ETHICS

• Ethics


  The study of morality (rightness or wrongness) of the human act
• Morality


  A system of behavior regarding standards of good or bad behavior
• Human Acts


  • Actions which man performs knowingly, freely, and voluntarily
  • Result of conscious knowledge and are subjected to the control of will
• Acts of Man


  • Instinctive actions and are not within the control of the will
  • Includes biological and physiological movements in man such as metabolism, respiration, fear, anger, love, and jealousy
• Constituents of Human Acts

  • Knowledge - awareness of what the moral agent is doing
  • Voluntariness - comes from the Latin word voluntas meaning will of a human
  • Freedom - A quality by which one is able to choose one or more alternatives
• Modifiers of Human Acts

  • Ignorance - refers to absence of knowledge which a person ought to possess
  • Passion - refers to the psyche responses of a man which holds positive and negative emotions
  • Fear - refers to the disturbance of the mind of a person who is confronted by an impending danger or harm to himself or loved ones
  • Violence - refers to any physical force extend on a person by another free agent for the purpose of compelling said person to act against his will
  • Habits - acquired inclinations toward something to be done
• End of the Human Act


  The purpose or goal of an act
• Kinds of End


  • Proximate End - the purpose which a doer wishes to accomplish immediately by his/her action
  • Remote End - the purpose which a doer wishes to accomplish in a series of acts
  • Intermediate End - the purpose which is desired as a means for obtaining another thing
  • Ultimate End - the purpose which is desired for its own sake and not because of something else
• Determinants of Morality


  • The Object of the Action
  • The Motive of the Act
  • The Circumstance of the Act
• Intrinsic Evil


  Actions or behaviors that are Inherently and objectively immoral, regardless of the circumstances or intentions surrounding them
• Extrinsic Evil


  Actions that may be morally acceptable or unacceptable depending on the circumstances
• Circumstances of the Act

  • Who - refers primarily to the doer of the act and at times to receiver of the act
  • What - refers to the act itself and to the quality and quantity of such act
  • Where - refers to the circumstance of place where the act is committed
  • With Whom - refers to the companion or accomplices in act performed
  • Why - motive of the doer
  • How - manner how the act is made possible
  • When - refers to the time of the act
• Moral Standards


  • Pertains to rules and actions we believe to be morally acceptable and morally unacceptable
  • Promotes "the good" that is, the welfare and well-being of humans, animals, and the environment
• Non-Moral Standards


  • Refers to the standards by which we judge what is good or bad and right or wrong in a non-moral way
  • Matters of taste and preference
  • Includes aesthetics, religious rules, law and statutes, house rules, etc.
• Moral Dilemma


  A situation in which a person is torn between right and wrong and looks at the very core of a person's moral principles, values, and personal philosophy
• Levels of Moral Dilemma

  • Personal Dilemma
  • Organizational Dilemma
  • Structural Dilemma
• Types of Moral Dilemma

  • Epistemic Dilemma
  • Ontological Dilemma
  • Self-Imposed Dilemma
  • World Imposed Dilemma
  • Obligation Dilemma
  • Prohibition Dilemma
  • Single Agent Dilemma
  • Multi-Person Dilemma
• Critical Decision Making


  1. Gather Facts

  2. Identify the Stakeholders

  3. Articulate the Dilemma

  4. List the Alternatives

  5. Compare Alternatives with the Principles

  6. Weigh the Consequences

  7. Decide
• Culture


  A product of psychological, social, biological, and material factors
• Values


  Important and lasting beliefs or ideals shared by the members of a culture that set the standard of what is desirable or undesirable from a person who is a part of a society
• Custom


  A cultural idea that describes a regular, patterned way of behaving that is considered characteristic of life in a social system
• Beliefs


  Tenets or convictions that people hold to be true
• Tradition


  A belief or behavior passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past
• Enculturation


  The process of learning one's culture and conforming to its expectations
• Acculturation


  The process through which a person or group from one culture comes to adopt the practices and values of another culture, while still retaining their own distinct culture
• Assimilation


  A more extreme form of cultural change involving the complete adoption of the dominant culture and rejection of the previous culture