.
3. Human Rights
a. Corporations sometimes face dilemmas linked to operations in countries with
governments accused of violating human rights. For example is Google and their
agreement with China to censor words like Tiananmen Square and Dalai Lama.
4. Cultural Diversity
a. Principles of international law hold that corporations ought to respect the customs
and culture of the communities where they operate. Even though it is against their
belief, corporations still need to follow the laws of the country where they are
operating and follow their culture.
5. Corruption
a. Corruption became more rampant as the globalization started. Bribing low-level
bureaucrat became normal.

RESPONSES FOR THE MORAL DILEMMAS OF GLOBALIZATION

 Government's Response
The response of governments to the new scenario of international business was
an attempt to manage the globalization process by creating transnational norms for
corporations. In general, these initiatives only achieved limited results because nobody
exists with transnational political authority and enforcement capability. The difficulty of
finding common intercultural values and the pressures of special interests to keep global
economy free of regulation also affected the efficacy of government initiatives to
influence corporate behavior.
Civil Society's Response
Global civil society actors have had some success in enforcing sanctions on companies
engaging in unethical behavior, mostly through activism against abusive practices. Soft
 law influences corporate behavior, not through legal sanctions, but through awareness
campaigns and boycotts.

 Corporations' Response
While philanthropy and charity were always present in the business world, the
idea that corporations have a moral obligation toward stakeholders beyond shareholders
is quite recent. Corporate leaders began paying attention to corporate citizenship in the
late 1990s, following waves of anti-globalization protests.
The main response of corporations to the moral challenges of globalization has been the
development of global codes of ethics. The majority of individual company codes and
industry-wide standards emerged after the mid-1970s.

A MULTINATIONAL HAS FOUR TYPES OF GLOBAL RESPONSIBILITIES TOWARD THEIR

STAKEHOLDERS

 First, to generate economic performance. Companies are expected to produce goods

and services on a global scale and to sell them globally for a profit.
 Second, they have the responsibility of following the law in countries where they operate.
 Third, when the law is not appropriate to guide the ethical behavior, the corporation has
an obligation to do what is right. Ethical responsibilities include practices and activities
that are expected or prohibited in a society, but are not codified in the law: rules,
standards and expectations of what employees, customers, shareholders and the global
community regard as fair, equitable and consistent with the protection of stakeholders’
moral rights.
 Fourth, corporations have a philanthropic responsibility that reflects a society’s
expectation about the involvement of companies in activities that are not required by the
law nor generally.