Week 1-3

INTRODUCTION

A man without ethics is a wild beast loosed upon this world. Therefore, he must learn
to identify what is right from what is wrong. Man should be wise enough to know what he is
ought to do when confronted with some ethical problems in life. If not then he is no different
with a robot who follows only what he is asked to do.
No man is an island. Therefore, man should learn to live with others. How do we co-
exist with other people? We should learn to be moral. Why need to be moral? Sociologists would
say human should care about being moral because without morality social life is nearly
impossible. On the other hand, psychologists would opine that we need to be moral because we
care about what others think of us. It is a matter of preserving our reputation and social censure.
Theologically speaking, we need to be moral because there is a life in the hereafter that rewards
or punish the deeds of a person. Whatever our reason is, we can agree on the idea that man
should learn to be moral.
Man as a rational being. Man should behave as a human being and not otherwise. Man
should reflect on the values that are most important to him. It will help him develop his skills in
articulating his own values and how to morally justify or provide ethical reasons for his actions.

This will give him the means in questioning and assessing the values of others in a more
critical way. How should people act? What do people think is right? How do we apply our sense
of morality? What does ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ even mean? Is morality based on religion? These are
some of the general questions that we will attempt to answer in the study of ethics. There will be
a lot of challenges since morality has become a complicated issue in the multi-cultural world we
live in today. So here we will try explore what morality is, how it affects our behavior, our
conscience, our society, and our ultimate destiny. We will also explore some of the ethical
frameworks that we can use in solving moral dilemmas we are facing in our daily lives. Making
moral decision is where our rational mind is being tested.

II. ETHICS/ MORAL PHILOSOPHY The word "ethics" is derived from the Greek
"ethos" (meaning "custom" or "habit"). Ethics is not limited to specific acts and defined moral
codes, but encompasses the whole of moral ideals and behaviors, a person's philosophy of life (or
Weltanschauung).
 Ethics (or Moral Philosophy) is concerned with questions of how people ought to act, and
the search for a definition of right conduct (identified as the one causing the greatest good) and
the good life (in the sense of a life worth living or a life that is satisfying or happy). It deals with the
basic principles that serve as the basis for moral rules. Ethics is also called moral philosophy.
Etymologically, Ethics refers to the way people behave, act or go on with their lives in the society. Ethics
is a normative science because it concerns matters of values rather than of facts. Ethics is theoretical
because it speculates on the reason or the cause why human acts and conduct are qualified to be good
or right and bad(evil) or wrong. Ethics is practical because in the end, it is applied to the actual lives of
people as a guiding principle for their decisions and actions. Note: Ethics is both easy and hard. It can be
easy or hard to know what’s good, and easy or hard to do it. Usually, the hard part of ethics is doing what
you know is right when the cost is more than you want to pay. At best, the academic study of ethics will
help us anticipate difficult choices, so that when they come along, they don’t catch us completely off
guard. But if we don’t have the will to do the right thing when it hurts, ethics courses won’t give it to us.

III. Ethical vs Moral When a person says “It is right to do this and wrong to do that” and he
practices what he preached, we call him a MORALIST, but when a person says “It is right to do this and
wrong to do that” but he himself does not practice the same we call him a 6 ETHICIST. We sometimes
differentiate the two in this way. What is the distinction between being ethical and being a moral? Is
there a difference? Or can they be used interchangeably? Ethics and morality are not the same thing! If a
person follows moral rules, he is considered moral person and he if he does not, he is therefore, immoral
but not unethical. If a person is aware of the basic principles governing moral conduct and acts in a
manner consistent with those principles, he is therefore considered ethical. Ethics differs from morals
and morality in that ethics denotes the theory of right action and the greater good, while morals indicate
their practice.

IV. Morality Defined Morality speaks of a system of behavior in regards to standards of right or
wrong behavior. The word carries the concepts of: (1) moral standards, with regard to behavior; (2)
moral responsibility, referring to our conscience; and (3) a moral identity, or one who is capable of right
or wrong action. Common synonyms include ethics, principles, virtue, and goodness.

V. WHY STUDY ETHICS? THE IMPERATIVES OF ETHICS (Christopher Panza and Adam Potthast) 1. Ethics
allows you to live an authentic life. An authentic life and meaningful life require you to live with a sense
of integrity. Integrity is making commitments and sticking through thick and thin – no matter how much
violating them may benefit you. Having a firm character or set of principles to guide your life and the
choices you make is what ethics is all about. 2. Ethics makes you more successful. You may think that
ethics can hold you back in all kinds of ways, but the truth is the opposite. Ethical people embody traits
that unethical people have to work at to fake – they’re honest, trustworthy, loyal, and caring. As a result,
ethical people are perfectly suited not only for interpersonal relationships generally, but also more
specifically for the kinds of interactions that make for thriving business. Unethical people generally don’t
do so well at these things. 3. Ethics allows you to cultivate inner peace. Lives that are lived ethically tend
to be calmer, more focused, and more productive than those that are lived unethically. 4. Ethics provides
for a stable society. When people live ethical lives, they tell the truth, avoid harming others, and are
generous. Working with such people is easy. On the other hand, callous and insensitive people are
distrusted, so it’s difficult for them to be integrated well into social arrangements. A stable society
requires a lot of ethical people working together in highly coordinated ways. If society were mostly
composed of unethical people, the society would quickly crumble. 5. Ethics may help out in the afterlife.
Some religious traditions believe ethics is the key to something even greater than personal success and
social stability: ETERNAL LIFE. No one can be sure about an eternal life, but people of faith from many
different religions believe that good behavior in this life leads to rewards in the net life.

NOTES TO PONDER The greatest legacy a man could leave his children is a GOOD NAME, likewise with
VALUES EDUCATION. It is one treasure that is hard to earn. One anecdote tells us about a man who went
to his lawyer and made a hard request. “I am going to a business deal with a man I do not trust. I want
you to frame an airtight contract that he cannot break and which will protect me from any sort of
mischief he may have on his mind.” His lawyer replied frankly. “There is no group of words in the English
language that can take the place of plain HONESTY between men. There’s nothing can be put in a
contract that will fully protect either of you or one of your plans to deceive the other.” He said it well. A
person is known through his character. People get to know him through the way he lives his life. And
whether his name would sound good or bad, it is going to be his own way working. Being honest and
being truly educated are the qualities that we can rarely find these days. There are a lot of people who
do not mind leaving a bad mark on their names/forget the values of learning he had. They just go around
dealing with others in deceit. They do not care who gets hurt along the way for as long as they enrich
themselves and serve their interest.

The word of God further said “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches and loving favor
rather than silver and gold.” We sign our name on whatever thing we do whether it is done in secret or
in the light, whether it is good or evil. Let us rather seek to establish a good name by confirming God’s
standard and by utilizing values education. It is a legacy we can leave our children with great honor.
Discover and find true happiness and peace in life.