ETHICS
LESSON 1: BASIC CONCEPTS IN PHILOSOPHY
INTRODUCTION
• Logic is offered as a first course in philosophy. In
such a case, most of the students in Logic may have
not have adequate background in Introductory
Philosophy. Therefore, to help the students gain
insight on the nature or the general notion about what
philosophy is, it is deemed necessary to orient them
on this topic before they go to the study of Ethics.
MEANING OF PHILOSOPHY
Philosophy may be defined in two ways: nominal
(etymological) and real.
Etymological Definition of Philosophy
• The term philosophy is derived from the Greek words
“philos” or “philein” (to love, to desire) and “sophia”
(wisdom).
• Literally means love of wisdom.
• Thus, a philosopher is a “lover of wisdom” just like
Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.
• Wisdom, in this broadest sense, connotes knowledge
– knowledge directed to the fundamental and
pervasive concerns of existence.
• Wisdom is all-encompassing. It is understanding on
how we ought to live. It is how you systematically
organize, structure and relate all available data and
experiences.
• Wisdom in philosophy consists of participation in life
– the way you change things, to solve human
problems or how you discover the meaning of life.
• In short, the wisdom in philosophy is in how you help
yourself think more clearly, precisely and
systematically.
 Pythagoras (580 – 500 B.C.)
▪ a Greek mathematician and philosopher
▪ coined the word “love of wisdom”.
▪ founded the Pythagorean school known as
Metempsychosis.
▪ Pythagorean Theorem is also attributed to him.
▪ Metempsychosis which stressed that the soul of man
imprisoned in his body could be purified through selfexamination and strict discipline.
▪ Pythagorean Theorem stressed that the hypotenuse
of a right-angled triangle is equal to the sum of the
squares on the other sides.
▪ In one of his travels in an ancient Greek kingdom, he
was asked by the king if he was a Sophos (a wise
man), he said that he was not, but only a “lover of
wisdom.”
 Gorgias (485 – 380 B.C.)
▪ a Greek orator and famous sophists (Greek word,
sophistes).
▪ forerunner of the Aristotelian logic and Socratic
dialectic.
▪ first to systematize the laws of thought but later, they
emphasized material success and the ability to argue
any case irrespective of its truth.
 Protagoras (580 – 500 B.C.)
▪ a Greek mathematician
▪ He is also a forerunner of the Aristotelian logic and
Socratic dialectic like Gorgias.
▪ With Gorgias, they systematize the laws of thought
but later, they emphasized material success and the
ability to argue any case irrespective of its truth.
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 Herodotus (485 – 425 B.C.)
▪ a Greek historian known as the “Father of History”.
▪ Originally, he gave the literal meaning of philosophy.
▪ With Gorgias, they used the term philosophy as
theoretical knowledge, that is, knowledge studied for
its own sake.
The study of philosophy has been expanded from its traditional
meaning to include the study of man, matter and universe.
Real Definition of Philosophy
Since philosophy is too comprehensive and to various authors
define philosophy according to what they think, what they
believe, and what they ought to be done in the subject. Here
are some of the definitions of various authors:
1. Philosophy is a process by which men ponder,
discuss or argue over the use, application, limits or
meaning of important ideas (Bresman and Gould,
1977).
2. Philosophy is quest for wisdom; an attempt to provide
a vision of the world that is systematic and clear, in
which the connection between significant facts are
made manifest. It is the search for first thing (first
principles) and last things (ultimate implications)
(Minton and Shipka, 1982).
3. Philosophy is asking the right question that initiates
philosophical thinking and direction (Barry, 1983).
4. Philosophy is the sum of all man’s beliefs and views
about the world which guide his actions (Ariola,
1989).
5. Philosophy is the art of questioning everything; the
goal of philosophy is wisdom and the wisdom
requires questioning what is questionable (Kolak and
martin, 1990)
6. Philosophy focuses on conceptual clarity and
understanding from ignorance to knowledge (Earle,
1992).
7. Philosophy is the love or pursuit of wisdom; the
search for the basic principles (The New Webster’s
Dictionary of the English language, 1995).
8. Philosophy is the science of the things by their
ultimate principles and causes, as known by natural
reason alone (Pinon, 1995).
9. Philosophy is an attempt to see the wonders at our
existence and at our place in the scheme of things
(Melchert, 1999).
10. Philosophy is a systematic, reflective, critical,
primarily reason-bound inquiring into the basic
assumptions and guiding beliefs that people use to
make sense of any dimension of their live
(Christensen, 1999).
11. Philosophy is a human search for meaning; an
intellectual quest that goes beyond the boundaries of
concrete knowledge, towards the realm of the
abstract where the inquisitive mind finds some
satisfaction and wonder (Gualdo, 2000).
12. Philosophy is the never-ending search for the total
human meaning of our experiences. It is a discipline
that attempts to look for answers to man’s inquisitive
mind that begins in wonder and ends in awe (Bauzon,
2002).
13. Philosophy is a rational critical thinking of a more or
less systematic kind about the conduct of life, the
general nature of the world, and the justification of
belief (Encyclopaedia Americana, 2003).
Thus, philosophy may be viewed as an activity
undertake by men who are deeply concerned about who they
are and what everything is all about in this world. The essence
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of philosophy is asking the right question that gives the right
direction.
IMPORTANCE OF PHILOSOPHY
Philosophy as a subject:
 Enables the student to study, learn, and master the
various branches and divisions of philosophy and the
theories and beliefs of philosophers.
 Helps the student to develop the ability to form
opinions and beliefs.
 Helps the student to be resilient and philosophically
calm in the face of disorder and doubts, uncertainty,
indefiniteness and chaos.
 Deepens the student’s self-awareness.
 Increases the student’s self-awareness and
awareness of the world.
 Helps student to be creative.
 Helps the student to be imaginative.
 Provides the student with better intellectual
perspective and outlook.
 Gives the student personal freedom.
 Helps the student to refine his power of analysis.
Top Five (5) Reasons to Study Philosophy
1. Philosophy is a fascinating subject matter.
 Those who study philosophy are engaged in
asking, answering, evaluating and reasoning
about some of life’s most basic, meaningful, and
difficult questions, such as:
• What is to be human?
• Is there a God?
• What is truth? Is anything true? How can we
tell it is true?
• How do words come to have meaning?
• Do mathematical objects exists?
• What is time? Is time really real?
2. A wide variety of interesting courses taught by
outstanding professors.
 There are philosophy courses that address moral
issues, others that focus on the nature of science
and technology, and many that explore some of
the most important philosophical works written
across the history.
 Some of the courses are broad survey courses,
others are in-depth studies of particular issues,
texts, or philosophers.
3. Skill development of students
 The study of philosophy will enable student to
think, carefully, critically, and with clarity, take a
logical approach to addressing challenging
questions and examining hard issues, reason well
and evaluate the reasoning of others, discuss
sensibly and write effectively.
 Philosophy enhances analytical, critical, and
interpretative capacities that are applicable to any
subject matter and in any human context.
4. Great preparation for any career or graduate study
 Most students of philosophy don’t go on to
become philosophy professors.
 But they do go on to get good jobs in a wide
range of fields, including law, medicine, business,
education, journalism, public policy, government,
religion, communication fields, public relations,
retail management, social service and many
more.
5. For personal development
 The study of philosophy can be truly enriching
and highly gratifying and it is excellent
preparation for lifelong learning and an enhanced
intellectual, political and social existence.
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 Philosophy’s critical skills also provide the best
defense against popular foolishness and
falsehoods.
BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY
SCHOOLS OF PHILOSOPHY
The schools may be classified according to eastern and
western philosophy.
‒ Eastern philosophy includes Taoism, Confucianism,
Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Shintoism, among others.
‒ Western philosophy may be divided into Ancient, Medieval
and Modern Schools. These schools are presented in the
following:
1. ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL SCHOOL OF PHILOSOPHY
• Aristotelianism (derived from Aristotle) – is the
excessive use of discursive reason and abstract
aspects in proving scheme of things.
• Atomism (Greek word atoma, “cannot be divide”) rational explanation of the general aspects of
phenomena.
• Eleaticism - deals with existence, thought and
expression coalesced into one
• Epicureanism (derived from the philosophy taught by
Epicurus) or Hedonism - means that happiness is the
chief good.
• Monasticism - moral and physical disciplines based
on worldly renunciations
• Platonism (derived from the teaching of Plato) - deals
with the doctrine of forms and numbers.
• Pythagoreanism (derived from the teaching of
Pythagoras) - deals with the metaphysics of numbers
and reality – that reality is mathematical in nature.
• Scholasticism – an intellectual discipline which shows
the doctrines of the church are constant with reasons.
• Skepticism - raising doubts about any knowledge
beyond the control of directly felt experience about
the world so that one still looks for truth.
• Sophism - deals on a whole series of questions in
order to seek ample solutions along clearly defined
lines.
• Stoicism - deals on the conduct of man characterized
by peace of mind and certainty of moral truth.
2. MODERN SCHOOLS OF PHILOSOPHY
• Analytical and Linguistic are concerned with the
close and careful examinations of concepts.
• Developmentalism is a child-centered point of view
based on a careful study of the child.
• Disciplinism refers education of the whole man
through appropriate discipline.
• Empiricism (from Greek word emperia, “experience”)
means that what is true and real are those that are
confirmed by actual experience.
• Existentialism deals on the interpretation of human
existence in the world that stresses concreteness and
its problematic character.
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Humanism stresses personal culture, individual
freedom and development as the best way toward full
and rich lives.
Idealism deals with reality as spirit or consciousness
and whatever that exists are chiefly mental or ideas
and abstraction and laws are fundamental in reality,
not sensory things
Naturalism is concerned with the natural goodness of
man and the formation of society based upon the
recognition of natural rights.
Phenomenology concerned with phenomena or
events that are common experienced.
Positivism deals with knowledge of the matter that is
based on positive data of experience and is beyond
pure logic and mathematics.
Pragmatism is concerned with what is true and real
that are useful, workable and practical.
Rationalism deals with reason as the chief source
and test of knowledge.
Realism refers to the philosophy that is concerned
with the activities of life and understanding of the
individual in the society which he lives
Utilitarianism deals with the philosophy that an action
is right if it provides happiness of individual and
everyone affected, it is wrong if it promotes
dissatisfaction and unhappiness.
SUB-FIELDS OF PHILOSOPHY
‒ Philosophy can be sub-divided into several sub-fields;
each has its own particular doctrine in answering key
questions. These sub-fields are described briefly in this
section:
• Philosophy of Arts deals on aesthetic value,
expression, and other concepts that critic employs.
• Philosophy of Education deals with speculation and
application of philosophical method in the study of its
issues and problems.
• Philosophy of History deals with description of events
and actions of man’s past happenings and those that
are to happen in man.
• Philosophy of Language deals with languages their
meanings and how to use and manage the language
to man’s existence.
• Philosophy of Law deals with the formulation of
theories and concepts to help man, understand its
nature, its sources of authority a role in society.
• Philosophy of Logic deals with the laws of thought,
rules of right reasoning, principles of valid
argumentation and truth based solely on the meaning
of the term they contain.
• Philosophy of Mathematics is concerned on the
critical examination of basic mathematical entities,
mathematical theories and number system.
• Philosophy of Mind deals with the nature of the mind,
desire, emotion, pleasure, and pain and how they
enter into the explanation of human action.
• Philosophy of Nature deals with whatever issues
regarding the actual features of nature as reality and
is divided into philosophy of physics and biology.
• Philosophy of Politics deals with the questions of the
origin of the state and authority and the law of the
land.
• Philosophy of Psychology deals on the actual
theories and research efforts of contemporary
psychologists.
• Philosophy of Reading deals on a set of beliefs on
how reading should be taught based on research and
current thinking about reading.
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Philosophy of Religion deals on situations,
experiences, issues and problems relating to religion
and its methodology.
Philosophy of Science provides intellectually and
accurately satisfying explanations of a broad range of
natural phenomena.
Philosophy of Society deals with questions about
personal morality in relation to man’s existence as
member of society.
MORAL PHILOSOPHY
‒ Branch of philosophy that contemplates what is right and
wrong. It explores the nature of morality and examines
how people should live their lives in relation to others.
Branches of Moral Philosophy (Areas of Study in Ethics)
1. Meta-ethics, concerning the theoretical meaning and
reference of moral propositions, and how their values
(if any) can be determined. Meta-ethics answers the
questions: What is morality? What is justice? Is there
truth? How can I justify my belief as better than the
beliefs held by others?
2. Normative ethics, concerning the practical means of
determining a moral course of action. Normative
ethics answers the question: What we ought to do?
3. Applied ethics, concerning what a person is obligated
(or permitted) to do in special situation or a particular
domain of action. Applied Ethics answers the
question: Should we lie to help a friend or co-worker?
LESSON 2: ETHICS OR MORAL PHILOSOPHY
ETHICS OR MORAL PHILOSOPHY
‒ Branch of philosophy that involves the systematizing,
defending, and recommending the concepts of right and
wrong conduct.
‒ The term “ethics” derives from the Ancient Greek word
(ethikos), which comes from the word (ethos) or
“Habit”, “custom”. The branch of philosophy which is
axiology comprises the sub-branches of ethics and
aesthetics, each concerned with values.
‒ It tries to create a sense of right and wrong in the
organizations and often when the law fails, it is ethics
that may the organization from harming the society or
environment.
IMPORTANCE OF ETHICS
 It satisfies basic human needs.
o Being fair, honest and ethical is one of the basic
human needs.
 It creates credibility.
o An organization that is believed to be driven by
moral values is respected in the society even by
those who may have no information about the
working and the businesses or an organization.
 It unites people and leaders.
o This goes along the way in aligning behaviours
within the organization towards achievement of
one common goal or mission.
 It improves decision-making.
o Decisions are driven by values.
 It brings long term gains.
o Organizations guided by ethics and values are
profitable in the long run, though in the short run
they seem to lose money.
 It secures the society.
o Ethics succeeds because there is a law in
safeguarding the society.
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CODE OF ETHICS FOR LEADERS
▪ The code of ethics leaders use determines discipline
procedures and the acceptable behaviour for all
workers in the organization.
▪ When leaders have high ethical standards, they
encourage workers in the organization to meet that
same level.
▪ Ethical leadership also enhances the company’s
reputation in the financial market and community.
▪ A solid reputation for ethics and integrity in the
community may improve the company’s business.
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EMPLOYEE ETHICS
▪ Employee behaviour among workers in an
organization ensures that employees complete work
with honesty and integrity.
▪ Employees who use ethics to guide their behaviour
adhere to employee policies and rules while striving
to meet the goals of their organization.
▪ Ethical employees also meet standards for quality in
their work, which can enhance the company’s
reputation for quality products and services.
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ETHICAL ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
▪ Leaders and employees adhering to a code of ethics
create an ethical organizational culture.
▪ The leaders of business organizations may create an
ethical culture by exhibiting the type of behaviour they
would like to see in their employees.
▪ The organization can reinforce ethical behaviour by
rewarding employees who exhibit the values and
integrity that coincides with the company’s code of
ethics and discipline those who make the wrong
choices.
BENEFITS OF ETHICS TO THE ORGANIZATION
1. A positive and healthy corporate culture.
a. It improves the morale of workers in the
organization which may increase productivity and
employee retention; this, in turn has financial
benefits for the organization.
2. Higher levels of productivity.
b. It improves the efficiency in the company, while
increasing employee retention reduces the cost
of replacing employees.
3. Ethics and morals direct decision-making.
c. It regulates how people should behave in a given
culture.
4. Ethical rules and virtuous business practices rely on
moral standards as their bases.
5. Ethics and morals help keep government and
cultures from descending into anarchy.
WHY SHOULD STUDENTS STUDY ETHICS?
➢ Ethics allows student to live an authentic and
meaningful life.
➢ Ethics makes student more successful.
➢ Ethics allows student to cultivate inner peace.
➢ Ethics provides for a stable society.
➢ Ethics may help out in the afterlife.
MEANING AND IMPORTANCE OF RULES
Rules are defined in several ways:
1. Rules are instructions that tell you what you are
allowed to do and what you are not allowed to do.
 Raise your hand when you want to ask questions.
 You are not allowed to go to the canteen while
classes are going on.
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A rule is a statement telling people what they should
do in order to achieve success or a benefit of some
kind.
 Eat nutritious food to maintain a healthy life.
 Study your lesson well in order to get high
grades in the Ethics class.
Rules are statement that describe the way things
usually happen in a particular situation.
 In English, adjectives generally precede the noun
they modify.
 In Science, all objects thrown up, go down.
Rule tells you the normal state of affairs.
 Schools are established for the education of the
individual.
 Policemen have the duties to maintain peace and
order.
Rules influence or restrict actions in a way that is not
good for a person.
 It has been found that fear can ruin our lives and
make us ill.
 Unauthorized persons are not allowed to enter
this room.
Rules tell us something that is true or should happen
and then the authority has officially decided that it is
true.
 The court has decided that the respondent is
liable for civil damages.
 The judge has finally decided that the protest is
in favour of the complainant.
Rules are principles or regulations governing conduct,
action, procedure, arrangement.
 Fall in line when entering the classroom.
 Knock before you enter.
Importance of Rules
 Prudent laws are the foundations of a nation because
they define the parameters of civil society. If laws
become elastic, the boundaries become
dysfunctional.
 Laws organize our lives. We are able to deal and live
together because of rules and laws.
 Rules help us get along together and show respect to
each other. If there are no rules to follow, everyone is
free to do whatever he wants.
 Most things we do are governed by rules. Imagine if a
student ignores the rule against talking in class, the
teacher will not be able to achieve her goal and other
students cannot concentrate. Drivers who disobey
traffic rules can cause serious accidents.
 Rules organize the relations between individuals and
between societies to make it clear to them what is
right and wrong. They are designed to ensure
fairness, safety and respect for each other’s rights.
 Rules make the world a peaceful place to live.
 Rules are needed in our community because they
serve as balances between laws and rights. If there
are more laws than rights, there is more chance that
people will revolt because of the lack of their rights.
LESSON 3: DILEMMAS AND THE FOUNDATION OF ETHICS
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MORAL STANDARDS AND NONMORAL STANDARDS
Moral means…
• Moral quality (rightness or wrongness, goodness or
badness) is present, that is, what is either right or
wrong.
• What is right or morally good and this is opposed to
immoral, that is ---- wrong is morally bad.
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Moral Standards
‒ Those moral actions which are within the moral
sphere and are thus objects of moral judgments.
Non-moral actions or standards
‒ Those are actions devoid of moral quality and thus
excluded from the scope of moral judgment.
INSTINCTIVE ACTION
• An instinctive action is one in which an individual feels
himself impelled without knowing the end to be
accomplished yet with the ability to select, the
methods for the attainment of an object.
• Instinctive tendencies are found most explicitly in
lower animals and are expressed in the activities
displayed by them in seeking food.
 Actions of animals and insects.
 Grazing of a cow
 Mourning of a dog or cat
 Actions of young children and insanes and
idiots
 Actions done under compulsion
 Actions under the spell of hypnotic forces
• These actions are not morally wrong, because they
are not moral actions. They are incapable of
discriminating between right and wrong.
Moral Dilemmas and the Foundation of Ethics
A moral dilemma is a situation where:
 You are presented with two or more actions, all of
which you have the ability to perform.
 There are moral reasons for you to choose each of
the actions.
 You cannot perform all of the actions and have to
choose which action, or actions when there are three
or more choices to perform.
 Since there are moral reasons for you to choose each
action, and you cannot choose them all, it follows that
no matter what choice you make, you will be failing to
follow your morals.
 In other words, someone or something will suffer no
matter what choice you make.
THREE (3) LEVELS OF MORAL DILEMMA
➢ INDIVIDUAL
o An individual moral dilemma is experienced by
individuals who have a hard time to choose the
right action from two or more actions. No matter
what choice, the individual has someone or
something will suffer no matter choice the
individual makes.
➢ ORGANIZATIONAL
o In an organizational moral dilemma, administrative
decisions are characterized as having routines and
challenges.
o In business, organizations, there are always
dilemmas encountered by the administrator and the
employees. It is really very hard to pin down the
necessary morals to benefit the company. Guiding
institutionalization and nurturing conflict are both
viewed as useful in moral leadership within
organizations.
➢ SYSTEMIC
o Systemic types of dilemma occur in the ordinary
conditions of life. Why do dilemmas occur in
ordinary everyday life? Some, however, may not
seem to be dilemmas at all but an ordinary ethical
problem. Also, while it is common in a modern
ethics to address dilemma merely to propose
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theories to resolve, it must be remembered that
systemic dilemmas may betray a structure to ethics
that means they cannot be resolved.
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Dilemmas are dilemmas because they are well,
dilemmas.
More moralists or philosophers skip over the question
of why they are systemic dilemmas, from the
conviction that we all want the dilemmas resolved and
this is the only significant issue.
Such an attitude, however, is hopeless if it turns out
that the nature of dilemmas is to remain a system’s
dilemmas.
FOUNDATION OF ETHICS
● Around 800 BC, an individual’s moral duties stemmed
from his or her position in society.
● This was because society was composed of very
tightly knit clans which placed loyalty to clan above
everything else.
● Achilles or Odysseus had to behave in certain ways
because their identity as kings enjoined upon them a
particular code of moral behavior.
o The violation of which would be a crime.
● Around 5th century BC in Athens, as the strength of
clans declined, moral dilemmas began to crop up.
● What may be considered moral from the standpoint of
the clan can be considered immoral from the
standpoint of the Greek city-state.
● When these moral dilemmas arose, people found very
difficult to resolve them.
● In Greek literature, moral dilemmas at that time were
usually resolved by the intervention of the gods.
● Same as the Mahabharata, where moral dilemmas are
resolved through the intervention of Lord Krisma.
● Some Philosophers of the Ancient Greece were so
smart enough to realize that the gods don’t really
intervene to help people resolve their moral
dilemmas.
● Therefore, with the lack of divine interventions, moral
dilemmas will forever remain unresolved
● Thus, these philosophers, known today as Sophists,
argued that there are no foundations to ethics, and
that one must be able to argue for either side of the
moral dilemma.
● Believing Greece gods don’t really intervene to help
people resolve their moral dilemmas.
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This view generated the reaction in the form of the
great triad of Greek philosophy: Socrates, Plato, and
Aristotle.
All of them argued for strong foundations for ethics.
Their views, especially Aristotle’s formed the general
backbone of moral philosophy in Europe and the
Islamic world until the 17th century.
THREE (3) FOUNDATION OF ETHICS
1. Teleology
‒ Greek word – TELOS, meaning purpose.
‒ Ethics is important because it serves s purpose.
‒ The purpose (telos) is raising the human nature
from the raw to unfinished state of life.
‒ For Aristotle, the philosophical foundation of
ethics lay in its ability to transfer human nature
from its raw form to its highest potential.
2. Utilitarianism
‒ It is the belief that human nature compels man to
move towards pleasure and move away from pain.
‒ Thus, a good system of ethics will allow the
maximum number of people to move towards
pleasure and away from pain – in other words,
“the greatest good for the greatest number.”
 Would you torture someone if you thought
it would result in information that would
prevent a bomb from exploding and killing
hundreds of people?
‒ The moral system founded by English
philosopher Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832) and
encapsulated in the principle of “the greatest
good for the greatest number”.
3. Deontology
‒ It is the belief that morality must be followed for its
own sake.
‒ According to the deontologists, “A good act is
intrinsically good, and it must be performed without
regard to consequences, but because it is the
individual’s duty as a rational being to perform good
act, the individuals must be aware of the
consequences of their actions.”
‒ These school of thought was criticized by Friedrick
Nietzche. According to him, “these schools of thought
were nothing but mere rationalizations that concealed
the WILL to POWER, that is the desire to dominate
others."
‒ There are some small group of philosophers who
consider themselves to be Aristotelian who argue that
Friedrick Nietzche’s critique is plausible only if the
people reject Aristotle’s teleology.
RELATION BETWEEN ETHICS AND BELIEFS
• Magda Healey
o She said that Ethics (moral philosophy) asks
fundamental questions of:
▪ how human beings should live,
▪ what goals and values would they strive for,
▪ what is right and what is wrong,
▪ what is virtuous and what is wicked.
• Religious beliefs give meaning to people’s lives and
professes the existence and ultimate supremacy of a
spiritual, supernatural, scared or divine realm that
transcends the material reality of the day-to-day life.
• The realms of Ethics and Religious belief overlap but
are not identical.
o Most – Thought not All
▪ Religious belief proved their faithful with
guidance as to ethical conduct.
o Much – but by no means All
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Moral philosophy has roots in or
connections to religious belief.
Many religious systems adopt a super-naturalist, or
God-based, ethics
The deity is the only source of moral rules, and
people must do what God wants them to lead a good
life.
God speaks directly to people through the prophets
and recorded texts
o This approach is notable in the Abrahamic
religious: Judaism, Christianity and Islam
God’s rules are passed directly to the people and
recorded in the holy scriptures.
o The Ten Commandments of Moses, much of
Christ’s preaching in the Gospels and many of
the Quran’s suras are such direct teachings
concerning ethical conducts.
o Hindu Vedas are another examples of words of
the deity revealed directly.
Direct communication from the deity is only one-way
religious teach about ethics.
The best ways to live one’s life and solve moral
dilemmas are explored indirectly in many sacred
books and texts of religious significance, from the
Hindu epic Ramayana to the whole tradition of
Christian apologetics to the Taoist To Te Ching.
Besides the written word, the priests, monks, and
teachers of most religions, from the Zen Buddhist
gurus to Judaistic rabbis are considered to be moral
authorities, able to provide ethical guidance through
their deep understanding of the spiritual realm.
Most people would agree that one should lead a good
life, whatever the definition of the good life their
particular belief system proposes.
A supernaturalist approach dominates the Abrahamic
religion and refers to God’s will as the ultimate moral
authority:
o People should do what God desires, and what
God desire is good.
Although Moral Philosophy is rooted in religious
beliefs, secular ethics have a tradition going back to
the ancient times.
Many intellectuals’ thinkers who subscribed to some
forms of a religious belief system recognize that it is
possible to live a good life without recourse to
religion.
o The Apostles Paul of the New Testaments
and the current Dalai Lama, who called of
universal “Human Values” with “no
relationship with any particular religion and
this is particularly true even today.”
Although it is clear that Atheists can live ethical
existence, the difficulty they grapple with is a
justification for ethics, the question of where the
morality ultimately comes from.
o The most common answers point to shared
social convention and contract or to
universal human nature with its evolutionary
roots.
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ETHICAL BELIEFS AND MORAL BELIEFS
• Ethics recognizes the existence of a set of universals
about life, or at least about human life that establish
principles that make for a healthy society of healthy
individuals.
• These societies establish a set of principles that can
be phrased and held as beliefs. They are subject to
exploration and interpretation.
• Four Principles / Guidelines that are Generally Found
Across Human Culture
You can do it!
ETHICS
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Non-killing principle
Non-lying principle
Not stealing principle
Not breaking vows of sexual conduct principle.
Societies that are murderous, dishonest, lawless, and
licentious don’t do well
 Various religious and moral systems can
frame (non-killing, non-lying, not stealing
and not breaking vows) as coming from God
or arising from some other bases of
authority.
These core principles (non-killing, non-lying, not
stealing and not breaking vows) and their
interpretations and practices can be seen as ethics.
Note: that in wide variety of interpretations.
 Non-killing principle
▪ There are many valid perspectives that
can be phrased as questions
▪ Does this require vegetarian?
▪ Does it mean that all war is wrong?
▪ What does it say about death penalty?
Morality is related to ethics but is bound in a cultural
context and history of interpretation which is partly
conscious, and partly not.
So, the religious system of all religious that lay out
and interpret ethical principles and also present other
values and rules about life are moral beliefs.
You can do it!