Binalonan, Pangasinan

First Semester | A.Y. 2022-23

Course Title: Ethics

Course Code: GE 8

Name: ___________________________________
Course and Year: __________________________

Introduction
This module entitled Feelings and Moral Decision addresses the following questions: What are
feelings/emotions? What is the role of feelings in moral decisions? What are the disadvantages of over reliance on
feelings? What is will? What is the role of the will in moral decisions? How can we make reason and impartial
decisions? Lastly, why reason not enough in carrying out moral decisions?

I. Objectives:
In this module, you will be able to:
1. Establish the role of feelings in ethical and moral decision making.
2. Outline the significance of feelings when making moral decision
3. Distinguish the obstacles in moral decision making

II. Lecture and Discussions of the lesson/s Emotivism situationism Intuitionism

III.

A. Feelings as Instinctive and Trained Response to Moral Dilemmas

1. Emotion as Moral Compass of Reason in Moral Experience

a) Emotions are said to be a moral compasses of reason because too much of reason can be very
dangerous. There is a good observation that those who are considered “intellectually giants” are often
“emotionally dwarf”. Thus, being too intellectual without emotions or with inappropriate emotions may lead to
failures.

b) Ben-Ze’ev (1997) claims further that emotions are moral guides, moral supports and communicators.
Emotions sensitivity can be a moral guide. Feelings can become instinctive and trained response to every moral
experience in order to make decisions. Having a bad feeling on choice may help a person choose another better
option.

c) Emotion can be a moral support to fight immorality. Having been shown love and concern, one can be
motivated to do what is right such as fighting corruptions and abuses. Emotion can also communicate one’s moral
values or principles to others. Through emotions such as sympathy, compassion, and care, one can reveal his moral
principle of love to others.

2. Evaluating Ethical Subjectivism

a) Ethical Subjectivism is an ethical framework based solely on one’s feelings. Morality is not based on
objectivism (impartiality) but on what one personally feel is what believes in. There are just different opinions so, no
one is right. There are no facts, only different feelings.
David Hume started with the idea – morality is a matter of feeling rather than fact. There is no objective right
and wrong because everything are just personal expressions of feelings. So when a subjectivist is asked whether
something is morally good or bad, his response is simply a subjective approval or disapproval of it. If he is to
comment on genocide, his response – “I feel bad about it” is just an expression of negative personal feeling.

b) Ethical Subjectivism implies that each is infallible. So if one claims that divorce is moral then, nobody can
question it because one is simply defending that it is just what one feels and approves of. But one’s approval of
divorce may be erroneous because it may just be to maintain interpersonal or in order not to offend pro-divorce
groups.
 Feeling good about something does not necessarily make that something good. Prohibited drugs and
behaviors such as slavery, genocide and racism may give a “good” feeling but they actually bring a lifetime misery.
Besides, there will always be people who will have a different feeling and will render these bad.

c) Ethical subjectivism also holds that disagreement does not exist. For instance when Pedro states that
abortion is moral, he may mean that he actually approves of it; but Pepita claims that abortion is immoral and what
she actually means is that she disapproves of it. Ethical subjectivism may deny the moral disagreement because
there are only disagreements of attitudes or feelings. But there is an obvious moral disagreement that needs serious
discussion. Certainly, Pedro and Pepita have a disagreement on their personal moral views and feelings. Even if both
Pedro and Pepita simply acknowledge the truth or falsity of what each is saying, this does not eliminate the actual
difference in their moral claims.
In ethics, disagreements may be impossible to settle because they are charged with high emotions and
despite available evidence like abortion. Many feel very strongly that abortion is immoral, while many others feel very
strongly that it is moral. This has been a debate for many decades. There might be no consensus in the future. But
significantly, answers to the relevant factual questions are more important to have been know such as when does life
really begins.

3. Evaluating Emotivism
a) Emotivism or the “Boo/Hurrah Theory” is primarily developed by Charles L. Stevenson. It is improved ethical
subjectivism. This holds that moral judgment express feelings, not reasons, not moral truths, not moral
knowledge. In looking at an image, one feels something about the image that makes him remark either “Boo!” (ex:
Wala yan!) or “Hurrah!” (Ex: Yan, ang ganda)!).
Actions do not make any assertion about their rightness or wrongness. Actions simply evoke feelings, not
value judgments. Thus, when one says that something is good, he/she is only showing his approval of it also to
others.

b) Emotivism has two different purposes:

1. To influence behavior and express the speaker’s attitude
2. To express the speaker’s attitude

On one hand, if one says: “Divorce is immoral,” it means “Do not divorce!” which is an attempt to influence
the listener. On the other and, if one says: “Honest election is good” it only means “Hurrah to honest election,” which
is just an expression of the speaker’s emotion.

Criticism on Emotivism: Many believe that there is reason in moral statements and not just simply expression of
feelings. For example, if one claims that “mercy killing is bad,” it does not only express a feeling of disgust or
disapproval. It actually entails supporting reasons why killing is bad such as life is sacred or no one has the right to
end human life.

If emotivism is right and people will just follow their emotions then there should never be the problem of what
to do on moral issues. But that is just ideal since the reality is people also act against their emotions.
Moral judgments do express emotions. They may arouse different feelings but makes them really
meaningful is if they can be verified not only by sense perceptions but also by correct reasoning and sound
evaluation.

4. Evaluating Intuitionism/ intuitive

a) Intuitionism is another ethical theory that judges the rightness or wrongness of an act by some kind of
intuition. Anthony Cooper calls it the “moral sense,” a feeling of attraction or repulsion and a reflex moral sensibility,
which is the reason for a deliberate choice of the right or wrong course of action (Gualdo, 2013). This feeling of
attraction or repulsion is similar to the attraction or repulsion by beauty or ugliness. It is a built-in response to any
given circumstance.
For the intuitionists, “good” is indefinable, objective moral truths that do not depend on human thinking
because basic moral principles are self-evident (i.e. reflexively sensed truths). For example, one does not kill
somebody simply because it is instinctive or reflexive not to kill and not because that is what was taught by culture or
religion. One simply senses that it is wrong.
One’s moral sense (or intuition) can be developed by experience. Experience can make one “reflexively”
realize the goodness or badness of an action, in the same manner that one reflexively withdraws hands from a very
hot object.
 Intuitionism is very weak. For instance, Armando cannot claim that Danny is dishonest because he simply
intuits it from Danny’s wife. It is illogical and unverifiable to say that something is good or right because one intuits or
feels it to be that way.
In moral decision-making wherein a policeman decides who to save whether the leader or innocent children,
it is very hard to accept that he chose to save the leader simply by intuition. There must be a good reason or
justification for such choice. People are affected by every decision so that they too deserve explanation.

5. Evaluating Situationism
a) Situationism is an ethical framework developed by Joseph Fletcher (1960). This holds that the foundation of moral
truth is agape (love), which is the only thing of intrinsic value. He recommends the following principles, which are
controversial to moral/ethical thinkers:

Principles of Situationism
1. “Love is the only norm,” love is the only law. It rejects legalism.
2. “Love and justice are the same,” no love is no justice.
3. “Love is not liking”, but is discerning and critical, not sentimental. Christian love is non-selfish love of all
people.
4. “Love only is always good,” so when one lies for a loving purpose, his lying is right because of its loving
purpose.
5. “Love justifies the means.” This goes with #4.
6. “Love decides there then,” that is, love’s decisions are made simultaneously, not prescriptively.

Example: Preventing a son from drinking liquor without offending his friends. The mother tells his son’s friends that
his son has a fever so he cannot attend a scheduled drinking session. In this case, she tells a “white lie,” not because
she is not honest, but because the situation tells her that it is the right action for this particular situation. She told a lie
because she loves her son.
The biggest problem in situationism is that there will always be a dispute as to what most loving action is
and what this actually means in practice. Every person is subjective and has his own interpretations of love. Doing
bad such as heinous crimes because of love is critical or discerning. How can love be love if there is no liking or if it is
not an emotion in the first place?

B. Feelings: Instinctive and Trained Response to Moral Dilemmas

Feelings or emotions can be powerful once they are developed as instinctive and trained response to moral
dilemmas. Fundamentally, emotions should be trained to become naturally resilient to perceive adversaries or
difficulties as temporary, survive pains or sufferings and solve every moral dilemma.
In feminism, feeling is the core strength of women. Feeling is a personal moral responsibility to prevent
harm, empathize and help other people. Training feelings will eventually become the virtues of care and compassion
which are necessary element of a good decision.
Emotional resilience as an instinctive and trained response to a moral dilemma is the acceptance of
the difficult situation and the negative consequences of a moral decision. There may be stressors and
disappointments in a moral dilemma, but emotional resilience is a great response of avoiding actions and negative
effects that might stress the decision-maker.
Emotional resilience is accepting the fact that moral dilemmas are difficult situation but one has to make a
choice that could be between two evils or two goods.

Madhuleena Roy Chowdhury (2020)

● Certified psychiatric counsellor and freelance mental health writer.
● She holds to become emotionally resilient person in times of moral dilemmas, one must train responses such as:
1. To think before reacting;
2. To focus on finding solutions;
3. To not bottle up negative emotions;
4. To sort out conflicts through discussions;
5. To be high on acceptance and forgiveness;
6. To create and sustain long-term relationships;
7. To be patient, understanding, and willing to adapt;
8. To express emotions in a socially acceptable way;
9. To be aware of his thoughts, emotions, and inner potentials;
10. To be not ashamed to ask for help when it is needed most.
 ● Emotionally resilience for her is achieved when one:
1. Attain self-awareness or gain deeper understanding of emotions. One must learn to attune with one’s
own feelings. Self-awareness makes one cognizant with the emotional tendencies that are harmful and
beneficial, develops courage to look for answers to the emotions, attunes with the inner world of emotions,
and enables proper directing or controlling of emotions.

2. Gain persistence of emotions. One must train to be consistent in having and exercising the right feelings
for every situation. Even in dealing external stress or handling internal conflicts, proper emotions should
persistently control the situation. Wrong emotions exercised for a certain situation may aggravate the
dilemma and could invite unnecessary strong negative emotions.

3. Train emotional control. This is learning how to manipulate and redirect feelings. One can be
overwhelmed by stresses that may affect one’s life. But if one knows how to divert the strong feelings
produced by these, reason may not surge fast into drawing conclusions. One could venture into sports and
other activities that can harness both positive and negative energies into something productive and creative.
Diversion should not be an escape from emotion even if it is too discomforting. Instead, one should embrace
emotion first in order to gain confidence and ultimately learn the ability to tolerate it. Thus, reason now is in
full control or begins to work on other things.

4. Have flexible emotions. This should correspond with and be supported by a flexible thinking. Emotions are
naturally spontaneous in response to stimuli and vary from time. But with the flexibility of emotions one is
able to use different strategies of controlling and stimulate emotions as the situations change. This powerful
social skill incorporates positive emotions, optimism, adjustability including rationality and positive thinking in
the worst and hardest situations.

Simple ways to train emotion in confronting moral dilemmas according to Chowdhury (2020):
● Communicate often.
● Maintain a healthy lifestyle.
BE ASSERTIVE ● Accept feedback and criticisms.
● Focus on self-confidence and self-esteem.
Personal and social growth ● Replace negative thoughts with positive ones.
● Keep track of one’s own progress through self-assessments and qualitative
assignments.
● Meditate often.
RELAX AND BREATHe ● Appreciate nature.
Be with nature ● Wander in the wilderness once in a while.
● Practice deep breathing when your feel burnt out.
CULTIVATE HOBBIES ● Explore your passions
● Spend time doing what you love to do
● Invest in some good reads – self-help books, positive thinking, inspirational
stories, etc.
FIND BALANCE ● Be grateful for the little things that make you smile
● Spend some ‘me-time’ at least once a week
Time management, family, self ● Devote time to your family – parents, partner, and kids.
friends, work ● Catch up with old friends.
● Attend social gatherings at work.
IMPROVE TEAM ● Apply group dynamics and activities.
PERFORMANCE ● Do workshops and practical training on dealing with difficult situations
(facing interviews, dealing with difficult clients, etc.)

IV. Application/Activity

Activity
Instruction: List down five (5) feelings/emotions and give a brief explanation why each can serve as both help and
hindrance in making right decisions.
Feelings/Emotions Reason (as help) Reason (as hindrance)
1.

2.
 3.

4.

5.

V. Assessment

a. Discuss how feelings can be trained as instinctive and trained responses to moral dilemmas.
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VI. Other References:

1. Makie, Gleemoore C., Ethics: Flourishing Life, Research, Statistics, Business Consultancy and Publishing
Company, 2020
2. Pasco M. O., Suàrez V. F., Rodriguez A. G., “Ethics” C&E Publishing, Inc., 2018
3. Bulaong O., Calano M., Lagliva A., Mariano M., Principe J., “Ethics: Foundation of Moral Valuation”, 1st
edition, REX Book Store, 2018
4. Ramos, Carmela, “Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person”, (1st edition), REX Book Store,
2016