THE ETHICAL
DIMENSION OF
HUMAN
EXISTENCE
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND
OBJECTIVES
• This course is an introduction to the philosophical study of morality,
including the theory of right and wrong behavior, the theory of value
(goodness and badness), and the theory of virtue and vice.
• This course is designed to help students develop their abilities to read,
explicate, analyze, and evaluate philiosophical literature, write and
express themselves well about their own ethical positions, and think
critical and analytical about ethical issues.
WHAT IS ETHICS?
• Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that involves
systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and
wrong conduct.
• Ethics seeks to resolve questions of human morality by defining
concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice,
justice and crime.
• Ethics is based on well-founded standards of right and wrong that
prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights,
obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues.
LESSON PROPER
• Cris Anthony Mendez – A twenty-year-old student of the University of the
Philippines (UP) whom was rushed to the hospital in the early morning hours,
unconscious, with large bruises on his chest, back and legs, dated August 2007, as
what the newspapers reported that seemed to be yet another sad incident of
fraternity violence.
– He passed away that morning and an autopsy of his body
was done and showed physical injuries were most
probably the result of “hazing.”
• Hazing – This term used to refer to initiation rites in which neophytes may be
subjected to various forms of physical abuse.
What exactly happened remains an open question, as none of those who
were with him that night came forward to shed light on what had transpired.
Nevertheless, none of them came forward to assume responsibility for the death of
Cris.
Even the leaders of the Sigma Rho fraternity publicly denounced
the death of Cris, those other members who had been with him that
night vanished, avoiding to cooperate with legal authorities. Meanwhile,
the case of the tragic death of Cris Anthony Mendez was left unresolved
and it remains that way up to this day.
LASTLY:
No one knows just what exactly happened. No charges have been
filed, no definitive testimony have been forthcoming. But there is more to
this for us than just a criminal mystery.
REFLECTION
Pondering on the death of Cris, we may find ourselves asking questions such as:
❑“What is the value of one’s life?”
❑“What exactly were the wrongs done to Cris by his so-called fraternity
brothers?”
❑“Is there any good to fraternities?”
These questions that concern good and bad or right and wrong – and
these are questions concerning value – are the kind of questions that we deal
with in ethics.
• In the story reported, what wrong things done are you
able to identify?
• What do you know about the possible forms – and
consequences – of hazing?
• Discuss with your classmates: what are the possible pros
and cons – positive and negative aspects – of holding on to
fraternities and their traditions? Which aspects seem to
carry greater weight or importance?
CONCLUSION
• Finally, being ethical is also not the same as following the
law. The law often incorporates ethical standards to which
most citizens subscribe and lastly, being ethical is not the
same as doing “whatever society accepts.”
VALUE
Ethics, generally speaking, is about matters such
as the good thing that we should pursue and the
bad thing that we should avoid; the right ways
inn which we could or should act the wrong
ways of acting.
VALUE
Ethics, is about what is acceptable and
unacceptable in human behavior. It may
involve obligations that we are expected to
fulfill, prohibitions that we are required to
respect, or ideals that we are encouraged to
meet.
VALUE
Ethics, as a subject for us to study is
about determining the grounds for
the values with particular and
special significance to human life.
SOURCES OF AUTHORITY
•LAW
•RELIGION
•CULTURE
SENSES OF THE SELF
•SUBJECTIVISM
•PSYCHOLOGICAL EGOISM
•ETHICAL EGOISM
CAN ONE CL AIM THAT
FRATERNITIES HAVE THEIR
OWN “CULTURE” THAT
DESERVES RESPECT? WHAT
WOULD BE THE STRONG AND
WEAK POINTS OF THIS
CL AIM?
