UNIT I: BASIC CONCEPTS

1.1 Ethics, Characteristics of Moral and Non-moral Standards

1.2 Moral Dilemma
1.3 The Moral Agent
Übersicht
This unit gives you an idea about the Differences between Moral and Non-Moral
Standards, Moral Dilemmas, the four branches of ethics, the moral agent together with the
universal values. It will also help you to analyze the Six Stages of Moral development by
Lawrence Kohlberg.

Learning Objectives

At the end of the unit, I am able to:

1. Determine what the difference between Moral and Non-moral standards;
2. Analyze what is moral dilemma and it’s three levels;
3. Evaluate the six stages of Moral Development;
4. Differentiate the four branches of Ethics; and
5. List down the strength and weaknesses of Filipino Moral Character.

Setting Up

Name: ________________________________________________________________ Score: __________________

Course/Year/Section: _________________________________ Date: ___________________

Directions: Answer the given question base on your existing knowledge about the lesson.
1. Recall a personal experience in dealing with problems and analyze how they are rooted in
Filipino qualities. In hindsight, recommend how you could have done things differently.

___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Lesson Proper

Differences between Moral and Non-Moral Standards

Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that deals with the questions
and standards of what is right and what is wrong. It discusses the different systems of moral
values and principles that determine what are acceptable and unacceptable behaviors. It also
involves ideals, moral obligations and prohibitions that people have to observe, follow and
respect. Ethics came from the Latin word ethos which means character or moral nature. When
you say character or moral nature, the character or moral nature of a person is greatly
affected by his or her personal principles and experiences by the belief and value system of
his or her surroundings.
Non-Moral Standards refer to the rules that affect the choice of a person but are not
linked to moral or ethical considerations, similar with ethics people use value judgment in
dealing with these aspects. Consequently, they can also affect the way a person develops her
moral principles and guidelines but they do not necessarily have moral implications. These
are the list of Non-Moral Standards, aesthetics, rules in games, laws, personal experiences
and principles, etiquette, recipe or formula, religion and lastly traditions or norms,
Moral Standards refer to the rules or set of guidelines that affect the choices of a
person and his or her belief system and decision-making process in problems and situations
that beg the question of what is morally right and wrong. The characteristics of Moral
Standards are the following, concern with the welfare of beings, reliance on reasoning and
not on authority, overriding or hegemonic, impartial, fair and just and lastly special emotions
and vocabulary.
Now let us see and discuss the Characteristics of Moral Standards, number one is
concern with the welfare of beings, in moral standards it deals with matters that can seriously
injure or benefit the welfare of beings such as in war, child abuse, rape, fraud, murder, and
theft while in Non-moral standards it talks about what is wrong but their concerns do not
necessarily affect one’s life or well-being, number two is reliance on reasoning and not on
authority in Moral standards it is rely on reasoning and not on authoritative individuals to
support and justify their cause while in Non-Moral perspective it is in the context of law and
religion they do not need to be based on a valid and sound reasoning, number three is
Overriding or Hegemonic the take precedence over other standards and considerations like
non-moral standards and self-interest, number four is impartial, fair and just it simply means
that there is no exemption to the moral standards, if A is morally right for a certain person P,
then it is morally right for anybody relevantly similar to P, and lastly number five is special
emotions and vocabulary moral standards are associated with special emotions such as guilt,
remorse, and shame and vocabulary such as right, good, wrong, evil, moral, amoral and
immoral.
Moral Dilemmas

A moral dilemma is a situation that begs an agent to choose between two alternatives
with equal weight wherein both alternatives are either good or both are evil, but the agent
cannot do both or all actions. In this situation, no matter what the agent chooses you will be
left with a moral failure but not choosing anything impose greater harm or loss for the agent.
For example, Brian is on a crew ship when a fire broke and the ship must be abandoned. The
lifeboats are carrying more people than they were designed to carry. The lifeboat he’s in is
sitting dangerously low in the water and can potentially sink if added with more weight.
 There are still other people swimming around them begging to be saved. They are
asking him to throw the rope so that they can go up the lifeboat; however, the boat will sink
if more people will come abroad. Now, should Brian throw the rope to the people or keep the
rope so that lifeboat will not sink. In this dilemma here are some of the conflicts that plagued
Brian throughout the decision-making process, number one is if he will help who are
swimming their boat will sink and all of them die, number two is if he did not throw the rope
then those who are in the water will die and lastly number three is if he can sacrifice himself
and help one person but he is not willing to sacrifice himself either.
The following are the basic concepts of Moral Dilemma; personal advocates, society,
culture religion, family and friends and lastly are education and experiences. Now let us
proceed to the three levels of moral dilemma, first you have Individual Dilemma, second you
have Organizational Dilemma and third is Structural Dilemma.
The first level of Moral dilemma starts with the personal and individual interaction of
people with situations in their daily lives. In this level, conflict arrives when a person is asked
to choose between two important values for him or her for example, choosing between one’s
duties to his or her family one’s love for another person. The second level is Organizational
Dilemma unlike individual dilemma this dilemma is encountered by institutions, business, or
organizations in their decision-making process, at this level the dilemmas that the
organizations’ experiences usually affect more than one person and they can be part of the
internal group or part of an external stakeholder.
For example, Zee has been in a coma for 8 months she only lives through support
machines and she never showed any sign of improvement and he never responded to any
stimulus given to her. In four other hospitals, there are four patients who are in need of
healthy organs such as kidney, heart, lungs and liver. They are in a critical stage and in need
of transplants immediately. Patient XTZ is a match for all the patients but removing his organs
will cause him death. However, without his organs, the four patients will all die. Now, is it
okay to kill someone to benefit more people? How do you choose who to save and who to
sacrifice? In the given example aside from the family members, doctors, hospital, sometimes
even judges usually help family members decide for the unconscious patients who cannot
observe their autonomy over’s one body and life. However, decision over this kind of cases
bring up more ethical questions like the following; When do you consider someone to be dead
or still alive? When do families and the institution stop waiting for a comatose patient to wake
up? Who has the authority to decide over the life of someone who is in the comatose stage? If
the call of duty of the doctor is to save lives, will a recommendation from the institution
conflict with the principle? It is ethical to kill one person to benefit the many? How do we
choose who to save and who to sacrifice? The last level of dilemmas deals with structural
dilemmas that affect a network of institutions and operative theoretical paradigms like
universal care, juvenile laws, and immigration. Unlike organizational dilemmas, this type of
dilemma can affect a community and even a society at large.
Hence, these are also the most complicated dilemmas that people face. For example,
the issue of undocumented immigration has been widely discussed in different countries
especially since President Donald Trump of America, openly criticized it and created
measures to stop it and even sent back some immigration to their home countries. However,
even if a lot of American citizens have same sentiments as he does, a growing number of
oppositions claim that it is inhumane to send back immigration from their homes especially
those who moved to America out of circumstances like extreme poverty, persecution and war,
at the same time many immigrants have families, wives, husbands, and children who will be
left once they leave the country. What do you think about this problem?
Freedom as a Foundation for Moral Acts

People face different moral dilemmas and issues in your everyday lives. When you
listen to the news, you hear about unending debates about topics like abortion, freedom of
expression, and war. Then you start asking who is right and who is wrong. If you are
experiencing this kind of dilemma you might be one of two things; you have the freedom to
engage in a discussion about an issue, but like most people, you resort to a subjective and
oftentimes biased understanding of an issue.
There are four parts of Ethics, Descriptive Ethics, Normative Ethics, Meta Ethics and
Applied Ethics. First up you have Descriptive Ethics it is the thing that individuals really
accept to be correct or wrong and it thinks about various moral standards utilized in over a
wide span of time. Next is Normative Ethics it is the thing that individuals should do, a
prescriptive morals and it talks about how individuals can settle on what is ethically right you
have three segments of Normative morals this are Virtue Ethics which is centers around one's
character and kindness, second parts are Deontology it is obligation morals or all out
objective and good absolutism and in conclusion is, Consequentialism it is centers around the
outcomes of an activity. Meta Ethics it doubts the significance of goodness, morals and
profound quality including how individuals can realize what is valid or bogus and ultimately
is, Applied Ethics it is the utilization of moral hypotheses in various open and private issues
like medication, business and so on.
Thomas Beauchamp and James Childress had Four Principles in terms of Normative
Ethics; these are Respect to Autonomy, Beneficence, Non-maleficence and Justice. First you
have Respect to Autonomy it means the acknowledgement that every person has the right to
make choices to hold views and to act based on one’s value and beliefs as long as the person
is conscious and has proper understanding of the matter on hand. Second is Beneficence it is
the promotion of doing as much goodness as possible refers to the acts of kindness,
compassion and generosity. Third is Non-maleficence it is the avoidance of any unjustifiable
and unnecessary harm and lastly is Justice which means the distribution of resources equally
and fairly.
The Moral Agent
Culture is the shared and learned patterns of behaviors, interactions, symbolisms, and
values of a group of people that manifest in your religion, food, clothing, language, marriage,
social habits, music, arts and customs. It reflects the identity of a particular group of people.
There are many cultures in the world and they can be different from each other.
These differences in cultural patterns create a widely diverse belief and value systems
across the world which makes it harder to develop an absolute moral guideline for anyone. A
principle can be seen critical in the survival of the people in one culture while it can also be
seen negatively and unacceptable by another culture. Hence, the rise of the concept of cultural
relativism.
Cultural Relativism is the disposition that sees a general public's way of life inside the
setting of the general public's issues and openings. It expresses that there is nothing of the
sort as general realities in light of the fact that various perspectives and esteeming. Coming
up next are the case regarding Cultural relativism, first is various social orders have
distinctive good codes, there is no target standard that can be utilized to pass judgment on
one cultural code superior to another, the ethical code of our own general public has no
extraordinary status, it is only one among many, there is no well-known fact in morals that is
there is no ethical certainties that hold for all individuals consistently, the ethical code of a
general public, figures out what is directly inside that society, that is if the method of a general
public says that a specific activity is correct, at that point that activity is directly in any event
inside that society, and ultimately is it is simple pomposity for you to attempt to pass
judgment on the lead of different people groups. We ought to receive a disposition of
resistance toward the acts of other cultures. For instance, The Callatian accepted that it was
the privilege to eat their dead while the Greeks consider the thought shocking and wrong.
Presently which good code is correct and which isn't right? Which is the ethical method of
rewarding the dead? Would it be a good idea for us to acknowledge the reason this is only a
matter of sentiment?
There are Advantages and Dangers in Cultural Relativism, cultural relativism teaches
everyone to be more open-minded and respectful of other cultures. It calls out of
discrimination against race, nationality, and culture and opens more opportunities for
everyone. However, the danger with this arises when we are called to a position to judge a
practice that is repressive and sometimes even harmful towards a group of people. People
are more reluctant to interfere in the customs of other people. For example, in Middle East
women are regarded as second class to men. Laws governing them are stricter and they have
less rights and privileges compared to men. Now, it is part of their culture to be overly
repressive with women that there are even apps allowing husband and father to monitor
their wives and daughter’s actions and where about.
Cultural reformation like what happened during the time of the crusades when
Western cultures destroyed native cultures under the name of religion and politics are
considered wrong because it is wrong to see one culture as inferior to another, hence,
promoting cultural preservation at the same time. Cultural relativism always uses the context
of the culture as a premise. An action is considered right if its right under the context of the
person’s culture even if it is wrong in another’s culture.
Cultural relativism pushes people to look beyond their own cultures and be less
xenocentric and ethnocentric as they can see the similarities and differences of the culture.
As James Rachel (2004) said, this points out that it is a mistake to overestimate the amount
of differences between cultures, not every moral rule can vary from society to society.
However, it makes it harder to define exactly a culture because cultures can overlap with each
other and have similarities. Although it is possible to find a unique practice but cultural
relativism makes identification of cultures more fluid than before.
In summary, adopting the attitude of cultural relativism teaches a person how to be
tolerant and respectful of different cultures. It teaches a person to be more understanding
and to always look for the context of the moral code or principle being held. However, cultural
relativism is not immune to criticisms. It is difficult to use as an argument in ethics because
it’s premises root from the matter of opinion of a culture. Thus, it is purely dependent on the
cultural standards that the problem or issue belongs to.
According to the article, The Filipino Moral Character has strengths and weaknesses
just like any other culture. It also emphasized the need to preserve some aspects of the
Filipino culture but at the same time highlights the parts that need improvement. The
following are the Strengths of Filipino Moral Character pakikipag-kapwa tao, family
orientation, joy and humor, flexibility, adaptability, and creativity, hard work and industry,
faith and religiosity, ability to survive. The following are the weaknesses of the Filipino Moral
Character extreme personalism, extreme family-centeredness, lack of discipline, passivity
and lack of initiative, colonial mentality kanya-kanya syndrome.
In order to understand how you can develop virtue as a habit, you need to understand
these three topics; Universal Values, Moral Character, and Moral Development.

Universal Values you often hear about character building but do you really
understand the meaning of it? How can you say that a trait is virtuous? And most importantly,
how can we really make sure that as you develop your character you are also developing your
moral compass? Character building often talks about universal values. Universal values are
values that have the same worth or level of importance across cultures and ethical principles.
In principle, these universal values are conducts that every rational person wants to follow.
The following are the common universal values; Integrity, Peace, Freedom, Human Dignity,
Social Progress, Equal rights, Responsibility, Compassion, Loyalty, Innovativeness, and
Intuitiveness. Have you ever wondered why you have to apply these common universal
values in our lives? Imagine a world without a concept of respect for human life. What kind
of world do you have? How do you feel about it? Would you like to live in this kind of world?
Now imagine a world where people respect and love each other. What can you observe in this
world? Imagine being in a relationship with a partner who always lies to you, how do you feel
about this kind of relationship? Would you prefer it if both of you are honest with each other?
Do you think you can be honest all the time?
The thought experiments showed us how an application of a particular value system
can affect the sense of security of the people involved. A world without respect for human life
can result in a chaotic environment where people are always afraid of their own lives or
possessions. On the other hand, a relationship that is not based on honesty does not really
differentiate it from a relationship with a stranger where we cannot fully trust the person. So
why do you need to have universal values? In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle wrote that virtue
is both intellectual and moral for it requires time and experience to be developed and can
only come as a result of habit. The excellence of character is defining by the combination of
qualities that make an individual the sort of ethically admirable person (Howiak. 2005). In
the article “A Short List of Universal Values”, Richard Kinnier, Jerry Kernes and Therese
Dautheribes (2000) said that the call for a list of universal values is becoming more urgent
because of the future of human survival may depend on it.
According to Kinnier, 2000, a standard of agreed-upon rules might serve to recover
worldwide communication and cooperation. “Ringer contended that without some all-
inclusive principles you are left with no real way to denounce savagery, physical torment,
mutilation, spouse beating, kid misuse, subjection, murder or annihilation, on the off chance
that they are a piece of ongoing practice and social customs of a gathering.” (Kinnier et
al,2000). In a lecture by UN secretary- General Kofi-Annan (2003) in Germany he said why
do you need to have universal values? Now you can conclude that universal values are
important for the survival of human species because it pushes people to protect themselves
by protecting and not inflicting harm to other people. Respect, care, and compassion for other
people to create a more peaceful and cooperative environment. On the other hand, greed,
gluttony, anger, and selfishness push people to create disagreement and conflict among
people.
 Moral Character, look back at your childhood which parts and elements of your lives
do you think to have the most impact on your current belief system and moral character? The
relationship of a person’s individual acts and moral character is circular which means that
one affects the other. Your individual acts become your habits which molds your moral
character. Meanwhile, your moral character is manifested in your decisions, attitudes and
acts.

Lawrence Kohlberg developed the Six Stages of Moral Development that hopes to
understand how moral reasoning changes as a person grows old and matures. The following
are the Six Stages of Moral Development by Lawrence Kohlberg;
Level 1 Pre-Conventional Morality age 9 years old and below, in this level the primary
focus of an individual is the self, people don’t have a personal code of Morality yet, they follow
the standards and rules that adults teach to them, the Moral codes are mostly dependent on
the avoidance of punishment, under this level is the Stage 1 and Stage 2 of Moral
Development. Stage 1 is Obedience and Punishment Orientation in this stage right and wrong
is determined by punishment and authority, the physical and mental consequences of action
indicate the goodness or badness of behavior, and Moral rightness is equivalent to obedience.
Stage 2 is Individualism and Exchange start to learn about individuality and satisfaction of
one’s desire, moral rightness is equivalent to the idea of giving and take, the principle of
equality and resolution of conflicts.
Level 2 Conventional Morality under adolescence to middle age, people start to
internalize the moral standards of the groups they belong to and reasoning is usually based
on the norms of their groups, under this level is the Stage 3 and Stage 4 of Moral Development.
Stage 3 is Good Interpersonal Relationship the right and wrong is determined by the approval
of others and conformity to norms, good behavior is determined by praise, peer pressure is
also prominent at this stage and deviance and indifference are treated as sins and Moral
rightness is equivalent to “conformity and acceptance”. Stage 4 Maintaining the Social Order
a person becomes more aware of laws and societal norms and wants to be a good citizen.

Level 3 Post-Conventional Morality under adults, and not everyone reaches this level,
individual judgment is based on self-chosen principles and moral reasoning is based on
individual rights and justice, under this level is the Stage 5 and Stage 6 of Moral Development.
Stage 5 Social Contract and Individual Rights you understand that even if norms and laws
exist they might not be always morally right, you learn how to use logic, abstract thinking,
and moral principles to determine what is right and wrong. Stage 6 the Universal Principles
you develop your own ethical guidelines and the willingness to defend it even if it means
going against the majority of the people, you believe that a person is not mean but an end and
a very few numbers of people have reached this level.