Chapter 2

BASIC CONCEPT OF ETHICS AND TYPES OF MORAL VALUES

 Normative statement
- Normative statement in philosophy
- Difference between descriptive statement and normative statement
- Difference between moral normative statement and non-moral normative
statement
- Normative statement in communal living
- Importance of normative statement
- Difference in normative statement according to culture in the society

 Concept of basic value

- Function of value
- Value base on good and goodness
- Value from the cognitive and affective aspect
- Value from the prescriptive and evaluative aspect
- Value as a basic standard and principle to make judgement about
something

 Types of moral value

- Instrumental value
- Intrinsic value
- Subjective value
- Objective value
- Relative value
- Absolute value

Reflective session
Reinforcement questions
Time allocated in the syllabus: 3 hours

BASIC CONCEPT OF ETHICS AND TYPES OF MORAL VALUES

As a student starts to understand basic facts about ethics and types of moral values, it
is important to understand these concepts in a simple direct perspective. As explained
earlier in chapter 1, ethics and moral is usually seen as the same in the Malaysian
context which means way or how to behave. Because ‘ethics’ is a Greek word and
‘moral’ is a Latin word, the background of these two places and nations need to be
understood well. During the expansion of Greek philosophy, there were not many
facts on religion and most present time religions were not in existence then except for
beliefs in paganism. During the ruling of the Romans, the concept of moral has been
influenced by religion and spirituality. In Malaysia, both these concepts are
influenced by Islam being the official state religion and many other religions which
are practised by nom Muslim societies for centuries.

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 Pelajar kolej lelaki bercakap dengan kawan..
2 watak lelaki…
What you say is true. With
the different religions and
beliefs, we have a rich
source of moral and ethics
The moral and which need to be understood
ethics in our clearly.
country is very
unique…

NORMATIVE STATEMENT
Normative has a specific meaning and differs according to different disciplines. As
for Moral Education, which can be analysed from the philosophical and psychological
perspectives, normative statement can be explained from those contexts. This is to
enable the understanding of students towards a complex concept which can become
more ambiguous and blur if explained from multiple disciplines.
Generally or generically, normative refers to a standard or an ideal model. In
the Malaysian scenario, normative refers to standards based on the pluralistic
Malaysian culture.

Normative statement in philosophy

In philosophy, normative statement confirms how a certain object or situation has to
be or functions, how to value a certain thing, what is good and what is not good and
which action is right and which action is wrong.

Gambar seorang pelajar kolej

perempuan..berfikir… dari kepala ada bubble…

Is it true that smoking is

not a healthy habit?

Difference between descriptive statement and normative statement

After understanding the meaning of normative, it is easier to differentiate with
descriptive statement. Descriptive statement describes an object, a character or a
situation.

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For example:

A descriptive statement
Moral Education is a core subject for all non Muslim students.

A normative statement
Moral Education is a subject that helps students to understand the morality of
the Malaysian society and use such morals in their daily lives.

Difference between moral normative statement and non-moral normative

statement

Normative statement in fields other than philosophy is different from normative

statement in philosophy. That is what differentiates and establishes the concept of
moral normative statement and non-moral normative statement. However in western
and Greek philosophy, normative statement refers to moral normative statement.

For example:

Non-moral normative statement:

Malaysian society consists of different ethnic group and culture.

Normative statement:
Malaysian society consists of different ethnic group and culture
who are polite and courteous.

Moral normative statement

A judgemental statement that values good and bad, right and wrong, whar is
accepted or not accepted

Direct effect on character In the form of order and

For example: directions
- An honest society will be For example:
respected by the global society. - Environmental cleanliness
must be taken care of.

3
 To make the understanding process simpler for students, normative
statement that will be mentioned from now on refers to normative statement from the
philosophical perspective; i.e. referring to moral normative statement.

Normative statement in communal living

Normative statement and societal norms are part and parcel of our lives in Malaysia.
There are several schools of thoughts about the status of normative statement and it’s
rational. From the traditional aspect, Greek philosophers like Aristotle viewed that the
way to rational thought or action is to discuss rationally. Modern thinkers like
Habermas suggest that active communication confirms the truth about a normative
statement. Both schools of thoughts existed in different era but reflects on one way of
thinking that uses common sense and rationality in communal living. However the
rationality depends on the situation and norms of the society involved.

Importance of normative statement

What is the purpose of normative statement in Moral Education? Normative statement
is the grass root to confirm the aims in managing and planning thought, belief,
emotion and action in life. Normative statement is the basis for ethical discussion and
politics that takes place in daily life.

Gambar dua lelaki bercakap (satu dalam pakaian

purba dan satu pakaian moden)

Let’s take No, we have law. Let

action against the judge decide what
that man who punishment should be
robbed. He is given.
troubling us
all!

Difference in normative statement according to culture in the society

The manner in which an individual or a society confirms what moral behaviour,
according to their standard normative is is different according to culture, religion and
belief system. This is true in a pluralistic society as in Malaysia where there is various
practices of religion, belief system and culture.
Normative statement voices judgment of a certain situation and confirms
whether it is suitable a not. For example, cities will be more peaceful if there are no
thefts.
There is no way to state that the above statement about cities is wrong. In a
situation where many thefts take place, one can deny the above statement.

Mind Google

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Why is normative statement important in your life? Provide several examples of
normative statement that becomes slogan in your life.

CONCEPT OF BASIC VALUE

The word value has multiple meaning. If we try to understand the concept of value by
referring to a language dictionary, value will be defined from the aspect of economy
(value of money), language (value is defined as the actual meaning of a word),
mathematic (value in the form of quantity), music (value as music note), art (value of
colour, tone) and moral value (Principe of right and wrong, good and bad). Our focus
in Moral Education is towards moral value. The understanding is important because at
times, a certain object or situation has certain value but many not necessarily have
moral value. For example, a beautiful river might have aesthetic value but it is not
moral value. To enhance the cleanliness of the river is moral value.
Students of this subject should understand the concept of value for the
importance of understanding Moral Education in their lives and their career. This
book has been specially published to provide brief but complete explanation on basic
concept of values from the philosophical, moral and ethical perspectives.

Function of value

Function of value in Malaysia

Is a guide in an individual’s life. Without value in one

self, an individual would be facing multiple moral
conflicts that causes one to feel uneasy and the society
around would not comfortable

Is a guide to resolve daily conflicts in familial life,

society and career

Is a standard for societal life in Malaysia which

consists of various ethnic group, religion and belief
systems but are able to live together based on shared
values

Mind Google

5
What is your advice for your younger sibling who has just returned from overseas and
is constantly conflicting with you and your family based on speech and way of
thinking?

Value base on good and goodness

Values of an individual, family or society as well as nation might differ and conflict.
Thus, it is important that values are rationalised. Affective or feelings at times helps
and at other times makes it difficult to resolve a moral conflict in any situations. For
example, the feelings and desire in an individual to do community service is so great
that he or she might neglect their responsibility as a mother or father at home. When
such dilemmas come up, it is important to have open dialogues with family members
and resolve the issue based on the standard value that has been accepted by all
involved. The same scenario might recur at workplace where individual of different
ethnicity work in an organisation. What needs to be their priority is their professional
work ethics which need to be a common goal for the goodness of their profession.

Value from the cognitive and affective aspect

In understanding the importance of value in life, cognitive or thinking is mostly used.
Affective or feelings equally plays an important role. Both cognitive and affective
helps an individual to decide on what is good and should be done and effects of doing
something correctly and vice versa. At the same time, affective or feelings helps the
mind to reinforce stands which are good. Stands which bring shame to oneself or
conflicts of self with societal norms are avoided. In many situations, convicts and
critical drug addicts do not have shame or remorse when their actions clashes with the
values of the societal values. For example, a man who rapes his own daughter and
reasons that he has the right over his own child to perform such an act clashes with
our societal values. Such self values are also against the moral standards of Malaysia
and globally too.

Value from the prescriptive and evaluative aspect

In many situations in Malaysia, values are already confirmed based on religious
sources, constitution or societal norms. For example from the religious source,
cleanliness is a value that all religious devotees follow (physically and mentally)
when performing their various rituals. From the constitution source, road users must
abide by the road safely and regulations at all times. From the societal norms, culture
and tradition must be followed to ensure that a certain cultural ritual takes places
smoothly.
In various situations, individuals value and confirm the good and bad if a
certain value is not followed. From the religious perspective, the effects would be felt
when following a certain religion. From the constitution perspective, action would be
taken upon those who do not abide by the law. From the societal norms perspective,
society would accept those individuals who have no respect for their cultural and
traditional practices.

Mind Google
To what extent does the cognitive, affective prescriptive and evaluative aspects
influences your moral judgement in your life? Think of a moral dilemma and analyse
the dilemma based on the four aspects.

Value as a basic standard and principle to make judgement about something

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As an individual and a member of a pluralistic society, we are faced with various
situations, individuals, ideas, actions and objects which make us do moral judgement.
We would not face any conflicts or problems if we face those who are in the same
wave line as us. However if values and opinions are different, then we have to face
moral conflicts.

Gambar di sebuah restoran. Dua perempuan

kolej sedang berada dengan dua jejaka
Thank you but
my religion
doesn’t allow it.
Have a
beer…

When making a moral judgement, an individual needs to be evaluative and refer to

sources like religion, belief system, rules and regulations as well as societal norms.
Individuals who are firm in their moral upbringing since young would be more
matured when making moral judgement compared to those who take actions based on
situations and feelings. Thinking about the consequences of an action is a good moral
judgement characteristic because an individual can confirm whether the action taken
is good, beneficial, and valuable or vice versa.

Mind Google
Your friend invites you to his/her house to watch phonographic movies. What is your
reaction? How do you make your moral judgements before taking the right action?

TYPES OF MORAL VALUE

Types of moral value are derived from different sources in the Malaysian context. If
analysed from the philosophic perspective, moral value is relative and depends on
various aspects. This can be analysed from various situations.

Instrumental value
An individual has instrumental value if that value can achieve an objective. The
quality that is accepted or rejected as an instrument to achieve a certain objective is
instrumental. For example, the Recycling Campaign is instrumental because the
objective is to reduce items thrown away. Such items are encouraged to be reused and
recycled. However, the main objective is to lessen these thrown away items which
pollutes the environment.

Logo recycle

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Intrinsic value
An individual has intrinsic value if that value exists within the individual. For
example, an individual who practices cleanliness will take care of cleanliness
wherever he or she goes. That individual will find for a garbage bin to discard the
wood wrapper or cans after eating and drinking; even though there is garbage all
around him or her. Quality which is accepted or rejected just because it is good or bad
which has been internalised refers to intrinsic value.

Gambar seorang membuang sampah

di dalam tong sampah, berlatar
belakangkan dataran merdeka selepas
upacara keramaian seperti
menyambut hari
kemerdekaan(malam) di mana
padang penuh dengan botol minuman
dan sampah…
An individual should keep clean no matter where he or she is.

Subjective value
According to the perspective of subjective value, what is accepted as good by one
party might not be accepted, left alone or rejected by other parties. This means the
quality accepted or rejected by an individual reflects upon that individual’s personal
taste. For example, there are adolescents who argue that parents should give them
complete autonomy to choose their own career but parents might think other wise. On
the other hand, there are also adolescents who still need guidance from parents and
other adults to decide what they should be when they grow up.

Objective value
Objective value is rigid and its truth cannot be denied. This means the quality of value
and vice versa is free from individual choice. For example, those who receive bribe
must be taken to court. This is a one-way track and there is no subjectivity in the
crime of bribery which is considered bad by the global nation.

Gambar pesalah rasuah dikenakan

hukuman dalam mahkamah. Speech
bubble dari Hakim
You are given life sentence for 10
years for receiving bribe….

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Relative value
Relative values differ according to individuals and society. Values accepted in
Malaysia might not be suitable in the west and vice versa. Relative value may be
accepted or rejected based on the rules within a society to reach a societal objective.
For example, in Malaysia the concept of ‘Open Home’ is a concept of inviting visitors
to homes during festive days. But this concept does not exist in a western culture.

Absolute value
Absolute values are values that cannot be rationalised. For example, values from
religious sources are considered absolute values. Absolute values have values which
are not tied to a certain societal norms. For example, respecting parents is an absolute
value that is inspired by almost all world religions.

Reflective Session
In groups, discuss the issues below and present your findings to members of other
groups.
1. Why is moral judgement important in resolving a moral conflict?
2. Explain the importance of normative statement in living in Malaysia.
3. To what extent do types of value (instrumental, intrinsic, subjective, objective,
relative and absolute) are taken into consideration in current issues in our country.
Provide specific examples and discuss.

Reinforcement questions
Multiple choice questions

1. Normative refers to a standard or a model that is

A. legal
B. ideal
C. realistic
D. pluralistic

2. Moral normative statement has the characteristics below EXCEPT

A. indirect effects towards the action of an individual
B. is in the form of order and directives
C. judgement of good or bad
D. statement that is accepted or not accepted

3. Normative statement is important in Moral Education because

I. it confirms the aims of communal living
II. it plans the thinking in living
III. it plans the feelings and actions of society
A. I and II
B. II and III
C. I and III
D. I, II and III

4. Normative statement states whether a judgment in a certain situation

A. is ideal or not
B. follows the orders of authority
C. is suitable a not

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D. all the answers above

5. Below are the functions of value in Malaysia EXCEPT

A. be a standard for the whole global society
B. a guide in the life of individuals
C. a guide to resolve moral conflicts
D. a standard for Malaysian communal life

6. One of the main concept of standard communal living in Malaysia which is

made up of various ethnic group is to live together under values that are
A. pre confirmed
B. assigned
C. shared
D. segregated

7. Professional work ethics is priority in work for the goodness of

A. family members
B. local community
C. self
D. the profession itself

8. Value from the prescriptive aspect is obtained from

I. religious source
II. rules
III. norms of global nation
A. I and II
B. II and III
C. I and III
D. I, II and III

9. Value from the cognitive domain means how ___________ influence our
morality.
A. feelings
B. thought
C. action
D. communication

10. Mary wants to befriend John because John is a responsible adolescent and
Mary wants to have a responsible friend. Mary has _________ values.
A. instrumental
B. intrinsic
C. subjective
D. objective

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