APPLIED ETHICS

APPLIED ETHICS 1.
2.
Environmental Ethics
Business Ethics
3. Social Media Ethics
Albert M. Lagliva, PhD. Cand.
Ateneo de Manila University 4. Others
ACETT-W (May 22 – 24, 2017)

IMPORTANT CONCERNS Environmental Ethics

“Environmental ethics is the discipline
1. Questions in philosophy that studies the moral
2. Concepts or Issues relationship of human beings to, and also
3. Sources the value and moral status of, the
environment and its non-human
contents.” (https://plato.stanford.edu)
 Questions Questions
Anthropocentric?
What duties do humans have 1. Aristotle (Politics, Bk1, Ch8)
“nature has made all things specifically for the sake
with respect to the environment of man”
and why? 2. Genesis 1: 27 – 28
“…replenish the earth, and subdue it and have
dominion… over every living thing that move upon
the earth.”

Questions Ethical dimension

Anthropocentric?
3. St. Thomas Aquinas
(Summa Contra Gentiles, Bk3, Pt2, Ch112)
non-human animals are “ordered to man’s use”
• Value – worth, halaga
• Telos – oriented towards “something good, bad”
• Action – initiator not just a reaction
• Obligation – ought to do…generosity
• Universality – act of self is justified by any man
• Freedom – choices and decisions are not
determined
 Concepts Issues
1. The challenge of Environmental ethics to the
anthropocentrism embedded in traditional
1. Instrumental Value vs. Intrinsic Value
western ethical thinking
2. Ecofeminism – logic of dominance
2. The attempt to apply traditional ethical theories
3. Biodiversity – variety of life to support contemporary environmental
4. Deep Ecology – feeling of oneness with nature concerns
3. The preservation of biodiversity as an ethical
goal

Sources Ethical theories

1. Callicott, J. Baird • Virtue ethics
2. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy • Natural Law
3. Martin Heidegger “The Question
Concerning Technology” (1954) • Deontology
• Utilitarianism
 A Model for Ethical Decision
Making
1. Gather the facts
1. Gather the facts • Gather and clarify the facts of the case in
2. Who are the stakeholders
question
3. Articulate the values involved
4. List the alternatives • Do not rush judgments: “alam ko na,”
5. Compare the alternatives with the principles “nadaanan ko na,” “magandang kutob”
6. Weigh the consequences
7. Make a decision • What do we know and need to know

2. Who are the stakeholders? 3. Articulate the moral values 


involved
• What are the positions being taken by
every stakeholder regarding the situation? • Why am I bothered / concerned?

• How are they affected? • What are the principles and moral values
that are not apparent but are central to
• What are the stakes for them? What are the stakeholders?
their interests?
• Listing down the values to see a hierarchy
4. List the alternatives
• Brainstorm and be realistic
• Think creatively
• Make a matrix:
alternative--values--consequences
6. Weigh the consequences
• Identify positive and negative
consequences (beneficial vs.
detrimental)
5. Compare alternatives 

with values
• Identify alternatives that are reflective of
the values that are important to you
• Being aware of your development as a
person
7. Make a decision
• Deliberation cannot go on forever
• There are no easy solutions
• Decision should reflect one’s values
 Conclusion
Character:
We are what we repeatedly do
Groups 1 – 3: Due Process
Malou recently joined EAP Valdez Digital, a production
house, as a Recruitment Manager with the HRMD. As a
Recruitment Manager, Malou is in charge of preparing
the shortlist of candidates for the final interview stage.
All applicants must pass through Malou before the final
decision for hiring is made by the applicant’s
prospective immediate superior. One afternoon, upon
returning to her desk after lunch break, Malou finds a
long brown envelope on her table, identical to the
envelopes that their company requires applicants to
submit their resumés in.
Activity
• Form five (5) groups of six (6) members
• Analyze cases using the seven steps
• Assign group reporter
Due Process
Stuck at the center of the envelope is a post-it with the
following message scribbled in the handwriting of her
direct superior, Mike Mariano:
“Malou, Please have her hiring papers ready
by the end of next week. Thanks. M. Mariano”
Malou opens the envelope and finds a resumé for a
candidate named Jessa M. Palacios, a fresh graduate
who appears to not have taken school seriously-- the
kind of candidate that she would outright reject. What
should Malou do?
Groups 4 – 5: Time Management
Hannah works for Quick Lane Philippines, a company
that provides consultation services for SAP Products, as
a Systems Specialist. She notices that one of her newly-
hired colleagues, Miguel, spends most of his afternoons
studying for the CISCO Certification Test, a certification
that is necessary to advance in their career, during
office hours. She doesn’t mind this at first but then is
alarmed when she finds out from their colleagues that
Miguel incurs quite a lot of overtime pay because he is
“very dedicated, finishing up projects until late in the
office.”
Thank you!
Time Management
Finding out about the overtime pay and the very
positive, hardworking image that her colleagues
have about Miguel irritates Hannah. When she had
her certification test, she studied after working
hours. She thinks to herself: why is Miguel being
rewarded for studying on company time? Why
should Miguel get credit for what’s actually bad
time management skills?
Should Hannah report Miguel to her superiors or
should she just get over her irritation and allow this
to slide?