Name: Jeric M. Payab Yr. & Sec.: BSA 1-5 Ethics Dr. Virgilio Rivas, Ph. D. For your class activity, you are required to submit a seatwork (in the form of a reflection paper) with no more than 1,500 words on the following themes (choose only one): 1. Explain the correlation between retrospection and descriptive ethics and provide a historical example. In the historical example that you will provide, focus your timeline on the medieval past (of the European history), and examine how, from the point of view of the present (this is when you exercise retrospection), you can learn that 'ethos can change mores'. 2. Discuss the connection of normative ethics to the method of reflection and provide a historical example. This time focus your historical example on nonWestern countries (China, India, etc.) and examine how these countries differ from our cultural environment (presumably because we have been so much influenced by Western values) that manifests different ethical sensibilities concerning gender, traditions, nature, society, etc. One example that you can learn from, concerning ethical and moral differences, is in Afghanistan it is mandatory for women to be circumcised for the sole reason that male authorities deem women as merely reproductive tools. Circumcision is directed at women not having to feel pleasure in sexual activity because their organ is simply for reproductive use. 3. Choose one variant of meta-ethics and discuss how this relates to nos. 1 and 2. Stick to the examples you provided in the previous numbers. Name: Jeric M. Payab Yr. & Sec.: BSA 1-5 Ethics Dr. Virgilio Rivas, Ph. D. Retrospection and Descriptive Ethics To first define, retrospection is the act of looking back and reviewing previous events and situations. It is also presented as how we look back at history for us to know more about people’s ethics and see how they transform or change. On the other hand, Descriptive Ethics, as defined, is supposed to report facts and truths about the ethical conduct of different people and how they make the moral choices they make. These two are correlated because as we see, to be fully able to report facts and truths, as what Descriptive Ethics is supposed to do, we need to retrospectively look at it and see what happened or what ethical conduct they did. For me, this is what their main correlation is. Retrospection is needed to fully deliver Descriptive Ethics. Retrospection is essential to Descriptive Ethics because for us to be able to fully give context to Descriptive Ethics, we need to look back on what happened, and what choices have they made. ‘Ethos can change mores’; how can we confidently say this? First, ethos, when defined, denotes the character or stance of a certain individual, on the other hand, mores are customs and traditions transmitted through generations. So, once ethos has been transformed, then that thinking may be transmitted from that certain person to the people around him and then the change in mores will follow. To provide an example, in 1395, John Rykener, a male cross-dressed sex worker in London was arrested for having sexual intercourse with a man while in a female attire. In his account, he stated that he did this not only with male partners but also with female ones, including a number of religious members of the clergy like nuns and priests. During his time, this act was unacceptable, hence, he was arrested for it. Today, as we have been progressively transforming to a much more accepting and tolerating society, we see nothing wrong with what he did. And this is what retrospection in descriptive ethics entails. If today, we apply our own mores and ethos to that certain situation, we would condone what they did to John, but if we were to think, their thinking and acceptance to the third gender is as small as a grain of rice. It was not accepted. It was a struggle. This, as we see and compare today, is greatly different, and again, the main reason is that we had different beliefs and norms during 1395 and today. In his time, homosexuality and sex work is beyond unacceptable. It was inadmissible. These adversities that they have faced during their times weir brought about by ethos and mores that were then implemented and used by many. Thus, their ’new’ and ‘different’ way of life was then unacceptable and was denied by the society. In the present, as we continuously challenge pre-existing ethos and mores, we are bound to overcome previous adversities that have opened the doors to discrimination and unacceptance. Because today, we close those doors and create new ones built with love, understanding, tolerance, and acceptance. Name: Jeric M. Payab Yr. & Sec.: BSA 1-5 Ethics Dr. Virgilio Rivas, Ph. D. Reflection and Normative Ethics Normative Ethics questions what is right or wrong. It questions justice and how every individual should live and should make choices. It focuses on examining the reason behind their actions and the reasoning behind them. On the other hand, reflection allows us to see and look through ourselves and the actions that we have made. This is a thoughtful examination and evaluation of questions concerning your ethics and the continuous development of critical awareness about values that are inclined to the choices that all people make. These two concepts are interrelated. As normative ethics describe or question what is right or wrong, we need to reflect on the things that we did or what we are about to do. For us to be able to successfully and truthfully answer if something is right or wrong, we need to reflect. We need to reflect on what could this action possible result to and entail. To provide an example, we can have the past state of women of China. During the ancient times, they were not allowed to have access to education. If they were given, their education was mainly limited to teaching of social ethics and family tradition. But during the Qing Dynasty, which was from 1644 – 1911, women were given the chance to have access to education just like how men had. This started the opportunity and had opened millions of doors for women who have great potential to be of service of other people and to be able to contribute to the continuous development of global concepts. The acceptance of women to have access to education has started a revolution of the acceptance of women as equals of men in the society, even though it still has not happened today, it is still on the process. Because, whether you like it or not, our society still favors great men than great women. If we are going to compare this to what India has been continuously practicing from the past, they have continuously accepted women to be a part of the society. They even elect female politicians to serve in their government. This one is a great sign that they have accepted that women can just be as good as men in any aspect of life. So, what would be the essence and purpose of this as we see? Reflection, as we do this upon historical facts and examples, we may be able to examine it and scrutinize it in every way for us to fully understand why this may have happened or what urged this to happen. Using reflection in normative ethics, we may be able to continuously deep deeper on certain happenings or situations for us to know more about a certain situation. At the end of the day, the way we see things, our perception of things, our reflection of things is the only thing that we can do for us to determine if what we did or what we will be doing in the future, or even, what others did, is in line with our moral and ethical standards. One thing is only left for me at the end of this, that reflection and reflecting on your ethical and moral behavior is vital because this depicts what kind of person you are at the past, what kind of person you are today, and what type of person are going to be in the future. Name: Jeric M. Payab Yr. & Sec.: BSA 1-5 Ethics Dr. Virgilio Rivas, Ph. D. Variants of Meta-Ethics and How They Are Related to the First Two Samples There are two variants or strands of meta-ethics, these are Naturalistic and Metaphysical. To first define, Naturalistic Ethics focuses on the ‘facts’ on human life brought by objective natural laws. It deals with how we understand nature. On the other hand, Metaphysical Ethics deals with the thought and the value behind our actions. It is greatly dependent on how we view the world, habitually. Before continuing, let us also first define what is meta-ethics, basically, meta-ethics discusses and searches for the meaning behind our moral and ethical statements and actions other than it being rule-providing principles. So, to put it in a much simpler way, it is how we look at things and think if this is morally and ethically upright. And the two that I have first discussed, the naturalistic and metaphysical ethics are two strands or variants of meta-ethics. The first historical example from the first question, which was John Rykener’s situation, for me is an example or may be associated with metaphysical ethics. Simply, I see this as somehow related to metaphysical ethics because the issue that he faced deals with the thought and value behind his actions, which was then challenged and unaccepted by most of the population because it is unusual and not normal. The second example that was previously discussed is about the state of women’s access to education during the time before the Qing Dynasty and this event for me, can be related to naturalistic ethics because as we can see, this has been set as a law or a standard before – that, women can only have access for just two purposes and not by the purpose of self-enhancement and development. These two examples, as I see their correlation with two different variants of metaethics, have ties with each of them. The first having connections with Metaphysical Ethics as it concerns the thoughts, values, and meaning behind each action, and the second being tied to Naturalistic Ethics because it is focused on what the ‘facts’ are during that time which applied to the situation of every woman. To put it simply, there is no better variant than the other. They interdependently work together for our society to flourish and to continuously improve. These two are there to maintain and balance the equilibrium of looking at what is behind each action and what is the norm or the standard on that one. We do not need to use just one of these, we can use any of the one at any time that we see applicable. At the end of the day, what matters is that we know that every action that we do, every path that we take, these are aligned to our moral and ethical standards and that would ensure that as individuals, we may be able to continuously of servitude of ourselves, our family, and our society in general. We all have this one shared goal and duty; that is to protect and serve each other, as we are each other’s stewards. With this said, we must continue to revisit our choices that we’ve made in the past, think thoroughly of the choices that we have in the present, and examine clearly what choices we are going to make in the near future because all of these would greatly affect, not just you but every person around you.
