CHAPTER 3:

MORALITY
 Morals
-refers to human behavior where morality is the
practical activity and, ethics describes the
theoretical, systematic, and rational reflection
upon that human behavior. (Churchill, 1982)
 Moral experience begins with moral
consciousness or moral sense. In fact moral
consciousness and moral experience are used
as synonyms by many.
LESSON 1: NATURE
OF MORALITY AND
THE IMPORTANCE
OF RULES
I. MAIN FEATURES OF
MORALITY
O Part of any theory, whether about morality or
something else, is to describe the subject
matter by listing certain features or
characteristics of the subject that makes it
distinct and special. This will, in a way, give a
clearer picture as to what the whole subject is
really about.
The following list by Ellin (1995), though not
exhaustive, provides a through grounding of the
subject:
1. Morality is binding on those to whom it applies.
-this means that if some principle is part of the
morality, then the people to whom the morality
applies should obey that principle.

2. Morality does not depend on what people think.

-This means that numbers does not
decide right and wrong even if that is the majority.
3. There are often correct answers to moral
questions.
-In spite of so many controversies regarding
certain moral issues like abortion, euthanasia and
the like, most people have no trouble distinguishing
good and moral actions or decisions from bad ones.
4. Despite this, morality is sometimes unclear or
ambiguous.
-The rules of morality, unfortunately, are not
always as clear or obvious as well as we all would
like them to be.
5. Morality is an end in itself.
-Morality is an end to itself, not just means to an
end. If you have other reasons why you want to be
moral other than being moral, then, you have not
understood the point of morality. While being moral
serves some other purposes, some of them are very
practical ones, like getting something from people,
say, their admiration, these other ends are not
justification for being moral. Morality is self-
justifying.
6. Morality is obligatory.
-One cannot just decide what morality he or she
would like to have. You cannot just choose your
own moral rules.
7. Morality is decided by reason rather than
emotions.
-This means that moral questions need to be
settled through arguments to justify ones moral
views rather that appeal to feelings and sentiments.
II. MORAL THEORY
O A theory is a structured set of statement used
to explain (predict) a set of facts or concepts.
O A moral theory explains why certain action is
wrong or why we ought to act in a certain way.
Theories of
Morality
O (1) Moral Subjectivism
-Right and wrong is determined by what you -- the
subject -- just happens to think (or 'feel') is right or
wrong. In its common form, Moral Subjectivism
amounts to the denial of moral principles of any
important kind, and the possibility of moral criticism
and argumentation.

(2) Cultural Relativism

-Right and wrong is determined by the particular set of
principles or rules the relevant culture just happens to
hold at the time. Cultural Relativism is closely linked to
Moral Subjectivism. It implies that we cannot criticize
the actions of those in cultures other than our own.
(3) Ethical Egoism
-Right and wrong is determined by what is in
your self-interest. Or, it is immoral to act
contrary to your self-interest.
(4) Divine Command Theory
-Many claim that there is a necessary connection
between morality and religion, such that, without
religion (in particular, without God or gods)
there is no morality, i.e., no right and wrong
behavior.
(5) Virtue Ethics
-Right and wrong are characterized in terms of
acting in accordance with the traditional virtues --
making the good person.
 The most widely discussed is Aristotle's account.
For Aristotle, the central concern is "Ethica" =
things to do with character. Of particular concern
are excellences of character -- Aristotle and most
of the ancient Greeks really had nothing to say
about moral duty, i.e., modern day moral
concepts. Rather, they were concerned with what
makes human beings truly 'happy'.
 True 'happiness' is called Eudaimonia
(flourishing / well- being / fulfillment /
selfactualization). Like Plato, Aristotle wants to
show that there are objective reasons for living
in accordance with the traditional virtues
(wisdom, courage, justice and temperance).
 For Aristotle, this comes from a particular
account of human nature -- i.e., the virtuous life
is the 'happiest' (most fulfilling) life.
Three steps to the argument:

1) The ultimate end of human action is

happiness.
2) Happiness consists in acting in accordance
with reason.
3) Acting in accordance with reason is the
distinguishing feature of all the traditional
virtues.
(6) Feminist Ethics
-Right and wrong is to be found in women‟s'
responses to the relationship of caring. Comes
out of the criticism that all other moral theories
are 'masculine' -- display a male bias.
(7) Utilitarianism
-Right and wrong is determined by the overall
goodness (utility) of the consequences of
Unitarianism is a Consequentialist moral theory
 Basic ideas:
All action leads to some end. But there is a
summum bonum -- the highest good/end. This is
pleasure or happiness. Also, that there is a First
Principle of Morals -- 'Principle of Utility',
alternatively called 'The Greatest Happiness
Principle' (GHP), usually characterized as the
ideal of working towards the greatest happiness
of the greatest number.
 Jeremy Bentham -- the first to formulate
Utilitarianism -- did not distinguish between kinds of
pleasures. However, Bentham's student, John Stuart
Mill, produced a more sophisticated version of
Utilitarianism in which pleasures may be higher or
lower. The higher pleasures (those obtained, e.g.,
through intellectual pursuits), carried greater weight
than the lower pleasures (those obtained through
sensation).The upshot is that in determining what
action to perform, both quality and quantity of
pleasure/happiness count.
 Note:
Utilitarians are not a Hedonist. Hedonists are concerned
only with their own happiness. Utilitarian‟s are
concerned with everyone's happiness, so it is Altruistic.
In general, morally right actions are those that produce
the best overall consequences / total amount of pleasure
or absence of pain. Modern versions of Utilitarianism
have dropped the idea of maximizing pleasure in favor
of maximizing the satisfaction of all relevant peoples'
preferences and interests.
 Other key points:
• For utilitarian, no action is intrinsically right or
wrong. • No person's preferences or interests
(including your own, your relatives, friends,
neighbors‟, etc.) carry a greater weight than any other
person's.
• Usually we cannot make the required utilitarian
calculation before acting. So, in most situations,
following 'rules of thumb' will produce the best
consequences.
• Democratic and economic principles reflect
Utilitarianism.
(8) Kantian Theory
-Right and wrong is determined by rationality,
giving universal duties. Kantianism is a Non-
consequentialist moral theory.
 Basic ideas:
 That there is "the supreme principle of morality". Good
and Evil are defined in terms of Law / Duty /
Obligation. Rationality and Freedom are also central.
Kant thought that acting morally was quite simple. That
is:
 - You ought to do your duty (simply because it is your
duty).
 - Reason guides you to this conclusion.
 Good Will (i.e., having the right intentions) is the only
thing that is good without qualification. So, actions are
truly moral only if they have the right intention, i.e.,
based on Good Will.
 According to Kant “Never treat anyone
merely as a means to an end. Rather,
treat everyone as an end in themselves.”
 (9) Rights-based Theories
-We are to act in accordance with a set of moral
rights, which we possess simply by being
human.
 A positive right is one in which the
corresponding duty requires a positive action.
 A negative right is one in which the
corresponding duty merely requires refraining
from doing something that will harm
someone.
 (10) Contractarianism
-The principles of right and wrong (or Justice)
are those which everyone in society would agree
upon in forming a social contract.
 Lesson II:
MORAL VS. NON-
MORAL
STANDARDS
 I. Characteristics of Moral
Standards:
 Moral standards are bases for moral behavior and
bases for determining whether a certain act is moral
or immoral and for someone to be responsible or not.
These are the guides of human behavior and
decision making. These standards are not only
applied to individual persons but also to a group or
corporation. Something is unethical if it does not
conform to a particular standard of morality. They
may not be written but observed and they are
assumed norms of moral conduct (Articulo, 2005).
There are certain elements
differentiating moral
standards to non-moral
standards:
 a. Moral standards involve serious wrongs or
significant benefits.
-Moral standards deal with matters which can
seriously impact, that is, injure orbenefit human
beings.
 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 he/she is supposed to do that even if it conflicts
with other non-moral standards, and even with self-
interest.
 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.
 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 those moral principles must apply to all who are
in the relevantly similar situation.
 e. Moral standards are based on impartial
considerations.
-Moral standard does 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.
 f. 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 imperatives (such
as, „Do not kill,‟ „Do no unnecessary harm,‟ and
„Love your neighbor‟).
II. Moral Standards versus Other
Rules in Life
 A person’s moral values constitute society’s
rules, and moral rules are very significant and
subjective to each person‟s moral values.
Individually, we feel differently from the
perspective of stealing for example.
 We sometimes generalized people‟s morality
by their actions against our expectations.
Etiquette, Policy, Law, and
Commandment
 Etiquette is a set of rules on how an
individual should responsibly behave in the
society (Taylor and Williams, 2017).
 A policy is a clear, simple statement on how
an organization plans to handle its services,
actions or business. Policies are guiding rules
to help with decision making (The University
of Sydney, ©2002- 2017).
 A law is a rule created and enforced by the
government and its agencies to maintain order,
resolve disputes, and protect a person‟s liberty
and rights(Robertson,2008; Brickley and
Gottesman, © 2017).
 A commandment is a rule that is to be strictly
observed because it was said to be set by a
divine entity, such as those in the Ten
Commandments (Stahl, 2009).
 The more important question for ethics
is not “What should I do?” but “What
kind of person should I be?”
 Lesson III:
Moral Dilemma
I. What is Dilemma? Its
Definition and Concept
 Dilemma is in which two well-known cases is
conflicting. In each case, an individual regards
as to having moral reasons to do each of the
two actions, but doing both actions is not
possible. The most crucial characteristic of
moral dilemma is that, a person has to do two
or more actions.
 Moral dilemmas fall into three
general categories.
 First category, an agent is faced with a case
where he ought to do two things, but he can
only do one, where the doing of one action
excludes the possibility of doing the other
action.
 Second category, an agent is faced with a
decision that involves one thing he ought to do
and another he ought not to do, where the
doing of one forbids the other.
 Third category involves a case where an
agent is faced with two things he ought not to
do, but is forced to do one of the bad actions.
 Three Levels of Moral
Dilemma
 1. Personal Moral Dilemma is when your
decision in a particular situation has a conflict
with your own and another individual. Your
actions will become harmful to group of
individuals.
 2. Organizational Dilemma is when a member
or members of the organization is in situation
where there is moral conflicts and the decision
will potentially harm either some members of the
group or the entire organization itself.
 3. Structural Moral Dilemma is when a
person or group of persons who holds high-
level positions in the society faces a morally
conflicting situation wherein the entire social
system is affected.
 Lesson IV:
Freedom in Making Moral
Decisions
 The personal aspect of the morality is about
developing virtue so that thinking morally,
performing moral acts, and choosing to do
what is good becomes a habit.
 Virtues are habits developed through learning
and practice.
 Freedom is the foundation of moral acts. For a
person to be virtuous, he or she must also be
free.
O It is important to note that even in following
of the rules freedom is essential. Finally, there
is a question of the ultimate end. “Why are
you here?” “What is your purpose?” The
human person‟s final end is always debatable
topic because it often goes hand in hand with
specific religious views. However, the debate
does not negate the fact that freedom remains
essential with one‟s view of his or her
ultimate purpose.
I. The Meaning of
Freedom
O We begin with the important distinctions
between the negative and positive freedom
according to Isaiah Berlin.
*Negative freedom refers to the “absence of
interference.” By interference, we mean something
that is intentionally imposed on a person. It may
come in the form of „physical coercion”.
*Positive freedom is not about the absence of
coercion or interference. It is “more than just being
let alone by others.” It is a kind of freedom that
requires active effort on the person who is said to
be free.
 A person who is free (possesses positive
freedom) has control of mastery of himself
and so has the strength to do what is good.
 A person who is free is not allergic to rules
and regulations.
 II. Philosophical
insights of Freedom
 The Human Person as a Free
Being
 In Philosophy, a human being is more than its
biological components. The human being is a
person endowed with characteristics that are
material, spiritual, rational, and free.
 One of the inborn properties of the human
person is freedom.
Philosophical Insights on
Freedom
 (a) Freedom is a Gift
-According to Gabriel Marcel, freedom is the
ability to act significantly. Free acts are
significant because they help to make us who we
are as human beings. Freedom is not merely the
ability to make arbitrary choices because we are
not free if everything that we can choose to do
the significant in the first place.
O (b) Freedom is Complimentary to Reasoning
-One of Aristotle‟s ethical doctrines asserted
that freedom and reason are complementary.
In Aristotle‟s view, the human person as a
moral agent must exercise practical rationality
in order to determine how to pursue his or her
ultimate end (telos).
 (c) Freedom is Absolute Existentialist
-philosopher Jean Paul Sartre‟s concept of
freedom is not that freedom to do something or
anything. In Sartre‟s view, the human person is
“absolutely free”.
 As human persons, we are free to make
choices. We are free to decide. And we are
free to use this freedom to attain goals higher
than satisfying basic needs.
 (d) Freedom Demands Responsibility
-Jean-Paul Sartre said “You are Free” because he
believed a person always has a choice. Thus,
according to Sartre, you must choose. His idea was
that freedom is the capacity to choose, that even not
choosing is a choice (Gallinero, 2014).
-According to Sartre, even though individuals must
make their own choices because they are free, these
choices (though freely made) also have
consequences to it.
 Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu also discussed
freedom and responsibility. Lao Tzu
advocated that a person can and should choose
act, but his or her actions should be that which
would result in harmony.