MORALITY & ETHICS

MORALITY – are concerned with the principles of right and wrong behavior
and the goodness or badness of human character.
- It can principles derived from a code of conduct from a particular
philosophy, religion or culture.

ETHICS is a branch of philosophy that studies morality or the rightness or

wrongness of human conduct.
- involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and
wrong behavior.
- is the moral principles that govern a person's behavior or the conducting of
an activity.
Ethics versus Morals comparison chart
Ethics
What are they? The rules of conduct recognized in
respect to a particular class of human right or wrong conduct. While morals
actions or a particular group.
Where do they Social system - External
come from?
Why we do it? Because society says it is the right
thing to do.
Flexibility Ethics are dependent on others for
definition. They tend to be consistent
within a certain context, but can vary
between contexts.
Acceptability Ethics are governed by professional
and legal guidelines within a
particular time and place
Morals
Principles or habits with respect to
also prescribe dos and don'ts, morality
is ultimately a personal compass of
right and wrong.
Individual - Internal
Because we believe in something
being right or wrong.
Usually consistent, although can
change if an individual’s beliefs
change.
Morality transcends cultural norms
IMPORTANCE OF RULES TO
SOCIAL BEINGS
1. Rules protect social beings by regulating behavior
2. Rules help to guarantee each person certain rights and
freedom
3. Rules produce a sense of justice among social beings
4. Rules are essential for a healthy economic system
Moral vs. Non-moral Standards
MORAL STANDARDS – involve the rules people have about the kinds of actions they
believe are morally right and wrong, as well as the values they place on the kinds of
objects they believe are morally right and wrong, as well as the values they place on
the kinds of objects they believe are morally good and morally bad.

Moral standards are norms that individuals or groups have about the kinds of actions
believed to be morally right or wrong, as well as the values placed on what we
believed to be morally good or morally bad. Moral standards normally promote “the
good”, that is, the welfare and well-being of humans as well as animals and the
environment. Moral standards, therefore, prescribe what humans ought to do in terms
of rights and obligations.
Moral vs. Non-moral Standards
Characteristics of Moral Standards
 Moral standards involve serious wrongs or significant benefits
 Moral standards ought to be preferred to other values
 Moral standards are not established by authority figures
 Moral standards have the trait of universalizability
 Moral standards are based on impartial considerations
 Moral standards are associated with special emotions and vocabulary
 Moral vs. Non-moral Standards
NON-MORAL STANDARDS - refer to rules that are
unrelated to moral or ethical considerations. Either these standards are not
necessarily linked to morality or by nature lack ethical sense. Basic examples of
non-moral standards include rules of etiquette, fashion standards, rules in games,
and various house rules.
Non-moral standards refer to standards by which we judge what is good or bad and
right or wrong in a non-moral way. Examples of non-moral standards are standards
of etiquette by which we judge manners as good or bad, standards we call the law
by which we judge something as legal or illegal, and standards of aesthetics by
which we judge art as good or rubbish. Hence, we should not confuse morality
with etiquette, law, aesthetics or even with religion.
DILEMMA AND MORAL
DILEMMA
Dilemma – refers to a situation in which a tough choice has to be
made between two or more options, especially more or less equally
undesirable ones. Not all dilemmas are moral dilemmas.
Moral Dilemmas – are situation in which a difficult choice has to be
made between two courses of action, either of which entails
transgressing a moral principle.
- A moral dilemma can also be a conflict between what you want to
do and what you think you should do.
 Example # 1
You find out that a thief is stealing money from some very rich people so that
he/she can feed the poor. You can rattle out the thief because stealing is wrong. The
thief has stolen money from others who have probably worked hard for it so it
might be right to sell the thief out. However, the money will then probably go back
to the rich people, whom let's say for argument's sake are rather greedy, so those
poor children will remain poor.
On the other hand, the thief is not doing it for personal gain but rather to help out
the helpless. If you keep quiet, the poor will get the help they desperately need but
it is still not exactly the right thing to do in your mind since money has been stolen
from people who earned it in all the right ways.
Example # 2
Let's say there is are two rooms. One room has your mother and the other
has around 500 people. You are told to choose which room should be
blown up and if you don't, both of them will.
Naturally, you will want your mother to be safe because of your emotional
attachment to her but there could be another voice in your head saying
that 500 lives are more worth than one.
THREE LEVELS OF MORAL
DILEMMAS
1. Personal Dilemmas – are those experienced and resolved on
the personal level.
2. Organizational Dilemmas – it refers to ethical cases
encountered and resolved by social organizations. This
category includes moral dilemmas in business, medical field,
and public sector.
3. Structural Dilemmas – it refers to cases involving network of
institutions and operative theoretical paradigms.
ONLY HUMAN BEINGS CAN
BE ETHICAL
1. Only human beings are rational, autonomous, and self-
conscious
2. Only human beings can act morally or immorally
3. Only human beings are part of the moral community
Freedom as a Foundation of
Morality
FREEDOM is discussed in the context of free will and self-determination,
balanced by moral responsibility.
– Advocates of free will regard freedom of thought as innate to the
human mind, while opponents regard the mind as thinking only the
thoughts that a purely deterministic brain happens to be engaged in
at the time.

Basically, morality requires and allows choice. Morality is choosing

ethical codes, values and standards to guide us in our decisions.
Minimum requirements for
Morality: Reason and Impartiality

REASON as a requirement for morality entails that human feelings

may be important in ethical decisions, but they ought to be guided by
reason.
IMPARTIALITY – involves the idea that each individual’s interest and
point of view are equally important. It is a principle of justice holding
that decisions ought to be based on objective criteria, rather than on
the basis of bias and prejudice.
PLEASE REVIEW FOR
QUIZ NO. 1