Location via proxy:   [ UP ]  
[Report a bug]   [Manage cookies]                
Download as docx, pdf, or txt
Download as docx, pdf, or txt
You are on page 1of 6

BATAAN HEROES COLLEGE

Module 1 : Philosophy of Ethics, Morality, Standard Behavior,


Values, and Social Norms.

Module Description

This module consists of the concept of philosophy of ethics, morality,


standard behavior, values, and social norms.

Learning Objectives

After studying this module, the student should be able to:


1. Define and explain the concept of ethics;
2. Differentiate ethics and values;
3. Discuss each kind of values;
4. Enumerate and define each cardinal virtues;
5. Differentiate human acts and acts of man;
6. Explain the concept of morality in relation to ethics; and,
7. Discuss the nature of social norms.

Read and understand me!


ETHICS defined

- was derived from the Ancient Greek “Ethikos”, meaning “arising from
habit”. It is a major branch of philosophy which focuses on the study of value
or quality.

- A branch of philosophy dealing with right and wrong and the morality of
motives and ends.

- It covers the analysis and employment of concepts such as good, evil,


right, wrong, and responsibility.

- Is an area of philosophy considered as a normative science.

- It is concerned with norms of human conduct, as distinguished from the


formal sciences, such as mathematics and logic, and the empirical sciences,
such as chemistry and physics.

Ancient Greek Ethics

Socrates - is customarily regarded as the father of western ethics.

He asserted that people will naturally do what is good provided that they
know what is right, and that evil or bad actions are purely the result of
ignorance: “There is only one good, knowledge, and the one evil, ignorance.

Professional Conduct and Ethical Standards 1


Ria B. Lucero, Ph.D., Crim., JD.
BATAAN HEROES COLLEGE

Major standards of conduct


@ happiness or pleasure
@ duty, virtue, or obligation
@ perfection

Hedonism
- The principal ethics is maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain.

- This may range from those advocating self-gratification regardless of the


pain and expense to other and with no thought for the future, to those believe
that the most ethical pursuit maximizes pleasure and happiness for the most
people.

- highest good is pleasure.

Virtue Ethics, focuses on the inherent character of a person rather than on


the nature or consequences of specific actions performed. 

Three elements of human soul:


@ intellect
@ will
@ emotion

Morality Defined
Morality speaks of a system of behavior in regards to standards of right or
wrong behavior.

The word carries the concepts of:


(1) moral standards, with regard to behavior;
(2) moral responsibility, referring to our conscience; and
(3) a moral identity, or one who is capable of right or wrong action. 

Morality as it relates to our behavior is important on three levels:


1) to ensure fair play and harmony between individuals;
2) to help make us good people in order to have a good society; and
3) to keep us in a good relationship with the power that created us. 

Moral virtues
- are habits of action that agree with the mean, the principle of
moderation, and they must be compliant because of differences among
people and conditioning factors.

Forms of Ethics and Its application


@ Ethics in politics and economics
@ Environmental ethics
@ Ethics in the profession
@ Ethics in psychology
@ Legal Ethics - applied to criminology leading to the field of criminal
justice.

Professional Conduct and Ethical Standards 2


Ria B. Lucero, Ph.D., Crim., JD.
BATAAN HEROES COLLEGE

Moral distinctions
@ Moral- good or right
@ Immoral- bad or wrong
@ Amoral- neither good nor bad
Morality and Human Existence
There is morality because there is man
1. Man is the only Moral Being by virtue of the following reasons:
a. Man is a being of action
b. Man has intellect
c. Man has will
2. Man as an Animal 
3. Man as a Rational Animal 
4. Intellect compared with will
5. Concrete Basis of Morality 

Values and Cardinal Virtues

Moral Character or character


- is an evaluation of a person’s moral and mental qualities.

VALUES defined as:

@ the quality that renders something desirable or valuable;

@ an ideal accepted by some individual or group;

@ principles, standards or qualities considered worthwhile or desirable by the


person who holds them; and,

@ abstracts ideas about what a society believes to be good, right, and


desirable.

Categories of Values

@ ethics
@ aesthetics
@ doctrinal
@ innate natural
@ non-use/Passive
@ potential / option

Professional Conduct and Ethical Standards 3


Ria B. Lucero, Ph.D., Crim., JD.
BATAAN HEROES COLLEGE

Kinds of Values
@ Biological Values
- Includes the physiological needs of man as man
@ Psychological Values
-such as relationships, companionship, family, friendships, love
@ Intellectual Values
- such as achievements, career, and success
@ Moral Values
- for the spiritual fulfillment of man

Cardinal Virtues

@ Prudence
- refers to the ability to govern and discipline oneself by means or
logical reasoning and sound discretion.

@ Temperance
- ability to avoid something and act with moderation, regulating one’s
carnal appetite for sensual pleasures.

@ Fortitude
- a combination of patience, perseverance and endurance.

@ Justice
- a virtues that inclines the will to give every person his/her accorded
rights.

@ Charity
- refers to kindness, compassion, altruism, humanity and goodwill.

@ Virtue
- is a character trait which is evaluated as being good.

Behavior
- is a response of an individual or group to an action, environment,
person, or stimulus.

Human Acts
-Are acts done with knowledge and consent
-Are actions that proceed from the deliberate free will of man
-Refers to any activity performed by man. 
- This activity could either be physical, spiritual, internal, or external.

Professional Conduct and Ethical Standards 4


Ria B. Lucero, Ph.D., Crim., JD.
BATAAN HEROES COLLEGE

Elements
@ Knowledge 
@ Freedom 
@ Voluntariness 

Distinctions:
Human Acts Acts of Man
It requires man’s rationality It does not require man’s rationality. 
It requires knowledge, freedom and  Done without knowledge,
voluntariness (elements of human without consent and involuntary
acts) 
Man takes responsibility of his action  It does not make man responsible for
his action

Social Norms

Social Norms are unwritten rules about how to behave. 


Social norms are rules of behavior.
They provide us with an expected idea of how to behave in a particular
social group or culture. 
For example, we expect students to arrive to a lesson on time and
complete their work.
The idea of norms provides a key to understanding social influence in
general and conformity in particular.
Social norms are the accepted standards of behavior of social groups.
There are norms defining appropriate behavior for every social group.
For example, students, neighbors and patients in a hospital are all aware
of the norms governing behavior.
And as the individual moves from one group to another, their behavior
changes accordingly.
Social norms grow out of social value and both serve to differentiate
human social behavior from that of other species.
Norms are the means through which values are expressed in behavior.
Norms generally are the rules and regulations that groups live by.
Or perhaps because the words, rules and regulations, call to mind some
kind of formal listing, we might refer to norms as the standards of behavior of
a group.
For while some of the appropriate standards of behavior in most societies
are written down, many of them are not that formal.

Professional Conduct and Ethical Standards 5


Ria B. Lucero, Ph.D., Crim., JD.
BATAAN HEROES COLLEGE

Many are learned, informally, in interaction with other people and are
passed "that way from generation to generation.
The term "norms" covers an exceedingly wide range of behaviour.

Activity 1:

Observe your community, make a reaction paper about the nature of social
norms.

Activity2:

Make a slogan and poster about the standard behavior in your community.

Professional Conduct and Ethical Standards 6


Ria B. Lucero, Ph.D., Crim., JD.

You might also like