Ethical Dimension of Human Existence 2023

Prepared by:
JOHN C. MIRASOL, PhD

INSTRUCTOR
 Concerned with matters such as the good
thing we must do and the bad that we should
avoid.
 May involve obligations that one is expected
to fulfill, prohibitions that one is required to
respect or ideals we are encouraged to meet.
 Ethics is one that determines the grounds for
the values that are significant to human life.
 Involves valuations that we make in a sphere
of human actions, characterized by certain
gravity and concern the human well-being or
human life itself.
A. Aesthetics
 Gk. “aisthesis”- sense or feeling.
 Judgments of personal approval or disapproval that we
make about what we see, smell, hear, or taste.
B. Etiquette
 requirements of behaviors according to the
conventions of society. It includes the proper
conduct that is established by a community for
various occasions, including ceremonies, court,
formal events and everyday life.
C. Technique
 Greek “techne”- proper/right way of doing things.
Ethics Morals
What are they? The rules of conduct recognized in Principles or habits with respect to
respect to a particular class of human right or wrong conduct. While morals
actions or a particular group or also prescribe dos and don'ts,
culture. morality is ultimately a personal
compass of right and wrong.
Where do they Social system - External Individual - Internal

come from?
Why we do it? Because society says it is the right Because we believe in something
thing to do. being right or wrong.
Flexibility Ethics are dependent on others for Usually consistent, although can
definition. They tend to be consistent change if an individual’s beliefs
within a certain context, but can vary change.
between contexts.
1) Descriptive
 Reports how people make their moral valuations
without making any judgment either for or against
these valuations.
2) Normative
 Prescribes what ought to maintain as our
standards or bases for moral valuation
 “What could or should be considered as the right
way of acting?”
A more philosophical
discussion of ethics engages
in a critical consideration of
the strengths and
weaknesses of different
theories.
 Moral issue
 Situation that calls for moral valuation.
 Moral decision
 Situation where one is confronted by the choice of
what to act to perform.
 Moral judgment
 Happens when a person makes assessment on the
actions or behavior of another.
 Moral dilemma
 Choosing one of the two goods or choosing between
the lesser of two evils.
a) Fear of punishment
 Can motivate us to act, but are not in themselves a
determinant of the rightness or wrongness of a
certain action.
b) Based on Principles
 principles are rationally established grounds by which
one justifies and maintains her moral decisions and
judgments.
 Moral theory- explains why a certain action is wrong -
- or why we ought to act in certain ways.
 moral theories provide the framework upon which we think
and discuss in a reasoned way, and so evaluate,
specific moral issues.
 Moral framework-
 a theory of interconnected ideas.
 By studying different frameworks we can
reconsider, clarify, modify, and ultimately
strengthen our principles, and thereby giving a
properly informed moral judgements and moral
decisions.
A. Law
❖ positive law- rules and regulations that are
posited or put forward by an authority requiring
compliance.
❑ Can one simply identify ethics with

the law?
 Prohibitive nature
◦ Does not tell us what we should do but rather
constrain us from doing acts that we should not do.
◦ There are certain ways of acting which are not
forbidden by the law but are ethically questionable.
 Eg. Contractualization, not helping others in need
Divine Command theory
 the view that morality is somehow dependent
upon God, and that moral obligation consists in
obedience to God’s commands.
❑ Religion is not simply prohibitive but also
provides ideals to pursue.
❑ However, can we simply identify ethics
with following whatever our religion says?
➢ Multiplicity of religion
➢ Connection between ethics and the Divine
 Socrates: ….Is the holy loved by the gods
because it is holy? Or is it holy because it is
loved by the gods?
 (Euthyphro, p. 10)
Is something right only because God

commanded it, or is it that something is right
in itself and that is why God commanded it?
 Is killing wrong simply because God
commanded it?
◦ Arbitrary
◦ How sure are we that it is God’s will?
 Are there standards of right and wrong that

we can refer to independently of God?
 Cultural relativism
 What is ethically acceptable or
unacceptable is relative to or dependent
on one’s culture.
 GOOD because:
➢ Conforms to what we experience.
➢ Provides basis for our valuation
➢ Teaches us to be tolerant of others
While relativism promotes a sense of
humility, such humility should go hand in
hand with a capacity for rational, critical
discernment that is truly appreciative of
human values.
We are urged to think more
carefully about how one’s
understanding of his/her belonging
to a certain culture could be more
fruitful and meaningful for his/her
critical discernment.
A. SUBJECTIVISM
 Individual is the sole determinant of
what is morally good or bad, right
or wrong.
❑No one can tell me what is right and wrong.
❑No one knows my situation better than myself.
❑I am entitled to my own opinion.
❑It is good if I say it is good.
“Human beings are naturally self-centered, so
all our actions are always already motivated by
self-interest.”
 Descriptive theory
 Does not direct us to act in any particular way
but points out that there is already an
underlying basis for how one acts.
Any consequence brought by an action that
benefits the doer is ethical.
 Normative- what should be done.

 Prescribes that we should make our own
ends, our own interests, as the single
overriding concern.
 We may act in a way that is beneficial to
others, but we should do that only if it
ultimately benefits us.
 Read “The Myth of Gyges”
STUDY ALL THE TOPICS
DISCUSSED AND BE READY
FOR THE EXAMINATION!!!

Ethical Dimension of Human Existence 2023

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Ethical Dimension of Human Existence 2023

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Ethical Dimension of Human Existence 2023

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Prepared by:

JOHN C. MIRASOL, PhD

Where do they Social system - External Individual - Internal

❑ Can one simply identify ethics with

Is something right only because God

 Are there standards of right and wrong that

 Normative- what should be done.

You might also like