Good Governance & Social Responsibility

MODULE Values and Virtues

Week 16-20

 INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES:

At the end of the lesson, the students are able to:

 define the different definitions of values;

 determine how values influence one’s behaviour and decision making in business and organizational
transactions; and
 examine the relationship between virtues and values.

Definition of Values
In his book, Ethics: the Philosophical Discipline of Action (1999), Professor E. Babor comes up with the
following definitions of values:

1. Values are the objects of human desire and striving. They are also the subjective assessment of a particular
object insofar as it as good.

2. Values are our beliefs, those beliefs which we hold to be true and therefore values affect our thoughts,
decisions and actions.

3. Values also refer to things, persons ideas, or goals which are important to life. Thus, they refer to our ideals
and our principles by which we live. Values therefore are those which we like, approve, enjoy and esteem.

Classification of Values
In general, values are classified into the following:

1. Intrinsic and Instrumental Values. Intrinsic values are those which are considered as values in themselves.
Instrumental values on the other hand, are those considered as good because of their worth to us and to others.

2. Accidental and Natural Values. Accidental are subject to variability, temporality and impermanence while
natural values are those that are permanent in human nature.

3. Primary and Secondary Values. The former refers to values that are chosen, acted upon and are necessary for
human development while the latter refers to those values that are obligatory in nature, e.g., values in the family
are necessary to the children

4. Religious Values. These values enable us to encounter God whom we believe to be the absolute good.

5. Cultural Values. These values embrace poetry, painting, music, architecture and literature.

6. Social Values. Some examples of social values are patriotism, freedom of the press, fraternity, economic
productivity and politics.

7. Moral Values. Refer to those qualities of an act performed by man freely and knowingly. This entails that
moral values are involved in our freedom to choose an action that we would like to perform. Thus, moral values
are characterized as basic values, permanent, universal, absolute, objective and freely chosen by us.

Virtues
 Virtues are good habits while vices are bad habits. Virtues are those habits that can make aperson
perform well. And there are two areas where a person can be said to perform his functions well as a human
being – the intellect and the will.
There are three kinds of virtues, to wit: intellectual, moral or cardinal, and theological virtues.

Classification of virtues
1. Intellectual Virtues.
a) Understanding – is the first intellectual value that the person forms in early age childhood. A
child understands that the whole is greater than its parts or he understands that something cannot
be there and not there at the same time. Understanding is the knowledge of the first principle.
b) Science – This is the relationship between the cause and the effect and developed further by a
person until it becomes scientific. Science is considered an intellectual virtue.
c) Wisdom – is the knowledge of the ultimate or first causes.
d) Art – This virtue is developed when a person does something well because of habitual hard
work and practice. Art is also a virtue because it is a good habit.
e) Prudence – is the virtue of knowing what to do under peculiar circumstances. It is also
considered a virtue of the practical intellect.

2. Moral or Cardinal Virtues

a) Justice – is the virtue of giving everyone his due. It is a virtue that resides in the will.
b) Temperance – it is the virtue of curbing the sensitive appetites. It is also a virtue that resides in
the will.
c) Fortitude – is the virtue of staying resolute in the face of overwhelming odds. It is likewise a
virtue that resides in the will of the person.

3. Theological Virtues
a) Faith – is the virtue of believing God without seeing Him.
b) Hope – is the virtue of trusting the Divine Providence.
c) Charity – is the virtue of loving God and his creatures.

Seven Capital vices

1. Pride – is the overestimation on the self.
2. Gluttony – is an excess of temperance, e.g., inordinate desires the food
3. Luxury – is the immoderate love for riches.
4. Avarice – is the inordinate desire for material goods in the form of possessions.
5. Sloth – is the deficiency of fortitude.
6. Envy – is an exaggerated justice in favour of oneself.
7. Anger – is an excess of temperance.

Importance of Studying Values and Virtues in Ethics

 According to Professor E. Quinto, ethics sees the importance of nurturing moral habits to enable the
human being to facilitate or render easy the task of conforming to the Natural Moral Law.
 A virtuous action must be the source of our human act which is done with right knowledge and proper
exercise of freedom.
 To attain a virtuous life could be difficult but this is the challenge for everyone. The philosopher
Aristotle even said. “Vice is easy and virtue is difficult.” He likens the practice of a virtuous life to
hitting the bull’s eye: There are several ways of missing it. It is therefore easier to be immoral than to be
moral or to be evil than good. This is the reason why Aristotle had written that the good man is rare and
laudable.

The Relationship between Virtues and Values

According to professor Quinto, the nurturing of habits is related to values. If a person forms the moral
virtue of prudence, it is because he considers it of immense value of his life. If he discards temperance, it is
because he considers the value of pleasure greater than temperance. If he cherishes justice, it is because he sees
the value of justice to be reciprocal. The same is true of the other common virtues like honesty, truthfulness, and
the like. If honesty of truthfulness is important to the person, he will cultivate those virtues, thus affirming the
connection between virtues and values. Every virtue starts with a value. Only when the virtue is considered a
value can a person proceed to cultivating it.
 Good Governance & Social Responsibility

MODULE The Relationship of Ethics with other Sciences and Other

Week 16-20 Phases of Human Life

 INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES:

At the end of the lesson, the students are able to:

 distinguish ethics from other sciences that study man’s nature and behaviour; and
 differentiate ethics etiquette and the professional codes of conduct.

 1. Ethics and Logic

Ethics is the study of correct action or doing, while logic studies studies the process of correct and
organized thinking. Doing follows thinking. Logic therefore is aimed at the right thinking and ethics is aimed at
the right acting or right doing and behaviour.
Bases on perceiving information, ethics focuses first and foremost on the demands of subjective human
world, or world of people and relationships. In communication, ethics focuses and studies people’s feelings and
emotional states based on nonverbal information and how things are said.
Lastly in behavioural relationships, Ethics shows people’s feelings for their partners directly through emotions;
while logic shows their feelings for their partners by doing things for them.

2. Ethics and Psychology

Both ethics and Psychology deal with the study of man and his behaviour. However, Psychology studies
how man behaves, while Ethics studies how man ought to behave. Psychology is not interested in the morality
of human behaviour, while ethics is concerned with man’s moral obligation or the result of his behaviour.
Ethics is the study of human behaviour from perspective of morality. Psychology, on the other hand, is the
scientific study of mental and behavioural characteristics, associated with a particular kind of behaviour.

3. Ethics and Sociology

Sociology deals with study of the social order while ethics deals with the study of moral order in the
society. There is no social order if there is no moral order. Therefore, the foundation of any society depends on
the moral values of people and their perspective concept of what is good and bad in human relationships.
Society depends on Ethics for its underlying principles, Sociology deals with human relations in a
society, but human relations are based on proper order and proper order comes only with the proper observance
of moral laws and principles which regulate and actions of men and women in a community.

4. Ethics and Economics

Man supports himself by earning a living. Earning a living to support his expenses makes a man an
economic being. Economics as a science deals with the study of wages, labor, production and distribution of
wealth. The study of these issues also involves relationships among individuals. For example, wages: between
employer and employee; production: between seller and customer. These fiduciary relationships must be
governed by human values that can be only be understood in the light of moral principles and the nature of
values themselves.

2. Relationship of Ethics with other Phases of Human Life

The study of Ethics crosses and religious and cultural boundaries and is directed at the question of how
critical decisions are to be made so that an organization may work best together, to build a community and
social relationships in a positive way. How we live ethically becomes more important as we are required to
make complex decisions concerning customer relations, employer-employee relationship and other business
issues.

5. Ethics and Law

Ethics and law are closely related. Ethics deals with morality, and when we speak of morality, we mean
primarily the moral law. Law maybe defines as crystallized ethics. Law and morality presuppose the concepts or
right and wrong, good and bad, even the rules of conduct.
 However, there is a difference between what is moral and what is legal. Laws are intended to regulate
the external actions of man while ethics investigates and probes the internal disposition of man, such as his
motivations and his thoughts.
Though law often embodies ethical principles, law and ethics are far from co-extensive. Many acts that
would be widely condemned as unethical are not prohibited by law-lying or betraying the confidence of a
friend, for example. A man can also commit a thousand adulteries in his mind, yet that same person cannot be
legally or criminally be guilty because this exercise is innate and private to the person himself.

6. Ethics and Religion

Ethics is a discipline or set of moral principles and values governing an individual or institutional
behaviour. Religion generally refers to the service and worship of God (or some other object) and is typically
expressed as personal or institutional set of beliefs, attitudes, and practices.
Ethics evaluates the behaviour of man against his values. While religion regardless of the source of
those values. While religion certainly can create an impact on individuals and may actually include mandates
for ethical behaviour. It is a distinct concept from ethics. It is however, in the practice of religion that ethics and
religion may overlap.
Religion and ethics are two phases of human activity which are closely related. Both ethics and religion
are based on the same postulates, e.g., they both suggest and assume the existence of God who created
everything, man’s freewill and the immorality of the soul.
Lastly, ethics and religion both seek the absolute truth. Ethics seeks the absolute truth by using human
reason alone, while religion tries to understand this same absolute truth by virtue of one’s faith and his
adherence to divine revelation. In this case, faith is our response to God’s disclosure to us.

7. Ethics and the Professional Codes of Conduct

The era of globalization has created a need for specialized skills and knowledge. This is brought about
by paradigm shifts in almost all facets of human activities that have resulted into a more complex society that
we have today. Full automation has almost taken over a lot of jobs done by an unskilled labor force that in turn,
creates a demand for workers with special skills. The need for specialized skills and knowledge in business has
created a trend which prods people and organizations to be identified with a particular profession basically
because it brings with it prestige, a sense of respect, personal esteem and status symbol.
Based on the Webster’s Dictionary, the meaning of professional is relating to or characteristics of a
profession; engaged in one of the professions; participating for gain in an activity not engaged in by amateurs.
Professionalism on the other hand is the conduct that characterizes profession or a professional person; or it can
also be the pursuit of a profession for gain or livelihood, e.g., as a manager, engineer or as a lawyer.
A professional code of ethics is a set of behavioural guidelines that members of a profession are
required by their association to observe in the course of their professional practice, These guidelines, in general
terms, prescribe responsibilities that members must adhere to and questionable situations in which they not be
involved.
In some cases, members must be sanctioned for violation of the code. These sanctions may include the
following:
 Payment of fine
 Payment of the cost of any investigations;
 Reprimand;
 Impositions of conditions on membership;
 Suspension from membership; and
 Expulsion from membership

8. Ethics and Etiquette

The word etiquette came from a French word which means ticket. During the medieval times, when
people visit the palace of their king, they were required to follow in house instructions that were posted in the
different areas of the palace. Hence, the world etiquette practically means rules and conduct of behaviour that
are supposed to be followed in special situations and circumstances, including one’s visit to the palace of the
king. Today, the world etiquette refers to a special code of behaviour or courtesy, like saying ‘’ thank you,” you
are welcome,” and saying “congratulations’’ to the groom and “best wishes” the bride, and the like.

Although the rules of etiquette are generally non-moral in character, the violation of these rules of
etiquette however may be moral implications. For example, a boss and his secretary develop a special friendship
in workplace and the boss, because of this closeness to the secretary now fondly calls the same secretary as
“sweetheart.” This scenario in the workplace may have tacit moral implications if, for example, the wife of the
boss may drop one day at her husband’s office and discovers that her husband calls her secretary “sweetheart.”
This definitely will create a suspicion on the part of the wife.

9. Ethics and Education

Education is defined as an instruction or training by which people learn to develop and use their mental,
moral and physical power and abilities. It is also one way of gaining experience about human life. Since man
however, is primarily a rational moral being, the purpose of education is to perfect the moral character in man.
 A great educator once said “education is co-extensive with life.” Hence, we can say that ethics is life
because it is the one that gives life its direction, purpose and meaning.

10. Ethics and Art

Art is concerned with the use of imagination to make things of aesthetic significance, Ethics is aimed at
conforming to an accepted standard of good behaviour. Ethics also stands for moral goodness, art and beauty.
It may be difficult to ascertain whether a piece of art which is offensive to morals can be considered
beautiful. Both true art and true ethics have the same aim: That is, to arouse and to inspire the noble emotions of
man, thereby creating no conflict at all. Consequently, an art which arouses the lower impulses of man defeats
the very purpose of art.

For inquiries and clarification,

contact the module developer:
FB Acct. – Janine Jalac Saguid
 EMA EMITS COLLEGE PHILIPPINES
(Formerly: Eastern Mindoro Institute of Technology & Sciences)
Del Pilar St.; Pinamalayan, Oriental Mindoro
Telefax No. (043) 284-3974

FINAL EXAM

Name: Instructor:
Course & Section:
Good Governance &(043)
Telefax No. Social Responsibility
284-3974

Direction. Explain the following questions briefly.

1. Differentiate ethics from law. Point out their similarities and striking differences.
2. How is ethics different from etiquette?
3. How is ethics related to economics?
 EMA EMITS COLLEGE PHILIPPINES
(Formerly: Eastern Mindoro Institute of Technology & Sciences)
Del Pilar St.; Pinamalayan, Oriental Mindoro
Telefax No. (043) 284-3974

LONGTEST 4

Name: Instructor:
Course & Section:
Good Governance &(043)
Telefax No. Social Responsibility
284-3974

Direction: Answer the following questions briefly.

1. In virtue ethics, which of the following is the most noble, the tempted sinner who makes the right choice, or
the unconcerned saint? Defend your answer.
2. Why are values important for man?
3. What are the common Filipino values that are practiced in the business and corporate world?
4.Cite some Filipino values that have become disadvantageous to the Filipino culture.