Ethics
III BSE ENGLISH
STUDY GUIDE FOR MODULE NO. 1
INTRODUCTION TO THE KEY CONCEPTS
Module Outline:
A. The Need to Study Ethics and the Importance of Rules to Social Beings
B. Moral versus Non-moral Standards
C. What are Dilemmas?
D. What are the Three Levels of Moral Dilemmas?
E. Foundation of Morality
Introduction
What is morality?
Morality is “a system of beliefs about what is right behavior and wrong behavior” (Rubin, 2015).
Morality refers to “the principles of right and wrong behavior or rightness and wrongness (that is, goodness
and badness) of human actions” (philonotes.com, 2018). In his book, Elements of Moral Philosophy, author
and university professor Dr. James Rachels – a philosopher who specialized in Ethics – asserted that “at the
very least morality is the effort to guide one’s conduct by reason, to act based on the best reasons for
doing, while giving equal weight to the interests of each individual affected by one’s decision” (Gallinero,
2018). In this Module, you will learn how to distinguish a moral standard from non-moral standards and
likewise distinguish a moral dilemma from any other types of dilemmas. You will also learn in this Module
how to identify and classify moral experiences as they happen in different levels of human existence.
Topic 1. The Need to Study Ethics and the Importance of Rules to Social Beings
What is Ethics?
The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) defines that “ethics deals with principles of
ethical behavior in modern society at the level of the person, society, and in interaction with the
environment and other shared resources” (CMO 20 series of 2013).
Alternatively, ethics which is also called “Moral Philosophy” is a branch of philosophy that studies
the morality of human conduct using moral frameworks, theories, principles and standards.
In our course, “ethics” and “morality” can be used interchangeably, like using the term “unethical” instead
of the term “immoral” or vice-versa. However, philosophically speaking, there is a very thin dividing line between
the terms ethics and morality. Ethics is the specific branch of philosophy that studies morality, while morality
refers to the system of beliefs or principles of rightness or wrongness of actions. In other words, “ethics is the
science of “morals”, while morality is the practice of ethics” (philonotes.com, 2018).
, Relevance of Studying Ethics
College students already have developed a set of moral standards by which they use to understand the
world and a moral compass to navigate it. The end goal of studying Ethics is for the student to become a
person who makes sound judgments, sensitive to the common good (Gallinero, 2018).
The Importance of Rules to Social Beings
“Rules are necessary to protect the greater good. Even the freest societies ought to have rules in order to
avoid exploitations and tyranny while upholding the common welfare” (DeGuzman, 2018). Human
societies have rules to guarantee that rights of everyone is protected by regulating behavior and produce
a sense of justice in the society.
Topic 2. Moral versus Non-moral Standards
As explained under Topic 1, we may infer that morality refer to the norms that an individual, a group or
community has regarding what is right or wrong (moral or immoral). Moral standards are those that
“individuals or groups have about the kinds of actions believed to be morally right or wrong, as well as
the values placed on what we believed to be morally good or morally bad” (philonotes.com, 2018). On
the other hand, Non-Moral standards refer to rules “by which we judge what is good or bad and right or
wrong in a non-moral way” (philonotes.com, 2018).
Topic 3. What are Dilemmas?
Dilemma refers to a situation in which a tough choice has to be made between two or more options,
especially more or less equally undesirable ones (dictionary.com, 2017). Not all dilemmas are moral
dilemmas. Moral dilemmas(ethical dilemmas) are “situations where persons are forced to choose
between two or more conflicting options, neither of which resolves the situation in a morally acceptable
manner” (philonotes.com, 2018).
Topic 4. What are the Three Levels of Moral Dilemmas?
The three levels of moral dilemmas are, 1) Personal dilemmas, 2) Organizational dilemmas, and
Structural dilemmas. Personal dilemmas are those that are encountered and resolved personally by the
individual. Personal dilemmas may be caused by the individual him/herself, by another person, or by a
group. Organizational dilemmas are those “encountered and resolved by social organizations. This
include moral dilemmas in business, medical field and public sector” (De Guzman, 2018).Structural
dilemmas are dilemmas encountered and resolved by network of organizations. Structural dilemmas are
multi-sectoral and larger in scope than organizational dilemmas (De Guzman, 2018).
III BSE ENGLISH
STUDY GUIDE FOR MODULE NO. 1
INTRODUCTION TO THE KEY CONCEPTS
Module Outline:
A. The Need to Study Ethics and the Importance of Rules to Social Beings
B. Moral versus Non-moral Standards
C. What are Dilemmas?
D. What are the Three Levels of Moral Dilemmas?
E. Foundation of Morality
Introduction
What is morality?
Morality is “a system of beliefs about what is right behavior and wrong behavior” (Rubin, 2015).
Morality refers to “the principles of right and wrong behavior or rightness and wrongness (that is, goodness
and badness) of human actions” (philonotes.com, 2018). In his book, Elements of Moral Philosophy, author
and university professor Dr. James Rachels – a philosopher who specialized in Ethics – asserted that “at the
very least morality is the effort to guide one’s conduct by reason, to act based on the best reasons for
doing, while giving equal weight to the interests of each individual affected by one’s decision” (Gallinero,
2018). In this Module, you will learn how to distinguish a moral standard from non-moral standards and
likewise distinguish a moral dilemma from any other types of dilemmas. You will also learn in this Module
how to identify and classify moral experiences as they happen in different levels of human existence.
Topic 1. The Need to Study Ethics and the Importance of Rules to Social Beings
What is Ethics?
The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) defines that “ethics deals with principles of
ethical behavior in modern society at the level of the person, society, and in interaction with the
environment and other shared resources” (CMO 20 series of 2013).
Alternatively, ethics which is also called “Moral Philosophy” is a branch of philosophy that studies
the morality of human conduct using moral frameworks, theories, principles and standards.
In our course, “ethics” and “morality” can be used interchangeably, like using the term “unethical” instead
of the term “immoral” or vice-versa. However, philosophically speaking, there is a very thin dividing line between
the terms ethics and morality. Ethics is the specific branch of philosophy that studies morality, while morality
refers to the system of beliefs or principles of rightness or wrongness of actions. In other words, “ethics is the
science of “morals”, while morality is the practice of ethics” (philonotes.com, 2018).
, Relevance of Studying Ethics
College students already have developed a set of moral standards by which they use to understand the
world and a moral compass to navigate it. The end goal of studying Ethics is for the student to become a
person who makes sound judgments, sensitive to the common good (Gallinero, 2018).
The Importance of Rules to Social Beings
“Rules are necessary to protect the greater good. Even the freest societies ought to have rules in order to
avoid exploitations and tyranny while upholding the common welfare” (DeGuzman, 2018). Human
societies have rules to guarantee that rights of everyone is protected by regulating behavior and produce
a sense of justice in the society.
Topic 2. Moral versus Non-moral Standards
As explained under Topic 1, we may infer that morality refer to the norms that an individual, a group or
community has regarding what is right or wrong (moral or immoral). Moral standards are those that
“individuals or groups have about the kinds of actions believed to be morally right or wrong, as well as
the values placed on what we believed to be morally good or morally bad” (philonotes.com, 2018). On
the other hand, Non-Moral standards refer to rules “by which we judge what is good or bad and right or
wrong in a non-moral way” (philonotes.com, 2018).
Topic 3. What are Dilemmas?
Dilemma refers to a situation in which a tough choice has to be made between two or more options,
especially more or less equally undesirable ones (dictionary.com, 2017). Not all dilemmas are moral
dilemmas. Moral dilemmas(ethical dilemmas) are “situations where persons are forced to choose
between two or more conflicting options, neither of which resolves the situation in a morally acceptable
manner” (philonotes.com, 2018).
Topic 4. What are the Three Levels of Moral Dilemmas?
The three levels of moral dilemmas are, 1) Personal dilemmas, 2) Organizational dilemmas, and
Structural dilemmas. Personal dilemmas are those that are encountered and resolved personally by the
individual. Personal dilemmas may be caused by the individual him/herself, by another person, or by a
group. Organizational dilemmas are those “encountered and resolved by social organizations. This
include moral dilemmas in business, medical field and public sector” (De Guzman, 2018).Structural
dilemmas are dilemmas encountered and resolved by network of organizations. Structural dilemmas are
multi-sectoral and larger in scope than organizational dilemmas (De Guzman, 2018).
