Ethics Preliminaries

Foundations of Morality

Professor/Instructor/instructress:
Learning Objective

At the end of this lesson,

Ethics Preliminaries
you will be able to:

1. Explain why only

human beings can be
ethical
Lesson Overview
This next discussion will discuss the Clockwork
Orange, a dystopian novel by Anthony Burgess. This

Ethics Preliminaries
novel represents themes such as freewill, conformity to the
state`s laws, human loyalty and treachery and about
evolving human nature and culture. This novel also
possesses a critical question on the tug-of-war between
culture/laws, human evolution (human nature) and freewill.
At the end, the novel leaves us the question- how important
are the principles or the moral codes of human action? In
the discussion section, this module will also highlights the
six moral theories that answer the question “Why human
should be moral?”
 Ethics Preliminaries
Freedom as the
Foundation for Moral Acts
Introduction
Freedom is the foundation for moral acts because it allows
human beings to make choices based on their reason and

Ethics Preliminaries
conscience, and to be accountable for the consequences of
their actions. Some thinkers believe that among the living things
human alone has the capacity to reason and to reflect on
his/her actions. But there exist some conflicting argument
between existentialism and determinism regarding the
existence of human mind which is the source of reasoning. To
the former school of thought, it believes that human is free for
he has mind while the latter consider that human actions are
determined so human is not free. Without freedom, there
would be no moral standards, no dilemmas, no praise or blame,
and no ethical values.
Introductory Activity

Let’s begin our discussion

Ethics Preliminaries
with this question:
Do you believe that human
is free? Explain your
answer.
Introductory Activity

Consider this statement,

Ethics Preliminaries
“an addict will remain an
addict, a criminal will
remain a criminal” What is
your argument here?
PROCESSING
The debate between free will and
determinism has been a challenging topic

Ethics Preliminaries
for centuries. Determinism is the belief
that all events, including human actions,
are ultimately determined by causes
external to the will. In contrast,
libertarianism is the belief that humans
have the ability to make choices that
are not predetermined by prior causes.
While some people believe that humans
are free, others believe that our actions
are predetermined by factors beyond our
control. (Evans, 2023) Jefri, B. 2018. Silhouette Of People By The
Seashore. Retrieved from www.pexels.com
In the statement “an addict will
remain an addict, a criminal will

Ethics Preliminaries
remain a criminal” are
deterministic views on human
behavior. It suggests that people
are incapable of changing their
behavior, and that their past
actions will inevitably dictate their
future. Fotos, A. 2019. Time for Change Sign With
Led Light. Retrieved from www.pexels.com
However, this view is overly
simplistic and ignores the

Ethics Preliminaries
complexity of human behavior.
While it is true that people who have
struggled with addiction or criminal
behavior may be more likely to
continue down that path, it is not
accurate to say that they are
incapable of changing their habit.
Fotos, A. 2019. Time for Change Sign With
Led Light. Retrieved from www.pexels.com
With the right support and
resources, people can overcome

Ethics Preliminaries
addiction and criminal behavior
and make positive changes in their
lives. It is important to recognize
that people are not totally defined
by their past actions, and that
everyone has the potential to
change and grow because they Fotos, A. 2019. Time for Change Sign With

have freewill. Led Light. Retrieved from www.pexels.com

Ethics Preliminaries
DISCUSSION
A CLOCKWORK ORANGE – A NOVEL REVIEW

Why human are the only

Ethics Preliminaries
ethical being and what is the
connection of human freewill
to this obligation? Humans
are the only ethical being for
they have mind and
reasoning unlike the other
living things such as the
lower animals.
Mob.org. 2024. Movie, A Clockwork Orange. Retrieved
from https://wallpaper.mob.org/image/movie-
a_clockwork_orange-672537.html
A CLOCKWORK ORANGE – A NOVEL REVIEW

We called them lower

Ethics Preliminaries
animals for they act in
accordance with the
mechanism of their body
or instinct. Human
freewill play a major role
in decision making that
has an effect on human Mob.org. 2024. Movie, A Clockwork Orange. Retrieved
from https://wallpaper.mob.org/image/movie-

action. a_clockwork_orange-672537.html
A CLOCKWORK ORANGE – A NOVEL REVIEW

The novel “A Clockwork Orange”

by Anthony Burgess symbolises

Ethics Preliminaries
freewill, human savagery and
human story. Lowney
summarization of the movie
describes the main character
Alex as a part of a gang that
does random acts of violence,
especially against helpless
individuals, and drug-fueled Mob.org. 2024. Movie, A Clockwork Orange. Retrieved
from https://wallpaper.mob.org/image/movie-

orgies.
a_clockwork_orange-672537.html
A young writer was beaten by this group after
they break into a cottage, and his wife was

Ethics Preliminaries
gang-raped and later dies. After killing an old
woman during an attempted robbery, Alex
received a 14-year prison sentence. Alex was
selected to participate in the experimental
Ludovico's Technique program while
incarcerated. This harsh kind of aversion
therapy involves Alex watching videos of
crimes committed by the Nazis.
He gets physically ill from the treatment even if he
loves committing a crime. Alex also ends up losing

Ethics Preliminaries
interest in classical music, something he used to
love. The jail chaplain, who had become friends
with Alex, challenges the morality of taking away
someone's ability to choose (freewill), even as
government officials declare the treatment a
success. The chaplain believes that good behavior
ought to be an option. (Lowne, 2023)
Question: Why Ludovicos` technique became
destructive to Alex?
What is the tendency of

Ethics Preliminaries
human history? Is there are
options in every human
actions?
Realization:

Ethics Preliminaries
Human history may have linear (progressing) or
circular movement (repeated). If it is circular human
history or human life can be describe as deterministic or
mechanistic for human is like an organism that
responses to his surroundings. Being a mechanistic
being, human may fall to circular action or repeated
pattern of action, then human is deterministic. Other
argue that human has reasoning and freewill and this
reasoning and freewill can harness the mechanistic
pattern of human history.
Even if there are other external factors

Ethics Preliminaries
(e.g. human situatedness or condition)
that can affect human decision and
action human can use his reasoning and
freewill to harness the deterministic
causes of his/her condition or
experiences. Human history progression
or regression depends on the thinking
and freewill of each generation`s actors.
Freewill and Morality

One of the problems in ethics or moral

Ethics Preliminaries
philosophy is the conflicting arguments
between existentialism and determinism.
Existentialists believe that human are free and
responsible for their actions came from the use
of freewill while determinists believe that
human action are caused externally by the
environment and human condition so human
beings are not responsible for their actions.
The idea of determinism holds that
the laws of nature are forces in the

Ethics Preliminaries
universe at any given moment, as
well as the state of the universe at
that point, determine the universe's
condition at all subsequent times
while libertarianism is a
philosophical perspective that even
if the universe is predetermined
human beings have free will. (Peter Pixabay. 2016 Gray and Gold Steel Gears. Retrieved from

Singer, 2024)
www.pexels.com
Compatibilist

The idea of compatibilism holds that moral

Ethics Preliminaries
responsibility and free choice coexist with
determinism's reliability. Compatibilists typically
try to bring about this reconciliation by modifying
or undermining the commonplace understanding
of free agency. Aristotle thought that because
people may choose their acts within the limits of
who they are, they had free will. Free will was
seen by Scholastic thinkers of the Middle Ages as
a theological issue. (Peter Singer, 2024)
St. Augustine answered the conflicting
issue between the determination of

Ethics Preliminaries
everything, if the agent is God and the
freewill of human beings. He says that
human history (past, present and future) are
determined by God, though God
determined human mind and action, God is
not responsible of each event made by
humans, instead he argued that these
human actions are came from reasoning
and human freewill. God also has a freewill
and can intervene in each human action and
decision, some called it Divine Intervention. Dilli, S. 2023. Stained Glass Window in a Church Depicting
a Saint. Retrieved from www.pexels.com
 Ethics Preliminaries
Why we should be
moral?
There are three main ethical theories

Ethics Preliminaries
that are considered as reasons why
human should be moral. These
thinking or philosophies also became
the foundation of different accepted
moral codes:
Kantian Deontology.
According to Kant, human beings possess
reasoning and a universal rationality

Ethics Preliminaries
towards one another, which gives them a
duty to consider the respect for human
dignity in all their actions. This means that
every human action must be guided by
the principle of treating others as ends in
themselves, rather than as mere means to
an end. In other words, Kant believed that
we should never use people as a means to
achieve our own goals, but rather treat them
as individuals with inherent worth and Becker, J. 1724-1804. Kant gemaelde. Retrieved
from

dignity. (Kranak, 2024) https://www.kant.uni-mainz.de/ikonographie/pix/0

02.jpg
Bentham and Mill’s Utilitarianism
Bentham and Mill’s Utilitarianism is a moral
theory that emphasizes the importance of the

Ethics Preliminaries
consequences of actions and the principle of
utility, which aims to maximize happiness for
the greatest number of people. According to
Bentham , the rightness or wrongness of an
action depends on its ability to promote
happiness or pleasure and reduce pain or
suffering (quality) while Mill believes that the
ultimate goal of human action should be to
maximize happiness for the greatest number of
people (quantity). In other words, he believed
that the moral worth of an action should be Pickersgill, H. 1875. Jeremy Bentham. Retrieved from

judged by its ability to promote the general https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jeremy_Bentham_

by_Henry_William_Pickersgill_detail.jpg

welfare of society. (West, 2024)

Hegel’s Social Relations – Self Realization

Hegel’s Social Relations is a moral theory

Ethics Preliminaries
that emphasizes the importance of the social
self and the relationships with others, and
that self-realization is the central concept of
ethics. According to Hegel, morality is based
on the idea that individuals are social beings
who exist in relation to others. He believed that
the self is not an isolated entity, but rather a
product of social relations. Hegel also believed
that self-realization is the central concept of
ethics, and that individuals must strive to
realize their full potential as human beings. Schlesinger, J. 1831. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel.

(Duquette, 2024)
Retrieved from
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1831_Schlesinger_Phil
osoph_Georg_Friedrich_Wilhelm_Hegel_anagoria.JPG
 Ethics Preliminaries
The Six Moral Foundation
A group of social and cultural psychologists,

Ethics Preliminaries
led by Jonathan Haidt and Jesse Graham,
created the Moral Foundations Theory
(MFT) to investigate why morality frequently
shares common themes and characteristics
among societies, despite the great diversity
between countries. Here is the concepts on
Haidt`s six moral foundations.
Care/Harm – Haidt considered
that even in the primate species

Ethics Preliminaries
offspring, the mother monkey
can detect the suffering of her
offspring, then this behaviour,
response and concern can also
be extend to human beings.
Thus the concept of care and
harm can be realize by other Eyer, Edward. 2018. Woman Holding Baby Wearing Blue

animals and all humans.

Jacket. Retrieved from www.pexels.com
Fairness/Cheating –

Ethics Preliminaries
these acts promotes the
development of anger,
guilt and gratitude for
human can
conceptualize the ideas
fairness and justice. Shimasaki, S. 2020. Judgement scale and gavel in judge
office. Retrieved from www. pexels.com
Liberty/Oppression – liberty
or freedom is crucial in human

Ethics Preliminaries
existence but leadership
cannot be separated from the
society. Different forms of
resistance happen if there
exist unjust leadership and
domination that devaluate of
human freedom and human Mariana. 2016. The Statue of Liberty. Retrieved from

rights. www.pexels.com
Loyalty/Betrayal – every

Ethics Preliminaries
community and culture
have things that they
valued such as trusting,
recognition of kin, and
cooperation. Betrayal can
destroy some of the
values of a community. Piacquadio, A. Photo Of Women Leaning On Each
Other. Retrieved from www.pexels.com
Authority/Subversion –

Ethics Preliminaries
class and hierarchy also exist
in the society. Justice and
fairness is for the respect on
humanity. Admiration and
subversion to the authorities
is crucial if there are positive
and good governing that
happening in the society. Tarasavich, A. 2020. Leadership Lettering Text on Black
Background. Retrieved from www.pexels.com
Sanctity/Degradation –

Ethics Preliminaries
purity and goodness are
the things human
pursuing and disgust is
the reciprocal of these. A
community also pursue
for what is pure and what
is good. (Campbell, 2013) Jordan, B. 2021. Brown Wooden Scrabble Blocks on
White Surface. www.pexels.com
SUMMARY
The novel Clockwork Orange is a best

Ethics Preliminaries
example that human can surpass the
mechanistic tendency of human being
even we have a part of animalistic nature
because we can reason and like what the
chaplain had said to Alex, we can realize
what is good and good behaviour is ought
to be an option.
Freedom is the foundation for moral acts, allowing
humans to make choices based on reason and

Ethics Preliminaries
conscience, and be accountable for their actions.
Existentialism argue that humans are free because they
have mind that can reason what is good. Freedom
implies responsibility, which forms the basis of morality.
Determinism points out that human is mechanistic but
there are times that human can intervene the causal
effect of these external factors or influences. The
circularity of human history are brought out by the
mechanistic behaviour of man while the linear or
progressing characteristic of human lives are brought by
realization using reasoning and freewill.
Kant philosophy highlights human reasoning and
freewill which are the reasons why human should act

Ethics Preliminaries
morally, Bentham and Mill's Utilitarianism is a moral
theory that prioritizes the consequences of actions
and the principle of utility, aiming to maximize
happiness for the greatest number of people.
Hegel's Social Relations theory emphasizes the
importance of social self and relationships, with self-
realization as the central concept of ethics, he posits
that individuals are social beings, not isolated
entities, and must strive to reach their full potential.
The Moral Foundations Theory (MFT) by Jonathan Haidt
and Jesse Graham aims to understand why morality

Ethics Preliminaries
shares common themes among societies, despite cultural
diversity. Haidt's six moral foundations include care/harm,
fairness/cheating, liberty/oppression, loyalty/betrayal,
authority/subversion, and sanctity/degradation.
Care/harm is universal, as even primates can detect
suffering. Fairness/cheating promotes anger, guilt, and
gratitude, while liberty/oppression is crucial for freedom
and rights. Loyalty/betrayal destroys community values,
and authority/subversion promotes respect and
admiration for authority.
 References
Campbell, R. (2013, August 4). campber.people.clemson. Retrieved from campber.people.clemson.edu:
https://campber.people.clemson.edu/haidtontologyperson.pdf
Course_Hero. (2023, December 30). Course Hero. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/@coursehero:

Ethics Preliminaries
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gZ2bkLPYkA
Duquette, D. A. (2024, Jan 2). Internet Encylopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from iep.utm.edu: https://iep.utm.edu/hegelsoc/
Evans, O. (2023, October 10). Simply Psychology. Retrieved from simplypsychology.org:
https://www.simplypsychology.org/freewill-determinism.html
Kranak, J. (2024, Januray 2). Rebus Community. Retrieved from press.rebus.community: https://press.rebus.community/intro-to-
phil-ethics/chapter/kantian-deontology/
Lowne, C. (2023, November 19). Britanica. Retrieved from Britanica.com: https://
www.britannica.com/topic/A-Clockwork-Orange-novel
Mob.org. 2024. Movie, A Clockwork Orange. Retrieved from https://wallpaper.mob.org/image/movie-a_clockwork_orange-
672537.html
Peter Singer. (2024, January 1). Britanica.com. Retrieved from Britanica: https://www.britannica.com/topic/free-will-and-moral-
responsibility/additional-info#contributors
West, H. (2024, Januray 2). Britanica. Retrieved from Britanica.com: https://www.britannica.com/topic/utilitarianism-philosophy

Other Electronic Sources:

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Anthony-Burgess
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSqcwYgqIQs
https://www.kant.uni-mainz.de/ikonographie/pix/002.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jeremy_Bentham_by_Henry_William_Pickersgill_detail.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1831_Schlesinger_Philosoph_Georg_Friedrich_Wilhelm_Hegel_anagoria.JPG