The Ethical Dimension of Human Existence

1. UNIT 3:
THE ETHICAL DIMENSION OF
HUMAN EXISTENCE

2. OBJECTIVES
Objectives
1. identify the ethical aspect of human life and the scope of ethical thinking; define
and explain the
2. terms that are relevant to ethical thinking; and
3. define and explain the terms that are relevant to ethical thinking; and
4. evaluate the difficulties that are involved in maintaining certain commonly-held
notions on ethics.

3. INTRODUCTION
• In August 2007, newspapers reported what seemed to be
yet another sad incident of fraternity violence. Cris
Anthony Mendez, a twenty-year-old student of the
University of the Philippines (UP), was rushed to the hospital
in the early morning hours, unconscious, with large bruises
on his chest, back, and legs. He passed away that morning,
and the subsequent autopsy report strongly suggests that his
physical injuries were most probably the result of "hazing"
(the term colloquially used to refer to initiation rites in which
neophytes may be subjected to various forms of physical
abuse).

4. •What exactly happened remains an open
question, as none of those who were with him
that night came forward to shed light on what
had transpired. Needless to say, none of them
came forward to assume responsibility for the
death of Cris. Even as the leaders of the
Sigma Rho fraternity publicly denounce.

5. INTRODUCTION
• Even as the leaders of the Sigma Rho fraternity publicly
denounced the death of Cris, those members of theirs who had
been with him that night vanished, avoiding and refusing to
cooperate with legal authorities. Meanwhile, UP students and the
general public clamored for justice. In a move that surprised the
student body, the UP chancellor called on all fraternities to justify
their continued existence. Meanwhile, the case of the tragic death
of Cris Anthony Mendez was left unresolved. It remains that way
up to this day?

6. •Lastly:
No one knows just what exactly
happened. No charges have been filed,
no definitive testimony has been forthcoming.
But there is more to this for us than just a
criminal mystery.

7. REFLECTION
• Pondering on the death of Cris, we may find ourselves asking questions
such as:
• What is the value of one’s life?”
• “What exactly were thee wrongs done to Cris by his so-called fraternity
brothers?”
• “Is there any good to fraternities?”
These questions that concern good and bad, or right and
wrong-and these are questions concerning value-are the kind
of questions that we deal with in ethics.

8. ETHICS IS ABOUT…
•The good thing to be done and the bad thing to be
avoided.
•The right and wrong thing to do.
•What consists an acceptable or unacceptable
human behaviour.
•Determining the grounds of human values.

9. KINDS OF
VALUATION
Aesthetics
Etiquette
Technique
&
Technical

10. WHAT IS AESTHETICS?
•Derived from the Greek word aesthesis (sense of
feeling)
•Judgements of personal approval; and disapproval
that we make about what we see, hear or taste.

11. WHAT IS ETIQUETTE?
•Concerned with right and wrong
actions but those which are not
quite grave enough to belong to
discussion on ethics.

12. WHAT IS TECHNIQUE AND
TECHNICAL?
•Technique and Technical-came from
the Greek word techne.-Technical
Valuation means right and wrong
technique of doing things.

13. KINDS OF VALUATION
•Aesthetic valuation – good or bad in art and
beauty.
•Etiquette valuation – polite and impolite
behaviour.
•Technical valuation – the right and wrong way or
method of doing things.

14. ETHICS AND MORAL
• Morals
• Refer to specific beliefs and attitudes that people have or to
describe acts that people perform.
• Example:
• Moral judgement and Moral Reasoning
• Ethics
• Discipline of studying and understanding ideal human
behavior and ideal ways of thinking.
• Example:
• Professional Ethics

15. DESCRIPTIVE AND NORMATIVE
STUDY
• Reports how people make their moral
valuations without making any
judgements either for or against these
valuations.
Descriptive
• Prescribes what we ought to maintain
as our standards or bases for moral
valuation.
Normative

16. ISSUE, DECISION, JUDGEMENT AND
DILEMMA
• Situations that call for moral valuation
Moral issue
• Particular situations that are often the source
of considerable and inclusive debates
Issue
• Involves choosing what act one will perform
Moral decision

17. ISSUE, DECISION, JUDGEMENT AND
DILEMMA
• Act f making an assessment on the actions or
behavior of someone
Moral
Judgement
• Complicated situation wherein one is torn
between choosing one of two goods or
choosing between the lesser of two evils
• Involves choosing what act one will perform
Dilemma

18. REASONING
Principles
• Rationally established grounds by which
one justifies and maintains her moral
decisions and judgements.
Moral theory
• Systematic attempt to establish the
validity of maintaining moral principles.
Framework
• Theory of interconnected ideas and a
structure through which we can evaluate
our reasons for valuing certain decision or
judgement.

19. PLATO-CREDITED AS ONE OF THE
PIONEERS OF PHILOSOPHY

20. THE APOLOGY OF SOCRATES
Written by Plato
whereas in this book
Socrates makes the
claim that it is the
greatest good for a
person to spend time
thinking about and
discussing with others

21. SOURCES OF AUTHORITY
1. Law
• One’s guide to ethical behavior
Positive law
• Refers to different rules and regulations
that are posited or put forward by an
authority or figure and requires compliance

22. SOURCES OF AUTHORITY
2. Religion
Divine Command Theory
• Foundation for ethical values; The Divinity called
called God, Allah or supreme Being commands
and one is obliged to obey her culture.

23. SOURCES OF AUTHORITY
3. Culture
• Refers to the “way of life”
Cultural Relativism
• What is ethically acceptable or unacceptable
is relative to or dependent on one’s culture.

24. JAMES RACHELS

25. CULTURAL RELATIVISM
• James Rachels-he presents some of the difficulties related with
cultural relativism namely:
• The argument of cultural relativism is premised on the reality of
difference.
• Under cultural relativism, we are in no position to render any kind of
judgment on the practices of another culture
• Under cultural relativism, we realize that we are in no position to
render judgment on the practices of even our own culture
• We can maintain cultural relativism only by following the
presumption of culture as a single, clearly defined substances or as
something fixed and already determined.

26. SENSES OF
THE SELF
Subjectivism
• recognition that the individual thinking person is at the heart
of all moral valuations.
Psychological Egoism
• theory that describes the underlying dynamic behind all
human actions.
Ethical Egoism
• prescribes that we should make our own ends and interests as
the single overriding concern.

27. Platos’ Republic-a
response to the
assertion that one
should only care
about one’s own
interest.
Socrates-one of the
character in the book
“The Republic”
whereas he answered
the question
regarding justice and
the need to be just.
Glaucon-provides
a powerful
restatement of
the case for
egoism by way of
a myth.