Ethics
basic concepts
My Moral Compass
Activity 1: Mind Mapping
What does ethics
mean for me?
objectives
Differentiate the basic concepts in ethics
Examine an action to be moral, non-moral, amoral and immoral
Balance judgment towards one’s action (self and others)
What is/are the
reason(s) for our
ethical/moral behavior?
Understanding
the Person
Sociocultural
Influences
Religious
Multicultural
Socioeconomic
Political
Ethical
Media
Psychological
Biological
Basic Concepts
Moral
Non-Moral
ETHICS
Amoral
Immoral
Hey! What about
Unmoral?
Basic Concepts
Ethics, is derived from a Greek word “Ethikos”
which means character.
Moral
Non-Mo
ral
ETHICS
Amoral
Ethics is a branch of philosophy that deals with the
principles of conduct of an individual or group.
It works as a guiding principle as to decide what is
good or bad. They are the standards which govern
the life of a person.
Immoral
Ethics defines the character of an individual.
Ethics are related to right and wrong conduct of an
individual in a particular situation.
Basic Concepts
Moral
Non-Mo
ral
ETHICS
Amoral
Immoral
Some ethical principles are:
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
Truthfulness
Honesty
Loyalty
Respect
Fairness
Integrity
Basic Concepts
Morals is derived from a Greek word
“Mos” which means custom.
Moral
Non-Moral
ETHICS
Amoral
Immoral
Morals are the social, cultural and
religious beliefs or values of an
individual or group which tells us what
is right or wrong.
Morality is not fixed because it
describes the particular values of a
specific group at a specific point in
time.
Basic Concepts
Some moral principles are:
Moral
Non-Moral
Do not cheat
ETHICS
Be loyal
Be patient
Amoral
Immoral
Always tell the truth
Be generous
Basic Concepts
Moral
Non-Moral
ETHICS
Amoral
Immoral
▪ Non-moral standards refer to standards by
which we judge what is good or bad and
right or wrong in a non-moral way.
▪ 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 Concepts
Examples of non-moral standards are:
Moral
Non-Moral
1.
ETHICS
2.
Amoral
Immoral
3.
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.
Basic Concepts
Amoral, or "without morals," is
Moral
Non-Moral
ETHICS
Amoral
Immoral
defined as "having or demonstrating no
care about whether an action is morally
right or wrong.“
Amoral means "being neither moral nor
immoral,"
A morally indifferent person doesn’t
have a conscience to act against it.
Basic Concepts
Here are some example:
Moral
Non-Moral
ETHICS
Amoral
❑ Infants could be said to be amoral
since they have not yet developed the
brain capacity to understand right and
wrong.
Immoral
❑ Some extreme sociopaths are also
amoral, since they lack a conscience as
a result of a cognitive disorder.
Basic Concepts
✔ Immoral is something that is evil or wrong.
It means failing to adhere to moral standards.
Moral
Non-Mor
al
✔
Immoral describes a person or behavior that
conscientiously goes against accepted
morals—that is, the proper ideas and beliefs
about how to behave in a way that is
considered right and good by the majority of
people.
✔
A person who does an immoral acts has
acted against his/her conscience/moral code.
ETHICS
Amoral
Immoral
Basic Concepts
Moral
Non-Mor
al
ETHICS
Amoral
Immoral
Here are some examples:
o Stealing someone’s car.
o Cheating on one’s spouse
o Killing a person
Basic Concepts
❖ Unmoral refers to those having no
moral perception.
❖ It refers to something to which right and
wrong are not applicable, such as
animals, forces of nature, and
machines.
Hey! What about
Unmoral?
Basic Concepts
Here is an example:
❖
Typhoons/tropical storms are
unmoral, since they are formed by
unconscious natural processes that
exist outside the bounds of
morality.
Hey! What about
Unmoral?
Characteristics of Moral Standards
a. Moral standards involve serious
wrongs or significant benefits.
b. Moral standards ought to be
preferred to other values.
c. Moral standards are not
established by authority figures
Characteristics of Moral Standards
d. Moral standards have the trait of
universality
e. Moral standards are based on
impartial considerations.
f. Moral standards are associated with
special emotions and vocabulary.
Characteristics of Moral Standards
a. Moral standards involve serious
wrongs or significant benefits.
• It means moral standards deal with matters which
can seriously impact, that is, injure or benefit
human beings.
Characteristics of Moral Standards
b. Moral standards ought to
be preferred to other values.
• It means moral standards have overriding
character or hegemonic authority.
• If a moral standard states that a person has the
moral obligation to do something, then he/she is
supposed to do that even if it conflicts with other
non-moral standards, and even with self-interest.
Characteristics of Moral Standards
c. Moral standards are not established by
authority figures
• Moral standards are not invented, formed, or generated by
authoritative bodies or persons such as nations’ legislative
bodies.
• In principle therefore, moral standards cannot be changed
nor nullified by the decisions of particular authoritative
body.
• One thing about these standards, nonetheless, is that its
validity lies on the soundness or adequacy of the reasons
that are considered to support and justify them.
• Ideally instead, these values ought to be considered in the
process of making laws.
Characteristics of Moral Standards
d. Moral standards have the trait
of universality
• it means that everyone should live up to moral standards.
• To be more precise, however, it requires that moral principles be
applicable to everyone who is in a circumstance that is relevantly
comparable.
• This characteristic is exemplified in the Golden Rule, “Do unto others
what you would them do unto you (if you were in their shoes)” and in
the formal Principle of Justice, “It cannot be right for A to treat B in
a manner in which it would be wrong for B to treat A, merely on the
ground that they are two different individuals, and without there being
any difference between the natures or circumstances of the two which
can be stated as a reasonable ground for difference of treatment.”
• It is an extension of the Principle of Consistency, that is, one ought
to be consistent about one’s value judgments.
Characteristics of Moral Standards
e. Moral standards are based on
impartial considerations.
• It means, moral standard does not evaluate standards
on the basis of the interests of a certain person or
group, but one that goes beyond personal interests to a
universal standpoint in which each person’s interests
are impartially counted as equal.
• Impartiality is usually depicted as being free of bias or
prejudice.
• Impartiality in morality requires that we give equal
and/or adequate consideration to the interests of all
concerned parties.
Characteristics of Moral Standards
f. Moral standards are associated
with special emotions and
vocabulary.
• Prescriptivity indicates the practical or action-guiding
nature of moral standards.
• These moral standards are generally put forth as injunction or
imperatives (such as, ‘Do not kill,’ ‘Do no unnecessary harm,’ and
‘Love your neighbor’).
• These principles are proposed for use, to advise, and to influence
to action.
• Retroactively, this feature is used to evaluate behavior,
to assign praise and blame, and to produce feelings of
satisfaction or of guilt.
References
Pasco, M. O., Suarez, F., Rodriguez, A.M. (2018). ETHICS. Quezon City: C & E
Publishing, Inc.
Ariola, M. (2018). Ethics. Intramuros, Manila: Unlimited Books Library Services &
Publishing Inc