Ethics Notes (Prelims) DEFINITION OF

ETHICS/MORALITY
Ethics: Introduction • There is no widely agreed-on definition
of ethics/morality.
Textbooks: • We can get a good sense of our subject
Pasco, Marc Oliver D. et al. (2018) Ethics. matter by doing these four things:
C & E Publishing, Inc: Quezon City. 1. being clear about the difference
Bulaong, Oscar G. et al. (2018) Ethics: between conventional morality and critical
Foundations of Moral Valuation. Rex morality; 
Book Store, Inc: Manila 2. distinguishing the different branches of
moral philosophy and their central
Other References: questions; 
Rachels, James and Rachels, Stuart. 3. identifying starting points for moral
(2012). The Elements of Moral thinking; and 
Philosophy 7thEdition. McGraw-Hill: 4. contrasting ethical theories with other
New York. normative systems, including religious
ones.
MacKinnon, Barbara and Fiala, Andrew
(2015). Ethics: Theory and Contemporary CONVENTIONAL AND CRITICAL
Issues, Concise Edition, 8th Edition. MORALITY
Cengage Learning: Kentucky Conventional Morality
• System of widely accepted rules and
Coming up with a moral decision... principles, created by and for human
• Get the facts straights and consider beings, that members of a culture or
different perspectives  society use to govern their own lives and
• Set the standard/ criteria for making a to assess the actions and the motivations
decision (may use ethical theories)  of others
• Think for yourself. Make your own
decision.  • Patterns of behavior to be found in the
• Think about thinking.  cultures, their accepted ideas about right
• Take responsibility. and wrong, and the sorts of character traits
that these cultures find admirable
• Differs from society to society
MODULE 1.1: WHAT IS • Go by conventions
ETHICS/ MORALITY? • Example: Law - Death Penalty
PHILOSOPHY
• Starts with wonder (in the form of Critical Morality
asking questions) • Moral standards that are NOT rooted in
• Is love of wisdom literally widespread endorsement, but rather are
• philos = love; independent of conventional morality and
• sophos/sophia = wisdom can be used to critically evaluate its merit
• is an activity (philosophical reasoning) • (1) does not have its origin in social
• Philosophy is not something we can agreements;
learn, but we can learn to think • (2) is untainted by mistaken beliefs,
philosophically. (from Sophie’s World) irrationality, or popular prejudices; and
• (3) can serve as the true standard for
determining when conventional morality
has got it right and when it has fallen into 6. Justice is a very important moral good.
error. 7. Deliberately hurting other people
• Analyze conventions (question/ critique requires justification. The default position
them) in ethics is this: do no harm.
• Think for yourself 8. Equals ought to be treated equally.
• Think about thinking 9. Self-interest isn’t the only ethical
• Example: Ethical theory consideration.
(Utilitarianism)- evaluate whether death 10. Agony is bad. Excruciating physical or
penalty will bring about the best possible emotional pain is bad.
consequence (greatest net happiness) for 11. Might doesn’t make right.
all concerned. 12. Free and informed requests prevent
rights violations.
BRANCHES OF MORAL
PHILOSOPHY THINGS TO NOTE ABOUT MORAL
STARTING POINTS:
METAETHICS • Lists could be longer 
• Explores the status, foundations and • Those in the lists are not infallible.
scope of moral values, properties and (They may be questioned.)
words. • Some of those in the lists require
• Concerned with: Ethical Terms interpretation.
(meanings of “good”, “bad”, “right”, • A morality that celebrates genocide,
“wrong”). torture, treachery, sadism, hostility, and
• Source of moral values slavery is, depending on how you look at
• Scope of moral values it, either no morality at all or a deeply
failed one. Any morality worth the name
NORMATIVE ETHICS will place some importance on justice,
• Moral standards that regulate right and fairness, kindness, and reasonableness.
wrong conduct.
• Ethical theories. MORAL STATUS
• Having moral status means having
APPLIED ETHICS interest or having worth to be taken into
• Analysis of specific controversial moral consideration in making decisions
issues in certain fields • What would be the basis of having moral
• Examples: Business Ethics, status?  Consciousness? Sentience?
Environmental Ethics, Bioethics Life? Existence?

MORAL STARTING POINTS MODULE 1.2: MORALITY

1. Neither the law nor tradition is immune
from moral criticism
AND OTHER
2. Everyone is morally fallible. NORMATIVE SYSTEMS
3. Friendship is valuable. 
4. We are not obligated to do the • Descriptive (is) vs Normative (ought).
impossible. (“Ought” implies can) • Descriptive describe what is happening.
5. Children bear less moral responsibility What and how things are in reality.
than fully- rational adults. Political Science.
• Normative tells what should be, what Attractive Points:
must be and what should be happening. • Objectivity of ethics. Ethics is not
merely a matter of personal feeling or
NORMATIVE SYSTEMS social custom. Whether something is right
• tell us what we ought to do. or wrong is perfectly objective: It is right
• Other normative systems (conventional if God commands it and wrong if God
morality) – Laws, Traditions, Etiquette forbids it.
• Religious perspective • It explains why any of us should
• Non-religious Perspective: Ethical bother with morality. If immorality is
theories (critical morality) – the violation of God’s commandments,
Utilitarianism, Kantian ethics, Virtue then there is an easy answer: On the day
Ethics, etc. of final reckoning, you will be held
accountable.
OTHER NORMATIVE SYSTEMS
• each of these represents a set of Problems:
standards for how we ought to behave, • Atheists won’t accept it.
ideals to aim for, rules that we should not • Challenge: Is a conduct right because the
break. gods command it, or do the gods
• not exactly moral (these do not meet the command it because it is right? This is a
minimum standards to be deemed as question of whether God makes the moral
moral) truths true or whether he merely
• Examples: Law, Etiquette, Traditions. recognizes that they’re true.
LAW NON-RELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVE
• Some immoral acts are not illegal. And • Minimum Conception of Morality:
some illegal acts are not immoral. Reason and Impartiality
ETIQUETTE MODULE 2.1: MORAL
• Good manners are not the same as
morally good conduct. REASONING

TRADITION COMING UP WITH A DECISION
• That a practice has been around a long • There must be an explanation for the
time does not automatically make it decisions you make.
moral. • Such explanation may be acceptable or
not acceptable
SOURCE OF MORALITY
• Explanation is acceptable only if it meets
RELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVE: certain criteria
MORALITY AND RELIGION • If the explanation does not meet certain
• The Divine Command Theory - The criteria, then it is not acceptable
basic idea is that God decides what is right • Choices are not just based on “ay
and wrong. Actions that God commands basta!”, not simply based on gut feels,
are morally required; actions that God instincts or emotions, and not simply
forbids are morally wrong, and all other based on whatever others have told you
actions are permissible or merely morally (not simply allowing others to dictate to
neutral. you)
• Instead: Set criteria -> come up with prejudice, or preference.
reasons that satisfy or justify the criteria - • Equal consideration: Each individual’s
> make the choice. interests are equally important; no one
should get special treatment.
MINIMUM CONCEPTION OF • Your interest, stranger’s interest, loved
MORALTIY one’s interest are all given equal
• Critical Morality is, at the very least, the consideration.
effort to guide one’s conduct by reason—
7 STEP MORAL REASONING
that is, to do what there are the best
MODEL
reasons for doing—while giving equal
weight to the interests of each individual 1. THE FACTS
affected by one’s action. • What are the facts in this situation?
• Which facts are relevant to making an
• Feelings, instincts, personal biases
ethical decision?
should not be the sole basis for our
decisions because 2. THE ETHICAL ISSUES
1.) They may simply be by- products of • What level of ethical issue are we
prejudice, selfishness or cultural dealing with? 
conditioning; • Personal / Organizational / Societal
2.) They easily go out of hand  • What specific ethical issue does this
• Reason and impartiality will temper our situation raise?
feelings, instincts and biases.
• Reason and impartiality as the minimum 3. THE ALTERNATIVES
requirements for morality means that • Alternatives = options / possible choices
moral reasoning must make use of faculty • Given the facts and the ethical issues,
of reason and impartiality. what alternative actions are possible in
this situation?
REASON
• Power of the mind to think and
understand in a logical way  4. THE STAKEHOLDERS
• Explanation and logical defense (The • Who will be affected by the alternatives
morally right thing to do is always the and to what degree? 
thing best supported by the arguments.) • How will you rank stakeholder claims?
• Get the facts 
• Expose oneself to different perspectives 5. THE ETHICS OF THE
• Set the standard/criteria (may use ethical ALTERNATIVES
theories or universal principles) • Decision must be based on reason and
• Think for yourself: Make a decision impartiality. Use ethical principles to
based on the standard (and justify the decide on the best alternative. 
decision) • Utilitarianism / Kantian Ethics / Virtue
• Think about thinking Ethics
• Take responsibility • How do you decide when the theories
point to different alternatives?
IMPARTIALITY
• Decisions should be based on objective
criteria, rather than on the basis of bias,
6. THE PRACTICAL CONSTRAINTS • Selfless.
• Can the best alternative be put into • Disinterested and selfless concern for the
effect? well- being of others.
7. THE ACTIONS TO TAKE Psychological egoism claims that altruism
• Implement the best alternative.  is an illusion.
• Having selected the best alternative Reasons:
which is not ruled out by practical 1. We always do what we want to do.
constraints, we need to decide on the steps 2. We always do what makes us feel good.
necessary to carry it out.

MODULE 2.2:
Ethical egoism counters altruism.
SKEPTICISM IN Reasons:
MORALITY 1. Altruism is self-defeating.
2. Ayn Rand’s argument: “ethics of
• Having doubts/ being doubtful about altruism” is a totally destructive idea that
morality leads to a denial of the value of the
• Idea of morality (built on reason and individual.
impartiality) is mistaken 3. Ethical egoism is compatible with
• No absolute rational standard of morality commonsense morality.
• Egoism and relativism are sources of AYN RAND’S ARGUMENT (IN
moral skepticism. FAVOR OF ETHICAL EGOISM)
• Ethical Egoism is the only ethic that
takes seriously the reality of the individual
PSYCHOLOGICAL EGOISM person.
• Asserts that each person does in fact 1) Each person has only one life to live-
pursue his or her own self-interest this life is of supreme importance.
exclusively 2) The ethics of altruism regards the life
• People are self- interested by nature  of the individual as something that may be
• Descriptive (describes human nature) sacrificed for the good of others.
Therefore, the ethics of altruism does not
ETHICAL EGOISM take seriously the value of the individual.
• Asserts that each person ought to 3) Ethical Egoism, which allows each
pursue his or her own self-interest person to view his or her own life as being
exclusively of ultimate value, does take the individual
• People ought to be self- interested  seriously.
• Normative (tells how things should be) 4) Thus, Ethical Egoism is the philosophy
that we ought to accept.
EGOISM
• Selfish. ARGUMENTS AGAINST ETHICAL
• Pursue one’s self-interest. EGOISM

ALTRUISM 1. It may endorse wickedness.

2. It is logically inconsistent.
 3. It is arbitrary. • Cons: We cannot interfere even when
the moral standards of another society
ETHICAL RELATIVISM
seem to bring danger. 
• is this belief/ value/ norm acknowledged
• Cons: There is no moral progress.
by everyone or some only? For relativists,
the case in question is acknowledged by RELATIVISTS OR NOT
or applicable to some only. RELATIVISTS?
• Moral truths are NOT absolutely true,
The term “it depends…”
but true relative to a particular society or
• Uncertainty
individual.
• Openness to dialogue (to arrive at
• Whether an action is right or wrong
consolidated view).
depends on the moral norms of society or
moral commitment of the individual

• What is morally right for one

society/person may be morally wrong for
another society/ person.
• Under Ethical Relativism:
1. Individual Relativism
2. Cultural Relativism
CULTURAL RELATIVISM
• No universal standard of morality
• Different cultures have different moral
codes. Rightness or wrongness of an act
depends on norms of that culture
• Each culture should be evaluated
according to its own merits and standards
rather than from the standpoint or bases of
a different culture
•No particular culture is superior than
another culture when compared
RELATIVISM (SUMMARY)
• Different societies have different moral
codes. Just conform to the standards of
that particular society.
• No universal truths and no objective
truths.
• No superior or inferior culture or moral
truths
• Pros: Tolerance is the key. We cannot
impose our standards on another. 
• Pros: Openness to other cultures/moral
truths 