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UNIT 1:
Introduction: Key Concepts of Ethics and Morality

1.0 Intended Learning Outcomes

a. Describe what is moral and moral standards;
b. Differentiate moral and non-morals;
c. Define and know dilemmas and how to handle it manageably;
d. Distinguish situations as ethical or unethical.

1.1. Introduction
Morals are prevailing standards of behavior that enable people to live
cooperatively in groups. It also refers to what societies sanction as right and
acceptable. Principles serve as a guide to individual conduct within society. It may
change over time, and they remain the standards of behavior that we use to judge
right and wrong. Ethics is the philosophy of morality. Therefore, morality means
rightness or goodness.

The purpose of morality is to create lines that persons should not cross
because certain actions harm a person as they are wrong. Morality creates order,
stability, and trust for humans in a society.

Morality is important because they do not only benefit the carrier of these
good traits, but they benefit others as well. Example is a belief of someone that it is
wrong to take something that does not belong to him, even if no one knows about it.
Other examples include:

a) Always telling the truth

b) Do not destroy property.
c) Have courage.
d) Keep your promises.
e) Do not cheat.
f) Treat others as you want to be treated.
g) Do not judge.
h) Be dependable.
©Anton Shaparenko - stock.adobe.com

Why do we need to study morality? Our results show that we consider moral
traits so important in others, in part because a person's morality can benefit us in some
way. Moral traits have social value. From an adaptive perspective, moral traits signal
us whether we should approach or avoid someone or something, and whether we should
affiliate with that person.

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1.2 Ethics
Ethics is a system of moral principles. Philosophically, Ethics is defined as the
practical science of the morality of human act or conduct, and of the good life. Ethics term is
derived from the Greek word ethos which can mean as custom or particular way and
manner of acting and behaving. That is why ethics is usually taken as
synonymously with morality. Relatedly, ethics helps us confront certain dilemmas,
such as the following

 how to live a good life

 our rights and responsibilities
 the language of right and wrong
 moral decisions - what is good and bad?

Our concepts of ethics have been derived from religions, philosophies and
cultures. They infuse debates on topics like abortion, human rights and professional
conduct.

Approaches to ethics

Philosophers nowadays tend to divide ethical theories into three areas: Meta-
ethics, Normative Ethics and Applied Ethics.
 Meta-ethics deals with the nature of moral judgement. It looks at the origins and
meaning of ethical principles. The prime example of this is the belief that the
origin and ultimate standard of morality is God and His laws.
 Normative Ethics is concerned with the content of moral judgements and the
criteria for what is right or wrong. Most Muslim communities consider it
immoral for women to remove their headscarf or veil in public.
 Applied Ethics looks at controversial topics like war, animal rights and capital
punishment.

Of what use is Ethics?

Ethics needs to provide answers. If ethical theories are to be useful in practice,

they need to affect the way human beings behave.
Some philosophers think that ethics does do this.
They argue that if a person realizes that it would be
morally good to do something then it would be irrational
for that person not to do it.
But human beings often behave irrationally—they
follow their 'gut instinct' even when their head suggests a
different course of action. However, ethics does provide
good tools for thinking about moral issues.
Photo: Geoffrey Holman

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Ethics can provide a moral map

Most moral issues get us pretty worked up—think of abortion and euthanasia
for starters. Because these are such emotional issues, we often let our hearts do the
arguing while our brains just go with the flow.

But there's another way of tackling these issues, and that's where philosophers
can come in - they offer us ethical rules and principles that enable us to take a cooler
view of moral problems.

So, ethics provides us with a moral map, a framework that we can use to find
our way through difficult issues.

Ethics can pinpoint a disagreement

Using the framework of ethics, two people who are arguing a moral issue can
often find that what they disagree about is just one particular part of the issue, and
that they broadly agree on everything else.

That can take a lot of heat out of the argument, and sometimes even hint at a
way for them to resolve their problem. But sometimes ethics doesn't provide people
with the sort of help that they really want.

Ethics does not give right answers

Ethics doesn't always show the right answer to moral problems. Indeed, more
and more people think that for many ethical issues there isn't a single right answer -
just a set of principles that can be applied to particular cases to give those involved
some clear choices.

Some philosophers go further and say that all ethics can do is eliminate
confusion and clarify the issues. After that it's up to each individual to come to their
own conclusions.

Ethics can give several answers

Many people want to get a single right answer to ethical questions. They find
moral ambiguity hard to live with because they genuinely want to do the 'right' thing,
and even if they can't work out what that right thing is, they like the idea that
'somewhere' there is one right answer.

But often there isn't one right answer - there may be several right answers, or
just some least worst answers - and the individual must choose between them. For

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others moral ambiguity is difficult because it forces them to take responsibility for
their own choices and actions, rather than falling back on convenient rules and
customs.

Ethics is about the 'other'

The heart of ethics is a concern about something or

someone other than ourselves and our own desires and self-
interest.
Ethics is concerned with other people's interests, with the
interests of society, with God's interests, with "ultimate goods", and
so on. So, when a person 'thinks ethically' they are giving at least
some thought to something beyond themselves.

Ethics as source of group strength

One problem with ethics is the way it's often used as a weapon. If a group
believes that a particular activity is "wrong" it can then use morality as the
justification for attacking those who practice that activity.

When people do this, they often see those who they regard as immoral as in some
way less human or deserving of respect than themselves; sometimes with tragic
consequences.

Good people as well as good actions

Ethics is not only about the morality of particular courses of action, but it's also
about the goodness of individuals and what it means to live a good life. Virtue Ethics is
particularly concerned with the moral character of human beings.

Searching for the source of right and wrong

At times in the past some people thought that ethical problems could be solved
in one of two ways:

 by discovering what God wanted people to do

 by thinking rigorously about moral principles and problems

If a person did this properly, they would be led to the right conclusion.
But now even philosophers are less sure that it's possible to devise a satisfactory and
complete theory of ethics - at least not one that leads to conclusions. Modern thinkers
often teach that ethics leads people not to conclusions but to 'decisions'.

In this view, the role of ethics is limited to clarifying 'what's at stake' in

particular ethical problems. Philosophy can help identify the range of ethical methods,

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conversations and value systems that can be applied to a particular problem. But after
these things have been made clear, each person must make their own individual
decision as to what to do, and then react appropriately to the consequences.

Four ethical “isms”

When a person says "murder is bad" what are they doing?

That's the sort of question that only a philosopher would ask, but it's actually a
very useful way of getting a clear idea of what's going on when people talk about
moral issues.

 I might be making a statement about an ethical fact:

"It is wrong to murder" - This is moral realism
 I might be making a statement about my own feelings:
"I disapprove of murder" - This is subjectivism
 I might be expressing my feelings:
"Down with murder" - This is emotivism
 I might be giving an instruction or a prohibition:
"Don't murder people" - This is prescriptivism

1. Moral realism. This is based on the idea that there are real objective moral facts or
truths in the universe.

2. Subjectivism. Subjectivism teaches that moral judgments are nothing more than
statements of a person's feelings or attitudes, and that ethical statements do
not contain factual truths about goodness or badness.

3. Emotivism is the view that moral claims are no more than expressions of
approval or disapproval. It is a moral statement doesn't provide information
about the speaker's feelings about the topic but expresses those feelings.

4. Prescriptivism. Prescriptivists think that ethical statements are instructions or

recommendations. So, if I say something is good, I'm recommending you to do it,
and if I say something is bad, I'm telling you not to do it.

Morality and Non-morality

Characteristics of Moral Standards

1. Moral standards involve serious wrongs or significant benefits.
 Moral standards deal with matters which can seriously impact, that is, injure or
benefit human beings.

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 It is not the case with many non-moral standards. For instance, following or
violating some basketball rules may matter in basketball games but does not
necessarily affect one’s life or wellbeing.

2. Moral standards ought to be preferred to other values.

 Moral standards have overriding character or hegemonic authority.
 If a moral standard state 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.

3. 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.
 Ideally instead, these values ought to be considered in the process of making
laws.
 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.

4. Moral standards have the trait of universalizability.

 Simply put, it means that everyone should live up to moral standards.
 To be more accurate, however, it entails that moral principles must apply to all
who are in the relevantly similar situation.
 If one judges that act A is morally right for a certain person P, then it is morally
right for anybody relevantly similar to P.

5. Moral standards are based on impartial considerations.

 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.

6. Moral standards are associated with special emotions and vocabulary.

 Prescriptivity indicates the practical or action-guiding nature of moral
standards.

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 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.

Moral and Non-Moral Standards

Moral standards are norms that individuals or groups have about the kinds of
actions believed to be morally right or wrong, as well as the values placed on what
they believe to be morally good or morally bad. Moral standards generally promote
"the good", that is, the welfare and well-being of humans as well as animals, and the
environment.

o Example: ―Do Not Harm Innocent People!‖

NORMS + VALUES = MORAL

STANDARDS

General Enduring
rules about beliefs
actions or about what
behaviors is good and
desirable,
or not

Non-moral standards. These refer to standards by which we judge what is

good or bad, and right or wrong in a non-moral way. These can also be considered
as matters of taste or preference.

o Example: ―Do not text while driving!‖

Morals VS Non-Moral Standards

Why is there a need to distinguish Moral and Non-Moral Standards?

 Some values do have moral implications, while others don’t.
 Different cultures have different moral standards.
 A matter of taste in one culture may be a matter of moral insignificance in
another.
 Prevent clash of cultures.

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NON-MORAL STANDARDS MORAL STANDARDS

―We have no right to impose on others.‖ Force others to act accordingly.
Standards about behavior or practices have Standards about behavior or practices
no serious effects upon human well-being. have serious effects upon human well-
being.

Moral Dilemma

Moral dilemmas are situations where persons involved are called ―moral
agents‖ in ethics. These persons are forced to choose between two or more
conflicting options, neither of which resolves the situation in a morally acceptable
manner. Thus, it is a conflict between one kind or another decision to be made in a
particular situation, or whether an action will have a good or bad consequence.

Examples:
 Is it okay to lie if it will do some good?
 Abortion is murder, and murder is illegal; therefore abortion is illegal.
 It is okay to have an affair if you are no longer in love with your partner.
 If someone hits you, it is okay to hit him back.

Lawrence Kohlberg’s Moral Reasoning Theory

− Kohlberg proposed moral reasoning, which he thought to be the basis for

ethical behavior, and it develops through stages.

Three (3) Levels of Moral Stages

Level 1: Pre – Conventional Stage: Reasoners judge the morality of an action

by its direct consequences.

Stage 1: Obedience and Punishment

o Individuals focus on the direct consequences that their actions will
have for themselves.

Stage 2: Individualism, Instrumentalism, and Exchange

o What’s in it for me position. Right behavior is defined by what is in
one’s own best interest.

Level 2: Conventional Stage: People who reason in a conventional way judge

the morality of actions by comparing these actions to social rules and
expectations.

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Stage 3: Interpersonal Concordance (“Good Boy/ Girl”)

o Individuals seek approval from other people. They judge the morality
of actions by evaluating the consequences of these actions for a
person’s relationships.
Stage 4: Law and Order
o Individuals think it is important to obey the law and conventions of the
society.
Level 3: Post-Conventional Stage: Most people do not reach this level of
moral reasoning.
Stage 5: Human Rights
o People have certain principles to which they attach more value than
laws, such as human rights.
o An action is wrong if it violates certain ethical principles.
o Laws that do not promote general social welfare should be changed.
Stage 6: Universal Ethical Principles (Principled Conscience)
o Moral Reasoning is based on the use of abstract reasoning using
universal principles.

Moral Foundations Theory

Six (6) “Intuitive Ethics” = Core Values
1. Care / Harm
o Protecting others from harm, showing compassion.
2. Fairness / Cheating
o Treating others justly; not cheating them
3. Loyalty / Betrayal
o Fidelity to one’s group, family, community or nation
4. Authority / Subversion
o Respect for tradition and rules / laws of legitimate authority
5. Sanctity / Degradation
o Remaining pure and avoiding disgusting things or actions
6. Liberty / Oppression
o Protecting freedom of choice and resistance to tyranny

Moral Relativism

Moral relativists say that if you look at different

cultures or different periods in history, you'll find that
they have different moral rules. Therefore, it makes
sense to say that "good" refers to the things that a
particular group of people approve of. Moral relativists
think that that's just fine, and dispute the idea that there are some objective and
discoverable 'super-rules' that all cultures ought to obey. They believe that relativism

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respects the diversity of human societies and responds to the different circumstances
surrounding human acts. Different cultures have had different attitudes to certain
issues like divorce or war.

Why do people disagree with moral relativism

Many of us feel that moral rules have more to them than the general
agreement of a group of people - that morality is more than a super-charged form of
etiquette.
o Many of us think we can be good without conforming to all the rules of
society.
o Moral relativism has a problem with arguing against the majority view: that if
most people in a society agree with particular rules, that's the end of the
matter. Many of the improvements in the world have come about because
people opposed the prevailing ethical view, and moral relativists are forced to
regard such people as behaving "badly".
o Any choice of social grouping as the foundation of ethics is bound to be
arbitrary (e.g., race, religion, or politics).
o Moral relativism doesn't provide any way to deal with moral differences
between societies

1.3 References

Morals (n.d.). Ethics Unwrapped - McCombs School of Business – The University of

Texas at Austin. (Retrieved from
https://ethicsunwrapped.utexas.edu/glossary/morals)
Jensen DG. Mañebog. 2013. Moral Standards vs. Non-Moral Standards. Our Happy
School – Your Online ACADEMIC & Entertainment Magazine. Retrieved from
https://ourhappyschool.com/node/824
JEFJUST24. 2018. Moral versus Non-Moral Standards. PHILO-notes. Retrieved from
https://philonotes.com/index.php/2018/06/08/moral-standards/
JEFJUST24. 2018. Moral Dilemmas. PHILO-notes. Retrieved from
https://philonotes.com/index.php/2018/06/10/moral-dilemmas/
Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development n.d. lumen Education, Society, & the K-12
Learner. Retrieved
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/teachereducationx92x1/chapt 11
er/kohlbergs-stages-of-moral-development/
Jeffrey Spencer. 2019. Defining Morality and Developing Moral Awareness.
SlidePlayer.com Inc. Retrieved from https://slideplayer.com/slide/12732605/
https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-purpose-of-morality
https://www.ukessays.com/essays/philosophy/the-concept-of-moralityphilosophy-
essay.php
https://www.quora.com/Why-is-morality-important
https://www.yourdictionary.com/morality

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https://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-morals.html
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/one-amongmany/201607/the-
importance-being-moral
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/introduction/intro_1.shtml

1.4 Acknowledgment

I would like to extend our heartiest thanks and respect to all those who provides
help in preparation for this module, SSU key officials and other guidance, the authors
and sites where the information and discussion was originated.

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Ethics Unit 1 Assessment

Introduction: Key Concepts of Ethics and Morality

Part I. Multiple Choice. Select the letter of the best answer and write in a separate
answer sheet.

1. What is meant by morality?

a) It is the extent to which an action is right or wrong.
b) It is the study of the existence of God.
c) It is a way of grouping people according to their family origin.
d) It is the morals of people.
2. What is meant by a moral action?
a) It is an action that would be considered to be wrong.
b) It is an action that is neither right nor wrong.
c) It is an action that would be considered right.
d) It is an action accepted by the majority
3. What is immorality?
a) It is acting in a way that most people would consider to be wrong
b) It is acting in a way that most people would consider to be right
c) It is an eternal life
d) It is acting a way considered right by the majority
4. What is Ethics?
a) a grouping of people according to their race
b) the study of right and wrong acts
c) the study of God's existence
d) study of Philosophy
5. What is relativism?
a) Behavior of making moral decisions based on the circumstances and likely
consequences;
b) Asking your parents, cousins and siblings for advice on a moral dilemma
c) Making moral decisions based on following rules
d) None of the above.
6. How do we define 'dilemma'?
a) Having to choose between two possible options neither of which you feel
benefit you.
b) A problem offering two possibilities neither of which is a practical or 'good'
solution.
c) Not being able to make a decision.
d) A moral decision that has two possible correct outcomes.

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7. Which of the following is usually considered unethical?

a) punching someone you are angry with
b) fighting someone in a boxing match
c) punching a robber who's victimizing someone.
d) punching a wall when you are angry.
8. Consider this situation: Mary’s group gets a low grade on a project because she
did not complete her share of the work. But later, she owns up her mistake and
apologizes. In this case, Mary is demonstrating trust based on:.
a) the rule of law.
b) viability.
c) accountability.
d) kindness
9. You make sure every member working on your group project has an equal share
of the work, because you care about the ethical principle of rule of law. This
principle relates to:
a) Justice.
b) Accountability.
c) Transparency.
d) None of the above
10. What is Kohlberg’s lowest stage (Stage 1) in the moral reasoning theory?
a. Universal Ethical Principles
b. Human Rights
c. Law and Order
d. Obedience and Punishment
11. What is Kohlberg’s highest stage (Stage 6) in the moral reasoning theory?
a) Universal Ethical Principles
b) Human Rights
c) Law and Order
d) Obedience and Punishment
12. Divorce and separation among couples are looked upon with reproach among
Filipino Catholics, but approved among Muslims. How is this issue classified?
a) Moral Relativism
b) Morality
c) Immorality
d) Moral Dilemma
13. Which of the following presents a moral dilemma for most Filipinos?
a) Abortion
b) Marriage annulment
c) Tax avoidance
d) Politics
14. What aspect of morality is this example?: It is alright to steal money from the rich in
order to help the poor.
a) Moral Standard
b) Non-Moral Standard
c) Moral Dilemma

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d) Moral Conduct
15. Many people consider God and His laws as the origin and ultimate standard of
morality. What kind of ethical approach is this?
a) Meta-ethics
b) Normative Ethics
c) Applied Ethics
d) Descriptive Ethics
16. For Catholics, a married priest is an immoral one. This example falls under:
a) Meta-ethics
b) Normative Ethics
c) Applied Ethics
d) Descriptive Ethics
17. State-sanctioned death penalty is considered immoral to some nations. This is
an example of:
a) Meta-ethics
b) Normative Ethics
c) Applied Ethics
d) Descriptive Ethics
18. Without sufficient evidence and any good reason, many innocent civilians are
being labelled as terrorists by officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
This action is immoral, because:
a) It makes the innocent persons to be accused of crimes they did not commit.
b) It violates the Golden Rule of ―Do not do unto others what you don’t want to
do unto you.‖
c) It is a violation of their human rights.
d) All of the above.
19. A truthful person is good, and a good person is moral. Therefore, a truthful
person is:
a) Honest
b) God-fearing
c) Non-moral
d) Moral
20. An acrimonious and impolite speaker is a bad person, and a bad person is an
immoral one. Therefore, an acrimonious and impolite speaker is:
a) a bad person.
b) an immoral one.
c) ―mukhang pera‖ (greedy).
d) not a speaker.

-- End --

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