professional ethics with values education week 6

Ethics - Origin

• Ethics is derived from the Greek word ethicos or that which pertains to ethos the English translation of which is “custom”, “characteristic way of acting”, or “habit”

• The Latin equivalent is mos, mores from which come the word moral and morality

Ethics - Origin• It was the Greek Philosophers who started the study of Ethics. Among

those notable are Socrates – “knowing what is right is doing what is right”; a person can act

correctly and well if he knows what is a good life; evil is done out of ignorance Plato – the life of reason is the happiest and the best form of life; if one wants

to be happy, one should be a harmonious man: a man of virtue; ethics is a matter of nature --- virtues are innate to us

Aristotle – ethics is a matter of planning, purpose and decision: a matter of character

Socrates was regarded as the Father of moral Philosophy Aristotle has greatly influenced ethical thinking with three important treatises

– The Nicomachean Ethics, the Eudemian Ethics and the Magna Moralia (Great Ethics)

Definition of Ethics

• There are several definitions of Ethics• Ethics is defined as

– The practical science of the morality of human conduct– The philosophical science dealing with the morality of

human acts– The science of the morality of human acts– The study of man as a moral being, one who is rationally

able to distinguish between right and wrong– Ethics is concerned with morality, the quality which makes

an act good or evil, correct or wrong– Ethics is concerned with the norms of human behavior

Ethics: The science of the Morality of Human Acts

Human act – are actions done intentionally and freely like walking, reading, working, playing, shopping, joining a contest or signing a contract

Acts of man – are instinctive, such as the physiological and psychological movements like breathing, feeling happy, or falling in love

Ethics does not study what man cannot control, but they look at acts of man as factors affecting man’s judgment and violations

Ethics examines how man is accountable for his actions and its consequences.

Ethics proposes how man ought to live his life - meaningfully

Professional Ethics with Values Education Week 1

Ethics: The Art of Correct Living Art provides what is orderly and harmonious in an art work,

Ethic does the same for our everyday lives Ethics is the art of correct living for Ethics teaches us how we

may put order and harmony in our lives. It is a practical science – it is beneficial only when its truths

are put into practice as rules of conducts Every one is expected to be decent and trustworthy, deviating

from it causes chaos and disarray Morality is not only necessary to a person but also to a society

“Without civic morality, communities perish; without personal morality their survival has no value”(Bertrand Russell) – when people do not accept the rule of law society crumbles


Ethics and Religion

Ethics and religion are both concerned with moral education but they differ from each other Ethics is a science and relies on reasons for its

conclusion Religion is a system of beliefs and practices based on

faith and revelation or truths revealed to Man by God. Ethics teaches the value of religion, presenting it as a

duty of man towards the Supreme being Religion as an organized church or institution,

contributes to the development of ethical thought.


Ethical Norms and Laws

Laws Human laws regulate external actions, but not thoughts

or feelings Sometimes legalizes immoral acts hence “what is legal

is not necessarily moral” Ethical norms

Covers thoughts and feelings thus a person could sin because of what he thinks or desires.

It is not sufficient to do good, one must be sincere in doing what is good


Ethical Approaches ATHEISTIC APPROACH

Assumes that only matter exists and man is responsible only to the State since there is no God who rules the universe

Morality is an invention of man to suit his requirements and to preserve the society

Moral truths are temporary and changeable depending on the situation

Some of its tenets are as follows Matter is the only reality Man is a matter and does not have spiritual soul Man is free and must exercise his freedom to promote the welfare of

society There is no life after death Man is accountable only to the state


Ethical Approaches THEISTIC APPROACH

Assumes that God is the Supreme Lawgiver Everything must conform to God’s Eternal Plan of creation Man must exercise his freedom in accordance with God’s will There are absolute principles of morality which are not

changeable Man is accountable for his actions and deserves rewards or

punishments in this life or the next Some of their tenets are as follows

God is the Supreme Creator and Law giver Man is free and must use his freedom to promote his personal interest

among with that of others Man has an immortal soul Man is accountable for his actions, both good and Evil


General and Special Ethics

General Ethics – about the principles of morality. It explains the norms with which the moral significance of human act is determined

Special ethics – the application of the principles of General ethics into the problems and issues confronting a person on account of his circumstances in life, for instance as a citizen, neighbor, worker, wife, husband or child


Reading: WHAT IS ETHICS by: Jovito R. Salonga

Points raised Ethics is the discipline dealing with the right and wrong Common sense tells us that things that are right are the things that

help the people and the society at large It has a practical dimension – reciprocity; as reflected in the Golden

rule “Do unto other what you want others to do unto you” or its negative “Do not do unto others what you do not want others to do unto you”

It has a spiritual dimension – why we feel shame or guilt ; conscience

Abe Lincoln said “ When I do good I feel good. When I do bad I feel bad”

Our best moments are not the times when we are a lot of money but moments when what we did meant a lot good to others


Man as A Person

Moral Character Character

is the will of the person directing him towards a recognized idea

is not the product of a moment’s inspiration, but a disciplined tendency to choose the right thing in any given circumstance

When a person falls below the expectation he is said to have bad character

A person who lives up to the ideals of his humanity is said to have good character or moral integrity


Social Dimension of a Person

Society is but an extension of the person George Hegel teaches that man is fully developed

in his participation in family life, civic community and in the State

Thomas Hill Green expressed the conviction that a person’s morality must identify itself with public welfare

Paul Tillich said that natural law is the demand for us “to be a person in the community of other persons”


Reading : Be Proud you Are Human From the beginning we found ourselves alone in this

universe – we realized this and turned our attention to making something practical and useful out of this unprecedented situation We found a Light, a God and we got a sense of direction and

a goal to work on We set up a standard for living together We created for ourselves governing systems covering vast

geographical spaces We have conceived the ideal of justice and plan it all for men we are persistent – we find ways to browse the water, air and

our neighboring planets


HUMAN ACTS

Performed by a person who is acting knowingly, freely and willfully

These actions are deliberate, intentional or voluntary

These are differentiated from acts of man which are instinctive and are not under the control of the free will


Attributes of Human Acts

Human act is done knowingly The doer is conscious and aware of the reason and the

consequences of his actions Every normal person of age is presumed to act

knowingly Children below the age of reason, the senile and the

insane – are considered incapable of moral judgement



Human act is done freely The doer acts by his own initiative and choice without

being forced to do so by another person An action done under duress is not considered

voluntary



Human act is done willfully The doer consents to the act, accepting it as his own

and assumes accountability for its consequences


Kinds of Human Acts

Elicited Acts – those performed by the Will but are not bodily externalized (no external manifestation)

Commanded Acts – those mental and bodily actions performed under the command of the Will


Elicited Acts Wish – the tendency of the Will towards an object without

considering whether it is attainable or not Intention – the tendency of the will towards an object which

is attainable without necessarily committing oneself to get it Consent – the acceptance of the will to carry out the

intention Election – the selection of the will of those means necessary

to carry out the intention Use – the command of the will to make use of the means

elected to carry out the intention Fruition – the enjoyment of the will due to the attainment of

the intetion


Commanded Acts

Internal action Those performed mentally such as reasoning, recalling,

imagining, and reflecting External action

Those performed bodily, such as walking, dancing, talking and writing


In summary

Philosophers speak of Human acts as “being first in intention, but last in execution”


Moral Accountability

Human acts, being voluntary acts are accountable acts

Actions are attributed on the doer as its pricipal cause and therefore deserving of either rewards or punishments


Subject of Human Acts

The subject of a human act is any person who is capable of acting intelligently and freely

Business organizations, institutions, associations or unions which are constituted by law as juridical person are also subject of human acts


Modifiers of Human Acts

A voluntary act is under the control of the intellect and will of a person however there are factors that may influence the intellect and the will so that actions are not perfectly voluntary

The Moral Axiom is: “The Greater the knowledge and the freedom, the

greater the voluntariness and therefore the accountability”

Ignorance

Ignorance - The absence of knowledge which a person ought to possess Everyone normal person who has attained the age of

reason approximately seven years old is expected to know the general norms of proper conduct and behavior

Vincible Ignorance – one which can easily be corrected through ordinary diligence

Not knowing time or your seatmate’s name

Types of Ignorance

Ignorance Vincible Ignorance – one which can easily be corrected

through ordinary diligence Not knowing time or your seatmate’s name

Invincible ignorance – the person is either not aware of his state of ignorance or being aware of it does not have the means to rectify such ignorance

A waiter who served contaminated food because he is not aware Affected ignorance – a vincible ignorance which is

intentionally kept in an effort to escape responsibility An employee who refuses to heed the instruction of his

supervisor

Principles of Ignorance• 1) Invincible Ignorance renders an act involuntary• - a person is not liable or cannot be culpable if he is not aware of his ignorance or

when there is no means of rectifying his ignorance• • 2) Vincible Ignorance does not destroy but lessens voluntariness and the

corresponding accountability over the act• - when a person becomes aware of one’s ignorance, he/she has the moral

obligation to rectify it- and to act with this is a form of imprudence• • 3) Affected Ignorance though it decreases voluntariness, increases the

accountability over the resultant act• - it interferes intellect – decrease voluntariness• - it is willed to persist – increases accountability• - refusing to rectify ignorance is malicious – and malice is graver if ignorance is

used as an excuse for not doing the right thing

Passion

• - Either tendencies towards desirable objects (positive emotions like love, desire, delight, hope, bravery etc) or tendencies away from undesirable or harmful things (negative emotions like horror, sadness, hatred, despair, fear, anger etc)

Types of Passion (related to Action)

• 1) Antecedent Passions • - precedes the act• - predisposes a person to act• • 2) Consequent Passions• - those that are intentionally aroused and kept• - voluntary in cause; the result of the will

playing the strings of emotion

Principles of Passion

• 1) Antecedent Passions do not always destroy voluntariness but they diminish accountability for the resultant act

• - they weaken the will power without obstructing freedom completely

• - therefore, crimes of passion are always voluntary although accountability is diminished because it interferes with the freedom of the will

• • 2) Consequent Passions do not lessen voluntariness but may

even increase responsibility• - consequent passions are direct results of the will which fully

consents to them instead of subordinating them to its control

Fear

• - disturbance on the mind of the person – being confronted by an impending danger or harm to himself, to his loved ones or to his property

• - one is compelled to decide to perform an act so as to avoid threat of future or imminent evil

Types of Fear• 1) Act done with fear• - certain actions which by nature are dangerous or risky• - in theses cases, fear is a normal response to danger• - these actions are voluntary because the doer is in ful control of his faculties and acts

inspite of fear• - fear here is an instinct for self-preservation (we even fear new experiences or

situations) ex. Being left alone in a strange place, being asked to speak before a group of people

• • 2) Act out of fear or because of fear• - fear here becomes a positive force compelling a person to act without careful

deliberation• - fear modifies the freedom of doing, inducing the person to act in a certain

predetermined manner, even without his full consent• Ex. A child – studies/reads his books – out of fear of his mother• A man – stops smoking – fear of contracting cancer

Principles of Fear• 1) Acts done with fear are voluntary• - acting inspite of his fear and is in full control of himself• • 2) Acts done out of fear are simply voluntary although conditionally involuntary• - simply voluntary = person remains in control of his faculties• - conditionally involuntary = if it were not for the presence of something feared,

the person would not act or would act in another way• - Intimidating or threatening as person with horror is an unjust act• - Legally speaking, acts done out of fear – invalid acts• Ex. Contract – made out of fear – voidable – later be annulled• • 3) Acts done because of intense fear or panic are involuntary• - panic – obscures the mind – in this mental state, the person is not expected to

think sensibly

Habit

• - permanent inclinations to act in a certain way

• - lasting readiness and facility born of frequently repeated acts or for acting in a certain manner

• - acquire the role of second nature – moves a person to perform certain acts with relative ease

Habit

• Voluntary Habits• - those caused by the repetition of voluntary

acts

• Involuntary Habits• - a habit becomes such if the will is resolved to

remove it and there is a struggle to overcome it

Principles of Habit

• 1) Actions done by force of habit are voluntary in cause, unless a reasonable effort is made to counteract the habitual inclination

• - Bad Habits – voluntary in cause because they are results of previously willed acts done repeatedly

• - as long as the habits are not corrected, evil acts done by force of habit are voluntary and accountable

• - can be not accountable – if a person decides to fight his habit. For as long as the effort towards this purpose continues, actions resulting from such habit may be regarded as acts of man because the cause of such habit is no longer expressly desired

Violence

• - any physical force exerted on a person by another free agent for the purpose of compelling the said person to act against his will

• Ex. Bodily torture, maltreatment, mutilation, etc

Principles of Violence• 1) External actions or commanded actions performed by a person

subjected to violence, to which reasonable resistance has been offered, are involuntary and are not accountable

• - active resistance should always be offered to an unjust aggressor

• - if resistance is impossible and there is a serious threat to one’s life, a person confronted by violence cab offer intrinsic resistance

• • 2) Elicited acts, or those acts done by the will are not subjected

to violence and are therefore voluntary• Will – a spiritual faculty – therefore, not within the reach of

violence

professional ethics with values education week 6

Education

ethics origin ethics

definitions of ethics

religion ethics

man of virtue ethics

study of ethics

aristotle ethics

wrong ethics

eudemian ethics