Republic of the Philippines

Laguna State Polytechnic University

ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Province of Laguna
Level I Institutionally Accredited

LSPU Self-paced Learning Module (SLM)

Course BS Computer Engineering/ BS Civil Engineering
Sem/AY 1st Semester/2024-2025
Module No. 1
Lesson Title The Key Concepts in Ethics
Week
1-2
Duration
Date
Ethics examines the rational justification of our moral judgments. Find out what is morally right or
Description wrong, right or wrong. In its broader sense, ethics reflects the way people relate to nature, other
people, freedom, responsibility and justice.
of the
Lesson

Learning Outcomes
Intended
Learning To understand the ideas of values, ethics and morality in a multicultural context.
Outcomes To discuss the idea of moral relativism and the challenges it poses to universal values

Targets/ Recall a moral experience and assess it based on the moral standards.
Objectives

Student Learning Strategies

Face to Face A. Face to face Discussion

Activities You will be directed to attend in a Three-Hour class discussion on the science,
technology and society.
(Synchronou
s/ You will be directed to attend in f2f class discussion on the topic.
Asynchronou
Historical antecedents in which social considerations
s)
Intellectual revolutions that defined society

Note: The insight that you will post on online discussion forum using Learning Management System
(LMS) will receive additional scores in class participation.
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LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: GEC ELEC 108
Prepared by: ANANIAS R. TIMAJO, MAED
 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Province of Laguna
Level I Institutionally Accredited

2
LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: GEC ELEC 108
Prepared by: ANANIAS R. TIMAJO, MAED
 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Province of Laguna
Level I Institutionally Accredited

Offline
Activities LECTURE GUIDE
(e-Learning/
Self-Paced) Module 1.
The Key Concept of Ethics
At the end of this lesson, the students should be able to:
 To discuss the assessment culture’s role in moral behavior and development.
 To analyze the necessity of universal values in human survival.
 To discuss the relationship between individual acts and character.

Ethics is the branch of philosophy that studies morality or the rightness or

wrongness of human conduct.

Morality speaks of a code or system of behavior in regards to standards of right or

wrong behavior.

As a branch of philosophy, ethics stands to queries about what there is reason to do.
Dealing with human actions and reasons for action, ethics is also concerned with
character. In fact, the word “ethics” is derived from the Greek word “ethos,” which
means “character,” or “manners.”

Some questions that are ethical in nature are: What is the good? Who is a moral
person? What are the virtues of a human being? What makes an act right? What
duties do we have to each other?

Also called “moral philosophy,” ethics evaluates moral concepts, values, principles,
and standards. Because it is concerned with norms of human conduct, ethics is
considered a normative study of human actions.

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LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: GEC ELEC 108
Prepared by: ANANIAS R. TIMAJO, MAED
 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Province of Laguna
Level I Institutionally Accredited

I. The Importance of Rules to Social Beings

Rules refer to explicit or understood regulations or principles governing conduct

within a specific activity or sphere. Rules tell us what is or is not allowed in a
particular context or situation. In many ways, rules serve as a foundation for any
healthy society. Without rules, society would likely fall into anarchy.

Rules benefit social beings in various manners

A. Rules protect social beings by regulating behavior. Rules build boundaries

that place limits on behavior. Rules are usually coupled with means to impose
consequences on those who violate them. One of the reasons people follow accepted
rules is to avoid negative consequences. For instance, cheating on tests or
schoolwork can lead to serious repercussions, from failing grades or dismissal from
the course, loss of scholarship, or expulsion from the college or university.
Happiness depends on your willingness to live an authentic life where your behavior
lines up with your values. If you see yourself as an honest person, you’ll be the
happiest when your behavior exemplifies your beliefs.

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LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: GEC ELEC 108
Prepared by: ANANIAS R. TIMAJO, MAED
 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Province of Laguna
Level I Institutionally Accredited

B. Rules help to guarantee each person certain rights and freedom. Rules
form frameworks for society. Nations are generally nations of laws and the
governing principles are outlined in what is called constitution. Because the majority
has agreed to follow and consent to be governed by such a constitution, the
freedoms outlined exist. One of the advantages of such a system is that each person
is guaranteed certain rights as the government is limited in its power to ensure that
it does not become powerful enough to suppress liberty. Rules on divisions of power
and checks and balances further protect individual liberty. For example, each of us
has the right to freedom of opinion and expression.

C. Rules produce a sense of justice among social beings. Rules are needed to
keep the strong from dominating the weak, that is, to prevent exploitation and
domination. Without rules, schemes in which those with the power control the
system, would take over. In effect, rules generate a stable system that provides
justice, in which even the richest and most powerful have limitations on what they
can do. If they transgress rules such as laws and ordinances and take advantage of
people, there are consequences both socially and criminally. For example, all human
beings have the right to be treated with dignity and respect. Such dignity and respect
are afforded to people through the enjoyment of all human rights and are protected
through the rule of law.

D. Rules are essential for a healthy economic system. Without rules regulating
business, power would centralize around monopolies and threaten the strength and
competitiveness of the system. Rules are needed to ensure product safety, employee
safety, and product quality. Copyright and patents help protect people's intellectual
property. Rules and regulations also keep the banking system stable so as to avoid
depression and the like. For example, some company regulations protect more than
the physical well-being of employees—they protect employee rights. Obeying rules
that govern employee conduct make the workplace a more pleasant and enjoyable
environment.

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LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: GEC ELEC 108
Prepared by: ANANIAS R. TIMAJO, MAED
 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Province of Laguna
Level I Institutionally Accredited

II. Moral vs. Non-moral Standards

Morality may refer to the standards that a person or group has about what is right
and wrong, or good and evil. Accordingly, moral standards are those concerned with
or relating to human behavior, especially the distinction between good and bad (or
right and wrong) behavior.

Moral standards refer 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 benefit human
beings. The validity of moral standards comes from the line of reasoning that was
taken to back or support them, and thus are not able to be formed or changed by
particular bodies of authority. Some ethicists equate moral standards with moral
values and moral principles.

Non-moral standards refer to the rules that are unrelated to moral or ethical
considerations. 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 and
contexts.

The following characteristics of moral standards further differentiate them

from non-moral standards:

a. Moral standards involve serious wrongs or significant benefits. Moral

standards deal with matters which can seriously 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.

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LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: GEC ELEC 108
Prepared by: ANANIAS R. TIMAJO, MAED
 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Province of Laguna
Level I Institutionally Accredited

b. 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 s/he is supposed to do that
even if it conflicts with other non-moral standards even self-interest. For example, a
person may be aesthetically justified in leaving behind his/her family in order to
devote his/her life to painting, but morally, all things considered, s/he probably not
justified. It may be prudent to lie to save one’s dignity, but it is morally wrong to do
so.

c. 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
cannot be changed nor nullified by the decisions of a particular authoritative body.
The validity of these standards lies on the soundness or adequacy of the reasons that
are considered to support and justify them.
d. Moral standards have the trait of universalizability. Simply put, 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. Example of this is the golden rule “Do unto others what you would them do
unto you.”

e. Moral standards are based on impartial considerations. Moral standards

do not evaluate standards on the basis of the 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. Impartiality in

morality requires that we give equal and/or adequate consideration to the interests
of all concerned parties. For instance, the fact that you will benefit from a lie and that
person will be harmed is irrelevant to whether lying is morally wrong.

f. Moral standards are associated with special emotions and vocabulary.

Prescriptively indicates the practical or action-guiding nature of moral standards.
These moral standards are generally put forth as injunction or imperatives (“Do not
kill,” “Do no unnecessary harm,” and “Love your neighbor”). These principles are
proposed for use, to advise, and to influence to action. Retroactively, this feature is
used to evaluate behavior, to assign praise and blame, and to produce feelings of
satisfaction or of guilt.

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LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: GEC ELEC 108
Prepared by: ANANIAS R. TIMAJO, MAED
 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Province of Laguna
Level I Institutionally Accredited

III. Moral Dilemma

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LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: GEC ELEC 108
Prepared by: ANANIAS R. TIMAJO, MAED
 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Province of Laguna
Level I Institutionally Accredited

Ethical dilemma, also known as moral dilemma, is a conflict in which you have to
choose between two (2) or more actions and have moral reasons for choosing each
action. What is common to the two well-known cases is conflict. In each case, an
agent regards him/herself as having moral reasons to do each of the two (2) actions,
but doing both is not possible.
The key features of a moral dilemma are these: (a) the agent is required to do each of
two (2) (or more) actions;
(b) the agent can do each of the actions, but the agent cannot do both (or all) of the
actions. In a moral dilemma, the agent thus seems condemned to moral failure; no
matter what s/he does, s/he will do something wrong, or fail to do something that
s/he ought to do.
IV. Three (3) Levels of Moral Dilemmas
Moral dilemmas can be categorized according to these levels: (a) personal, (b)
organizational, and (c) structural.
a. Personal Dilemmas. 1
b. Organizational Dilemmas. These dilemmas refer to ethical cases
encountered and resolved by social organizations. This category includes moral
dilemmas in business, medical field, and public sector.
c. Structural Dilemmas. These dilemmas refer to cases involving network of
institutions and operative theoretical paradigms. As they usually encompass multi-
sectoral institutions and organizations, they may be larger in scope and extent than
organizational dilemmas.
V. Only Human Beings Can Be Ethical
Another basic tenet in ethics is the belief that only human beings can be truly ethical.
Most philosophers hold that unlike animals, human beings possess some traits that
make it possible for them to be moral:
a. Only human beings are rational, autonomous, and self-conscious. The
qualities of rationality, autonomy, and self-consciousness are believed to confer a full
and equal moral status to those that possess them as these beings are the only ones
capable of achieving certain values and goods. These values and goods are
something that outweigh the types of values and goods that non-rational, non-
autonomous, and non-self-conscious beings are capable of realizing. For instance, to
attain the kind of dignity and self-respect that human beings have, one must be able
to conceive of him/herself as one among many, and must be able to consciously
select his/her actions rather than be led by blind instincts.

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LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: GEC ELEC 108
Prepared by: ANANIAS R. TIMAJO, MAED
 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Province of Laguna
Level I Institutionally Accredited

b. Only human beings can act morally or immorally. Strictly speaking, an

animal which devours another animal cannot be said to be immoral. In the same
manner, no matter how good an animal's action seems to be, it cannot be technically
said to be moral.
Only human beings can act morally or immorally. This is important in ethics because
only beings that can act morally can be required to sacrifice their interests for the
sake of others. Not able to truly act morally, animals could not really sacrifice their
own good for the sake of others, but would even pursue their good at the expense of
others.
c. Only human beings are part of the moral community. The so-called moral
community is not defined in terms of the intrinsic properties that beings have, but
rather in terms of the essential social relations that exist between or among beings.
Distinctively, only human beings can possess or practice values such as love, honor,
social relationships, forgiveness, compassion, and altruism.
Moreover, only human beings can communicate with each other in truly meaningful
ways, can engage in economic, political, and familial relationships with each other,
and can also form deep personal relationships with each other. These kinds of
relationships require the members of such relationships to extend real concern to
other members in order for the relationships to continue. These relationships are
what constitute our lives and the values contained in them.

Performance Tasks

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LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: GEC ELEC 108
Prepared by: ANANIAS R. TIMAJO, MAED
 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Province of Laguna
Level I Institutionally Accredited

Learning Resources

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LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: GEC ELEC 108
Prepared by: ANANIAS R. TIMAJO, MAED
 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Province of Laguna
Level I Institutionally Accredited

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LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: GEC ELEC 108
Prepared by: ANANIAS R. TIMAJO, MAED