Chapter 1.2

• Ethics


  The study of moral principles and values that govern the actions and decisions of an individual or group
• REASONING

  The promise of rewards and the fear of punishments can certainly motivate us to act but are not in themselves a determinant of the rightness or wrongness of a certain way of acting
• Principles


  Rationally established grounds by which one justifies and maintains her moral decisions and judgment
• Moral Theory


  Systematic attempt to establish the validity of maintaining certain moral principles
• Framework


  Theory of interconnected ideas, and at the same time, a structure through which we can evaluate our reasons for valuing a certain decision or judgment
• Sources of Authority


  Standards of valuation are imposed by a higher authority that commands our obedience
• Sources of Authority

  • Law
  • Religion
  • Culture
• Positive Law


  Refers to the different rules and regulations that are put forward by an authority figure that require compliance
• LAW

  The law does not tell us what we should do or pursue, ONLY WHAT TO AVOID (prohibitive nature of the law)
• Divine Command Theory


  One is obliged to obey his/her God in all things
• Religion provides a more-or-less clear code of prohibitions such as "thou shall not kill" and "thou shall not steal"
• Religion

  is not simply prohibitive, but it also provides ideas to pursue
• RELIGION

  Due to the presence of multiplicity of religion, there became differences of adherence resulting to conflicting ethical standards
• CULTURE

  Our exposure to different societies and their cultures makes us aware that there are ways of thinking and valuing that are different from our own
• CULTURE

  There is a wide diversity of how different people believe it is proper to act
• Cultural Relativism


  What ethically is acceptable or unacceptable is relative to, or that is to say, dependent on one's culture
• CULTURAL RELATIVISM

  We are in no position to render any kind of judgment on the practice of another culture
• CULTURAL RELATIVISM

  We are in no position to render any kind of judgment on the practice of our own culture
• CULTURAL RELATIVISM

  We can maintain cultural relativism only by following the presumption of culture as single, clearly-defined substance or as something fixed and already determined
• -We are in no position to judge any of wrong acts

  -We cannot say that anyone moral code is the right one because of differences

  -It is difficult to determine what exactly defines one's culture due to unique practice or way of life

  -We may not be satisfied with the thought of not being able to call our own culture into question
• CULTURE Example: 


  • Religious differences

  ❑Christianity vs. Buddhism

  • Etiquette differences