2025 Ethics
Ethics
First Semester
Mr. Wendell Burgos
SPC BSN
“The fundamental purpose of higher education is Ethics is the theory Morality is the
not only to develop knowledge and competent application
graduates in a particular field but also well-
rounded individuals who appreciate knowledge in Ethics and Morality have literally the same
a general sense, are open minded because of it, meaning!
secure in their identities as individuals and as
Filipinos, and cognizant of their role in the life of the What he or she did is moral or ethical
nation and the larger community (CHED MEMO His or her conduct shows a lack of ethics/morals
Order No. 20, Series of 2013).”
The problem of that person is that he or she doesn’t
Ethics have a sense of morality and ethics
Introduces students to the ethical
dimension of human existence at various Our primary concern as a people should be how to
levels – personal, societal, environmental, become moral or ethical in our behavior
and cultural.
What is ethics, how is it formed and Generally, both ethics and morality deal with the
practiced, and what is its value to society goodness or badness, rightness or wrongness of
and the person the human act or human conduct. But in ethics, we
A practical discipline specifically study morality
Ethics… Morality gives ethics a particular perspective of
The greatest good of the greatest number what to study about – that is the rectitude of
Lesser evil whether an act is good or bad, right or wrong.
The principle of double effect Morality provides with a quality that determines and
The principle of the sanctity of human life distinguishes right conduct from wrong conduct
Killing and letting a person die
Killing and murder While ethics (the theory) provides certain principles
Etc. and guidelines as to what is good and bad, right
and wrong in human conduct, it is morality (the
Ethics vs. Morality praxis) which actualizes the theory.
Ethics Morality Ethics and morality truly need and complement
Derived from the Greek The Latin equivalent for each other.
word “ethos” which custom is “mos”or
can be roughly “mores” ETHICS: Philosophy of Action
translated in English as
custom or a particular It is from this root word Ethics arms the person with a theoretical
way and manner of that the term “moral”or knowledge of the morality of human acts, so he/she
acting and behaving. “morality” is derived. may know what to do as well as how to do it.
Thus, custom would
also mean here as a “Knowing what is right does not necessarily mean
form of behavior or doing what is right.”
character.
Deals with principles of Pertains to the “The farthest distance for a person to cross is the
ethical behavior in standards of right and distance between the head and the heart.”
modern society at the wrong that an
level of the person, individual originally ETHICS: A Practical Discipline
society, and interaction picks up from the
with the environment community Ethics should be taken not just as an academic
and other shared study, but as fundamentally, a “way of life.”
resources
Ethics is the word Morality is the flesh
pg. 1 : Transer I Rhenier G. Patriarca
Ethics should be shown as a discipline which has o Without ethics or at least a sense of
an intimate connection with the daily lives of the morality, in relation to their conduct
human person and behavior, people and society in
general would naturally and
“Knowing what is right without actually changing the unexpectedly deteriorate
way we behave morally is nothing but useless 4. Ethics as a practical science is a study of
knowledge.” the choices people make regarding right
and wrong, good and bad, and many if not
Such a study would be rather like learning recipes all of us face several ethical choices in the
in a cook book without eating the food. curse of our lives
o Big and small, the choices and
The course Ethics discusses the context and decisions that we make in our
principles of ethical behavior in modern society at individual and collective lives affect
the level of individual, society, and the interaction also the kind of life we lie to a
with the environment and other shared resources. considerable extent
o We become good and bad persons
The course also teaches students to make moral through the choices we make
decisions by using dominant moral frameworks (or
ethical theories) and by applying a seven-step 5. Ethics can provide us with certain moral
moral reasoning model to analyze and solve paradigms or perspectives that will, in a way
dilemmas. guide us in determining what’s right and
wrong when we are confronted and come
The Importance of Ethics face to face with moral dilemmas
1. Ethics is an area of knowledge which is
indispensable in the living of life which is 6. Ethics enables us to reason out our moral
“truly human” beliefs and of why we hold them.
o “Without moral perception, man is o Ethics will enable us to critically
only an animal” examine the ground and foundation
o “Without morality, man as a rational of our moral beliefs and claims,
and free being is a failure” whether they are valid or not
2. Ethics is concerned with living of the “good 7. Ethics will aid us to widen our horizon as to
life” which has always been one of the what is good and bad
mankind’s most noble and enduring pursuits o “An appreciation of the complexity of
since time immemorial ethics is valuable in counteracting
o What kind of life a person ought to our natural tendency toward
live as a free and rational being, has inflexibility and tribalism where we
preoccupied some of the greatest stubbornly adhere to the values of
minds in history our own specific groups”
3. Ethics and morality served as the very 8. The study of ethics is not only of
foundation of every human society instrumental value but also valuable in its
o The idea of right and wrong has own right
been a major and dominant theme of o …”doing” the good is even much
the various religions, cultures, and better that “just knowing” the good
societies in the entire history of
human civilization 9. Ethics can deepen our reflection on the
o Every era, regardless whether it is ultimate questions of life.
aware of it or not, has its own o “What kind of life is worth living”
“ethos” that defines its character and
soul Ethics and Law
pg. 2 : Transer I Rhenier G. Patriarca
“What us moral is not always legal; what is legal in
not always moral.” Ethics grounds itself on reason and the wisdom of
human experience, not on the supposed authority
“What is right is right even though no one is doing of any holy book and sacred writings
it; wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it”
ETHICS: A Definition
Ethics is not identical with the Law
Ethics serves as the very foundation of our Is the practical science of the morality of
laws, Morality precede legality. human act or conduct and of the good life
o It’s because of ethics that we have Is the branch of Philosophy that deals with
laws in the first place, and we how we ought to live, with the idea and
continue to need ethics in order to pursuit of the good and with concept as right
refine and perfect our legal system and wrong
Tries to investigate and examine critically as
Ethics is not identical with the Law well as systematically, through the use of
natural reason, certain principles and codes
Laws are only concerned with actions that of right or wrong, good or bad, particularly
are usually “public”; actions that in a way those pertaining to human action
often harmed those around us; detrimental Deals with ultimate principles and truth
to the common good. concerning the morality of human conduct
Ethics goes beyond the concern and through the use of human reason and
parameters of laws, for it includes human experiencing alone, without the aid of
motivations in its investigations. supernatural reason or divine revelation
Ethics includes the thoughts and feelings of
individuals not just their external conduct ETHICS: Moral Philosophy
and actions, and subject them to moral
analysis and evaluation What constitutes the good life for human
Morality goes beyond legality beings?
Laws are usually the product of a collective What is the basis or standard by which
agreement of some sort – a kind of social human actions can be judged as good or
contract where people come together and bad, right or wrong
decide among themselves what’s good and How man ought to behave so as to live a
bad. life that is truly human?
Laws, more often than not, are decided by a
majority vote. Material and Formal Objects of Ethics
In morality, “what is right is right even
though no one is ding it; wrong is wrong Material Formal
even is everyone is doing it” Material object specific The special or
subject matter particular way and
Ethics and Religion The thing/s or that viewpoint that a
which deals with in its science employs in
Both are normative disciplines study dealing with its specific
Both are concerned with what is right and subject matter
wrong behavior Human conduct or The morality or the
human act – refers to rectitude of human act
Ethics as a philosophical discipline relies on the act that is done by or human conduct
natural reason, logic and experience, especially in human person which
the justification and validation of certain theories she/he is conscious of,
and principles concerning good and bad. which proceeds from
one’s deliberation and
Religion relies primarily on supernatural reason, free will, and thus, for
that is – divine revelation or divine authority which one is held
pg. 3 : Transer I Rhenier G. Patriarca
morally responsible.
Ethics and Other Sciences
Ethics Psychology,
Anthropology,
Sociology,
Economics and the
like…
Studies how one ought Deal with the way
to behave humans actually
Tries to assess and behave, without telling
determine whether the and judging the
actions are moral and rightness and
worth doing, or wrongness, goodness
immoral, and have to and badness of their
be avoided actions.
Ethics is a critical Simply descriptive
normative and
prescriptive discipline
Division of Ethics
General Ethics
Special (Applied) Ethics
General Ethics
Mainly dals with the morality of human acts
(its major elements or constituents and
modifiers, the norms of morality (law and
conscience), and the specific determinants
of morality (major sources of morality)
Special (Applied) Ethics
Essentially the specific and fundamental
norms and principles of General Ethics in
various specific areas of human life and
activity, both in the individual and social
domain (individual ethics and social ethics),
such as in the areas of family, the state, the
church, and other societal issues and
concerns (rights and duties,
ecology/environment, labor and work ethics,
sex and marriage, bioethics, politics and
government, etc.)
pg. 4 : Transer I Rhenier G. Patriarca
