Ethics

3. •
•
◊No talking when your mouth is full
◊Do not lie
◊Wear white or black for mourning: never red
◊The males should be the ones to propose
marriage not females.
◊Don't steal
◊Observe correct grammar when writing and
speaking English
◊Submit school requirement on time
◊If you are a male, stay by the danger side
(roadside) when walking with a female
◊Go with the fashion or you are nit “in”
◊Don’t cheat others
◊Don’t kill
◊When you speak pronounce words correctly.
◊Maintain a 36-24-36 body figure

8. • Morality pertains to standards of right
and wrong, usually inherited from a
community.
BUT
• Ethics studies standards of right and
wrong, the act of making a decision,
the nature of the agent who makes the
decision.

9. • The Study of Ethics
1.Ethics entails a reflective distance to critically
examine standards
 It looks values beneath these moral standards (WHAT or
WHY)
 E.g. we take for granted that we should marry in church.
• But have we asked why? If we do, this will affect our
attitude to divorce, etc.
• What is the value?
• Lifelong commitment?
2.It looks at the agent who makes the moral decision
 Mature?
 Level of moral development (WHO)

10. 3. It is about the moral decision making process (WHO)
Ethics is not about theoretical knowledge but
application of that knowledge, transforming it to
action in everyday life.

11. What distinguishes moral standards
from amoral standards?
1.Moral standards deal with matters that
can seriously injure or benefit human
beings.
•E.g. theft, rape, fraud, slander, murder

12. 2. The validity of moral standards rests on the
adequacy of reasons to support and justify them, not
on decision of majority or authoritative bodies.
• E.g. that one ought to tell the truth does not depend
on how many people will vote on it nor on the
legislature. One indication of justification is the
consensus of participants in communication.
(Habermas)
3. Moral standards are to be preferred to other
values, including self-interest.
• E.g. honesty is to be preferred than cheating,
although cheating can make me graduate

13. 4.Moral standards are based on impartial considerations.
Another way of expressing this is “universalizable” or
taking the point of view of an “ideal observer.”
• Still, this impartiality must be balanced with partiality towards those
we have a special relationship (family and friends) and the poor and
the disabled.
5.Moral standards are associated with special emotions
• such as ‘guilt,’ ‘shame.’ ‘remorse,’ ‘praise,’ ‘indignation’.
What is common to all five characteristics?
- None other than society taken in its broadest sense, or in
philosophical terms, the ‘other.’
- In other words, individual responsibility cannot be taken in
isolation from social responsibility.

14. Non-compliance with moral standards
seriously injure us as human beings.
NABABAWASAN ANG PAGKAKATAO.
The challenge of moral standard is that
in violating them, effect is not always
immediate and visible.

15. ETIQUETTE—standards by which we judge manners to be
good or bad; normally dictated by a socio-economic elite
 LANGUAGE—standards by which we judge what is
grammatically right or wrong; evolve through use
 ATHLETIC—standards by which we judge how good or bad
a game is played; usually formulated by governing bodies.
LEGAL—standards by which we judge legal right and wrong;
in a democracy, formulated by representative of the people
 AESTHETICS—standards by which judge good and bad art;
usually dictated by a small circle of art connoisseurs

16. MORAL STANDARDS
✘ Don not
lie.
✘ Don’t
steal.
✘ Don’t
cheat
others
✘ Don’t kill.
NON-MORAL STANDARDS
◊ No talking when your mouth is
full
◊ Wear white or black for
mourning: never red
◊ The males should be the ones to
propose marriage not females.
◊ Observe correct grammar when
writing and speaking English
◊ Submit school requirement on
time 16
NON-MORAL STANDARDS
◊ If you are a male, stay by
the danger side (roadside)
when walking with a
female
◊ Go with the fashion or you
are nit “in”
◊ When you speak pronounce
words correctly.
◊ Maintain a 36-24-36 body
figure

19. • Signaled by being “bothered” – “nababagabag”
• Why am I bothered?
• When did you las have that “bothered” feeling?
What is a dilemma?
• Dilemmas are experiences where an agent is confused about the right
decision to make because there are several competing values that are
seemingly equally important and urgent.
Feelings and Dilemmas
• Strong feelings signal the presence of a dilemma
• But many people do not always “catch” the dilemma behind the feeling
• One can be conditioned to be indifferent so that what used to be
NAKAKABAGABAG is no longer a dilemma

20. • Dilemmas are not about competing solutions
• We normally handled the “pagkabagabag” by
immediately offering solutions instead of
articulating the competing values or issues, e.g.
should I cheat or not cheat?
Case:
Ramon, a Grade 5 honor student at an all-boys’ Grade School allows Jose, a large,
burly boy seated next to him, to peek at his math quarterly exam. Unfortunately,
Teacher sees this and immediately gives both boys a failing mark for the quarter
exam. Ramon feels that a great injustice has been committed; that Jose should have
been punished more severely than him.
Why does Ramon feel this way about Teacher’s punishment?
Why did Ramon allow Jose to copy?

21. How should we handle a moral dilemma?
• Certainly not through feelings
• Upsurge of Feelings cannot be prevented
• What we do with them separates the mature form the immature moral
agent
Using Reason and Impartiality
• Reason Defined
A faculty
A way of dealing with issues
Moral judgment are not a matter of personal preferences or tastes
“…the morally right thing to do, in any circumstance, is
determined by what there are the best reasons for
doing.” James Rachel

22. • Impartiality Defined
Every stakeholder’s interest is equally important
There are no special interests or people, thus in making
every moral decision, each stakeholder interest should
be considered
One must not be arbitrary
Every person should be treated the same way unless
there is good reason not do so
Why Reason? Why Impartially?
• Because dilemmas are complex experiences; hard to make a
good decision
• An agent is confused about the right decision to make because
there are several competing values that different stakeholders
protect.

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24. • In late 1983 there was a great public controversy over an infant
known to the public only as Baby Jane Doe. This unfortunate baby,
born in New York State, suffered from multiple defects including
spina bifida (a broken and protruding spine), hydrocephaly (excess
fluid on the brain), and perhaps worst of all, microcephaly (excess
fluid on the brain), suggesting that part of the brain was missing.
Surgery was needed for the spina befida; however, the doctors who
examined the baby disagreed about whether the operation should
be performed.
• Dr. George Newman believed that surgery would be pointless
because the baby could never have a meaningful human life.
Another physician, Dr. Arjen Keuskamp, did not think the baby’s
condition was hopeless and advocated immediate surgery. (Both
were pediatric neurologists). The parents decided to accept Dr.
Newman’s recommendation, and refused permission for surgery. Dr.
Keuskamp then withdrew from the case.

25. • Because such cases have become common, the plight of Baby Jane
Doe would not have received much attention had it not been for the
intervention of third parties. Shortly after the parents made their
decision, Lawrence Washburn, a lawyer associated with some
conservative right-to-life groups, petitioned the courts to set aside
the parent’s wishes and order that surgery be performed. The New
York State Supreme Court granted that request, but a higher court
quickly overturned the order, calling Washburn’s suit “offensive.”
• The court impressed by Dr. Newman’s testimony: he told the court,
“The decision made by the parents is that it would be in kind to have
the surgery performed on this child…on the basis of the combination
that are present in this child, she is not likely to ever achieve any
meaningful interaction with her environment, nor even achieve any
interpersonal relationships, the very qualities which we consider
human.”

26. • After Mr. Washburn’s suit was dismissed, the federal
government got in the act. The Department of Justice
filed suit demanding access to the hospital’s records in
order to determine whether a “handicapped person” –
the infant– was being discriminated against. This suit was
also dismissed, with the judge declaring that the parents’
decision “was a reasonable one based on due
consideration of the medical opinions available and on a
genuine concern for the best interests of the child.”
• The parents did eventually agree to the use of a shunt to
remove the excess fluid from the child’s brain. But the
major surgery, for the spina befida, was not performed.

27. a. Was the parents’ decision correct?
b. What are the facts of the Baby Jane Doe
case?
c. If you were the parents (the moral agents),
what was your dilemma?
d. Who are the two other stakeholders contesting
the parents’ decision?
e. What was the value/behind the position?

28. • Why are we the only moral agents?
• Because only human beings are free
•To be ethical requires:
 Pause
• To get hold of emotions before they do damage
• To distance from what everyone else is saying
 Critical Thinking
• To analyze the situation, consider stakeholders interest make the right
choices
• To see the bigger picture and align the choice with what the values
important to me
 Courage
• To act deliberately and with conviction on what reason says is the right
thing to do

29. ♥ A moral dilemma is a “decision making problem” between two possible
moral imperatives, neither of which is unambiguously acceptable or
preferable.
♥ A moral dilemma is a situation where a person has the moral obligation
to choose between two options both based on moral standards, but
he/she cannot choose both, and choosing one means violating the other.
♥ In a moral dilemma, one is caught between tow options. It is a damn-if-
you-do and damn-if-you-don’t situation. One is in a deadlock.
♥ False dilemmas are situations where the decision-maker has a moral
duty to do one thing, but is tempted or under pressure to do something
else. A false dilemma is a choice between tight and a wrong unlike a
moral dilemma where both choices are right.

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