GE10

1. Moral and
Non-Moral
Standards
LESSON 1:

2. WHAT IS ETHICS?
The term "ethics" comes from the Greek
word "ethos" meaning "custom" used in the
works of Aristotle, while the term "moral" is
the Latin equivalent.
When the Roman orator Cicero exclaimed,
"O tempora o mores" (Cicero, 1856) (Oh,
what time and what morals), he may
have been trying to express dismay of the
morality of his time.

3. WHAT IS ETHICS?
Ethics is a part of philosophy
that studies what is good or
bad and what is right or
wrong in human behavior. It
focuses on moral rules,
values, and virtues.

4. WHAT IS ETHICS?
Ethics tries to understand questions like:
What makes a person
responsible for their actions?
Why is an act considered
good or bad?

5. WHAT IS ETHICS?
It’s about knowing what is
acceptable or unacceptable
in human actions.
Ethics also teaches us about
our duties, our restrictions,
and our goals.

6. Moral
"Moral" is the adjective
describing a human act as
either ethically right or
wrong, or qualifying a person,
personality, or character as
either ethically good or bad.

7. Moral Standard
Moral standards are
norms or prescriptions
that serve as the
frameworks for
determining what ought
to be done or what is right
or wrong action, what is
good or bad character.

8. Moral Standard
 Consequence Standards
 Non-consequence
Standards

9. Consequence
Standard
Consequence standards depend
on results, outcome. An act that
results in the general welfare, in
the greatest good of the greatest
number, is moral. To take part in a
project that results in the
improvement of the majority of
people is, therefore, moral.

10. Non-Consequence
Standard
Non-consequence standards are
based on the natural law. Natural
law is the law of God revealed
through human reason. It is the
"law of God written in the hearts
of men."

11. Non-Moral Standard
Non-moral standards are social
rules, demands of etiquette and
good manners. They are guides
of action which should be
followed as expected by
society.
In sociology, non-moral
standards or rules are called
folkways.

12. NOTE!!
An indicator whether or not a
standard is moral or non-moral
lies in its compliance as
distinguished from its non-
compliance.
Non-compliance with moral
standards causes a sense of guilt,
while non-compliance with a non-
moral standard may only cause
shame or embarrassment.

13. Classification of
the Theories of
Moral Standards

14. Garner and Rosen (1967) classified the
various moral standards formulated by
moral philosophers as follows:
1) Consequence (teleological, from tele
which means end, result, or consequence)
standard states that an act is right or
wrong depending on the consequences
of the act, that is, the good that is
produced in the world.
The consequence standard can also be
a basis for determining whether or not
a rule is a right rule.

15. Garner and Rosen (1967) classified the
various moral standards formulated by
moral philosophers as follows:
2) Not-only-consequence standard
(deontological), holds that the rightness
or wrongness of an action or rule depends
on sense of duty, natural law, virtue and the
demand of the situation or circumstances.
The rightness or wrongness of an
action does not only depend or rely on
the consequence of that action or following
that rule.

16. a) consequences of an action or rule, what
promotes one's greatest good, or the
greatest good of the greatest number;
b) consideration other than consequences,
like the obligatoriness or the act based
on natural law, or its being one's duty, or
its promoting an ideal virtue.
Deontology also considers the object, purpose,
and circumstances or situation of the moral issue
or dilemma.
The rightness or wrongness of an
action depends on (or is a function of)
all the following:

17. What Makes
Standards Moral?

18. For theists, believers in God's
existence, moral standards are
commandments of God revealed to
man through prophets.

19. For non-theists, God is not the source of
morality. Moral standards are based on
the wisdom of sages like Confucius or
philosophers like Immanuel Kant

20. In China, B. C., Confucius
taught the moral standard,
"Do unto others what you
like others to do unto you"
and persuaded people to
follow this rule because it is
the right way, the
gentleman's way.

21. Immanuel Kant, the German
philosopher, formulated a
criterion for determining what
makes a moral standard
moral. It is stated as follows:
"Act only according to that
maxim (standard) whereby
you can at the same time
will that it should become a
universal law." (1993)

22. For instance, does the maxim "Stealing is
wrong" pass this test? The opposite of the
maxim/standard would not be acceptable.
Moral standards are standards that we want to
be followed by all, otherwise, one would be
wishing one's own ill fortune.

23. Thus, the universal necessity of the maxim,
what makes it a categorical imperative is
what makes it obligatory. It is one's obligation
not to steal or kill. Ultimately, the obligation
arises from the need of self-preservation.

24. The Origin of
Moral
Standards:
Theist and Non-
Theist

25. The theistic line of
thought states moral
standards are of
divine origin while
20th century thinkers
claim state that they
simply evolved.

26. With the Divine source
concept, moral standards are
derived from natural law,
man's "participation" in the
Divine law. The moral
principle, "Do good and avoid
evil" is an expression of
natural law.

27. Are these theist and
non-theist
(evolutionary) origin
of moral standards
reconcilable?

28. The evolutionist claims that
altruism, a sense of morality,
can be observed from man's
fellow primates- the apes and
monkeys and, therefore, it
can be said that the altruism
of human persons evolved
from the primates.

29. Here are two questions:
a) Can one eat while praying?
b) Can one pray while eating?
Which is a moral question?
Which is a non-moral question?
QUESTIONS:

30. Let us choose
what is right;
let us know
among
ourselves what
Job 34:4

31. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!