Lesson 1 - Ethics

ETHICS
LESSON 1: Moral and Non-Moral Standards

At the end of the lesson, the learners are expected to:
1. elucidate the significance of following rules and policies;

2. differentiate moral from non-moral standards; and
3. apply moral and non-moral standards to relevant
experiences.
ENGAGE: MENTIMETER
Knowledge Reservoir
● Based on the activity that you have answered, what and why
do you think there are rules set in playing basketball?
● Do you think these rules have something to do with conduct
and character of the people involved in basketball game?
ETHICS DEFINED
Ethics or moral philosophy is the branch of philosophy concerned with conduct and
character. It is the systematic study of the principles and methods for distinguishing
what is right or wrong and good or bad. Simply, ethics deals with the question of how
people ought to act, and with the search for a definition of right conduct and the good
life.
The term “ethics” is derived from the Greek “ethos” meaning “custom” or “habit”.
Ethics differs from morals or morality in the sense that ethics denotes the theory of
right action and the greater good, while morals indicate their practice. Ethics
encompasses moral ideals and behaviors, a person’s philosophy of life. Different
cultures have distinct ways of perceiving the world. This difference also affects how
ethical problems are viewed by different cultural communities.
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 involve the rules people have about the kinds of actions
they believe are morally right and wrong, as well as the values they place on
the kinds of objects they believe are morally good and morally bad. Some
ethicists equate moral standards with moral values and moral principles.
Non-moral standards refer to rules that are unrelated to moral or ethical
considerations. Either these standards are not necessarily linked to
morality or by nature lack ethical sense. Basic examples of non-moral
standards include rules of etiquette, fashion standards, rules in games, and
various house rules.
Technically, religious rules, some traditions, and legal statutes (i.e. laws and
ordinances) are non-moral principles, though they can be ethically
relevant depending on some factors and contexts.
The Six (6) Characteristics of Moral Standards
1. Moral standards involve serious wrongs or significant

benefits.
2. Moral standards ought to be preferred to other values.
3. Moral standards are not established by authority figures.
4. Moral standards have the trait of universalizability.
5. Moral standards are based on impartial considerations.
6. Moral standards are associated with special emotions and
vocabulary.
1. Moral standards involve serious wrongs or significant benefits.
Moral standards deal with matters which can seriously impact,

that is, injure or benefit human beings. It is not the case with
many non-moral standards. For instance, following or violating
some basketball rules may matter in basketball games but does
not necessarily affect one’s life or wellbeing.
2. Moral standards ought to be preferred to other values.
Moral standards have overriding character or hegemonic authority. If a moral standard

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.
Moral standards are not the only rules or principles in society, but they take precedence
over other considerations, including aesthetic, prudential, and even legal ones. A person
may be aesthetically justified in leaving behind his family in order to devote his life to
painting, but morally, all things considered, he/she probably was not justified. It may be
prudent to lie to save one’s dignity, but it probably is morally wrong to do so. When a
particular law becomes seriously immoral, it may be people’s moral duty to exercise civil
disobedience.
There is a general moral duty to obey the law, but there may come a time when the injustice
of an evil law is unbearable and thus calls for illegal but moral noncooperation (such as the
antebellum laws calling for citizens to return slaves to their owners).
3. Moral standards are not established by authority figures.
Moral standards are not invented, formed, or generated by

authoritative bodies or persons such as nations’ legislative bodies.
Ideally instead, 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, nonetheless, is that its 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.
Simply put, it means that everyone should live up to moral standards. To be more
accurate, however, 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 do unto you (if you were in their shoes)” and in the formal Principle of Justice, “It
cannot be right for A to treat B in a manner in which it would be wrong for B totreat A,
merely on the ground that they are two different individuals, and without there being
any difference between the natures or circumstances of the two which can be stated
as a reasonable ground for difference of treatment.” Universalizability is an extension
of the principle of consistency, that is, one ought to be consistent about one’s value
judgments.
5. Moral standards are based on impartial considerations.
Moral standard does not evaluate standards on the basis of the

interests of a certain person or group, but one that 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.
Prescriptivity indicates the practical or action-guiding nature of moral

standards. These moral standards are generally put forth as injunction or
imperatives (such as, ‘Do not kill,’ ‘Do no unnecessary harm,’ and ‘Love your
neighbor’). These principles are proposed for use, to advise, and to influence
to action. Retroactively, 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 (e.g. refusing to wear tattered jeans).
QUESTIONS?
ASSESSMENT:
Directions: Identify each item if it belongs to
MORAL standards or NON-MORAL Standards.
1. Do not destroy school property.
2. Participating in rallies and strikes
3. Wearing fashionable clothes in public
4. Avoiding food prohibited by your religion
5. Respecting others
ASYNCHRONOUS ACTIVITY
EXPLAIN YOUR STAND ON THE FOLLOWING ETHICAL ISSUES.
1. Divorce in the Philippines

2. Death Penalty in the Philippines
3. Same Sex Marriage in the Philippines

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ETHICS

LESSON 1: Moral and Non-Moral Standards

1. elucidate the signiﬁcance of following rules and policies;

1. Moral standards involve serious wrongs or signiﬁcant

Moral standards deal with matters which can seriously impact,

Moral standards have overriding character or hegemonic authority. If a moral standard

Moral standards are not invented, formed, or generated by

Moral standard does not evaluate standards on the basis of the

Prescriptivity indicates the practical or action-guiding nature of moral

EXPLAIN YOUR STAND ON THE FOLLOWING ETHICAL ISSUES.

1. Divorce in the Philippines

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