Chapter III: MORALITY

Morals refer to human behavior where morality is the practical activity, and
ethics describes the theoretical, systematic, and rational reflection upon that human
behavior (Churchill, 1982).

Moral experience begins with moral consciousness or moral sense. In fact

moral consciousness and moral experience are used as synonyms by many. But it is
good to distinguish between the two. Experience is a generic term in the sense that
whatever affects a person can be called an experience. It can be an emotion like love
or hatred. It can be active or passive like love for a friend or love of a friend. One can
speak of one‘s progress in studies as knowledge experience. Any experience leaves
behind an impression or memory. Such impressions or memories cumulatively add
up to one‘s experience. The totality of such experiences contributes to the formation
of a human personality

General Objectives:

1. Explain morality and the importance of rules;

2. Differentiate moral and non-moral standards;
3. Discuss the different levels of dilemma; and
4. Explain the role of freedom in making moral decisions.

Lesson I. Nature of Morality and the Importance of Rules

Ethics is the study of right and wrong. Everyone makes decisions each day
that are essentially choices. For some, choices are considered strictly personal and
no one else‘s business: Should I have a strip of bacon with my eggs? But for some,
even that simple choice has ethical ramifications: Should I eat meat? Is it anyone
else‘s concern that I eat meat? Other choices confront us as the day progresses:
Should I call in sick? Should I obey the speed laws as I drive to work? Should I
answer a friend‘s question honestly or lie and potentially hurt her feelings? Should I
be faithful to my spouse? How does one find answers to these questions? For some,
laws and religion provide the answers. But for most, those two sources are
insufficient.

Specific Objectives:

1. Explain the different kinds of morality;

2. Explain the importance of rules;
Lesson Outline

Ethics in your profession

In life, our behavior is governed by different norm systems. The word NORM
comes from Latin “NORMA” meaning “yardstick”. Norms dictate what we ought or
ought not to do. The norm systems governing the behavior of a professional are:

Individual morality

This refers to individual values of a specific person and what they believe to
be right. Individual morality is influenced by how a person was raised. It is their
personal value system. The sanction for disobeying one‘s individual morality is a
guilty conscience.

Positive morality

This set of norms represents what is considered right in society at a particular

time. The sanction for failure to obey positive morality is social sanction.

• Law (Legal Norms) laws protect society and prevent anarchy by regulating
behavior.

• Public Law – also referred to as criminal law: between the state and individual.

Private Law – also referred to as contractual law and focuses on the relationship
between persons.

Formal Law and Common Law find expression in the reported judgments of courts.

• Professional Ethics Professionals are a group of people who earn a living by

undertaking a common activity and who regulate most of these themselves.

The Role of Rules and Social Beings

To define a rule, it is a set of guidelines which has been established in all

countries and communities and has been accepted by all.

A rule is a set of guidelines which has been established in all countries and
communities to be followed by its members of members of society. Rules differ from
one country to another. The differences are affected by factors like beliefs, social
interactions, policies, and the type of government.
Violators are dealt with according to the penalties that come with the violation
of the rules. Therefore, rules are a beneficial tool to guide and monitor the
interactions between the members of the society.

Assessment

Share to your class your own personal experience and understanding.

1. Differentiate individual morality and positive morality.

2. What school rules can remember that has a different moral sense than that of
your friend? Do it affect your relationship?
3. Give examples of rules in your community that you have followed. What
particular right you have that makes you follow the rules and how does it
affect your community. Share your experience.

Lesson II. Moral Vs. Non-Moral Standards

In our daily life we encounter moral questions at every step. In our everyday
experience, we face different situations, some of which we straightaway designate as
moral or as immoral and in some other cases we may face difficulty to put the
instance in any of these two specific categories. For example – my grandfather used
to give food to birds every morning and before he died he advised me to continue this
practice. But owing to my other preoccupations I failed to follow his advice. Can we
designate this failure to follow his advice as immoral?

Specific Objectives:

1. Explain the characteristics of moral standards; and

2. Discern moral standards from non-moral standards.

Lesson Outline

Characteristics of Moral Standards:

Moral standards are bases for moral behavior and bases for determining
whether a certain act is moral or immoral and for someone to be responsible or not.
These are the guides of human behavior and decision making. These standards are
not only applied to individual persons but also to a group or corporation. Something is
unethical if it does not conform to a particular standard of morality. They may not be
written but observed and they are assumed norms of moral conduct (Articulo, 2005).
 Understanding this context, it is very clear that individuals must be guided to
act in good manner in dealing with fellow humans, society and his environment.
These standards should encourage individuals to take actions and courage. There
are certain elements differentiating moral standards to non-moral standards:
a. Moral standards involve serious wrongs or significant benefits.

Moral standards deal with matters which can seriously impact, that is, injure
or benefit human beings. It is not the case with many non-moral standards. For
instance, following or violating some basketball rules may matter in basketball games
but does not necessarily affect one‘s life or well-being.

b. Moral standards ought to be preferred to other values.

Moral standards have overriding character or hegemonic authority. If a moral

standard states that a person has the moral obligation to do something, then he/she
is supposed to do that even if it conflicts with other non-moral standards, and even
with self-interest.

Moral standards are not the only rules or principles in society, but they take
precedence over other considerations, including aesthetic, prudential, and even legal
ones. A person may be aesthetically justified in leaving behind his family in order to
devote his life to painting, but morally, all things considered, he/she probably was not
justified. It may be prudent to lie to save one‘s dignity, but it probably is morally wrong
to do so. When a particular law becomes seriously immoral, it may be people‘s moral
duty to exercise civil disobedience.

There is a general moral duty to obey the law, but there may come a time
when the injustice of an evil law is unbearable and thus calls for illegal but moral
noncooperation (such as the antebellum laws calling for citizens to return slaves to
their owners).

c. Moral standards are not established by authority figures.

Moral standards are not invented, formed, or generated by authoritative

bodies or persons such as nations‘legislative bodies. Ideally instead, these values
ought to be considered in the process of making laws. In principle therefore, moral
standards cannot be changed nor nullified by the decisions of particular authoritative
body. One thing about these standards, nonetheless, is that its validity lies on the
soundness or adequacy of the reasons that are considered to support and justify
them.

d. Moral standards have the trait of universalizability.

Simply put, it means that everyone should live up to moral standards. To be

more accurate, however, it entails that moral principles must apply to all who are in
the relevantly similar situation. If one judges that act A is morally right for a certain
person P, then it is morally right for anybody relevantly similar to P.

This characteristic is exemplified in the Gold Rule, ―Do unto others what you
would them do unto you (if you were in their shoes)‖ and in the formal Principle of
Justice, ―It cannot be right for A to treat B in a manner in which it would be wrong for
B to treat A, merely on the ground that they are two different individuals, and without
there being any difference between the natures or circumstances of the two which
can be stated as a reasonable ground for difference of treatment. Universalizability
is an extension of the principle of consistency, that is, one ought to be consistent
about one‘s value judgments.

e. Moral standards are based on impartial considerations.

Moral standard does not evaluate standards on the basis of the interests of a certain
person or group, but one that goes beyond personal interests to a universal
standpoint in which each person‘s interests are impartially counted as equal.

Impartiality is usually depicted as being free of bias or prejudice. Impartiality in

morality requires that we give equal and/or adequate consideration to the interests of
all concerned parties.

f. Moral standards are associated with special emotions and vocabulary.

Prescriptivity indicates the practical or action-guiding nature of moral

standards. These moral standards are generally put forth as injunction or imperatives
(such as, ‘Do not kill,‘ ‘Do no unnecessary harm,‘ and ‘Love your neighbor‘). These
principles are proposed for use, to advise, and to influence to action. Retroactively,
this feature is used to evaluate behavior, to assign praise and blame, and to produce
feelings of satisfaction or of guilt.
 If a person violates a moral standard by telling a lie even to fulfill a special
purpose, it is not surprising if he/she starts feeling guilty or being ashamed of his
behavior afterwards. On the contrary, no much guilt is felt if one goes against the
current fashion trend (e.g. refusing to wear tattered jeans). (Copyright 2013 by
Jensen DG).

Moral Standards versus Other Rules in Life

A person‘s moral values constitute society‘s rules, and moral rules are very
significant and subjective to each person‘s moral values. Individually, we feel
differently from the perspective of stealing for example. Some of us may feel bad
about getting one‘s belongings, some may not. We do not know how exactly one
feels about stealing. On the other hand, we do not know how people will react
seriously about stealing or if they were stolen. Our expectation and social exercise
will reflect on our belief with within our social standards, i.e., the collective values of
other people‘s morality. We sometimes generalized people‘s morality by their actions
against our expectations. We will react severely about stealing if our principle against
stealing is strong. If a certain social standard does not condemn stealing our
behavior is based on such. Such experiences reshape our belief about social
standard and thus may affect our behavior in which stealing is toward us in the future
experiences.

Etiquette, Policy, Law, and Commandment

Etiquette is a set of rules on how an individual should responsibly behave in

the society (Taylor and Williams, 2017). The table manners such as the proper use of
utensils and the proper manner of eating are examples of etiquette. Meanwhile, a
policy is a clear, simple statement on how an organization plans to handle its
services, actions or business. Policies are guiding rules to help with decision making
(The University of Sydney, ©2002-2017). When schools require their students to
wear the proper school uniform and school ID before they will be allowed inside the
campus (or the NO Uniform No ID, No Entry rule posted in the school‘s entrance) is
an example of a policy. On the other hand, a law is a rule created and enforced by
the government and its agencies to maintain order, resolve disputes, and protect a
person‘s liberty and rights (Robertson,2008; Brickley and Gottesman, © 2017). Can
you give an example of a law in the Philippines? Finally, a commandment is a rule
that is to be strictly observed because it was said to be set by a divine entity, such as
those in the Ten Commandments (Stahl, 2009).
 What is the advantage of owning moral standards over merely abiding by
moral standards?

For most people, the fundamental moral question is, What should I do? or
How should I act? Ethics are presumed as moralities on how a person should act.
For example, every person is obligated to do the greatest good for the most number
of people. There is also the philosophy that everyone is obligated to act in ways that
upholds the human dignity for all people. Moral principles like these guide the
practice of various professions (professional ethics).

But is all there is to ethics? Is ethics just about following rules of do‘s and
don‘ts? This obsession with rules somehow reflects the more important aspect of
being a human person and that becoming what you should be. In other words, the
more important question for ethics is not What should I do? but What kind of person
should I be?

Assessment

Based on the topics discussed, explain:

1. How are the moral standards different from non-moral standards?

2. How moral standards differ from etiquette, policy, law and commandment?

Lesson III. Moral Dilemma

The essence of studying ethics is morality. Ethics is the science of good/bad,

just/unjust, moral/immoral behavior (Rossouw & VanVuuren, 2006; Weiss, 2009;
Desjardins, 2009). So when we talk of ethics we are also talking about morality.
Moral dilemmas are associated with ethical dilemmas. So the conflict in morality can
be in these areas, personal, organizational and structural.

Specific Objectives:

1. Define dilemma and moral dilemma;

2. Explain the three levels of moral dilemma; and
3. Decide in morally conflicting situations

Lesson Outline

What is Dilemma?

Dilemma is in which two well-known cases is conflicting. In each case, an individual

regards as to having moral reasons to do each of the two actions, but doing both
actions is not possible. The most crucial characteristic of moral dilemma is that, a
person has to do two or more actions; the moral dilemma is that the person can
possibly do the two actions however; he cannot possibly do two or more actions,
because everyone has to make a choice.

Three Levels of Moral Dilemma

1. Personal Moral Dilemma is when your decision in a particular situation has

a conflict with your own and another individual. Your actions will become
harmful to group of individuals.
2. Organizational Dilemma is when a member or members of the organization
is in situation where there is moral conflicts and the decision will potentially
harm either some members of the group or the entire organization itself.
3. Structural Moral Dilemma is when a person or group of persons who holds
high-level positions in the society faces a morally conflicting situation wherein
the entire social system is affected.

Assessment

1. Define dilemma and moral dilemma.

2. Explain the three levels of dilemma and give one example in each level.
3. Cite a specific morally conflicting situation you encountered or might
encounter and make a sound decision.

Lesson IV. Freedom

The personal aspect of the morality is about developing virtue so that thinking
morally, performing moral acts, and choosing to do what is good becomes a habit.
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2016) explained that virtue is your thought
or behavior guided by, and displays, high moral standards. Virtues are habits
developed through learning and practice.

An efficiently run ship is like a virtuous person: both have internalized the
practices that make them weather storms. However, a ship is under the control of
captain while virtuous person free to cultivate his or her values. Freedom, then, is the
foundation of moral acts. For a person to be virtuous, he or she must also be free.
Meanwhile, when talking about interpersonal aspects of morality, the discussion
turns to following rules. It is important to note that even in following of the rules
freedom is essential.
 Finally, there is a question of the ultimate end. Why are you here? What is
your purpose? The human person‘s final end is always debatable topic because it
often goes hand in hand with specific religious views. However, the debate does not
negate the fact that freedom remains essential with one‘s view of his or her ultimate
purpose.

Specific Objectives:

1. Discuss the philosophical insights on freedom.

2. Justify that freedom is important in making moral decision.

Lesson Outline

The Human Person as a Free Being

What does ―human person‖ mean? In Philosophy, a human being is more

than its biological components. The human being is a person endowed with
characteristics that are material, spiritual, rational, and free. A Human Person is a
being (the Aristotelian idea of being connotes actuality; existence; an actual
condition or circumstance) with inborn properties that he or she uses to direct his or
her own development toward self-fulfillment. One of the inborn properties of the
human person is freedom.

Philosophical Insights on Freedom

We have mentioned freedom numerous times. What is your understanding of
freedom? Philosophers talked about this concept extensively. Here are some
philosophical insights on freedom.
(a) Freedom is a Gift
According to Gabriel Marcel, freedom is the ability to act significantly. Free
acts are significant because they help to make us who we are as human
beings. Freedom is not merely the ability to make arbitrary choices because
we are not free if everything that we can choose to do the significant in the
first place. Freedom is the ability to make significant choices and according to
Marcel, it is a gift given to us by God. (Hernandez, 2009)

(b) Freedom is Complimentary to Reasoning

One of Aristotle‘s ethical doctrines asserted that freedom and reason are
complementary. In Aristotle‘s view, the human person as a moral agent must
exercise practical rationality in order to determine how to pursue his or her
 ultimate end (telos). Self-direction, rather than bare spontaneity, is the crucial
characteristic of the free person. Aristotle considered freedom and reason as
necessary faculties for consciously making sense of things (events,
occurrences, phenomena, situations). (Walsh, 1997)

(c) Freedom is Absolute

Existentialist philosopher Jean Paul Sartre‘s concept of freedom is not that
freedom to do something or anything. In Sartre‘s view, the human person is
―absolutely free‖. Freedom sets the human person apart from the other
creatures. You might say ―But what about animal freedom? Animals –
unless caged – are also free. Animals just roam around, eat when they need
to, and sleep where they want. Animals are not tied down with responsibilities
like humans.‖ Yes, it is true that animals are – unless caged – free. In farm
animals also have a notion of freedom. When they are caged, animals will try
to escape from their cages. This kind of freedom is called freedom from
restrictions. It is a primitive kind of freedom. It is freedom for mere survival.
Humans, on the other hand, have a higher kind of freedom. The freedom of
the human person is beyond freedom from restriction. In fact, a person in jail
is still free. He is free to think, to change, and to become a better person. A
prisoner is free to redefine himself. As human persons, we are free to make
choices. We are free to decide. And we are free to use this freedom to attain
goals higher than satisfying basic needs.
(d) Freedom Demands Responsibility
Jean-Paul Sartre said ―You are Free‖ because he believed a person always
has a choice. Thus, according to Sartre, you must choose. His idea was that
freedom is the capacity to choose, that even not choosing is a choice
(Gallinero, 2014). It is important to note however, that he also added the
concept of responsibility to freedom. According to Sartre, even though
individuals must make their own choices because they are free, these
choices (though freely made) also have consequences to it. These
consequences to freedom are something that the person must endure.
Therefore, it can be said that in Sartre‘s concept, responsibility follows
freedom (Gallinero, 2014)
Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu also discussed freedom and responsibility. Lao
Tzu advocated that a person can and should choose act, but his or her
actions should be that which would result in harmony. Lao Tzu‘s idea was
 that in any society, the exercise of one‘s freedom is not absolute. The person
is free to do anything; but it is not without consequence of one‘s action
(Gallinero, 2014). Responsibility, as a moral quality serves as a voluntary
check and balance of one‘s freedom. Without proper balance limitless
freedom is a dangerous as an extremely controlling social group. Great social
injustices have resulted from such radical mindsets.

Supplemental Reading
“A Clockwork Orange” synopsis:
Anthony Burgess

Alex was someone utterly asked conscience. Along with his gang, he committed all
kinds of heinous crimes. What makes him truly evil was that Alex was actually fully
aware that his actions were morally wrong; yet he did it anyway. He enjoyed doing
crime and hurting other people. His acceptance that his actions were immoral meant
Alex freely chose to do evil acts.

In one of their killing spree, Alex was captured. He was convicted for murder and
sentence to fourteen years in prison. While serving out his sentence, Alex was
recommended by the prison officials to participate in Ludovico Technique. The author
described the Ludovico Technique as an ―experimental treatment designed to
eliminate criminal impulses. The treatment was about conditioning Alex‘s mind so
that his desire to commit crime will disappear. Prison doctors injected Alex with
nausea-inducing drugs, strapped him in a chair, and kept his eyes open with metal
clips (so that he can‘t even blink, and made to watch all kinds of violent films. After
several sessions, the conditioning was successful in Alex, that whenever he was
confronted with violence he suddenly became weak, nauseated, and totally unable to
inflict pain on others – even in self-defense.
Due to supposed success, Alex was released from prison early. Once he returned to
society, he was pitifully helpless against those who did him harm. Alex was brutalized
by his former victims and was beaten half to death by two of his former gang
members (who became police officers while Alex was imprisoned). In utter despair,
Alex attempted suicide, by some twist of fate, he lived. While he was recuperating in
the hospital, Alex realized the treatment had worn off and he was back to his
ultraviolent self once again.
In the last chapter of the book, Alex (though still violent) was actually less and less
happy with his situation; unlike in his past where he enjoyed crime and violence. He
then came across Pete – the last member of his old gang. Pete had changed. He
was living a happy, productive, comfortable life with his wife. Alex realized he wanted
to be like Pete. In the end, Alex decided (on his own) to turn his life around and
actually became responsible, peace-loving person.

Assessment
1. Discuss what is freedom based on the different philosophical insights.
2. Which of the two makes you human? (Defend your answer considering the
synopsis of “A Clockwork Orange” by Anthony Burgess and the essence of
―freedom)
a. Free to decide and do evil acts: or
b. Forced to become a moral person and not hurt others.

Chapter Summary

• Morals refer to human behavior where morality is the practical activity and,
ethics describes the theoretical, systematic, and rational reflection upon that
human behavior (Churchill, 1982).

• Kinds of Morality are: individual morality and positive morality.

• Positive morality has something to do with laws such as, public, private formal
and common laws
• The sanction for failure to obey positive morality is social sanction.
• Rules are a beneficial tool to guide and monitor the interactions between the
members of the society. They differ from place to place or country to country.

• Moral standards are bases for moral behavior and bases for determining
whether a certain act is moral or immoral and for someone to be responsible
or not.
• Moral standards involve serious wrongs or significant benefits.
• Moral standards ought to be preferred to other values.
• Moral standards are not established by authority figures.
• Moral standards have the trait of universalizability.
• Moral standards are based on impartial considerations.
• Moral standards are associated with special emotions and vocabulary.
• A person‘s moral values constitute society‘s rules, and moral rules are very
significant and subjective to each person‘s moral values.
• Dilemma is in which two well-known cases is conflicting.
• Moral dilemma is that the person can possibly do the two actions however; he
cannot possibly do so because everyone has to make a choice.

• The three levels of moral dilemma are: personal, organizational and

structural.
• Freedom is one of the inborn properties of human person.
• The Philosophical insights on freedom are: freedom is a gift; freedom is
complimentary to reasoning; freedom is absolute; and freedom demands
responsibility.
 SUMMATIVE TEST

Name: _______________________________ Date: ____________________

Course Year & Section: ________________ Score: ___________________

A. Multiple choices. Encircle the letter corresponds to your answer.

1. When do you say a situation is moral experience?

a. Participating in Political Rallies
b. Watching movies
c. Eating healthy foods
d. Taking a vacation

2. Why study Ethics?

a. It‘s a required course.
b. To understand my moral compass
c. To learn how to judge others
d. To take a stand in moral issues that affect society

3. Why are rules important to social beings?

a. Rules are what makes human beings superior creatures
b. Rules control people to do something they do not want
c. Rules make people know their place
d. Rules make a person become productive member of society even
when there is conflict

4. What are moral standards?

a. Action that advances the interest of certain people or group
b. It involves behavior that seriously affect other people
c. Are self-preserving behaviors
d. Originate from higher authority

5. Which of the statement below best describe non-moral standards?

a. Non-moral standards are objective
b. Non-moral standards are personal beliefs
c. Non-moral standards vary and are dependent on how a particular
group set the rules
d. Non-moral standards help us live a moral life

6. How do moral standards differ from other rules in life?

 a. Moral standards are believed to be universal
b. Moral standards are rules on how a person should behave around
other
c. Moral standards are policies that help with decision making
d. Moral standards are enforced to maintain peace and order

7. What is Moral Dilemma?

a. It is knowing that cheating is wrong but you cheat anyway
b. It is about feeling guilty that you have an edge over your competitors
c. You are faced with difficult choices but you have a amoral reason for
both actions
d. These are situations that are neither right nor wrong

8. Why is that only human beings are ethical

a. It is instinctive
b. It is altruistic behavior
c. Our belief in Superior Being taught us to be ethical
d. Only humans have the capacity for free moral judgment

9. Why is freedom crucial in making decisions?

a. So that you will not commit a crime
b. Only a free person can understand the meaning of his or her life
c. Freedom result to peace and prosperity
d. It is our basic human right

10. Which of the statements below does not describe freedom?

a. Freedom is the ability to make significant choices
b. Self-direction is the characteristic of freedom
c. Freedom is absolute
d. Freedom has no responsibility

B. Word search. Find the word described some clues below

P U W S Z Z W H R U E L
E O VT O Z F X Y X I X
X B W R I PJ U L I K S
T W X N C G U J BB M A
I A J Z I F Q A I G H
VQ N A I C H N J L N K
B L E LL R N S L Y Z F
I A Y U O V SA E T H I
C S Z C K R M B L VN W
A L V R A C D C A O E
B IO L A R U T C U R T
S H M U RS T G L I T X
I P X C X W Y TR A E O
J N L S A A J M U M UE
S N G E B Z E R S X F
I R EP A S W M J T X D
I G L M L SL V F Y N T
S V S V R N D L QS R P
Y P Y K B C B I X U P
F

1. The effort that one‘s conduct by reason

2. Deals with moral principles
3. These are in place to manage harmful behaviors, hopes, to prevent chaos,
and encourage stability
4. Guiding rules that help in decision making
5. A level of moral dilemma where all the choices in moral conflict available to
you could negatively affect you or another person.
6. Thoughts or behavior that is guided by and displays high moral standards.
7. The philosopher who said described morality as the effort to guide one‘s
conduct through reason and giving equal weight between personal interest
and that of other people.
8. Rule created by the government to maintain order
9. A level of moral dilemma wherein all available choices in a moral conflict will
adversely affect the organization
10. A level of dilemma wherein organizations or persons holding high –level
positions I society are faced with a moral conflict and all the choices available
will adversely affect the social system.

C. Enumeration.

a. Give at least four characteristics of moral standards

1
2
3
4
b. What is moral dilemma?
 1
2
3
c. What are the levels of moral dilemma?
1
2
3

D. ESSAY. Briefly explain these philosophical insights on freedom. (10 points each)
1. Freedom is a gift
2. Freedom is complementary to reason
3. Freedom is absolute
4. Freedom demands responsibility