Introduction to the Course

ETHICS

Ethics is one of the General Education courses offered in the new college curriculum.  Besides Ethics, the other General Education courses are as follows: Understanding the Self, Purposive Communication, Art Appreciation, Readings in Philippine History, Mathematics in the Modern World, and Science & Technology and Society.

Ethics is "a branch of philosophy that deals with the rightness or wrongness of human action."  Philosophy, in general, is an intellectual pursuit for the ultimate principles of all things under investigation.  For example, metaphysics, a branch of philosophy, deals with the ultimate principles of human existence, the whole of the physical universe as well.  Epistemology, another branch of philosophy, deals with the principles of true knowledge.  The intellectual pursuit for the ultimate principle is deemed necessary because this principle will serve as a ground or foundation of human existence, knowledge, morals, etc.  For the list of different subjects of philosophy, please click.

THE PRINCIPLE OF MORALS

The rightness or wrongness of human action presupposes a standard, criterion, or principle (ultimate principle) by which we distinguish right from wrong action (Montemayor, 1985).  On this score, this course will primarily try to search for the "norm and ground" of morals.  So, we will ask the following questions: What is the norm of morality? Where do we get the idea of goodness and badness of action? Is it coming from God or a transcendent Being? Is it coming from the man himself as a rational being? Is it coming from society? Or, what constitutes a morally good action?

Etymologically speaking, ethics and morality are synonymous or can be used interchangeably.  Ethics, on the one hand, (derived from the Greek word, ethos) means "traditional manners, customs, habits of a community" (Reyes, 1989).  Morality, on the other, (derived from the Latin word, mores) means the same thing as Ethics since the Romans borrowed much of the Greek culture.  From its etymology, Ethics or Morality connotes that the standard or principle of morals (what is right or wrong) is embedded in the shared life of the community.  As members of the community, we acquire this standard of morals or the principle of what is right and wrong.  Say, for example, pre-marital sex is wrong because that's what the community says so, or "death penalty" is wrong because the church says so.  This is what the Greek term, nomos, speaks of.  Nomos, in a literal sense, means "law" or "custom," which is generally thought of as a "social invention." In contrast, logos --another Greek term, which bears also the same literal meaning with nomos, is something "natural," not made nor created.  As something acquired, we can conclude that the norm of morality is something agreed upon or conventional, like the nomos, by members of the group. It is created or made by society, not something "natural" nor given as a "divine command."  To answer the question, What is the norm of morality?  The answer is clear.  The norm of morality comes from the community we live in.  

This idea (the norm of morals is created/made) gains support from sociologists and anthropologists.  From the sociological or anthropological point of view, the moral principle is part and parcel of our culture.  Culture consists of "everything" we already have, ranging from the things we use daily to the things considered "immaterial" such as traditions, practices, beliefs, norms, etc.  All these things (material & non-material), which are the components of culture, are made available to each and every member of society.  Thus, culture is "given" and shared, which would help define who we are --our moral self, in particular.  "Given," in the sense that culture forms part of the world we live in.  And, this "world" forms, transforms and re-forms us (or, maybe at times de-forms us) of who we are and who we are about to become.  Because we are "being-in-the-world," we imbibe everything shared in the community including the norms of what is right and what is wrong.

However, this position is difficult to defend.  One inherent problem of this stand is that the principle of morals is not universal.  "Universal," in the sense that what is considered "good" by a group of people (say, Visayans) must be "good" to Tagalogs, Muslims, and to all peoples.  Now, if the principle of morals is acquired from the community we are in and one community has a different culture from other communities, it is evidently true that different groups of people have different cultures.  So, no two people from different cultural backgrounds have the same idea of good or bad.  This is what sociologists call "cultural relativism."  Cultural relativism refers to the "practice of judging a culture by its own standard" (Macionis, 2012).  We cannot judge the cultural practice of people from outside their culture, or from the perspective of another culture.  This idea, somehow, sounds favorable because it promotes respect for one's culture and the individual person.  It also promotes multiculturalism --a perspective recognizing cultural diversity and promoting equal standing for all cultural traditions (Macionis, 2012).  Yet, this idea remains unfavorable to some thinkers, especially to those having a strong religious background.  

At this juncture, it is helpful to classify the types of norms, which form part of one's culture: (1) aesthetic norms, (2) technical norms, (3) social norms, (4) legal norms, (5) ethico-religious norms, and (6) moral/ethical norms.  This rough classification does not put any clear demarcation between or among norms.  A technical norm, for example, may also be a legal norm, or it's a legal norm but not a social norm.  This classification, however, will serve only the purpose of differentiating moral norms from other norms in society. 

1. Aesthetic norms - refer to standards of distinguishing beautiful from ugly, audible from inaudible, edible from what is not edible, etc.  These standards are relative to one's perception -thus, somehow subjective.  As the saying goes, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder."  But, we can't deny the fact that some aesthetic standards are acceptable by a group of people.  Thus, there is what we call Europeans' standard of beauty or Filipinos' standard. 
2. Technical norms - refer to standards of distinguishing what is proper from improper, especially in technical matters of concern.  During this pandemic, "social distancing" is observed.  Social distancing (at least 1 meter apart) is a standard --a technical standard, in particular, each one has to observe in public to curb the transmission of the COVID 19 virus.  Social distancing is also a legal norm.
3. Social norms - refer to standards for group cohesion like what is the proper decorum in attending a party or in attending a church service.  These norms will specifically apply to behaviors appropriate in social gatherings or organizations.
4. Legal norms - refer to standards promulgated into laws.  These may cover all other norms, which are made into laws so that corresponding state-sanctioned penalties are imposed on violators.  But, one important thing to note is that what is legal is not necessarily moral, or what is moral is not necessarily legal.
5. Ethico-religious norms - refer to ethical norms or standards set by a certain religion.  These standards are made for the faithful to become worthy in the eyes of God.
6. Moral/ ethical norms - refer to ethical standards used to distinguish good from bad actions.  These standards are considered proper to every individual person because they help her achieve her proper end/purpose as a moral human being.  This point will be discussed thoroughly below.

BEING MORAL: A DIMENSION OF HUMAN EXISTENCE [Link]

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HUMAN ACTION

Ethics deals only with human actions.  These are actions which are free and voluntary --thus, done knowingly and willingly.  These are actions of man done with full knowledge and consent (Montemayor, 1985).  In contrast, the action done without full knowledge and full consent is called an act of man.  The responsibility belongs to, or is consequent upon, human acts but not to acts of man (Quito, 2008).

1. Full knowledge - This implies that a child is not culpable (not deserving blame) of her action.  It's because of her lack of knowledge in her action.  In the Philippines, juvenile delinquents like drug peddlers and murderers are under the age of 18.  So, they are not penalized like the adult ones --age 18 and above.  
2. Full consent - This implies that one has willingly done her action.  There are no threats or intimidation in doing the act, nor actions done under the influence of money, alcohol, etc.  She is the sole cause of the act and there's no other.  It is done out of her free will.  Indeed, one is most truly free when she is convinced that the action is good and such action is ought to be done (Pasco, et al, 2018).

IMPORTANCE OF ETHICS [Link]

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QUIZ 1 [Link] - Covers the topics discussed above, Introduction to the Course.

REFERENCES: [Link]