IFUGAO STATE UNIVERSITY

College of Criminal Justice Education Ethics

CHAPTER 2
THE MORAL AGENT

Learning Outcome:

At the end of this chapter, students will be able to:

1. Recall rules they have to follow;

2. Explain why they have to follow rules;
3. Explain the difference between the moral and non-moral standards;
4. Detect a moral dilemma; and
5. Explain why only human beings can be ethical

Lesson Proper

Introduction

ntroduction
This module aims to analyze the nature of mores and values in ethics. It discusses the in-
terplay between the individual as a free moral agent, and his/her society or environment,
as well as the process of value experience, including the difference between values and
moral values. In broad strokes, it gives a background on the nature of morality and the
mores which are the subject matter of ethics. It examines the nature of mores, including
the development of the notion of what is ‘right’ in our culture. The module also examines
the notion of freedom as it relates to morality, together with the wide range of values and
moral values, including the nature and basis of the choices that we make.
The term moral agency is used with different degrees of stringency depending upon
what one regards as its qualifying conditions. The Kantian sense is the most stringent.
Since there are different senses of moral agency, answers to questions like ‘Are collective
moral agents?’ depend upon which sense is being used. From the Kantian standpoint,
agents such as psychopaths, rational egoists, collectives and robots are the best only quasi-
moral, for they do not fulfill some of the essential conditions of moral agency. Kantian (“are
the set of universal moral principles that apply to all human beings, regardless of context
or situation. Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher, calls the principles Categorical
Imperatives, which are defined by their morality and level of freedom”).

This chapter will try to discuss why rules are very important?, why do we have
rules?, key concepts of moral agent, key features of morality, man as moral agent, and
what are the standards and dilemmas.

Lesson 1
Key Content

Lesson 1.1 What is MORALITY?

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IFUGAO STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Criminal Justice Education Ethics

Morality can be defined as the standards that an individual or a group has about
what is right or wrong, or good or evil. Morality is not imposed from outside, but innate and
can even be unconscious. We have a fundamental urge to connect. Ultimately, it’s our
moral qualities that force us to live in harmony with the unconscious; doing so is the
highest form of morality.

Morality is an informal public system applying to all rational persons, governing

behavior that affects others, and has the lessening of evil or harm as its goal. It is also a
complex concepts and philosophical beliefs by which an individual determines whether his
or her actions are right or wrong. A “moral” may refer to a particular principle, usually as
informal and general summary of a moral principle, as applied in a given human situation
(Darwall, 2006).

Lesson 1.2 Key Features of Morality

To understand morality in its true sense, let us identify the six (6) features:

1. People experience a sense of moral obligation and accountability. One can not
doubt successfully a phenomenon of his own existence - namely, his moral
experience. Even the secularists like Kai Nielsen recommend that one “ought to” act
or follow some rules, policies, practices, or principles (Neilsen, 1973)

2. Moral values and moral absolutes exist. It is hard to deny the objective reality of
moral values - actions like rape, torture, and child abuse are not just socially
unacceptable behavior but are moral abominations. (Craig, 1994). Some actions are
really wrong in the same way that some things like love and respect are truly good.
There are moral absolutes-truths that exist and apply to everyone.

3. Moral law does exist. When we accept the existence of goodness, we must a firm
a moral law on the basis of which to differentiate between good and evil.

4. Moral law is known to humans. Moral law is also called Law of Nature because
early philosophers thought that generally speaking, everybody knows it by nature.

5. Morality is objective. Morality is absolute - there is a right and real wrong that is
universally and immutably true, independent of whether anyone believes it or not.

6. Moral judgments must be supported by reasons. Moral judgment are different

from mere expressions of personal preference - they require backing by reasons, and
in the absence of such reasons, they are merely arbitrary.

Lesson 1.3 Man as a Moral Agent

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IFUGAO STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Criminal Justice Education Ethics

A moral agent is being that is “capable of acting with reference to right and wrong”. a
moral agent is anything that can be held responsible for behavior or decisions. “It is moral
agents who have rights and responsibilities, because it is moral agents whom we take to
have choices and the power to choose”.

A moral agent is an intelligent being who has the power of choosing, and scope to act
according to his choice; one to whom the Supreme Governor has given a cognizable law,
with its proper sanction, by which to regulate his volitions and actions, and who is place in
circumstances which present no physical obstructions, either to obedience or disobedience.
A moral agent must be a living creature, as they must be able to comprehend
abstract moral principles and apply them to decision making. They must have “self-
consciousness, memory, moral principles, other values, and the reasoning faculty, which
allow him to devise plans for achieving his objectives, to weigh alternatives, and so on”.

In order to be a moral agent who make decisions about justice and takes action
based on those decisions, one must live in the society with others who they consider to
have moral rights.

Lesson 1.4 Aristotle and Moral Responsibility

Aristotle was the first to discuss moral responsibility. He stated that it is “sometimes
appropriate to respond to an agent with praise or blame on the basis of his/her actions
and/ or dispositional traits of character”. he discusses that “only a certain kind of agent
qualifies as moral agent and is thus properly subject to ascriptions of responsibility,
namely, one who possesses a capacity for decision”. Also according to him, a decision is a
particular kind of desire resulting from deliberation, one that expresses the agent’s
conception of what is good”.

Lesson 2
Standard and Dilemmas

Lesson 2.1 Differences Between Moral and Non-Moral Standards

A moral standard refers to the norms which we have about the types of actions
which we believe to be morally acceptable and morally unacceptable. Specifically, moral
standards deal with matters which can either seriously harm or seriously benefit human
beings.

Developing a moral compass in children is a responsibility that should be shared by

the family, educational institutions and the community at large. Each one them has a role
to play in instilling personal ans collective values ans supporting the development of the
individual’s ability to judge what is right and wrong and to know how to act accordingly.

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IFUGAO STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Criminal Justice Education Ethics

It is important to remember that the moral development of young people depends on

the ethical capacities of the adults who interact with them in a daily basis-especially
parents, but also teachers, members of their extended family and other adults in the
community. Every young person needs both a role model to inpire them and an
environment that holds up good values and celebrates them.

Non-moral standards refer to rules that are unrelated to moral or ethical

considerations. Either these standards are not necessarily linked to morality or by nature
lack ethical sense. Basic examples of non-moral standards include rules of etiquette,
fashion standards, rules in games, and various house rules.
Technically, religious rules, some traditions, and legal statutes (i.e. laws and
ordinances) are non-moral principles, though they can be ethically relevant depending on
some factors like as follows:

1. Etiquette - refers to the norms of correct conduction polite society or, more
generally, to any special code of social behavior or courtesy. The rules of etiquette are
prescriptions for socially acceptable behavior. If you want to fit in, get along with
others, and be taught well of by them, you should observe the common rules of
politeness or etiquette.
2. Statutes - are laws enacted by legislative bodies. The law that defines and
prohibits theft is a statute. Congress and state legislatures enact statutes. People
sometimes confuse legality and morality, but they are different things. On one hand,
breaking the law is not always or necessarily immoral. On the other hand, the legality
of an action does not guarantee that it is morally right.

Lesson 2.2 How Are Moral Standards Formed?

Moral standards are influence by a variety of factors such as the moral principles we
accept as part of our upbringing, values passed on to us through heritage and legacy, the
religious values that we have imbibed from childhood, the values that we showcased during
the period of our education, the behavior pattern of those who are around us, the explicit
and implicit standards of our culture, our life experiences and more importantly, our
critical reflections on these experiences. Moral standards concern which is very closely
linked to human well-being.

Most, if not all, people have certain moral principles or a moral code that they
explicitly or implicitly accept. Because the moral principles of different people in the same
society overlap, at least in part, we can also talk about the moral code of society, meaning
the moral standards shared by its members.

Lesson 2.3 Characteristics of Moral Standards

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IFUGAO STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Criminal Justice Education Ethics

The following six (6) characteristics of moral standards further differentiate them
from non-moral standards:

1. Moral standards involve serious wrongs or significant benifits. Moral standards deal
with matters which can seriously impact, that is, injure or benefit human beings. 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
well-being.

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

overriding character or hegemonic authority. If a moral standard states 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 can not be changed
nor nullified by the decisions or particular authoritative body. One thing about this
standards, nonetheless, is that its validity lies on the soundness or adequacy of the
reason that are considered to support and justify them.

4. Moral standards have the trait of universalizability. 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 is is morally right for
anybody relevantly to P. This characteristic is exemplified in the Golden Rule, “Do
unto others if you want others do unto you ( if you were in there shoes)”.

5. Moral standards are bases on impartial considerations. Moral standard does

not evaluate standards on the basis of 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. Impertiality 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.
These moral standards are generally put forth as injunction or imparatives (such as,
‘Do not kill,’ ‘Do no unnecessary harm,’ and ‘Love your neighbor’).

Lesson 2.4 Moral Dilemmas

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IFUGAO STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Criminal Justice Education Ethics

A moral dilemma is a conflict in which you have to choose between two or more
actions and have moral reasons for choosing each actions. What is common to the two well-
known cases is conflict. The crucial features of a moral dilemma are these: the agent is
required to do each of two or more actions; the agent can do each of actions; but the agent
cannot do both or all of the actions. The agent thus condemned to moral failure; no matter
what she does, she will do something wrong (or fail to do something that ought to do).
(Lemons, 1987).
A moral dilemma is a situation where:

1. you are presented with two or more actions, all of which you have the ability to perform.
2. There are moral reasons for you to choose each of the actions.
3. You cannot perform all of the actions and have to choose which action, or actions when
there are three or more choices, to perform.

Lesson 2.5 Moral Dilemmas in the Organization

Ethical dilemmas in the workplace are quite common, and they are not easy to
answer. Even when organizations have great policies and procedures and follow the laws
and regulations, there is still a high risk of unethical behavior.

Here are some other common missteps:

1. Senior leaders fall to “walk the talk” - they are guilty of modeling in appropriate behavior.
2. Leaders often have an irrational sense of entitlement, feeling “ I should be allowed to do
this” or “I deserved this.”
3. Individuals may begin cutting corners due to misplaced incentives.
4. Individuals may also feel the need to be obedient to authority, even when they are being
asked to do something they feel is wrong.
5. Individuals also have the need for closure, which can lead to conflict avoidance.
6. Defensive? “logic” is prevalent. This manifest that every one is doing it, so why not me?

Lesson 2.6 Moral Dilemmas in the Health Care Service

Given scenario:
Kara is a doctor working in a hospital. Due to an accident in the building next door,
there are deadly fumes rising up through the hospital’s ventilation system. In a certain
room of the hospital are four of her patients. In another room there is one of her patients. If
she does nothing the fumes will rise up into the room containing the four patients and
cause their deaths.

The only way to avoid the deaths of these patients is to hit a switch that will cause
the fumes to bypass the room containing the four patients. As a result of doing this, the
fumes will enter the room containing the single patient (against her will). If she does this,
the woman will die, but the other four patients will live.
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IFUGAO STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Criminal Justice Education Ethics

Question to ponder?
Should Kara hit the switch in order to save four of her patients?