CHAPTER I - ETHICS
GE - ETHICS 1st Semester | A.Y 2025 - 2026
ETHICS Manners
➔ table manners, modes of dress, etc.
➔ varying in different parts of the world and at
1 ORIGIN AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
different times
Western Culture (Greeks) Morals
➔ transition from nonscientific to scientific ➔ telling the truth, paying debt, etc.
knowledge ➔ more fundamental customs
➔ such conduct is not only customary but right
16th Century, before Christ ➔ results not from arbitrary whim but of
➔ reduced speculations into a system principle from a man’s own being
➔ integrated into philosophy
Early philosophers asked fundamental questions
Sophists and of Socrates about how humans should live:
➔ turned their curiosity on themselves on ● Socrates emphasized self-knowledge and
human life and society moral virtue as the essence of a good life.
➔ nothing was too scared for their penetrating ● Plato viewed virtue as harmony of the soul.
scrutiny ● Aristotle saw ethics as the pursuit of
eudaimonia (happiness or human
Seafarers and Colonizers flourishing) through the cultivation of
➔ came into close contact with people of virtues.
various customs, laws, and institutions ● Later, St. Thomas Aquinas integrated
➔ asked themselves if they were really Aristotelian thought with Christian theology,
superior defining ethics as the rational pursuit of the
➔ led to an examination of all human conduct, ultimate good—God and moral perfection.
a branch of philosophy called ethics
Thus, the development of ethics moved from
The word ethics comes from the Greek term ethos custom-based behavior to a rational, philosophical
(ἦθος), meaning man’s character or custom. study of what makes actions right or wrong.
In Latin, its equivalent is mos (plural: mores), Ethics is the study of right and wrong, and good
meaning moral conduct or habit. and evil in human conduct.
From mores, we derive the terms moral and Example: Just as accountants have a “Code of
philosophy, so Ethics is also called moral Ethics” that guides proper professional conduct,
philosophy. Together, these words show that ethics ancient philosophers sought the “code” of human
originally meant “the study of human character life that reason alone could discover and follow.
and moral customs.”
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2 MEANING OF ETHICS 4 RELATION TO OTHER DISCIPLINES
Ethics is the practical and normative science of Anthropology
human conduct as known by reason. ➔ human origins, culture, and moral customs
without judgement
It studies how humans ought to act to achieve the ➔ ethics is interested in the rightness and
good life—the life that fulfills our nature and leads wrongness
to happiness.
● Practical → guides real-life actions. Example: Anthropology may note that
● Normative → sets the standards for moral certain cultures allow gift-giving to secure
rightness. business favors; Ethics questions if this
● Science → systematized body of moral truth behavior counts as bribery or conflicts of
discovered through reasoning. interest.
Human Conduct Law (Jurisprudence)
➔ subject matter of ethics ➔ external acts and enforces obedience
through punishment or penalties
Oughtness ➔ ethics governs internal acts of the will,
➔ aspect or point of view appealing to reason and conscience, not
➔ studies human conduct of its rightness and coercion
wrongness
Example: Law punishes accountants only
Ought when fraud is proven; Ethics declares
➔ real verb used in ethical judgements falsifying records wrong even if it remains
➔ distinctive feature of ethics undiscovered.
Actions right which a man ought to do, actions Political Science, Sociology, and Economics
wrong which a man ought not to do. ➔ Political Science studies how government
and authority regulate people’s actions for
the common good.
3 ETHICS AS A STUDY OF THE “GOOD LIFE”
➔ Sociology studies how people behave in
groups and communities, describing social
Humans naturally desire to know how to live customs and norms.
rightly. From primitive customs to philosophical ➔ Economics studies how people use
systems, this question has been central: resources and wealth to meet human
needs.
“What is the right way to live, and why should we ➔ These fields are descriptive and
live that way?” functional—they explain how society works
but not whether its actions are morally right
Ethics provides rational answers to this timeless or wrong.
question. ➔ Ethics provides the moral evaluation of
these actions: whether the systems promote
justice, fairness, and the good of all.
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As a Science
Example: ➔ explains principles of moral conduct
● Political Science studies how ➔ can never be measured through the
taxation is imposed; Ethics asks scientific method
whether the tax burden is just and ➔ human conduct is too unpredictable
equitable. ➔ only deals with opinions on what ought to be
● Sociology observes that many and never wholly is
students share digital copies of paid ➔ Aristotle warned that ethics cannot be an
reviewers; Ethics judges this as exact science
unfair to authors and publishers. ➔ there is need of science of the ought, for the
● Economics analyzes profit and loss; ought itself is a fact demanding explanation
Ethics evaluates whether the pursuit ➔ ethics is a practical science
of profit respects honesty and
human dignity. As an Art
➔ teaches the practice of living
Psychology morally—crafting a good life like an artist
➔ how man actually behaves shapes a masterpiece
➔ ethics studies how man ought to behave ➔ the art of ethics must be practiced by each
person for himself
Example: Psychology explains that a student
cheats because of exam anxiety; Ethics still
6 PRESUPPOSITIONS OF ETHICS
declares cheating morally wrong regardless
of emotional stress.
Ethics assumes three truths:
Theology 1. Freedom of the will – humans can choose
➔ bases moral laws on revelation and 2. Immortality of the soul – actions have
religious authority eternal significance.
➔ ethics uses reason and natural law—truths 3. Existence of God – the moral lawgiver and
accessible to all, even without religious belief ultimate good.
Example: Theology teaches that honesty Example: A first-year accountancy student
obeys God’s commandments; Ethics teaches who chooses to study diligently, not cheat,
that honesty follows reason, fairness, and acts ethically because this fulfills reason’s
the natural moral order. demand for truth and integrity—the “right
and reasonable” way to live.
5 ETHICS AS BOTH SCIENCE AND ART
7 SUMMARY INSIGHTS
Positivism
➔ 19th Century, Auguste Comte Ethics arises from humanity’s age-old search for
➔ mode of thinking which eliminates all the meaning of right living.
metaphysics from philosophy and restricts
scientific knowledge to facts and relations
between facts
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It has evolved from ancient reflection on human
character to a disciplined study of moral conduct
rooted in reason, freedom, and responsibility.
Example: In accounting, ethics isn’t only about
following rules—it’s about using reason to do what’s
right, even when no one is watching. Choosing to
report accurate financial data, though harder,
perfects both your skill and your character—the
true purpose of ethics.