Introduction

What is Morality?
 It is a system of beliefs about what is right
behavior and wrong behavior (Rubin, 2015).
 Morality deals with how a person relates

with others and with the world to promote

what is good (Thiroux and Krasemann,
2009).
 Is the effort to guide ones conduct by reason

(Rachels, 2015).
 This lesson will address the
following questions:
 What are moral standards?
 How do moral standards differ from other rules in
life?
 What is moral dillema?

 Why is freedom crucial in our ability to make

moral decisions?
 What is the advantage of owning moral standards
over merely abiding by moral standards?
Diagnostic Exercise

1. What is ethics?
2. What is morality?
3. Why are rules important to people?
 Lesson 1: Why Do You
Need to Study Ethics and
the Importance of Rules?
What is moral experience?
It is any encounter wherein a person
understands that the values he or she
believes to be important are either
realized or thwarted (Hunt and
Carnevale, 2011). For instance, when you
decide to give a poor person some
money because you feel that it is right
thing to do, is a moral experience.
*Insert Ethics Case 1
Relevance of Studying Ethics

It gives a sense
of justification in one’s
judgment and helps
ensure that decisions
at work are not made
based on purely
subjective factors.
What are Rules?
 Standards that guide human activities
 A statement that tells you what is or is not
allowed in a particular situation
 Rules are in place to manage harmful
behaviors; prevent chaos; and encourage
stability
 For example, traffic

rules, sports rules

 Tell your classmates what you think:

1. Give at least three

school rules. Why
are these rules
important to our
school?
2. Give at least three
rules in your
community. Why are
these rules important
to your community?
 Lesson 2: Moral vs
Non-moral Standards
Moral Standards
Moral standard is a
code of what is right or
wrong without reference to
specific behaviors or beliefs
(Lynn, 1997). It deals with
matters that the person thinks
have serious consequence
and is based on good reason
and impartial considerations
overriding self-interest.
 Characteristics of Moral Standards

1. Moral standards involve behaviors that

seriously affect other people’s well-being.
2. Moral standards take a more important
consideration than other standards,
including self-interest.
3. Moral standards do not depend on any
external authority but in how the person
perceives the reasonableness of the action.
 Characteristics of Moral Standards

4. Moral standards are believed to be

universal.
5. Moral standards are based on
objectivity.
6. Moral standards are associated with
vocabulary that depicts emotion or
feelings.
 Moral vs Non-moral Standards

Non-moral standards
can be considered as
relative standards by which
something or someone is
judged as either good or
bad. The rules of non-moral
standards vary because
these rules depend on the
guidelines agreed by a
particular group.
 Is a set of rules on
how an individual should
responsibly behave in the
society. Table manners such
as the proper use of utensils
and the proper manner of
eating are examples of
etiquette.
 It is a clear, simple statement of
how an organization plans to handle
its services, actions, or business.
Policies are guiding rules to help with
decision making. Example is the
wearing of school uniform and ID.
 Law is a rule created and
enforced by the government and its
agencies to maintain order, resolve
disputes, and protect a person’s
liberty and rights.
 It is a rule that is to be
strictly observed because it
was said to be set by a divine
entity such as those in the Ten
Commandments (Stahl, 2009).
Lesson 3: Moral Dillema
Pre-discussion

The keywords you need to

know here are personal,
organizational, and structural.
A keyword will be assigned to
each group.
 Pre-discussion

Depending on your keyword, present in class a scene

showing moral conflict faced by:
1. Personal – a person whose choice will adversely affect
very important people in your life
2. Organizational – a business owner whose choice will
adversely affect either the company or the employees
3. Structural – a high ranking government official who
needs to choose between implementing or not
implementing a policy not because it will affect the poor
communities, but not implementing it will also impact the
environment
Dilemma

Dilemma is a situation in
which a difficult choice has to
be made between two or
more alternatives, especially
equally undesirable ones. Thus,
when you find yourself facing
a problem but the solutions
available to you will only
create another problem or
worse create more problems,
then you are in a dilemma.
A moral dilemma is a situation where:

1. There are two or more actions that you

can possibly do
2. There is a moral reason(s) for doing
such actions
3. You cannot do all the possible actions
presented to you. You only need to
choose one.
 Three Levels of Moral Dilemma

1. Personal Moral Dilemma – is

when your decision in a situation
where there is moral conflict is
the cause of either your own;
that of another person; or a
group of people’s potential
harm.
 Three Levels of Moral Dilemma

2. Organizational dilemma – is 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 organization.
 Three Levels of Moral Dilemma

3. Structural moral dilemma – is

when a person or group of persons
who holds high level positions in
the society faces a morally
conflicting situation wherein the
entire social system is affected.
Lesson 4: Freedom
 Why only human beings can be ethical?

According to St. Thomas

Aquinas, the fundamental
difference between animal ethics
and human ethics is that animals
behave instinctively while human
behavior is rational.
Rational Behavior
It is a decision making process
where the person acts in ways that
best achieve his or her needs in
accordance with his or her set
preferences, priorities, and
principles.
 What does “human person” mean?

A human person is a being with

inborn properties that he or she uses
to direct his or her own development
toward self-fulfillment. One of the
inborn properties of the human
person is freedom.
What is your understanding of
freedom?

1. Freedom is a gift.
2. Freedom is Complementary to
Reason
3. Freedom is Absolute
4. Freedom demands responsibility
A Clockwork Orange
(Read the synopsis of the story)

1. What was the central theme of the story?

2. Which of the two makes you human? (defend
your answer)
a. Free to decide and do evil acts; or
b. Forced to become a moral person and
not hurt others