GEETHICS

• Modern Era Philosophers

  • Rene Descartes
  • Friedrich Nietzsche
  • Immanuel Kant
• Pre-Socratic Era Philosophers had a Cosmo centric focus on studying the origin or the "primordial stuff" of the universe
• Derivation of the name Ethics from the Greek word "ethos" meaning "a characteristic way of acting"
• Medieval Era Philosophers

  • St. Augustine
  • Thomas Aquinas
• Modern Era Philosophers had an Anthropocentric focus on man, asking questions like "who am I?" "What am I here for?" "How should I behave with others?"
• Derivation of the name Morality from the Latin word "mos, moris" meaning "character, behavior, morals, custom, or habit"
• Medieval Era Philosophers had a Theocentric focus on knowing what/who controls everything or the existence of God
• Pre-Socratic Era Philosophers

  • Thales
  • Anaximander
  • Plato
• Ethics is defined as the practical science of the morality of human conduct
• Understanding Ethics as the same as Moral Philosophy or Moral Science
• Man is a being of action, knows his acts, and is responsible for his actions
• Morality according to Velasquez


  • Pertains to standards of right and wrong, usually inherited from a community
• Students should study ethics to live an authentic and meaningful life, be more successful, cultivate inner peace, provide for a stable society, and potentially help in the afterlife
• Basic principles of ethics can help lead a more fulfilling life on a personal or professional level
• Importance of ethics

  • It satisfies basic human needs
  • It creates credibility
  • It unites people and leaders
  • It improves decision-making
  • It secures the society
• Moral philosophy contemplates what is right and wrong, explores the nature of morality, and examines how people should live their lives in relation to others
• Four postulates of actions in ethics

  • There are actions which are right or wrong and good or bad
  • There are actions which man is obligated and not obligated to do
  • Man is responsible for his actions
  • Right actions are rewardable and wrong actions punishable
• Ethics


  The same as Moral Philosophy or Moral Science
• Man has will to choose either good or bad, right or wrong actions, and enjoys freedom to act or not to act and choose a course of action
• Morality


  Derived from the Latin word mos, moris which means “character, behavior, morals, custom, or habit”
• Postulates in ethics

  • The existence of God
  • The existence of intellect and free will
  • The spirituality and immortality of the soul
• Ethics according to Velasquez


  • Studies standards of right and wrong, the act of making a decision, the nature of the agent who makes the decision
• Man has intellect to know what is right or wrong and good or bad actions, and is mandated to face the consequences of his actions
• Commitment to act in accordance with ethical principles is often challenged, perhaps due to pressures or moral dilemmas
• Formation of the Will

  1. Loving the Supreme Being and neighbor

  2. Choosing the higher good/universal truths and moral values

  3. Acting upon a decision

  4. Taking the rational and logical consequences of a decision and acting

  5. Making responsible use of freedom

  6. Exercising self-discipline and controlling emotions

  7. Persevering, sustaining, and committing

  8. Changing and improving

  9. Practicing virtues and good moral habits
• Man's intellect enables him to understand right or wrong actions; his will enables him to choose between good or bad actions
• Training of the Intellect

  1. Seeking the purpose and end of life

  2. Grasping universal truths

  3. Understanding and reasoning out truths and moral precepts

  4. Making judgements based on an objective standard of morality

  5. Analyzing the cause and effect of decisions and behavior

  6. Solving problems critically and rationally
• Rational being


  Being rational makes man a moral agent
• Man is will-bound to choose what is right and good, which is the moral imperative demanded in ethics
• Those incapable of rationality are not moral agents, but they still remain human beings
• Man has will


  Man is free to act or not to act. Man's will enables him to choose between good or bad, right or wrong actions. It requires man to be responsible for the consequences of his actions
• Intellect and Will


  Correlative faculties intrinsically endowed in man as the moral agent
• Man remains a moral being even if he chooses what is wrong or bad, as he possesses freedom
• Natural Law

  • The law written in the hearts of men
  • For theists, it is "man's share in the Eternal Law of God"
  • It is the law that says: "Do good and avoid evil"
• Foundation of Moral Principle


  • The word principle came from the Latin word, "princeps," which means "a source or beginning."
  • A foundational moral principle is the universal norm upon which all other principles on the rightness or wrongness of an action are based
  • It is contained in the natural law
• Moral and Non-Moral Standards

  • Moral standards are norms that individuals or groups have about the kinds of actions believed to be morally right or wrong
  • Moral standards promote the welfare and well-being of humans as well as animals in the environment
  • Moral standards prescribe what humans ought to do in terms of rights and obligations
• Freedom

  • Human's greatest quality and a reflection of our Creator
  • The power rooted in reason and will, to act or not to act, to do this or that and so to perform deliberate actions on one's own responsibility
  • True Freedom is always oriented toward the good
• Logical consequences of a decision and act

  • To make responsible use of freedom
  • To exercise self-discipline and control the emotions
  • To persevere, sustain and commit
  • To change and improve
  • To practice virtues and good moral habits
• Values are enduring beliefs or statements about what is good and desirable
• Non-moral standards


  • Rules of etiquette
  • Fashion standards
  • Rules in games
  • Various house rules