Ethics is coined from the Greek word "ethicos" or that which pertains to "ethos" the English

translation of which is "custom" or "character".

Morality of human acts- goodness of the badness, rightness or the wrongness of human acts.
Ethics- branch of philosophy, study right and wrong in human conduct.

Ethics is a philosophical science. This means that ethics is one of the many disciplines in philosophy.

Four Disciplines / Divisions in Philosophy:

1. Descriptive or Speculative - What is the nature of reality? (Metaphysics)

2. Normative - What is good and what is bad? (Moral philosophy)

3. Practical philosophy - reflects upon truth in relation to action. (Logic)

4. Critical philosophy - What is truth? (Epistemology)

Character Personality

It is objective in nature. It is within a person. It is subjective. It changes at a point in time.

A particular system of traits that is permanent

to each person. A set of characteristics that each person possesses.

It is molded depending on his environment. It influences how one behaves as well as one's
motivation.

One's character shows how the person acts

and reacts to his or her peers and how she or
he deals with everything that happens around
him or her. The image that one presents in front of others.

IMPORTANCE OF ETHICS

- Indispensable knowledge.
- Without moral perception, man is only an animal.
- Without morality, man as a rational being is a failure.

UNDERSTANDING MORALITY

Moral integrity- only true measure of what man ought to be.

philosophers speak of Ethics as the "only necessary knowledge"
Morality- foundation of every human society.
Without civic morality- communities perish;
without personal morality- their survival has no value.
Every culture-morality as a standard of behavior.
Moral foundations of a nation are threatened, society itself is threatened
Morality is the quality of human acts
MORALITY AND HUMAN EXISTENCE

There is morality because there is man.

1. Man is the only Moral Being by virtue of the following reasons.

-Man is a being of action.
-Man has intellect.
-Man has will.
2.Man as an Animal
3. Man as a Rational Animal
4. Intellect compared with will
5. Concrete basis of morality

ETHICS
It defines how things are according to the rules.
Social system (external)
Society says it’s the right thing to do
Consistent within a certain context, but can
vary between context.

MORALITY
Individuals’ ideals and principles
Individual (internal)
We believe in something being right and wrong
Usually consistent, but can change if individual beliefs change.

ETHICS
Study of human motivation
Study of external action. (thoughts and feelings)
Require that man desire which is good and act in accordance with the desire.

LAW
Concerned with what we do, not what we feel
Concerned with the externally of the act
Requires that we perform the required action regardless of.

Ethics is not simply a body of do's and don'ts in the manner of law. Ethics- personal commitment and good.
Ethics-aims to develop right disposition and inner spirit for accepting what is lawful.

UNDERSTANDING VALUES

Ethics and values support each other.

ethics without values- is hollow and shallow (weak)
Values without ethics are paralytic.
Values -broad preferences concerning appropriate courses of actions or outcomes.
Values- influence attitudes and behavior
Values -ideas and behaviors that shape ethical ideals.

General definition of Values

1. Values are the object of human desire and striving;

2. Values are our beliefs, those beliefs which we hold to be true.
3. Values refer to things, person, ideas or goals which are important to life;
Properties of Values
1. Values are subjective - the existence, dependent upon the feelings or attitudes of the subject.
2. Values are objective - the existence, independent of a subject.
3. Values are relative - intrinsic limitations and imperfection.
4. Values are bipolar - this means that values do not exist alone; they always exist with their counter values.
Thus, values are either positive or negative.
5. Values are hierarchical - we do not classify values but rather we rank them.

ORGANIZATIONAL VALUES
Every organization has values that are important to the group. It will help the organization to survive.
Organizations develop values much the same as each individual has developed values.

UNDERSTANDING HUMAN ACTS

Human acts are actions that deliberate a free will of man.

Human acts refer to any activity performed by man. This activity could either be physical, spiritual, internal,
or external.
Moral philosophy, however, treats the term human acts not in its broader but in its stricter meaning.
Moral Philosophy, therefore, understands human acts as actions that are proper only to man. These actions
are those which man does not share with the brutes for human acts are rational and willed acts.

Elements of human acts

1. Knowledge
2. Freedom
3. Voluntariness

ESSENTIAL ATTRIBUTES OF HUMAN ACTS

1. It must be performed by a conscious agent who is aware of what he is doing and of its consequences.
2. It must be performed by an agent who is acting freely, that is, by his own volition and powers.
3. It must be performed by an agent who decides willfully to perform the act.

KINDS OF HUMAN ACTS

1. ELICITED ACTS - performed by the will

• Wish-is the tendency of will towards something

• Intention-is the tendency of the will towards something attainable but without necessarily
committing oneself to attain it.

• Consent-is the acceptance of the will

• Election-is the selection of the will of those effective enough

• Use-is the command of the will

• Fruition-is the enjoyment of the will

2. COMMANDED ACTS - are those done either by man's mental or bodily powers under the command of the
will.
 • Internal Actions (mind)
• External Actions (body)
• Combination of Internal and External movements (mind & body)

Classifications of Actions According to the Norms of Morality

1. Moral (Good)- conformity with the norm of morality.

2. Immoral (Bad)- not in conformity with the norm of morality.
3. Amoral (Indifferent)- stand neutral in relation to the norm of morality.

Classification of Voluntariness

1. Direct Voluntariness- primarily intended by the doer

2. Indirect Voluntariness- mere result of directly willed act

Modifiers of Human Acts

1. Ignorance- absence of knowledge

a. vincible ignorance- ordinary diligence and reasonable efforts
b. invincible ignorance- without being aware of it or not having awareness of it
“Ignorance of the law excuses no one”
2. Passion- tendencies towards desirable and away from undesirable things
a. Positive emotion- love, desire, delight, hope and bravery
b. Negative emotions- hatred, horror, sadness, despair, fear and anger
“Passion are physics responses”
3. Fear- disturbance of the mind of the person. Fear is an instinct for self-preservation.
4. Violence- refers to any physical force exerted on a person by other
Example: bodily torture, maltreatment, isolation, and mutilation
5. Habit- frequently repeated acts
Habit-forming- we use to refer to a certain experience

Action and Emotion

Man does an act with emotion and feelings.

Emotions are generally instinctive in origin.
Man’s thoughts and actions are colored by his emotions.
“Control your emotions to prevent unnecessary actions”

Kagandahang loob- refers to attitudes and its standards for all this is good, we call kaibigan
Kagandahang loob- include moral values such as mapagmahal, may pakiramdam, matulungin, masiyahin, at
hindi mapagkunwari.

Rights and Duties

Man is born with right and duties and having right is an attribute of a person.
Commission of Human rights- addresses violations of such rights
We insist our rights but ignore our duty. Duties are more fundamental than rights.
“The duty to do good and to avoid evil is above all rights”

Definition of Rights

Objectively- anything which is owed or due.

Subjectively- bound to be respected by another of doing, possessing, or requiring something.
Kinds of Rights

1. Natural rights- are those based on the natural law, that is, on human nature.
2. Human rights- are those based on human positive laws, either those enacted by the state or religious sect.

• Civil rights- are those based on human positive laws of the state.
• Ecclesiastical or religious rights- are those dependent upon the laws of a church or a religious sect.
3. Alienable and inalienable rights.
Alienable rights- are those civil rights or religious rights, which can be surrendered, renounced, or
removed, such as the rights to decent livelihood.
Inalienable rights- one that cannot be taken away by majority vote, by legislation or by executive
command.
4. Rights of jurisdiction- is the power of lawful authority to govern his subjects and to make laws for them.
5. Rights of property- is the power to own, to sell, to barter, to lend, to change, or, give away one's personal
possessions.
6. Juridical rights- refers to all rights insofar as they are based on laws. These rights must be respected,
allowed, fulfilled, as a matter of strict justice.
Non-Juridical rights- are those which are founded on laws, either natural or human, but on virtue.
Thus, these are also called moral rights.

POLICE ETHICS - are the rules for behavior that guide law enforcement officials based on what society deems
as right and wrong.

Police ethics and integrity are essential aspects of the law enforcement system that facilitate effective crime
control practices. Policing the community often brings ethical situations into consideration that may be, but
is not limited to, one of the following circumstances: criminal investigations, procedural justice, racial
profiling, early intervention systems, internal affairs, citizen complaints, mediation, recruitment, and use of
force.

In ethics, value denotes the degree of importance of some thing or action, with the aim of determining what
actions are best to do or what way is best to live (normative ethics), or to describe the significance of
different actions.

Value systems- are prospective and prescriptive beliefs; they affect ethical behavior of a person or are the
basis of their intentional activities.

Primary values-are strong

Secondary values-are suitable for changes.

Criminal Justice Ethics (also police ethics)- is the academic study of ethics as it is applied in the area of law
enforcement.