Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Leonardo C. de Castro
with Earl Stanley Fronda &
Napoleon M. Mabaquiao, Jr.
Apart from any fair use for the purpose of research or private study,
criticism or review, this publication may be reproduced, stored
or transmitted, in any form or by any means
ONLY WITH THE PERMISSION
of the authors and the UP Open University.
ISBN 971-767-155-9
The development and preparation of this module was made possible by a grant
from Metrobank Foundation, Inc.
LEONARDO D. DE CASTRO
He is married to Elizabeth Armas Gonzales, who also hails from Zambales, and
with whom he has two daughters, Leniza and Llenel.
Table of Contents
Module 2 Utilitarianism, 17
Objectives, 17
Inherent Versus Instrumental Value, 17
Consequentialism, 19
Pleasure Utilitarianism, 19
Act Versus Rule Utilitarianism, 20
Hedonistic Utilitarianism: Mill’s Proof, 21
Other Ultimate Ends, 22
Calculating Happiness: A Problematic Exercise, 25
Summary, 30
References, 188
Module 1
Introduction to the
Study of Ethics
Stepping back form one’s notion of good and bad, of right and wrong, or
of duty and obligation and examining these concepts are concerns of the
discipline known as ethics. This module defines the important facets of
ethics and introduces you to its relevant concerns. It will walk you through
the complexities of ethical decisions and issues involved in making these
decisions.
4 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
There are two senses of rightness or wrongness that we can deduce when
we talk about business ethics, legal ethics, nursing ethics, environmental
ethics, nuclear ethics, biomedical ethics, and sexual ethics. Let us take the
case of biomedical ethics. One way of looking at the correctness of a par-
ticular medical procedure is in terms of acceptable medical practices. In
this instance, we judge the correctness of a medical procedure based on
observations made in the course of medical research and experimenta-
tion. A medical procedure is deemed appropriate if research and experi-
mentation has proven this to be so. Put more emphatically, we know that
a medical procedure is right if it achieves its end of healing or curing an
illness. In this instance, we base our judgment on the rightness or wrong-
ness of a medical procedure based on its effectiveness. Any disagreements
to the validity of a particular procedure may be settled by further obser-
vation, research, and experimentation. The question of the rightness or
wrongness of a certain medical practice, therefore, is a question of fact
because we are dealing with empirical data derived from research and
experimentation.
There is another way we can approach the question of the rightness and
wrongness of a medical procedure. In this instance, we refer to the end or
the result that a treatment procedure seeks to bring about. We refer to the
desirability of that end or goal. In this example, the sense of rightness is
primarily anchored on values and, only incidentally, on facts.
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Unit I Module 1 5
As an example, let us take the case of a patient with a severe heart ail-
ment who was required by his doctors to be fitted with a heart-lung ma-
chine to survive the ravages of his disease. Our dilemma is to decide
whether it is right or wrong to prolong his life using the heart-lung ma-
chine. We may approach the question of rightness or wrongness by look-
ing into the aim of the procedure, which is to prolong life. Let us suppose
that the patient is suffering intensely because of his ailment. Under such
conditions, a patient may actually prefer to die if he feels that he has
already accomplished what he has hope to do in this world. If he is also
quite old and weak he may think suffering unnecessary because he has
lived a full life already. If this patient feels so, then we cannot approach
the question of the rightness or wrongness of the medical procedure in
terms of the effectiveness of the medical procedure in achieving the end of
prolonging life. That intended end is itself still in question. In this case, we
cannot determine the answer by merely finding out what the facts are.
Our examination thus requires us to deal with values.
Thus, we can distinguish ethics by looking into what it is not. This should
prove useful as we try other means to clarify what ethics is all about.
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6 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
SAQ 1-1
Our first SAQ will deal with fact or value. Get your pencil or pen
and answer the following exercise. Here is what you will do. On
the blank provided, write F if the concern is a matter of fact or V is
it is a matter of value.
ASAQ 1-1
How did you find your first SAQ? It is actually very easy. I’ll share
with you a helpful tip so you can answer this type of quiz effortlessly
next time. To identify matter-of-value statements you may have to
watch out for: (1) imperative indicators like the words should, ought,
must; and (2) value terms like right, wrong, bad, good, acceptable,
unacceptable.
Let’s see how well you did. If you got a score of 9-10, then you did
excellent. If you got a score of 6-8, you did well, but if you scored 5
and below, then you may have to go over our discussion once more.
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Unit I Module 1 7
The three questions we have enumerated all deal with ethics. In that sense,
each one is an ethical question. Each one relates to what is, and is not the
right thing to do. However, a different type of answer is required for each
question.
In the meantime, questions that are akin to the first type of question, deal
with normative ethics. Although we may not be aware of it, normative
ethics is what we usually engage with when we study morals. Here, the
objective is to judge whether a particular act or practice is right or wrong
and to justify it.
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8 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
The main point here is not so much to strictly adhere to the use of the
words “ethics” and “morals” but to be able to distinguish different activi-
ties that people usually refer to when using them. For instance, in talking
about abortion, one ought to distinguish the activity of making a moral
judgment and justifying it from the activity of clarifying what is meant
when somebody says that abortion is right or wrong. In the former, one
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Unit I Module 1 9
seeks a moral judgment; and in the latter, one seeks an analysis and clari-
fication.
So we see that three types of questions listed above correspond to three levels
of ethics discourse:
Whether we adopt the above distinctions or not, we have to realize that the
terminology used is not really the essential part. In fact, we may use other
terms of interchange terms used by others. For now, all we want to do is to
distinguish the different levels of study so that we may not confuse them
with one another. We also want to remember that the three levels of study
are related to one another. For example, in trying to reach a judgment con-
cerning the rightness or wrongness of capital punishment (an activity of
normative ethics) it would be very useful to gather information on the ideas
expressed by various authorities concerning the subject (gathered as part of
the study we call descriptive ethics). It would also be helpful to have a clear
understanding of the concept of punishment (as may be arrived at with the
help of metaethical study).
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10 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
SAQ 1-2
Are you ready for another test? Let us see if you have grasped the
concepts we have just discussed. State whether the following be-
longs to the realm of descriptive, normative, or metaethics. Write
the letter of the correct answer:
A. descriptive
B. normative
C. metaethics
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Unit I Module 1 11
ASAQ 1-2
See how you fared in this SAQ. But before that, here’s a brief over-
view. Statements of normative ethics have imperative indicators,
like ought, should, must; or value terms, like good, right, bad,
wrong—all appearing without quotations in the sentences. On the
other hand, metaethics is about analyzing words and/or concepts.
Defining “Ethics”
It would not be enough to define ethics to explain what it means. Philoso-
phers who have written on ethics disagree about the scope and limits of
this study. Also, there is danger in providing a simple and easy to under-
stand definition because in doing so, once cannot avoid excluding aspects
of the study that many would consider essential. Conversely, a broad
definition that attempts to account for everything that is important is also
likely to incorporate matters that belong more properly to another study.
However, the existence of these difficulties should not prevent us from
attempting to formulate a generally acceptable definition of ethics. For
our purposes, we shall avoid a straightforward definition. Instead, we
will provide a survey of specific topics and issues that are generally ac-
knowledged to be matters of ethics. We shall take an inductive rather
than a deductive approach to the study. What we shall try to do is to
identify specific and particular concerns that obviously belong to the study
of ethics. We shall also try to clarify their nature and character. It will be
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12 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
We do not have to give a definition of ethics that will necessarily cover all
of these terms or concepts. However, we cannot deny that they seem natu-
rally to come to our attention when we talk about ethics. Hence we will
consider it a task of ethics at least to clarify the meanings of these terms.
This is not to say that the list is totally unproblematic. One of the problems
we are faced with is the variability of meanings associated with these key
ethical terms.
While we can all agree that ethics deal with concepts of good and bad,
there are uses of the words good and bad that do not indicate an ethical
judgment. To illustrate, we can talk about a good book, a good tennis
racket, a good pair of shoes, and a good concert. In these examples, the
word good is not being used to convey an ethical judgment. The fact that
the items mentioned are good for some purposes does not mean that they
are good for ethical reasons.
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SAQ 1-3
Fill in the blanks and then read the next paragraph for the an-
swers.
ASAQ 1-3
The main concern of the study of ethics is (1) moral values. The
way of studying ethics aiming to describe moral values and prac-
tices of people is (2) descriptive; while the way of studying ethics
aiming to prescribe values is (3) normative. The study of ethics aim-
ing to analyze ethical concepts is (4) metaethics. Ethical theories
are said to be act-oriented if they seek to determine the (5) good-
ness or rightness of things. And character oriented if they seek ways
of (6) building character. A prespective approach to ethics aims to
(7) prescribe values. A normative study of ethics aims to search,
justify, and find ways to search for (8) standards of goodness or
rightness. A metaethical approach to ethics aims to (9) analyze terms
and concepts in ethical discourse. The study dealing with moral
values is (10) ethics.
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The difference between these two approaches is very significant. The point
of studying ethics for the utilitarians and Kantians is to know the right
thing to do in particular situations. For Aristotelians, the point is to un-
derstand, change, and improve persons.
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Unit I Module 1 15
Summary
By way of review, let me reiterate the following points. The study of ethics
is essentially concerned with moral values and only incidentally with facts.
The study of ethics could be descriptive or normative. Descriptive ethics
seeks only to describe moral values and practices of people. Normative
ethics, on the other hand seeks to prescribe values for people. The aim of
normative ethics is to search for standards of goodness or rightness, jus-
tify these standards, and find ways to reach them. There is, however,
another concern of ethics, which analyzes the terms and concepts used in
ethical discourse. This is metaethics.
Some ethical theories are act-oriented; meaning, they seek after ways of
determining the goodness or rightness of actions, while others are charac-
ter-oriented; meaning, they seek after ways of building character.
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16 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
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Module 2
Utilitarianism
J.S. Mill
Based on the student’s answers, we can say that most of the things that
he values are instrumental. They are things that are valuable for him be-
cause they serve as instruments for other things that he considers desir-
able. Going to the school library is valuable because it enables him to study
well. Studying well is valuable because he gets good grades as a result.
Getting good grades has value in that it helps him qualify to medical school.
We can say the same of the other things that he wants.
The student might say that he wants to be happy because he does not
want to be sad and you might echo the same sentiment if asked the same
question. He might further say he wants to be happy because he enjoys
being happy. At this point there is hardly anything different that the stu-
dent can say. He can only go around in circles because happiness is not
value as a means to another thing. It is something that people want for its
own sake. It has inherent value. Its value is
not merely instrumental.
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Consequentialism
John Stuart Mill’s exposition of the foundations of utilitarianism clearly
shows its consequentialist character. Here is what Mill (1987) says about
the nature of actions:
All action is for the sake of some end, and rules of action, it
seems natural to suppose, must take their whole character and
color from the end to which they are subvervient. When we
engage in a pursuit, a clear and precise conception of what we
are pursuing would seem to be the first thing we need, instead
of the last we are to look forward to.
The view that “all action is for the sake of some end” can be contrasted
with the view that actions may sometimes be judged good or bad on the
basis of their being of one or another type. For instance, giving up one’s
life for a loved one may be considered right mainly because of its being of
a particular type of action. To illustrate clearly, the rightness of an act of
sacrifice comes from its characteristics as a sacrifice. The rightness of an
act in this instance does not result from its desirable consequences but for
being an act of sacrifice for the sake of another. From the perspective of
utilitarianism, one has to go by the tendency of an act to increase or decrease
happiness in order to determine its moral value. It is the presence of one
tendency or the other that constitutes the proof or disproof of the act’s value.
Pleasure Utilitarianism
If the moral worth of human actions is to be determined by examining
their consequences, there should be a criterion for judging such results.
To judge the value of an action on the basis of its tendency to promote a
certain kind of consequence, we have to know the results we are looking
for. This brand of utilitarianism is called by G.E. Moore s ideal utilitarian-
ism or preference utilitarianism. Moore’s brand of utilitarianism is differ-
ent from Mill’s in that Mill and his like-minded utilitarians, only have one
criterion in the determining the value of an action, that is: the ultimate
end of human actions is pleasure or happiness and this serves as the basis
for determining the moral worth of that action. Mill’s brand of utilitarian-
ism is called pleasure or hedonistic utilitarianism.
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20 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
Moore agrees with Mill that the value of actions can be found in their
consequences; however, he rejects the idea that the anticipation of a happy
or pleasurable outcome is the only thing that could possibly drive men to
action. He points out that men value ends other than pleasure. His ex-
amples are personal affection and the appreciation of what is beautiful in
Art or Nature.
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Unit I Module 2 21
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22 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
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Unit I Module 2 23
Mill (1987) replies to Ayer’s objection by saying that things like money,
power, and fame only appear to be desired for their own sake. Pleasure is
already part of them:
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24 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
The contention, therefore, is that it is not true that there are ultimate ends
other than happiness. Those ends that seem to be different from happi-
ness were previously perceived as actually means to happiness and, by
some kind of process, have come to be part of it. Thus the desire for money,
power, and fame is not distinct from the desire for happiness.
SAQ 2-1
Answer the following, then read the next paragraph where you
will find the right answers.
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Unit I Module 2 25
ASAQ 2-1
Let’s see how well you did. Check your answers against this an-
swer key and see whether you have remembered correctly the things
we have discussed thus far.
Actions or moral rules are (1) wrong or bad when they bring about
the least amount of happiness; (2) wrong or bad when they pro-
mote the greatest amount of discomfort; and (3) wrong or bad when
they frustrate one’s preferences. Moral theories, such as utilitari-
anism, are (4) consequentialist because the value of acts (or moral
rules) are determined by their consequences. Only (5) pleasure or
happiness is valued inherently by utilitarians. When Juliet makes a
judgment on the basis of consequences of a particular act she is an
(6) act utilitarian. And when Romeo passes judgment on the basis
of the consequences of rules he is a (7) rule utilitarian. How good or
bad an act is depends on its (8) consequences. An act or moral rule
to be most good must result in (9) pleasant consequences. Utilitari-
anism is said to be a consequentialist moral theory because the
value of actions or moral rules lies on their (10) consequences.
We may recall those early twentieth century physicists who first split the
atom. Did it ever occur to them in their worst nightmare that, years later,
their feat would annihilate hundreds of thousands of people in Hiroshima
and Nagasaki? So if matters were to be that complicated, when and how
are we to determine the moral worth of what we do now? To what extent
should the calculations be carried out? What would be the limits? Utili-
tarianism advocates greatest happiness for the greatest number of people.
But the pursuit of maximizing pleasure is not consistent all the time with
the maximizing the number of its beneficiaries. Imagine a restaurant giv-
ing an extra piece of pie to a person who can consume four slices and four
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26 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
We have learned that for utilitarians the rightness of an act (or rule) de-
pends on the amount of happiness it can bring as opposed to unhappi-
ness. Happiness can come in the form of delightful bodily sensation, intel-
lectual satisfaction, emotional fulfillment, and the like.
To determine rightness, one may have to (1) note all probable consequences,
(2) delineate pleasant consequences from unpleasant ones, (3) determine
the degree of pleasantness and/or unpleasantness, (4) sum up the amount
of pleasure and/or displeasure, and (5) estimate the number of probable
beneficiaries. Since there is no single standard methodology for calculat-
ing happiness there can be variations in the calculations different people
can make.
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Unit I Module 2 27
Romeo and Juliet earn money enough to give them, their two children
and an elderly parent a rather modest lifestyle. They can hardly save money
after paying all their food, lodging, children’s education, and daily bills.
Thinking that they can not afford to support one more baby, they choose
to practice birth control. They narrow their choices to either condom and/
or diaphragm or the Church-approved rhythm method. A utilitarian way
of calculating the better choice may be as follows.
Grant that Romeo and Juliet have drawn a list of probable consequences
or PC , should they use, on one hand, condom and/or diaphragm, which
we will abbreviate as C/D or on the other, Rhythm Method or RM? Grant
further that the consequences they had listed could be categorized, for
the purpose of simplifying the list-into: (1) pregnancy prevention, (2) copu-
lation frequency, (3) cost, and (4) comfort. Please take note that the couple
could have more considerations other than our list because the illustrative
calculation we have drawn up is simplistic.
For every PC, there are assigned points for degree of happiness (DH) for
Condom/Diaphragm use and for the Rhythm Method. But could happi-
ness really be quantified? Let us try it. Anway, it is not so absurd to think
of differing degrees of happiness such as unhappy, quite happy, happy,
very happy, and superlatively happy. With this in mind, we can allow
the couple to arbitrarily assign points to these degrees of happiness: -3, 3,
5, 8, 10 respectively.
Romeo and Juliet want to prevent pregnancy yet still enjoy their sex life.
In terms of pregnancy prevention both C/D and RM could be effective,
making them both superlatively happy, so the degrees of happiness re-
sulting from the use of C/D (DH-CD) and from RM (DH-RM) would in
both cases be 10.
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28 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
In terms of cost, C/D probably will not be too much strain on their bud-
get, if at all. But since they still have to pay for these, that should deduct
some happiness from them but not too much. Thus the DH-CD on this
matter would be -2. On the other hand RM would cost them no money
but they would not save much either, so the DH-RM would be 2.
Since Rome and Juliet are Roman Catholics, the effects of birth control
methods on their conscience would have to be considered too. The Church
approves only the RM and disapproves of other methods such as C/D.
They would probably feel uncomfortable with C/D, but since they are
Jesuit-trained and detest the Opus Dei, they would probably be not su-
perlatively uncomfortable, so on this matter the DH-C/D would be -5.
Jesuits, by the way, are relatively more liberal with issues such as contra-
ception than the conservative Opus Dei. If Romeo and Juliet use the RM
they would not be uncomfortable but they would feel practicing it is not
that virtuous an act either. So perhaps the DH-RM for this would be 5.
PC DH-C/D DH-RM
Prevention of pregnancy 10 10
Copulation Frequency 10 7
Cost -2 2
Comfort -5 5
Total 13 24
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If they add up all their happiness points (see Table 2-1), they would get 13
points if they use C/D and 24 points if they use RM. It turns out they would
be happier with RM than with C/D. So RM is the right choice for them.
I hope you are not getting dizzy from this knotty calculations and I hope
it was not too difficult for you. This case study illustrates the complicated
nature of the calculations that may be required to maximize happiness in
some situations. For some people, this would be enough reason to reject
utilitarianism. However, there are those who think this is just one of the
things that we would have put up with if we want a practical basis for
determining moral worth.
ACTIVITY 2-1
Calculate the goodness of a decision from a utilitarian perspective
based on the story I outlined below. To make this activity more en-
gaging and significant, I suggest that you watch the movie Saving
Private Ryan so that you can get a better picture of the situation.
In the movie Saving Private Ryan, the Chief of Staff of the United
States Armed Forces, in an apparent act of compassion, orders that a
certain Private James Francis Ryan be pulled out from the battlefield.
Ryan’s mother had four sons who all served at the battlefronts in
World War I. All but one had fallen. The only surviving of the four-
James, the youngest-had just parachuted behind enemy lines some
three days before. The orders are handed down to the field com-
manders in Normandy, France who promptly sent a squad of eight
riflemen led by a captain on a mission to bring back Ryan safe and
sound. They did not know at that time where he was. But they knew
they would likely move across German-infested areas, and would
have to fight their way through. Casualties would probably be inevi-
table. All these to save one man. Calculate the goodness of the deci-
sion to send a platoon on an extremely dangerous mission to save a
single soldier who is just a lowly private at that.
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30 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
Summary
Utilitariansm can be summed up thus: Actions or moral rules are right
when they bring about utmost utility. The term ‘utility’ refers to pleasure
or happiness, as Mill saw it to be and ideal satisfaction as Moore charac-
terized it. These two things are valued for their own sake. Furthermore,
utilitarianism is said to be a consequentialist theory of morality because
the value of actions or moral rules, as the case maybe, lies not in them-
selves but in their consequences. Under the consequentialist theory are
act and rule utilitarianism. Act utilitarianism is a version of utilitarianism
that subscribes to the idea that the value to be measured, hence the conse-
quences to be considered, should be those of particular actions. On the
other hand, rule utilitarianism has it that the value to be measured, hence
the consequences to be considered, should be those of general moral rules
underlying the actions in question and not particular actions themselves.
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Module 3
Duty and the Categorical
Imperative
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Unit I Module 3 33
Its goodness should not be measured in terms of the state of affairs that it
promotes or enhances nor should it be judged by the good or bad out-
comes it will bring. Instead, the goodness of an action should be judged
according to the act of willing or the intent of the action.
More specifically then, when does not act out of duty? We begin to under-
stand what it means to act out of duty by identifying actions that cannot
be said to be done out of duty due to several subjective disqualifications,
namely, those that are recognized obviously as contrary to duty, and those
that conform to duty, but to which men have no direct inclination, being
impelled instead by some other inclination. In other words, it cannot be
said that something is done out of duty if it is done for the purpose of
achieving something other than itself or put more simply, if the person
does it in order to get something that he wants or he does it because he
was motivated by personal reasons.
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34 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
Kant explains the second disqualification above (1938) by making the fol-
lowing analogy:
Based on the previous example, we have seen what it takes for an act to
be done out of duty compared to an act that is only done in accord with
duty. Let us frame this more explicitly. For an act to be done out of duty it
must conform to duty; the agent must do it because it is a duty; and lastly,
the agent must do it only because it is a duty; he must not be driven by
fear or inclination.
Kant yet gives another example, now done in the context of charitable
acts:
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Unit I Module 3 35
The examples we have given clearly illustrate that what are said to be
cases of acting out of duty are cases of doing (1) what accords with duty,
(2) for the reason that it is a duty, and (3) only for the reason that it is a
duty. Kant also makes a distinction of two duties: perfect duty and imper-
fect duty. A perfect duty does not admit exception, such that when a
person has this kind of duty to do, he must always do it whenever the
opportunity arises. Imperfect duty on the other hand, admits some excep-
tion, such that when a person has this kind of duty to do an act, it may
sometimes be permissible for him to avoid doing it.
Doing something out of duty means that the person is not acting out of his
inclinations; rather he is acting in accordance to what the law says. What
then is this law? How can we understand law aside from the results that it
ought to accomplish? These questions bring us to the concept of universal
lawfulness which Kant explains to us in the following manner:
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36 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
To understand this more easily, we can break down this Categorical Im-
perative into two components. First, a moral agent must act on the basis
of a maxim. Maxim, for your enlightenment, is the principle adopted by
an individual as a subjective standard for action in accordance with his
faculty of desire. It is the principle by which the individual acts. Second,
the moral agent must be able to will that his maxim should become a
universal law. In other words, he must be able to will that it apply to all.
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Unit I Module 3 37
For Kant, the concept of promising is not logically compatible with the
maxim that says, everyone should have a right to make a false promise.
We cannot will that everyone should have a right to make promises that
they do not intend to keep because that would be contrary to the meaning
of a promise.
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Unit I Module 3 39
Likewise, Kant (1938) says that when a person makes a false promise or
what he calls lying promise to another person, he also uses that other
person merely as a means:
The person to whom the lying promise is made is being used merely as a
means because he does not know the end of the action. If he does not
know what the end is, he cannot possibly agree with it. He is merely an
instrument or a means to achieve it. In other words, he does not play an
active role in what is going on.
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40 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
SAQ 3-1
Fill in the blanks and then read the next paragraph for the an-
swers.
An act that conforms to duty out of sheer love of doing that act is
(1) _________. But performing an act because of a sense of duty
and the will to do it is (2) ________. The (3) ____________ is a
command of reason to perform an act for its own sake is; while (4)
_____________ is a command of reason to perform an act as a
means to some other good. A duty that admits to some exception
is (5) ___________; while a duty that may be set aside sometimes
is (6) _______. The governing principle behind an act committed
deliberately is called (7) __________. An act is deemed good if it is
(8) ___________ and done (9) ________. An act that sooner or
later undermines the very condition upon which it is committed is
(10) _____________.
ASAQ 3-1
See how many correct answers you got.
An act that conforms to duty out of sheer love of doing that act is
(1) in accord with duty. But performing an act because of a sense of
duty and the will to do it is (2) out of duty. The (3) Categorical Im-
perative is a command of reason to perform an act for its own sake;
while (4) hypothetical imperative is a command of reason to per-
form an act as a means to some other good. A duty that admits to
no exception is (5) prefer duty; while a duty that may be set aside
sometimes is (6) imperfect duty. The governing principle behind an
act committed deliberately is called (7) maxim. An act is deemed
good if it is (8) universalizable and done (9) out of duty. An act that
sooner or later undermines the very condition upon which it is
committed is (10) wrong or non-universalizable.
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But although it is true that man is bound by his duties to laws, the law
must be viewed as the person’s own commands because his will, in so far
as he is a rational being, is a universally legislative will. The response of
the rational being to law is not characterized by fear or inclination but
solely by respect for the law. The relationship, therefore is not coercive
since:
Thus the pertinent principle of the will is this “to undertake no act ac-
cording to any other maxim than one can also count as universal law,
and therefore to act so that the will can consider itself at the same time as
legislating universally by means of its maxims” (Kant 1938).
The absence of a coercive relationship between the law and the rational
person also guarantees the notion of personal dignity. For since it is one’s
own will that legislates universally by its maxims, it is also the real object
of respect. And, according to Kant, “the dignity of mankind consists in
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42 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
this very capacity of making universal laws, though with the condition
that it is itself subject to this same legislation.”
Freedom
The will, according to Kant, is a way of relating causally to rational be-
ings. If so, then freedom would be the property enabling a causal relation-
ship to take place in a manner that is not determined by external causes.
In contrast, physical necessity is the property by which the causal rela-
tionships of all non-rational beings are determined by external causes.
By looking at the will as a kind of causality, Kant (1938) also accepts that
it is subject to laws “in accordance with which, because of something that
we call cause, something else, namely the result, must be posited.” How-
ever, the law that governs the will as causality is not a physical law. The
will cannot be governed by physical necessity since the latter involves a
determination of effects by foreign causes. But since the will can only be
beholden to itself it must also be a law to itself. Hence freedom of the will
cannot be anything but autonomy. Here, autonomy must be understood
as the property of the will to be a law to itself which, in turn, is an affir-
mation of the principle to act only in accordance with a maxim which
may be willed to become a universal law. In so far as we are referring to
rational beings, therefore, there is no distinction between a free will and a
will subject to moral laws.
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Unit I Module 3 43
ACTIVITY 3-1
Calculate the goodness of an act from the Kantian perspective.
In the movie Gone With the Wind Scarlett O’Hara was a daughter
of a wealthy plantation owner whose estate was ruined as a result
of the civil war. For the first time in her life, she went through
starvation and depravation. When she was able to get back to their
plantation she saw nothing but devastation. While she knelt on
the soil that brought her family great fame, wealth and honor she
vowed: “As God is my witness, I shall never go hungry again!”
and she found a way not to go hungry again. There was a mer-
chant in town who was not so charming a gentleman but was not
lacking in material possessions. She befriended him, and one time
while they were seated on his wagon she said “Can I put my hands
in your pocket?” She eventually succeeded in marrying him. And
she shared his good. State the maxim of Scarlett’s act and deter-
mine whether or not such an act passes the Kantian standard of a
good act.
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44 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
Summary
An act is good if it is invested with good will; its maxim is universalizable;
and in performing this act, mankind is treated as ends rather than means.
An act is invested with good will, if its done out of duty. An act is done
out of duty when it conforms to duty, that is, the person is dutifully bound
to do the act in question; it is done because it is a duty, that is, the person
does the act because it is his duty to do so; and it is done only because it is
a duty, that is, the person does the act to willfully fulfill his duty only, and
not because he loves to do the act or is coerced to do it. If a person does an
act he is dutifully bound to do, but performs it not willfully but only by
chance; or performs it out of maniacal fetish and not out of a sense of
duty; or performs it because a gun is pointed at his nape, the act is done
only accord with duty.
Kant distinguishes between two duties: perfect duty and imperfect duty.
A perfect duty is one which admits no exception, such that when a per-
son has this kind of duty, he must always do it whenever the opportunity
arises. Imperfect duty is one which admits some exception, such that when
a person has this kind of duty, it may sometimes be permissible for him to
avoid doing it.
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Unit I Module 3 45
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46 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
UP Open University
Module 4
Aristotle and Excellence
of Character
One day an unusual illness struck her father. Among the many doctors in
the city, Dr. D was the only one who had the expertise required to treat
his case because the patient’s suspected condition fell under his field of
training and specialization. Ever the dutiful doctor, he readily agreed to
perform a medical examination notwithdstanding the hatred that he ini-
tially felt for the old man.
Dr. D did what he thought necessary to bring about the patient’s recov-
ery. He carefully examined the patient and summoned all his skills in the
process. The test results led him to believe that the patient was afflicted
with disease D1. He prescribed the treatment procedure T1 which in-
cluded the administration of medicine M1. According to medical knowl-
edge available at that time, M1 would effectively control D1.
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Module 4 49
It would have been extremely difficult for anybody else to have discov-
ered C. In fact, it was only discovered C. In fact, it was only discovered by
chance in this particular case after the patient died, and only because the
physicians were puzzled by the possible cause of his death. Had the con-
dition been detected earlier, a substitute drug without side effects would
have been prescribed.
A Utilitarian Evaluation
Looking at the case from a utilitarian standpoint, one would have to ex-
amine the consequences of the act in question. We would have to weigh
the amount of good that resulted from Dr. D’s act, carefully considering
the happiness or suffering of those affected by his act. Based on these
factors, we would probably judge his act wrong. How is this so? Well, let
us examine this in detail.
Ms. W’s father lost his life as a result of Dr. D’s actions. Dr. D’s mistaken
diagnosis and prescription cost the old man his life, depriving him of the
chance to enjoy a longer, possibly, happier life. With his death, Ms. W
would also have suffered pain and grief, but she is not only one who will
come out scathed in this situation. We can also add the sorrow and regret
that Dr. D himself would suffer because of his failure to treat his fiancée’s
father.
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50 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
On the other hand, some benefits would have also been realized through
the elimination of an obstacle to the marriage of Doctor D with Ms. W.
However, we must also consider how those benefits could have been real-
ized had the patient been saved through the efforts of Dr. D.
A Kantian Evaluation
If we look at the example above from a Kantian perspective, we would
have to identify and examine the maxim upon which Dr. D’s action was
based. The maxim might go like this: “Even if you hate a person, you
ought to try to save his life when the opportunity arises.” Taking this
further, we speculate that Dr. D could probably have willed his maxim to
be a universal law.
We can also say that Dr. D took care of his duties in the given situation.
Although he was not able to foresee the results accurately, Dr. D acted
with sufficient diligence and care both in making a diagnosis and in de-
termining what he considered an appropriate prescription. He issued the
prescription under the guidance of the latest medical findings and opin-
ions, as expected of someone in the medical profession. He based his diag-
nosis and prescriptions on sound research and experimentation. Dr. D
did what every other competent physician would have done under such
circumstances. If we do not consider the actual results of his action, we
should be able to say that Dr. D did what was right.
Did Dr. D act out of a sense of duty? Again, we can say he did. The three
requirements are present. He did his duty. He did it because it was his
duty. He did it only because it was his duty to do it and not for any incli-
nation he has—that is, even if he actually hated Ms. W’s father before he
was afflicted with the disease. Still, there can be other opinions.
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Module 4 51
There a number of things that do not seem to fit perfectly into the picture
especially with the Kantian analysis of Dr. D’s actions. It is rather unset-
tling to think that Dr. D is seen to have done the right thing even though
it resulted in an evil that should have been avoided—an innocent person’s
death. How can it be right for someone to do something that kills an inno-
cent person? The utilitarian analysis given above also gives us a few prob-
lems. Going solely by the consequences, we said that Dr. D did something
wrong. But, how can it be wrong for a doctor to prescribe what any other
competent physician would have prescribed? As we were told, other phy-
sicians would have been expected to do exactly the same thing given the
same information and medical know-how that was available at the time.
There are important considerations that
the Kantian and utilitarian perspectives
take into account; however, there appear Think about this...
to be other considerations that they do not
give much attention to, making us feel that
1. Is it all right to make a
they could be inadequate or misleading.
judgment concerning the
rightness or wrongness of
Part of the inadequacy may be seen in the
an action without know-
primary focus on actions. By focusing on
ing who did it?
actions, the Kantian and utilitarian analy-
2. What would you want to
ses draw attention away from the person
know about a person be-
doing the act or the moral agent. Focus-
fore you can make a moral
ing our analysis on the consequences alone
judgment about some-
or in terms of universal maxims alone
thing that he did?
gives the impression that the act is some-
thing totally distinct from the person who
performs it.
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52 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
It is what an individual does that makes him one type of person rather
than another. What he does reflects on his character and is a manifesta-
tion of his character. It is important that we speak not only of right and
wrong acts but also of good persons and of bad persons. We talk about
persons who are generous, benevolent, charitable, selfish, or prudent. In
other words, we also speak of character.
This brings us to the realm of virtues and vices. In this realm, we use a
language of evaluation different from that use in the moral assessment of
actions. To reiterate, it is not enough that we talk about acts being right or
wrong. While applied ethics has to be concerned with human actions, it
must also have something to say about persons.
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Module 4 53
account for these virtues and vices. With this, it is not only what we do
that is important. It is also relevant that in doing something, we are not
being selfish, dishonest, untruthful or cowardly. There is value in consid-
ering the sympathetic thing to do and avoiding that which is cruel. In
talking about things as cruelty and sympathy, or about other virtues and
vices we are dealing with the character of the person who acts.
Additionally, the goodness of actions lies in the ends that they are sup-
posed to serve. We must ask of the ends what further ends they are sup-
posed to serve. Thus, we must not only know that a battle strategy effec-
tively brings about the victory as an end. We must also ask: What end
should victory serve? Does victory effectively bring about that end?
Since we have to keep asking of the ends whether they are effective in
bringing about further ends, there is danger of an infinite regress or an
endless series of questions. In other words, our asking might not stop. We
might keep asking for further ends. The solution to this dilemma lies in
the concept of an absolute good, that is, something that is sought for its
own sake. Aristotle (1958a) says:
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54 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
If there is an absolute good that we must all aim for, we certainly have to
know what it is:
May we not then argue from this that knowledge of the good
is a great advantage to us in the conduct of our lives? Are we
not more likely to hit the mark if we have a target? If this be
true, we must do our best to get at least a rough idea of what
the good really is, and which of the sciences, pure or applied,
is concerned with the business of achieving it.
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Module 4 55
What about honor, can we identify honor with happiness? Honor is sought
in public life by refined men as well as by men of active disposition. For
Aristotle, happiness cannot truly consist of honor because the latter is
something that is conferred. One person’s having honor depends on the
recognition given by another. Since honor is something bestowed: “We
cannot but feel that the good is something personal and almost insepa-
rable from its possessor” (Aristotle 1958a).
Assuming that there is some one thing which alone is an end be-
yond which there are no further ends, we may call that the good
of which we are in search. If there more than one such final end,
the good will be that end which has the highest degree of finality.
An object pursue for its own sake possesses a higher degree of
finality than one pursued with an eye to something else. A corol-
lary to that is that a thing which is never chosen as a means to
some remoter object has a higher degree of finality than things
which are chosen both as ends in themselves and as means to such
ends. We may conclude, then, that something which is always
chosen for its own sake and never for the sake of something else is
without qualification a final end (1958a).
Happiness is a final end it is always chosen for its own sake and never for
the sake of something else. This is why it is different from other good
qualities such as pleasure, honor, wealth and intelligence, which are sought
for the sake of happiness. Another reason why happiness may be seen as
such a final end is that it is self-sufficient:
Happiness, then, the end to which all our conscious acts are
directed, is found to be something final and self-sufficient
(1958a).
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56 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
Aristotle (1958a) clarifies that the “rational part may be either active or
passive: passive in so far as it follows the dictates of reason, active in so
far as it possesses and exercises the powers of reasoning.”
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Module 4 57
In other words, living a life of virtue is not merely an instrument for bring-
ing about a desired end. It constitutes a part of that end. To act virtuously
is to live a happy life.
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58 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
There are two intellectual virtues that correspond to the above. The intel-
lectual virtue called sophia or speculative wisdom corresponds to the in-
tellectual exercise of reason. Phronesis or practical wisdom corresponds to
the rational control of the emotions. We shall learn more about these be-
low.
One who studies ethics and politics strives not only to understand a hu-
man being but also to change and improve him. According to Aristotle
(1958b), “We are not concerned to know what goodness essentially is, but
how we are to become good men.” The significance of the notion of hap-
piness as an activity is explained further as follows:
The virtuous person cannot just keep his virtue in his heart. He must exer-
cise it and show it in his actions in order to be truly virtuous.
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Module 4 59
SAQ 4-1
Here’s an SAQ to check how much of the discussions you have
remembered. This is fairly easy, just fill in the blanks with what
you think is the appropriate word that would make the following
sentence coherent.
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60 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
ASAQ 4-1
Let us see how you did in the SAQ. The blanks had been filled in
for you. Please check your answer against this.
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Module 4 61
Allan (1952) reveals that, “this is almost a matter of definition for Aristotle
because, for him, the person who acts virtuously likes to do so. If he be-
haves justly, it is because he wants to see justice done. He does not have to
force himself to do it. On the contrary, it is a source of enjoyment: It is
maintained that Pleasure is an external sign and accompaniment of suc-
cessful activity, whether of the mind or the senses. It shows that the fac-
ulty is healthy and that it is being exercised under good conditions. It
should follow from this…that the virtuous activities, intellectual and moral,
are intrinsically pleasant to anyone who has succeeded in making them
habitual.” Thus, pleasure is not the end that virtuous life aims for. Plea-
sure comes an accompaniment to virtuous activity.
The virtuous person is not the one who deserves the utmost moral respect
but the person we should wish our child to be. Hence, parents have the
responsibility to train their children to behave properly without effort.
The training must be manifested in virtuous activity that comes spontane-
ously from a virtuous person.
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62 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
SAQ 4-2
Let’s try our hand at another SAQ. See how you will do this time.
Fill in this blanks with the appropriate answer.
1. Pleasure is not the end that virtuous life aims for; it comes as
an ________ to virtuous activity.
4. The virtuous person is not the one who deserves the utmost
moral respect but the ________________.
ASAQ 4-2
I hope you found this SAQ easy enough. Now check if you got all
the answers correctly.
1. Pleasure is not the end that virtuous life aims for; it comes as
an accompaniment to virtuous activity.
4. The virtuous person is not the one who deserves the utmost
moral respect but the person we should wish our child to be.
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Module 4 63
With proper guidance, a child forms excellent character by doing the right
thing repeatedly until he develops correct dispositions and manifests vir-
tuous behavior spontaneously. Similarly, people acquire bad habits by
repeatedly doing the wrong things.
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64 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
There are actions that are considered just and temperate not because they
are performed by just and temperate men but merely because they coin-
cide with what just and temperate men would do. In order to be truly just
and temperate, one must not merely perform just and temperate acts but
perform just and temperate acts in the way of just and temperate persons.
Virtues as Dispositions
There are three conditions that Aristotle (1958b) says must characterize a
virtuous person’s frame of mind:
Feelings like fear and anger not willed. On the other hand, virtues can be
willed insofar as people decide to enter into the process of developing a
habit. Having learned that virtues are dispositions or states of character,
we will look into how these are to be characterized to complete our defi-
nition of virtue.
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Module 4 65
The man who knows his business avoids both too much and
too little. It is the mean he seeks and adopts—not the mean of
the thing but the relative mean… Every form, then, of applied
knowledge, when it performs its function well, looks to the
mean and works to the standard set by that. It is because people
feel this that they apply the cliche, “You couldn’t add anything
to it or take anything from it” to an artistic masterpiece, the
implication being that too much and too little alike destroy
perfection, while the mean preserves it.
The virtuous man has a disposition to choose the mean to every possible
action or feeling. For instance, according to Aristotle, malice, shameless-
ness, and envy are evil in any amount. This is also true of actions such as
adultery, theft, or murder:
We should also see that the mean is not an arithmetical point. We cannot
provide fixed and absolute rules for determining what to do in specific
circumstances. The mean is to be understood in relation to agents and
particular circumstances in which they have to make decisions. We can-
not rely on specific rules. In this regard, MacIntyre (1981) observes that
the routine application of rules has no central role in Aristotle’s analysis:
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66 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
Since there are no clear and explicit rules for determining where the mean
lies, one must turn to practical wisdom. One cannot be a virtuous man
merely by being law or rule abiding.
Intellectual Virtues
A person arrives at the mean through the use of phronesis or practical
wisdom. Practical wisdom is what one uses to make decisions on practi-
cal questions of conduct. There are two important components of practi-
cal wisdom: an understanding of the end of human action, which is hap-
piness and an evaluation of appropriate means to bring about the end.
One who has practical wisdom should have the ability to choose the ap-
propriate means of arriving at the desired end. But, an evil person can
also have the same capacity. A crooked person is clever enough to deter-
mine the best way to seal a car or to use government money for his per-
sonal purposes. However, that will not amount to wisdom. Thus, practi-
cal wisdom requires something more than the ability to choose appropri-
ate means of arriving at a desired end. He must also have sufficient un-
derstanding of that end.
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Module 4 67
SAQ 4-3
State whether the following are the concerns of sophia or phronesis.
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68 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
ASAQ 4-3
So how was the exercise? Was it easy enough for you or did you
find it difficult? Check your answers against the answers provided.
But before you do that allow me to remind you that sophia deals
with ethereal matters such as the search for the basis of being,
while phronesis deals with mundane matters such as the concern
of what and how one should be.
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Module 4 69
Virtues of Character
Let us now consider some examples of
virtues discussed by Aristotle. Aristotle
explains the virtue of courage or brav-
Think about this...
ery by referring to the feelings inspired
by danger: fear and confidence. Cour- 1. Give an example of a situa-
age is a mean with respect to each of these tion when a person exceeds
two feelings separately. Fear is something in giving money.
that can be experienced in excess, defi- 2. Give an example of a situa-
ciency, or moderation. The person who tion when a person falls
has an excess of fear lacks courage. If he short in getting money that
lacks fear, then he is foolhardy but not is his due.
courageous. To be courageous, he has to
have fear in moderation.
The same thing may be said about the relationship between courage and
confidence. Thus courage, as a mean, lies between the excess and the
deficiency of both fear and confidence.
Temperance is the virtue that lies at the mean between excess and defi-
ciency of pleasures and pains. The excess is referred to as intemperance. It
is often associated with extreme indulgence in the pleasures of food, drink,
and sex. An intemperate person is disposed to have too much of these
things. Temperance lies as a mean between over-indulgence and insensi-
tivity towards the pleasures mentioned.
Aristotle (1958b) explains the virtue of liberality in terms of the giving and
acquisition of money. Prodigality refers to the excess while meanness re-
fers to the deficiency: “The prodigal man and the mean man exceed and
fall short in opposite ways. The prodigal exceeds in giving and falls short
in getting money, whereas the mean man exceeds in getting and falls
short in giving it away.”
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70 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
SAQ 4-4
State the mean of the following contrasting characteristics by writ-
ing the following words next to the appropriate items below: tem-
perate, gracious, efficient, careful, modest, calculating, tactful, just,
demure, reasonable.
1. intolerant/permissive
2. timid/reckless
3. ascetic/indulgent
4. sloth/frenzied
5. indecisive/impulsive
6. pacifist/combative
7. prude/nymph
8. condescending/acerbic
9. bigoted/having not convictions
10. self-flagellating/self-exulting
ASAQ 4-4
1. intolerant/permissive gracious
2. timid/reckless careful
3. ascetic/indulgent temperate
4. sloth/frenzied efficient
5. indecisive/impulsive calculating
6. pacifist/combative just
7. prude/nymph demure
8. condescending/acerbic tactful
9. bigoted/having not convictions reasonable
10. self-flagellating/self-exulting modest
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Module 4 71
Justice
Aristotle discusses the virtue of justice quite extensively. According to him,
there are two ways in which justice can be understood: in terms of what
is lawful or in terms of what is fair and equal. Corresponding to these two
ways are two dispositions that injustice can consist of. These are the disposi-
tion to do what is unlawful, or the disposition to propagate unfairness.
In the first sense, justice is a virtue that pertains to man’s social relation-
ships with his neighbors. Allan’s (1952) example provides a partial expla-
nation of this: “An act of cowardice, which from the agent’s own point of
view is a fault, may be viewed as an act of injustice in so far as he aban-
dons others to danger.” In the second sense, justice is distributive or reme-
dial. Distributive justice consists in the state’s proportionate disposition of
goods among its citizens. Wealth, honor and opportunities must be prop-
erly distributed. Hence, it is a matter of justice that tax burdens should be
proportionately shared.
Remedial justice seeks to restore the way in which goods have been dis-
tributed if that has been distorted intentionally or unintentionally through
transactions such as those mentioned above. For example, it comes into
the picture when a debtor has to be made to pay his debts and a burglar
has to compensate his victims.
Justice is a mean like the other virtues, but it is a mean in a different sense.
It is a mean between acting unjustly and being treated unjustly. Thus, it is
a mean between extremes in disposition that pertain to different persons:
one who acts unjustly and another who allows himself to be treated un-
justly. Since acting unjustly and being treated unjustly are not disposi-
tions of the same person, justice appears to be a mean between states of
affairs. For example, it can be a mean which lies between a situation
wherein one individual has too much and a situation wherein another
individual has too much. This is the reason why Urmson (1988) has ar-
gued that justice should not be classified among the virtues:
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72 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
SAQ 4-5
Fill in the blanks with the correct answers.
The reason why we pursue all the good things in life is to achieve
(1) ________. Happiness is the highest good because it is (2)
__________________ and (3) _____________. The three elements
of happiness according to Aristotle’s analysis is (4) _____________,
(5) ____________ and (6) _____________. The door to happiness
is (7) ______________. Virtue as a personal characteristic could
be (8) _____________ or (9) _____________. A person of virtue
acts (10) _________, (11) ___________ and (12) __________. A
person can become virtuous if he (13) _____________. Wisdom
that deals with practical matters such as with the question of how
to conduct one’s self in a situation is (14) _____________. The wis-
dom that deals with permanent truths is (15) ___________.
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Module 4 73
ASAQ 4-5
See if your answers mach the answers here. Good luck!
The reasons why we pursue all the good things in life is to achieve
(1) happiness. Happiness is the highest good because it is (2) chosen
for its own sake and (3) self-sufficient. The three elements of happi-
ness according to Aristotle’s analysis is (4) virtue, (5) phronesis, and
(6) sophia. The door to happiness is (7) virtue. Virtue as a personal
characteristic could be (8) intellectual or (9) moral. A person of vir-
tue acts (10) correctly, (11) freely, and (12) willingly. A person can
become virtuous if he (13) keeps on doing virtuous acts. Wisdom
that deals with practical matters such as with the question of how
to conduct one’s self in a situation is (14) phronesis. The wisdom
that deals with permanent truths is (15) sophia.
Summary
Happiness is an expression of the soul and is the highest good attainable
in actions. It is so because happiness is in fact chosen for its own sake and
is self-sufficient; that is, on its own, it makes life desirable and seemingly
complete. Happiness is the reason why people pursue wealth, honor, and
all the other good things in life. Aristotle’s analysis of happiness reveals
three elements: virtue, practical wisdom or phronesis, and speculative wis-
dom or sophia. The door to happiness is virtue. It is a state of character,
which enables its possessor to attain happiness. Virtue makes one a good
person and gives the person the capacity to perform well. Virtue could be
an intellectual characteristic, or it could be a moral one. A person of vir-
tue acts correctly, freely, and willingly. A virtuous act is one that is appro-
priate to the situation in which it is carried out, and is done with the
correct disposition and emotion; that is, with the right understanding,
willingness, and gladness. To be a virtuous person one must keep on do-
ing virtuous acts until it becomes part of one’s disposition or until it be-
comes second nature to the person.
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74 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
UP Open University
Module 5
Freedom, Determinism,
and Moral Responsibility
But it is different with human beings because of their supposed free agency.
This module deals with the notion of freedom in relation to human ac-
tions and choices. It also discusses a human being’s moral responsibility
for his actions in a world governed by laws on hereditary and environ-
mental factors.
Freedom to Act
Let us start our discussion using the following example. A jail warden
was charged with negligence after he failed to prevent the escape of some
prisoners. He came up with n alibi, which went like this. He was escort-
ing the prisoners back from the courtroom when one of them threatened
to shoot if they were not released. This inmate happened to have a gun
that was secretly given to him by an accomplice while the hearing was
going on. The warden was taking all the precautions in accordance with
their operations manual but he was not ready for the gun. The prisoner
threatened to kill him if he did not unlock their handcuffs. Since there
was no one else around in that secluded part of the road the lone warden
could not call for help. He saved his life by releasing the culprits. He tried
his best to convince the prisoners not to proceed with their escape but he
did not succeed. He waited for an opportunity to grab the gun but that
never came.
Assuming that the warden really took all the necessary precautions, it would
not be fair to hold him morally responsible for the escape. We cannot pin the
blame on him for what happened because we know that under the circum-
stances it was not within his power to ignore the threats posed by such hard-
ened criminals. He could not have done what a jail warden ordinarily would
have been expected to do because of the unexpected turn of events. He
did not have the freedom to act in the manner that he would have ordi-
narily done.
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In the given situation, the warden did not have the freedom to act in the
manner expected of an officer of the law. He did not have the means or
the opportunity to do what he would have wanted to do.
Freedom to Choose
Twelve soldiers were told that they were on a mission to track rebels who
had burned all the houses and killed all the men in a remote village. They
were brought to an area were the rebels were supposed to have some
children as hostages. When they got to the site, they were ordered to
fire on their “enemies” who all died as a result.
The following day, the soldiers learned through the newspapers that the
people they thought were “enemies” were actually innocent farmers sus-
pected of being sympathetic to the underground movement. They said
that they would have disobeyed orders had they known who the “en-
emies” really were.
The case you have just read illustrates an additional component of free-
dom. The soldiers were not given correct information about what they
were doing. Because of the lack of information, they could not freely choose
what to do. There was no opportunity for them to make up their minds in
the given situation because they were misled by the wrong information
they were fed. In many cases, a human being’s freedom to choose is ham-
pered by inadequate or misleading information.
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Questions about the ability or inability to choose or act freely require philo-
sophical as well as empirical investigation. They can be quite controver-
sial. Take the following example of a beleaguered Bengali father’s tragic
experience.
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By the time he and his wife realized how high the tide had risen, they had
no way to escape except by climbing onto their roof. But as the water
surged, the roof gave way under their weight, dumping Mr. Khatum, his
wife, three sons into the current.
His wife, clutching their 18-month-old son, was quickly swept away. The
two other boys, 3 and 5, clung to Mr. Khatums neck.
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Determinism
Freedom of choice is problematic in more ways than we have already
discussed. For instance, there is the view that supposedly voluntary ac-
tions might only appear to be voluntary. They could actually be com-
pletely determined by factors that are not within his control. The way
one’s character has evolved, one’s personal circumstances, various social
and environmental influences, any or all of these could determine what a
person does in a given situation.
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82 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
It seems to follow from this that human beings do not act freely. If our
actions are always governed by these necessary laws, how can we be
truly free?
Occasionally, we feel some of the impediments that get it our way. But,
we often feel that those impediments are possible to overcome. Even when
they are difficult we feel that we have the opportunity to get over them.
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By his own experience, a person would be able to say whether there are
impediments to a chosen course of action. He could feel that he does not
enjoy freedom when there are steel bars that keep him inside his prison
cell, when his mother opposes his marriage to his chosen woman, or when
he does not have enough money to buy the car he wants to buy badly.
The steel bars, the mother’s opposition, and the lack of money are impedi-
ments to the enjoyment of freedom to walk away, to marry a chosen
woman, or to buy a favored car.
On the other hand, a person might feel free when he discovers that the
driver of a car he wants to steal has left its door open with the engine
running, or that the American Embassy has given him a visa to enable
him to take that long-cherished trip to the United States. In these situa-
tions, a person gets to enjoy the freedom to do chosen things because of
the removal of impediments that were present before.
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from willing; he would save himself if they would lose his fetters;
but he would not save himself as a free agent; fear or the idea of
punishment would be sufficient motives for his action.
In effect, Holbach is saying that even when a person does not feel any
constraints, it does not follow that there are none affecting him. Some
constraints may not be felt at all. The constraints that are not felt include
one’s own motives.
Holbach (1970) uses the following analogy to show how one’s own mo-
tives render an agent unfree:
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Module 5 85
As a gift for her eighteenth birthday, a college student has been given
money as a present. The amount is enough for her to buy either a com-
puter or a karaoke set but not both. She carefully weights the benefits of
having either one or the other item.
If the college student buys a computer then she will have the opportunity
to work on her papers carefully and use the internet for research so that
she can get very good grades in her classes. If she buys a karaoke set then
she can practice her singing and improve her chances of becoming a very
good singer.
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As she examines her options, she experiences the feeling of freedom. She
sees the future ahead of her. She feels that it is in her power to decide
what the future will be like given he available options.
For the libertarian, human beings make decisions on the basis of their
own desires and interests and, in the absence of particular insurmount-
able impediments, they can freely act on the basis of their choices. For this
reason, they can be held morally responsible for their actions. It makes
sense to blame them when they do wrong, or to praise them when they
do right. Moreover, they can justly be punished for their wrongdoing.
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This quotation leads us to think that we must try to clarify what causa-
tion means. What does it mean for an act or a choice to be caused?
To support this distinction, we can look at the difference between the two
causes described below:
1. The rising of my arm took place because, while it was resting on top of
the table, a big dog suddenly stood up under it and pushed it up. In
the process, my arm rose with the table.
2. The rising of my arm took place because I wanted to call the waiter’s
attention.
In the first instance, the cause consists entirely of events. What we are
given is nothing more than an enumeration of events leading to the effect.
I could have given the same explanation for the rising of a book or some
other similar thing that could have been on top of the table when the
incident took place. The cause of the rising of my arm was simply a series
of events that took place. The events related to the rising of my arm in
such a way that the rising of my arm had also to take place.
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Agent causation involves agents who are not moved by others, and hence
are not compelled to do what they do. According to those who raise the
distinction, there is no necessary connection between what an agent does
and its cause(s). A moral agent acts freely and is responsible for what he
does.
SAQ 5-1
Determine whether the following is a matter of event causation or
agent causation. If the matter is an even causation write EC on the
space provided after the item, or write AC if the item is a matter of
agent causation.
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ASAQ 5-1
Let’s see how many correct answers you got! But before that, a
short reminder for you. If the mentioned cause of an event does
not involve human intention then it is a matter of event causation.
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Compatiblism
It is difficult to show what an individual does in a particular situation is
totally devoid of any compelling influences that render him unfree. The
reverse is equally difficult to establish—that whatever he does is the prod-
uct of determinative influences that are “external” to him or are not within
his control. We really do not have a watertight proof even if we may be
swayed one way or the other by the arguments.
At the same time, the deterministic premises that underlie moral thought
are also pervasive. People may reject determinism but they cannot deny
the genetic and environmental influences that determine the behavior and
choices of human beings.
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One thing that can help is to clarify the notion of a free self that is built
into the strong position of libertarians and determinists alike.
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However, downplaying the role of the genes does not necessarily entail
the failure of determinism. It only means that factors other than heredity
also account for the molding of a person’s character. There are many
different factors that combine to shape a person’s self. What we should
strive to understand more fully is the nature of the relationship between
compelling factors and the self.
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These observations show that is not totally correct to say that genetics
and environment are external constraints upon the self. Even if they can
be seen as constraints, they are not external to the individual. Being in-
separable from the self, these constraints are actually constitutive of it.
They define the identity of an individual and make it one self rather than
another. Take the following example of this 15-year-old girl.
A 15-year old girl and her 2 sisters were singly raised by their mother,
who has been a prostitute even before they were born. They live in a
community where prostitution proliferates. The 15-year-old and her sis-
ters have been out of school for a long time and all their lives, they were
exposed to the ways of prostitutes. Nobody ever explained to them that
prostitution was wrong.
Because their mother has not been earning much, they often do not have
enough money to buy important needs. It is only when a generous cus-
tomer pays her that the family is able to afford a few luxuries. Thus, they
awaited such events eagerly.
Now that the mother is getting old, the 15-year-old has also started to
work as a prostitute. She gradually drifted into that kind of work as she
felt the pressure of having to provide for her family.
In this story we see the kind of environment that pressures the girl to live
a life of prostitution. We can also see how her environment shaped her
life from the beginning. From her early childhood, the experience was
part of her life already. It was not just an external factor that presented
itself to her as an attractive option. It was her past that has also become
part of her identity. It constitutes part of her. She is who she is now be-
cause her environment molded her to become who she is.
To be sure, her environment could have been totally different. The girl
could have had the opportunity to study had she and her family received
the needed financial support. She could have lived with her aunt in a
different place. She could have been brought up in a home for abandoned
children run by nuns. If so, she would have had a radically different envi-
ronment. But then, she would also have been a different individual.
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Hence, it is not realistic to say that freedom lies in her ability to act totally
independent of any environment. This is absurd. What this means is that
if anyone can be considered free, she would have to be non-existent be-
cause she would have to be without any genetic or environmental deter-
minants. If you strip a person of all hereditary and environmental factors
that determine his or her behavior or personality, you would not have
any individual left. He would not exist.
For example, a woman whose marriage is annulled after a long wait could
say that she is finally free. The context provides the details for her state-
ment. It could mean that she is free to walk away from her husband or
that she is free to marry another man. The obstacles to her being able to
do that had been removed by the annulment. Even if she is not very spe-
cific in making her announcement, we can get details from the context of
her utterance. She is not just free. There are specific things that she has
been given the freedom to do with the annulment of her marriage.
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But what are the implications for moral responsibility? Does the admis-
sion that a person is a product of heredity and the environment mean
that there can be no moral responsibility? The answer is “no” but the
notion of responsibility also has to be clarified. Just as freedom is not an
all-or-nothing thing, moral responsibility also is not an all-or-nothing thing.
What do we mean by saying that moral responsibility is not an all-or-
nothing situation?
When a particular wrongdoing takes place, there is not just one indi-
vidual person who is responsible. There are usually a number of factors
that have to coincide to lead to the wrongdoing. In a given situation, the
participation of a criminal who is caught with a knife in his hand while
standing over a dead victim is likely to be the most visible (and thus, obvi-
ous) factor. But there are other factors that other people could have done
something about. Thus, there are usually a number of people who can be
said to be responsible in different ways.
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Big J was only two years old when his parents abandoned him. He was
left to fend for himself together with other streetchildren. He was exposed
to the elements and had neither shelter nor a regular source of food. Even-
tually, he became a pickpocket and a drug dependent. After he was caught
stealing, he was put in prison. In prison, Big J was exposed to violence
and sexual perversions. Since then, he has been in and out of prison a few
more times.
In a society such as ours, we can identify many factors that could have
led to Big J’s crimes. The reality of drug pushers trying to take advantage
of street children cannot be discounted. The same goes for government
officials who are sleeping on their jobs. Our prison system that hardens
rather than softens criminals is also a present reality. All these are con-
tributory factors that different people could do something about. Gener-
ally, people would avoid having to be blamed for these factors. This is
why it would be more useful to focus on responsibility. But, responsibility
should not be tied up with blame and guilt.
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ACTIVITY 5-1
Read the following story and try to answer the questions at the
end of the story.
Bruto sits alone in his death row cell. He had been convicted of
sodomizing and strangling a ten-year-old boy. But his lawyer is
appealing the case. He argues that Bruto is a victim of bad genes
and his brutal environment.
Bruto was born out of wedlock. His mother was an alcoholic who
drank excessively while she was pregnant with him. While a tod-
dler, his mother lived with a man who beat him day in, day out,
sometimes banging his head against the wall until he lost his con-
sciousness. While he was about five or six, his mother drove him
out of their shack, and into the streets. He had to fend for himself
for a couple of years until a religious order took him into their
orphanage.
Should Bruto be held responsible for his dastardly act? Why? Why
not?
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SAQ 5-2
Supply the answers to the following:
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100 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
SAQ 5-3
1. The two conditions under which blame or praise for an act
could be relevant are:
a.
b.
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Summary
For libertarians, ethics and morality are closely tied with people’s capabil-
ity to freely choose their actions. Without this choice, it would not make
sense to judge people’s character and actions as morally good or bad.
People decide based on their desires and interests and without hurdles
coming in the way of these choices, people can freely act on the basis of
their choice. This freedom of choice allows us to hold ourselves morally
responsible for our actions.
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UP Open University
Module 6
Punishment
Elements of Punishment
Bayugan Mayor Leonardo Cortez was killed in the incident. His security
aide, Socrates Platero, was seriously wounded.
Court records showed that Zapatos fired upon Cortez and Platero, to-
gether with PO1 Michael Gatilo, with an M-16 rifle when the three, armed
with Armalite rifles, sought the accused at the DENR Strike Force check-
point at about 8 p.m. on Jan. 14, 1990.
Source: www.manilatimes.net
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l Offense
l Offender Context
l Authority
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106 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
SAQ 6-1
Fill in the blanks with the correct answer.
ASAQ 6-1
Punishment may be defined as the infliction of (1) suffering or (2)
loss by somebody with (3) authority on an offender for an offense
committed. The infliction of suffering or loss, in order to constitute
punishment, must take place in appropriate context, which con-
tains the following elements: (4) offense, (5) offender, and (6) authority.
Theories of punishment
A theory of punishment provides justification for imposing punishment.
It also helps explain the type of suffering or loss that ought to be inflicted
for the different offenses committed by offenders. It serves as basis for
determining when and how punishment may be imposed.
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Source: www.manilatimes.net
Punishment as retribution
An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
Exodus 21:24
Through this passage, Kant promotes the idea that punishment must be
imposed on an offender for the sole reason that punishment is deserved.
Given any offense, there is always a corresponding type and degree of
penalty that ought to be imposed. According to the retributive theory, the
only thing that matters in deciding what punishment to impose is justice.
All we have to think about is the suffering or loss that the offender in-
flicted and the corresponding suffering or loss that the offender must there-
fore bear. If an offender took away somebody else’s eye, that offender
must pay with his or her own eye. If an offender took away a life, that
offender must pay with his or her own life.
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The effects resulting from the imposition of punishment are not impor-
tant. It is not imposed in order to bring peace to society. The objective is
not to reform the offender or to prevent others from committing the same
offense, Kant (1790) says,
SAQ 6-2
Fill in the blanks with the correct words.
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Module 6 109
ASAQ 6-2
A theory of punishment provides a (1) justification for imposing
punishment. Immanuel Kant promotes the idea that punishment
must be imposed on an offender for the sole reason that it is (2)
deserved. According to the retributive theory, all that matters in
considering punishment is (3) justice.
SAQ 6-3
Tell whether the statement is true or false and then explain your
answer.
ASAQ 6-3
False. The retributive theory is first and foremost concerned with
punishing the offender punished with equal severity as the harm
he inflicted to his victim. And this is the just thing to do. Peace and
order might only be inadvertent results of this.
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RETRIBUTION REVENGE
Authority-base Personal
SAQ 6-4
Fill in the blanks with the correct answer.
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112 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
ASAQ 6-4
1. Retribution is often confused with revenge.
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Module 6 113
March 9, 2001
Web posted at: 12:48 p.m. EST (1748 GMT)
Judge Joel Lazarus rejected pleas for a new trial or reduced sentence, citing
testimony about the severity of the beating inflicted on Tiffany Eunick that he
said precluded doubt about what happened.
“The jury has spoken loudly and unanimously,” Lazarus said. “And I am
convinced they were correct.”
Defense attorney Jim Lewis said after the sentencing that the defense team
intends to appeal the decision and to seek a clemency ruling from Gov. Jeb
Bush.
In January, a jury convicted Lionel of killing Tiffany while the 166-pound boy
was practicing professional wrestling moves on the 48-pound girl. Tiffany’s
death and the beating that killed her, the jury ruled, constituted child abuse.
Lazarus said it was beyond question that Lionel knew what he was doing on
the day Tiffany died.
The Broward Country judge said his court had no jurisdiction to rule on
defense contentions that a Florida law mandating that Lionel be tried as an
adult—and sentence to life in prison on conviction—was wrong. “These are
legislative decisions that should be addressed with the legislature, and not
judicial decisions,” the judge said.”
Lazarus also rejected arguments that the sentence was cruel and unusual
punishment, that neither Lionel nor his mother understood what was before
them when they rejected a plea bargain and that a psychiatrist’s remarks
may have prejudiced the case against him.
Source: cnn.com
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A sane man who has obeyed the law must not be made to
suffer, even if this would have the good effect, for example, of
keeping him from committing offenses he otherwise is thought
likely to commit (Honderich 1971).
In the same manner, the penalty should not be made more severe just
because we want the punishment to serve as a warning to others:
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Module 6 115
SAQ 6-5
Fill in the blanks with the correct answers.
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116 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
ASAQ 6-5
How did you do? See how many correct answers you got by check-
ing your own answers against the answer key below.
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Module 6 117
Persons with violent tendencies but who have an impaired mental capac-
ity pose a problem for the same reason. Even if they have not committed
wrongdoing, there is fear that they could easily become violent or de-
structive. Hence, it is sometimes necessary to apply some kind of restraint
on them. However, the restraint will constitute a kind of punishment that
will have no crime or offense to correspond to.
These difficulties lead us to think that while there are some points going
in favor of the retributive theory of punishment, it cannot fully account
for some aspects of accepted wisdom concerning the imposition of pun-
ishment and restraints.
Punishment as deterrent
The retributive theory can be contrasted with the deterrence theory of
punishment. The retributive theory turns its attention to the past as it
examines the nature and gravity of the offense together with the corre-
sponding penalty. On the other hand, the deterrence theory is future-
oriented. As Plato back in 360 B.C. observed in the Laws, it turns its atten-
tion on the results and intended consequences of the imposition of pun-
ishment:
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If a man has a stubborn and unruly son who will not listen to
his father or mother, and will not obey them even though they
chastise him, his father and mother shall have him apprehended
and brought out to the elders at the gate of his home city, where
they shall say to those city elders, “This son of ours is a stub-
born and unruly fellow who will not listen to us; he is a glutton
and a drunkard.” Then all his fellow citizens shall stone him to
death. Thus shall you purge the evil from your midst, and all
Israel, on hearing of it, shall fear (emphasis added).
We can see here that the idea of striking fear in the hearts of people is a
very important consideration. Because of its emphasis on the future, the
deterrence theory rejects the idea that punishment is something that has
value in itself. Instead, the value of punishment lies in its results. Punish-
ment has value because it prevents crime and promotes a safe and secure
environment. Bentham (1838) says,
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SAQ 6-6
Fill in the blanks with the correct answers.
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120 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
ASAQ 6-6
Fill in the blanks with the correct answers.
The first question is the most basic insofar as the deterrence theory is con-
cerned. There is no point in imposing punishment if it cannot actually
deter. If we impose fines for traffic violations in the future. Are we able to
bring down the number of traffic violations? If not, then we ought to look
at other forms of punishment and see which of them is capable of deter-
ring drivers from violating traffic rules.
The second question deals with proportionality. The fact that punishment
deters is not enough to guarantee its appropriateness. What do we mean
by this? Let us give an example. Cutting a person’s arms may effectively
prevent him from picking pockets in the future but the resulting injury
seems to be greater than that which it is meant to prevent. It goes beyond
what is necessary to achieve the intended purpose of the punishment.
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There is a need to choose the kind and degree of penalty that will not
exceed the suffering that it wants to stop. If the suffering caused by the
punishment exceeds that which it is supposed to prevent then it actually
results in greater evil. It can no longer be seen as appropriate.
The third question follows up on the second. It directs us to look for alter-
native forms of punishment that can bring about the least suffering or
evil. The evil that the punishment consists in should lead to the happiest
and safest outcome for all. This is why it is necessary to look for the kind
of punishment that will bring about the least amount of suffering to the
offender while serving the purpose of deterrence.
Emerging from our previous discussion are two main criteria for deter-
mining how much punishment to imposed. The first criterion is effective-
ness and the second is the contribution to the general happiness. The pun-
ishment imposed must be sufficient to deter, but just enough to serve the
purpose of deterrence without resulting in even greater harm.
Manero, who with his two brother and four others, was convicted in the
killing of Italian missionary Fr. Tullio Favali, turned himself in to Presiden-
tial Assistant for Southeastern Mindanao Jesus Dureza.
“I can only say he only made his life more difficult because he committed
an entirely new crime,” Corona said. “He shouldn’t have escaped. He
should have gone to the courts.”
The convict’s lawyer and chief negotiator, Rogelio Garcia, accused Dureza
of breaching a pact that would have kept the surrender a secret until
Manera talks with President Arroyo today.
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SAQ 6-7
What are the three questions we should ask to determine the ap-
propriateness of punishment in a particular situation?
1.
2.
3.
ASAQ 6-7
The three questions are: (1) Does it actually deter? (2) Does it re-
ally prevent greater distress and deprivation in general than it
imposes on the offender? (3) Are there no alternative forms of pun-
ishment that would impose less distress and deprivation on the
offender while preventing a greater amount of these experiences
overall?
SAQ 6-8
Fill in the blanks with the correct answers.
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ASAQ 6-8
The two criteria for determining how much punishment to im-
pose are effectiveness and contribution to the general good.
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124 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
A third objection, related to the second, holds that punishing a person for
the sole purpose of deterring people in general from doing wrong is equiva-
lent to treating him as a mere instrument and not as an end in himself
Kant (1965) says,
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SAQ 6-9
Fill in the blanks with the correct answers.
ASAQ 6-9
See if you got all correct answers.
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Punishment as Reform
In addition to retribution and deterrence, punishment can serve the pur-
pose of reform. Like the deterrence theory, the reform theory of punishment
aims to prevent the repetition of an offense and to reduce violations of the
law. However, while the deterrence theory seeks to prevent wrongdoing by
putting legal obstacles in its way, the reform theory aims to prevent offenses
by reforming the offender.
A strong basis for the reformist attitude towards punishment comes from the
idea that an individual is not the only one responsible for his actions. Re-
sponsibility for wrongdoing is assumed by the individual jointly with society
just as we have discussed in the previous module. Hence, punishment must
also be correspondingly shared. This means that we have to reconsider
our usual notions of blame and punishment.
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SAQ 6-10
Fill in the blanks with the correct answers.
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128 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
ASAQ 6-10
Fill in the blanks with the correct answers.
Summary
Our discussion of the theories of punishment shows how varying out-
looks could have their own strengths but also their own weaknesses. Any
claim that one of them best captures correct moral thinking must be treated
with caution. There is no single theory that is capable of accommodating
all the moral sentiments that are important to society. For example, the
retributive theory does not care to consider the fact that the imposition of
any punishment meted out will have consequences that cannot be ig-
nored. It takes the view that particular cases of punishment can be iso-
lated from their social and cultural environment.
At the same time, the deterrence and the reform theories of punishment
give little importance to the inherent right of offended parties to seek re-
dress for their grievances. Yet, the redress of such grievances is a basic
tenet of justice. This is particularly pronounced in the case of the reform
theory.
UP Open University
Module 7
Keeping Secrets: Issues
of Privacy and Confidentiality
We keep secrets because we might not want to let others know about our
faults or weaknesses. This is because knowledge about our fears, faults, or
weaknesses could encourage and enable others to take advantage of us.
The knowledge that one is afraid of spiders can lead to ridicule, cruel
tricks, or some other needless harm. Fear itself can be bad enough—mak-
ing the fear known to others could add to the harm and even make it
worse.
The examples that we have given show why the unwarranted disclosure
of secrets—disclosure without the permission of the parties concerned—
can be wrong. They can lead to harm that people want to avoid. They can
bring about unpleasant feelings and undesirable experiences. In other
words, they can be wrong because of the bad results that they give rise to.
We ought to avoid the unwarranted disclosure of secrets because we ought
to avoid the consequences arising from such a practice.
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Module 7 129
SAQ 7-1
Fill in the blanks with the correct answer.
ASAQ 7-1
See if your answers are correct by checking your answers against
the answer key.
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130 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
SAQ 7-2
Fill in the blanks with the correct answers.
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ASAQ 7-2
Let’s see how many correct answers you got.
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132 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
We can say the same thing of the act (or practice) of not returning bor-
rowed items. There is a reason that makes it wrong other than the unhap-
piness it brings to the owner of the item that is not returned. It is wrong
because it is also a violation of trust.
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SAQ 7-3
Fill in the blanks with the correct answers.
ASAQ 7-3
Check your answers against the answer key.
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134 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
The reasons above contribute to the dilemma that the priest finds himself
in. Taken together, these reasons point to exceptional situations when the
sanctity of secrets should and can be violated. Some harms arising from
the non-disclosure of secrets could be so severe that it would be better to
disclose the secret even in the absence of permission.
Protected secrets
While there are many secrets that
we should take seriously, there are Think about this...
also secrets that we should not care
so much about. For example, there
1. Can you identify other dilem-
are secrets that we keep in order to
mas regarding secrets similar
create a pleasant surprise for a
to the one described in the
friend. A father working as an
case of the priest?
overseas contract worker, for in-
2. When can we say that an ob-
stance, might keep his homecom-
ligation to keep a secret is
ing a secret in order to surprise his
overridden by an obligation
family. A group of employees might
to prevent harm from hap-
decide to stage a surprise party for
pening? Give examples.
their boss, keeping this a secret to
him all the while. If these secrets
were discovered, we will not likely be confronted by a moral dilemma. In
the first place, the discovery of the secret might not have resulted from a
violation of trust. The secret could have been discovered by accident.
There are various kinds of secrets that are so important that laws have
been passed to protect persons who might be under pressure to disclose
them. Societies consider it important to protect these types of secret even
thought it may be more beneficial for people to learn about these. Journal-
ists, for example, do not have an obligation to disclose the sources of news
items that they write. You probably have seen this in newspapers where
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136 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
SAQ 7-4
Fill in the blanks with the correct answers.
ASAQ 7-4
Fill in the blanks with the correct answers.
UP Open University
Module 7 137
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138 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
First, there are harms that may result. Aside from being embarrassing, the
information could drive away friends or suitors, expose the patient to
ridicule, or result in the loss of a job.
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There are factors that would suggest that they no longer retain the right
to their secret. One factor is the seriousness of the possible consequence.
Death is a consequence as serious as any consequence can be. There is
also the factor of irreversibility. At this time, there is still no known cure
for AIDS. This does not mean that physicians have the right to announce
the names of all persons who have AIDS publicly. There are ways of warn-
ing people about the presence of AIDS-infected individuals and at the
same time respect the rights of those who are ill and protect the healthy
from serious harm.
SAQ 7-5
Fill in the blanks with the correct answers.
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140 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
ASAQ 7-5
Fill in the blanks with the correct answers.
Summary
When we allow doctors access to our bodies, we do not have the intention
to make public what we consider to be private. The intrusion into our
privacy is limited to the extent to which it is useful for our desire ends and
not for any other ends that the doctor or other individuals may want to
use it. Thus, we open ourselves to doctors with the expectation that any
secrets discovered in the process will only be used for our benefit. In such
situations, we are only stretching the boundaries of our private selves for
the specific purpose of getting medical care.
The same thing is true when we go to the confessional and reveal our
secrets to the priest, when we approach a lawyer, when a student sees a
guidance counselor, or even when we confide a secret to a friend. In these
situations, there is no intention to make public what is considered private.
There is only a limited disclosure for a particular purpose.
However, there are circumstances when special factors may override these
important considerations. It is important to be aware of such factors so
that we can perform a balancing act. On the whole, ethics—as well as
life—appears to be a huge balancing act.
UP Open University
Module 8
The Value of Life:
Contraception, Abortion,
and Euthanasia
Why do people invest so much strong feelings in such issues? Some say it
is because it involves a crucial aspect central to all human beings: Life
specifically the taking of it. In this module we will be tackling all these
issues and more. We will be dealing with issues of life and death in the
context of such practices as contraception, abortion, and euthanasia.
Human life is the basis of all goods, and is the necessary source and
condition of every human activity and of all society. Most people regard
life as something sacred and hold that no one may dispose of it at will,
but believers see in life something greater, namely, a gift of God’s love,
which they are called upon to preserve and make fruitful. And it is this
latter consideration that gives rise to the following consequences:
2. Everyone has the duty to lead his or her life in accordance with God’s
plan. That life is entrusted to the individual as a good that must bear
fruit already here on earth, but that finds its full perfection only in
eternal life.
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Ironically, it is also because of the positive value attached to life that some
people come to embrace death and see it urgently through euthanasia.
Not being satisfied with what life has brought them at a crucial stage in
their existence, they desire to end it before things get worse or before their
experiences become unbearable. The seeming contradiction is one of the
reasons why it is important to look at the issues involved with an objec-
tive eye and examine the arguments in favor of, or against practices that
have prevailed in various societies.
SAQ 8-1
Fill in the blanks with the correct answer.
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144 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
ASAQ 8-1
Check if you got the correct answer.
We put high value on life because (1) life is inherently valuable or life
is valuable for its own sake and because life makes possible (2) expe-
riences that we value. It is ironic that precisely because of the high
value that people give to life, they sometimes seek to end it ur-
gently, as in (3) euthanasia.
Contraception
Increase and multiply.
Genesis 1:27-28
The very high regard that people invest in the value of life is one of the
main reasons why the practice of contraception is frowned upon by some
segments of society, particularly the Catholic Church. Contraception re-
fers to the practice of preventing conception when couples engage in sexual
intercourse. Couples who want to avoid having a child practice different
methods of contraception. Before the development of modern means of
contraception, women who wanted intercourse but did not want to have
children engaged in rigorous physical activity after sexual contact, washed
their vagina to remove semen, put barriers in the cervical opening, or took
potions that were believed to be abortificacient to prevent themselves from
becoming pregnant.
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If the objection of the natural law is valid, it would be wrong for a couple
to use intrauterine device, foam, jelly, condom, or other similar devices
that aim to prevent pregnancy. These devices supposedly separate the
two main functions of sexual intercourse, the unitive function and the
procreative function, by allowing the conjugal union to take place while
closing the possibility of a resulting pregnancy.
The natural law position draws a distinction between the rhythm method
and the other methods, mentioned above. The rhythm method works by
monitoring the woman’s menstrual cycle and the length of the intervals
between periods, keeping track of the woman’s fertile days. Sexual absti-
nence is prescribed when the woman is fertile. The couple is only allowed
to engage in intercourse only during days when the woman is infertile.
The argument is that because pregnancy is avoided by abstaining from
sexual contact, there is not attempt at sexual union that rules out procre-
ation altogether. If the couple engages in sexual intercourse when a woman
is infertile, no artificial device is introduced that is intended to separate
the unitive function from the procreative function. It is an outcome of the
natural state of things, so the argument goes, that pregnancy cannot occur.
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146 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
SAQ 8-2
Fill in the blanks with the correct answer.
ASAQ 8-2
See if you got the correct answer.
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Module 8 147
It might be true that there is no realizable pregnancy that they are seeking
to prevent during the period of infertility. However, it is not necessarily
the direct prevention of a pregnancy that is ruled out by a natural law
position. What it wishes to rule out is the separation of the two functions
of sexual intercourse from each other. The basis of a natural law position
is idea that there are natural functions for things that exist in nature. It is
the responsibility of human beings to act in accordance with such func-
tions. Insofar as sexual intercourse is concerned there are two such func-
tions, the procreative and the unitive. To use the rhythm method is to
pursue only one of those functions and thus, to do something that is mor-
ally wrong. But, what if it is not really wrong to separate the two func-
tions from each other?
To this, it can be said in reply that it is not really the separation of the two
functions that is wrong but the use of artificial rather than natural means. In-
deed, the distinction between natural and artificial means is often invoked
by Catholic and other Christian thinkers to clarify their positions on vari-
ous philosophical issues. However, this reply will have to assume the bur-
den of explaining what it means for a form of contraception to be either
natural or artificial. The criteria for this distinction are very interesting
but are not always obvious. These will have to be the subject of further
study.
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SAQ 8-3
Fill in the blanks with the correct answers.
ASAQ 8-3
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One reason why many people find it difficult to accept prohibitions against
“non-natural” methods of contraception is that they consider these nec-
essary for family planning. Many find the rate of growth of Philippine
population alarming. They observe that the huge size of the population
leads to economic and social problems at the national and the family level.
At the national level, observers point out that if the economy grows, for
instance, at the rate of 2 percent per annum and the population grows at
the rate of 2.3 percent per annum, then there is no real economic growth
per capita. The increase in the number of people effectively cancels out
any growth in economic production. If so, then the government cannot
hope to be effective in bringing down poverty levels. It is going to be very
difficult to improve the living conditions in the country.
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150 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
At the family level, we have seen or heard the effects of having too many
children, especially among very poor families. Children are not able to go
to school and mothers get tied down doing nothing but household chores.
This is a story that gets repeated over and over again. Women get abused
by their husbands and children get abused by their fathers. Problems are
so plentiful that some people say the promotion of contraception is not
enough—abortion must also be an option.
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SAQ 8-4
Fill in the blanks with the correct answers.
ASAQ 8-4
Check your answers below.
Abortion
Abortion has always been a controversial topic. People take sides on the
issue and usually become very emotional about the positions that they
take. The emotionally charged atmosphere surrounding public debates is
very well illustrated in the clashes that have occasionally taken place be-
tween “pro-life” and “pro-choice” supporters. In a few instances, espe-
cially in the United States, there have been rioting. Some activists have
also gone as far as burning abortion clinics and threatening or killing doc-
tors performing abortion.
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152 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
The lesson that we should learn from the emergence of such situations is
that we need to be very rational in considering these issues. We have to
carefully examine the facts and the circumstances surrounding the acts
that might be in question. We also have to understand the important con-
cepts involved.
Abortion pill
The possible entry of RU-486 (Mifepristone) into the country has recently
resulted in an increased level of debate concerning abortion. Also called
“abortion pill” or “morning after pill,” RU-486 has been accompanied by
controversy wherever it has been introduced. It was initially developed
about 12 years years ago in the desire to find an effective but safe and
manageable means of preventing pregnancy. It was allowed entry to the
United States very recently and now, it is being probed to see if it can be
introduced in the Philippines. But there are also determined efforts to
strike it down as quickly as possible.
Msgr. Pedro Quitorio, spokesman for the influential group, said RU-486,
whose use was recently legalized in the United States, and other pills
which induce abortions are barred under Church regulations.
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On the other hand, then Health Secretary Alberto Romualdez said it was
still possible for RU-486 to enter the country if it passed all standards and
regulations of the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD). He expressed the
belief that RU-486 or Mifepristone cannot really cause abortion. In sup-
port, the head of BFAD said he was likely to approve the entry into the
country of the drug. He described the pill as “safe,” and not an
abortificacient. According to him, the drug merely prevents the implanta-
tion of the fertilized egg. These debates have called attention once again
to the relevance of discussions concerning the point when human life
truly begins.
SAQ 8-5
Fill in the blanks with the correct answers.
According to the CBCP, women who take the abortion drug RU-
486 and similar pills will be considered automatically (1)
_________________ from the Catholic Church. This is based on
the view that RU-486 has the effect of (2) _________________ the
innocent. According to critics of the CBCP’s position, RU-486 does
not have the effect of killing. It merely prevents the (3)
_____________________ of the fertilized egg.
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154 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
ASAQ 8-5
See if your answers are correct.
According to the CBCP, women who take the abortion drug RU-
486 and similar pills will be considered automatically (1) excom-
municated from the Catholic Church. This is based on the view
that RU-486 has the effect of (2) killing to the innocent. According
to critics of the CBCPs position, RU-486 does not have the effect of
killing. It merely prevents the (3) implantation of the fertilized egg.
Fertilization or conception
as the beginning of human life
According to a classic Christian position, human life begins at the point of
fertilization. This position holds that at the point of fertilization the com-
plete genetic make-up of the new individual is already formed. Once the
sperm unites with the egg, an entity with all the genes that define an
individual begin to exist. These genes are unique to that individual and
are the same ones that he will have for the rest of his life. Moreover, these
are the same genes that will distinguish him from another individual.
Because the genes that define an individual exists from the moment of
fertilization, then it is at the moment of fertilization that the individual
beings to exist as a distinct human being. And, if that individual already
begins to exist as a distinct human being at the point of fertilization, any
pill or procedure that leads to miscarriage must be seen to lead to the loss
of life of a human being. If that pill or procedure is introduced deliber-
ately, then there is a deliberate taking of human life. Based on this logic,
we can say that taking RU-486 constitutes the abortion of a distinct hu-
man life. RU-486 takes effect when fertilization has already taken place.
However, others would disagree with this. Critics point out the distinc-
tion between fertilization and conception. According to them, life does
not really begin with fertilization because if the fertilized egg does not get
implanted or if it does not stick to the walls of the woman’s uterus, then
the woman does not get pregnant. Even though fertilization may be tak-
ing place, there is yet no conception. Fertilization, they claim, is different
from conception. If the fertilized egg does not get implanted, conception
does not take place because no one gets conceived.
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Critics also point that the loss of fertilized eggs is a normal occurrence
that we usually ignore. It happens in the course of nature, without any-
one having to induce it. Millions of fertilized eggs get flushed out of the
human body precisely because they fail to implant in the uterus. This
phenomenon goes unnoticed and people do not ordinarily care about the
loss of that kind of life nor do they cry over the failure of fertilized eggs to
implant. They do not grieve over the “death” of fertilized eggs and there
seems to be no reason why they should.
SAQ 8-6
Fill in the blanks with the correct answers.
Some people believe that human life beings at the point of fertili-
zation because the (1) __________________ that defines an
individual’s identity exists from the moment of fertilization. Ac-
cording to critics of the position, fertilization is not real beginning
of human life because if the fertilized egg does not get implanted
in the walls of the woman’s uterus then the woman does not get
(2) ____________________. Proponents of the view that human
life begins at conception say that if the fertilized egg does not get
implanted, there is no conception because there is nobody that
gets (3) _________________.
ASAQ 8-6
Check you answers against the answer key.
Some people believe that human life begins at the point of fertili-
zation because the (1) collection of genes that defines an individual’s
identity exists from the moment of fertilization. According to crit-
ics of the position, fertilization is not the real beginning of human
life because if the fertilized egg does not get implanted in the walls
of the woman’s uterus then the woman does not get (2) pregnant.
Proponents of the view that human life begins at conception say
that if the fertilized egg does not get implanted, there is no concep-
tion because there is nobody that gets (3) conceived.
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156 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
Premise 1: It is not possible for one human being to become two hu-
man beings.
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Module 8 157
The earliest point when a brain can be said to be present is when the
primitive streak appears. The primitive streak is the earliest known mani-
festation of what later develops into a brain. Hence, the point at which
the primitive streak appears is the earliest point at which a human being
can be said to exist. Since the primitive streak appears on approximately
the fourteenth day, human life can be said to manifest only on that day.
SAQ 8-7
Fill in the blank with the correct answer.
P1: It is not possible for one human being to become two human
beings.
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158 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
ASAQ 8-7
Fill in the blank with the correct answer.
P1: It is not possible for one human being to become two human
beings.
There, (1) the human embryo up to the fourteenth day of its life is not a
human being. The above argument is complemented by the view
that it is (2) mental activity that characterizes peculiarly human
life.
Personhood
Philosophers sometimes prefer to use the
word “person” rather than “human be-
ing” to refer to beings like us. They make
Think about this...
the distinction in order to emphasize that
1. Do you agree that if contra-
being human merely refers to member-
ception is made safe and
ship to the human species. To say that
available to all there will be
an individual is a human being is merely
less abortions?
to distinguish her from members of the
2. Do you agree that the evil
canine species or members of the feline
(assuming that it is indeed an
species. To say that we are human be-
evil) of abortion justifies the
ings is to say that we are different from
evil (if it is truly an evil) of
animals but not necessarily superior in a
contraception?
way that is morally significant.
3. If the pro-abortion culture is
especially strong where the
According to these philosophers, persons
Church’s teaching on contra-
are not merely individuals who belong to
ception is rejected, does it fol-
another species. They are special beings
low that abortion cannot be
who have special qualities that make them
lessened by promoting a cul-
not only different but morally valuable.
ture of contraception?
Those special qualities are the reasons
why we think of human lives as worthy
of respect and protection. So what does this have to do with abortion?
The implication of the above position is that if abortion is wrong, it is so
UP Open University
Module 8 159
What then, must those qualities be that make an individual a person and
not merely a human being?
SAQ 8-8
Fill in the blanks with the correct answers.
ASAQ 8-8
Fill in the blanks with the correct answers.
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160 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
Mary Anne Warren is one of those who have proposed criteria to deter-
mine personhood. In Warren’s (1996) often-cited article, she gives the fol-
lowing five traits:
1. Consciousness
2. The developed capacity to reason
3. Self-motivated activity
4. The capacity to communicate an indefinite variety of things
5. The presence of a self-concept
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Module 8 161
The point is that if 400,000 abortions are being performed every year,
then there are about as many women’s lives that are put under great risk
for infections and other life-threatening complications because they not
have access to safe abortion. Perez (1997) says,
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The following are stories that narrate experiences of women who have
undergone abortion. These narrations illustrate, in a limited way, the dif-
ficulties that women go through when they decide to terminate their un-
wanted pregnancy. Even as we recognize the value of life and the evils
associated with its termination, we must also be able to understand (though
this is not necessarily considered as morally justified) the pressures that
force women to seek abortion notwithstanding the attendant risks to the
procedure.
The hilot asked me to lie down and bend my knees. She put oil on her
hands and massaged my abdomen for about 30 minutes. While she was
massaging she made me breathe deeply to help her feel the lump that
would have to be brought out. The pain was unbearable. I [felt] like faint-
ing… After that session, the hilot told me to come back as soon as any
bleeding occurred. I went through this session for three consecutive days.
On the third day, I aborted (Marcelo, 1991).
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It is not the aim of this module to present a single “correct” way of deal-
ing with the issues involved. We only hope to present competing perspec-
tives in a way that is fair to all.
Euthanasia
If abortion arises concerns about the value that we give to life at its begin-
ning, euthanasia usually raises concerns about the value that we give to
life when it is close to its end. Concerning abortion, one of the main ques-
tions that we ask is: when does life really begin? Concerning euthanasia,
one of the main questions that we have to settle is: When does human life
really end? When the subject of abortion comes up, some people choose to
speak of rights and ask: Do fetuses have a right to life? We can do that
same thing with euthanasia and ask: Do human beings have a right to
die? These are questions that we must deal with as we consider the ethi-
cal issues that are involved in the practice of euthanasia.
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Module 8 165
The Octogenarian
An eighty-year-old woman afflicted with liver cancer felt that she could
not bear the pain of her illness anymore. For several days, she begged
her husband to take her life. He loved her, and did not want to see her go.
However, her suffering also moved him. In a moment of “weaknesses,” he
put a pillow over her head until she suffocated to death. It took only a few
moments for her to be relieved of her burden.
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166 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
In this case, the excruciating pain felt by the old woman compelled her to
beg her husband to end her life. The patient herself determined the point
when her painful life became unbearable. Nobody else did that for her.
Because of the intense and unbearable pain she felt, it is not difficult for us
to understand why she asked to be put to death. However, to say that we
understand her request is not to say necessarily that we find her request
morally acceptable. Even if we appreciate the turmoil that she must have
been going through, we hesitate to give our moral approval of what hap-
pened because we value life so much. There must be clear and convincing
considerations for that value to be overridden. Hence, in this section, we
speak of factors supporting one or the other side but we do not refer to
decisive arguments.
In the 80-year-old woman’s case, the unbearability of suffering is a factor
that supports her request for euthanasia. Another factor is the fact that
she directly and categorically asked to be put to death. In other words,
she made an autonomous decision. She made the decision herself and
conveyed it to her husband clearly and without any room for doubt.
SAQ 8-9
Supply the blanks with the correct answers.
ASAQ 8-9
See how many correct answers you got.
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Module 8 167
Means of euthanasia
What one finds bothersome about the octogenarian’s case is the means
employed by her husband to end her life. Suffocating another person by
putting a pillow to her face is something that comes very close to our idea
of a crime. In other words, it is something that we would not think of
doing for any other reason but to end the life of the other person. If you
ask why a person put a pillow over another’s face, there seems to be no
other plausible explanation other than he wanted the other person dead.
What other believable reason could one possibly give?
There are two critical factors in the description that count against the
means used. First, the participation of the husband was active. Second,
the participation was direct. The husband had active involvement in that
there was something that he took the initiative to do. He did not just sit
there and do nothing until his wife died of an infection or of some other
cause that could have been attributed to somebody else. He actually initi-
ated the action that cause her death.
The husband’s involvement was direct because what he did was intended
to kill the wife and not to achieve any other end. He did not put the pillow
to her face in order to make her enjoy the smell of cotton or to protect her
eyes from blinding light. The death was not merely an indirect conse-
quence of what he did.
Direct euthanasia may be contrasted with cases where the death results
from an action having another intended effect. For example, euthanasia
is indirect when heavy doses of medicine are given in order to deal with
pain even when the heavy dosage has the unintended effect of advancing
the death of the patient.
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SAQ 8-10
Fill in the blanks with the correct answers.
ASAQ 8-10
Let’s see how you did in the SAQ.
Deciding by proxy
One of the most controversial and highly publicized cases of euthanasia
involved a young American named Karen Ann Quinlan. Karen fell into a
deep coma after taking an illegal drug. She was kept in a respirator for
months as her heart apparently continued to beat spontaneously. Her
parents realized that the long period of hospitalization did not do Karen
any good. The doctors did not entertain any hope that she would regain
consciousness and recover. However, the doctors could not remove her
from life support as they feared the possibility of being made legally ac-
countable for her “imminent” death. The parents went to court for per-
mission to have her removed from the respirator. After an initial setback
in the lower court, their request was eventually granted. Karen lived for
many more years in comatose before she finally died.
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Module 8 169
Could somebody have established that Karen’s life was unbearable? Be-
cause she was comatose, she was not in a position to make a judgment for
herself. Somebody else would have had to make the judgment for her.
Life has such a high value for us that we also value having to make deci-
sions about it. One would not like it if somebody else were to say that her
life was not valuable enough. Neither would she like it if somebody were
to say that her life was no longer worth living. This is one of the reasons
why people do not like what the Nazis did to many of their prisoners
during Hitler’s time. The Nazis acted as though they had the right to
make judgments concerning the worth of other people’s lives. They de-
cided when other people’s lives were no longer worth living and killed
them.
For this reason, many people are very wary of decisions involving eutha-
nasia. They think that a person is never in a position to make a moral
judgment concerning the worth of lives other than their own. In order to
avoid such difficult situations, some countries have adopted policies and
laws that enable people to make life-ending decisions in advance. There
are documents called Advance Directives through which people can ex-
press what they wish done to them should emergencies arise. They may
use it to give instructions that they be spared from the use of respirators,
thus ensuring that their decisions are given weight even after their death.
For purposes of organ donation, organ donation cards are very handy
instruments that express one’s after-death directions.
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When deciding about life, we have to give priority to the wishes of those
whose lives are being decided upon. Here, it seems, lies the essence of life:
that it should be lived, as closely as possible, in accordance with the wishes
of the person whose life it is.
During the encounter, the patient managed to tell the resident: “Let’s get
this over with.”
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Summary
Central to the persisting debates on the morality or immorality of contra-
ception, euthanasia, and abortion is society’s view of life. Life is highly
valued by society; hence, anything that threatens to end or curtail it is met
with, often passionate and vociferous, objections.
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172 Philo 173 Ethics: Theory and Practice
Ironically, these very traits, some critics claim, can be used to rule out the
personhood of some individuals; thereby making it easier to abort fetuses
who lack any of these characteristics. Another issue involved in abortion
is the right of women to decide for themselves and their prerogative over
their own bodies.
Abortion involves the value that we give to life at its beginning. Opposite
this is euthanasia which involves the value that we give to life as it comes
to its end. Here, we ask the question when does life end and do we have
the right to end our life if we think it fraught with suffering? Euthanasia
is vaguely similar to suicide because it also calls for ending life when it has
become unbearable. But unlike suicide, euthanasia calls for the end of life
when suffering from an illness has become too excruciating and when the
person has decided that an extension to life is not wroth suffering for
anymore. Of course, it is the suffering person himself who has the right to
say when it is time to pull the so-called plug, but, in the absence of con-
sciousness, say when the person is a state of coma, family members can
also decide based on what the patient has expressed when he still had his
faculties intact.
UP Open University
Module 9
Ethics and Business
This module deals with the application of moral concepts to business ac-
tivities. More particularly, this module discusses the necessity of evaluat-
ing business behaviors and practices morally; the sense where business
acts performed can meaningfully be said to be morally good or bad; the
weaknesses of the various arguments that undermine the need for ethics
in business; and, the ethical role of corporations is environmental protec-
tion.
SAQ 9-1
(1) ______________ is a human activity that is concerned with
the making and selling of goods and services for the sake of mak-
ing (2) ____________. There are three main forms of business;
namely: (3) _______________, (4) ________________, and (5)
___________________. The (6) _________________ of business
and its (7) ______________ make it necessary to subject business
activities to a moral evaluation. It is meaningful to speak of the
morality of business acts mainly because the (8)
__________________ apply to them, and such acts can lead to the
(9) ______________________. Business acts can be acts for which
their agents can be morally responsible for the simple reason that
such acts can be done (10) __________ and (11) _____________.
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ASAQ 9-1
(1) Business is a human activity that is concerned with the making
and selling of goods and services for the sake of making (2) profit.
There are three main forms of business; namely: (3) entrepreneur-
ship, (4) partnership, and (5) corporation. The (6) pervasiveness of
business and its (7) wide-ranging effects make it necessary to subject
business activities to a moral evaluation. It is meaningful to speak
of the morality of business acts mainly because the (8) moral stan-
dards of utility, moral rights, and justice apply to them, and such acts
can lead to the (9) destruction of nature. Business acts can be acts
for which their agents can be morally responsible for the simple
reason that such acts can be done (10) freely and (11) knowingly.
Activity 9-1
Come up with three examples of the benefits (or positive conse-
quences) of business and another three examples of its costs (or
negative consequences).
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But this is true only if we assume that the needs businesses satisfy are
essential needs of man, like food and education. If we go by this, we fail to
account for the other needs of man like his need for products and services
that will satisfy his sensual, aggressive, egoistic, and extravagant desires.
To put it more concretely, these needs might translate into prohibited drugs,
prostitution, and weapons of destruction. Some businesses are profiting
from these kinds of needs, but it does not mean that these businesses are
bring about what is most beneficial to society. So the claim of this argu-
ment is not always true. As such, moral principles are still needed to guide
business behaviors.
The second argument can be called The Legal Argument. This argument
asserts that there is no need for moral principles to guide business behav-
iors because the law, specifically the laws of government, is sufficient to
do this job. So long as businesses do not violate the laws of the govern-
ment, then there is nothing morally wrong with their practices. However,
this argument is criticized for falsely equating law with morality, or for
falsely assuming that following the law will necessarily bring about mor-
ally desirable behaviors. We must remember that what is legal is not nec-
essarily ethical. For a time, slavery and apartheid were legal, but it does
not mean that these practices were ethical. Let us consider the following
case.
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The entry of European subcompact cars (small and cheap cars) in the
U.S. in the 70’s competed with the car sales of Ford Motor Company. To
meet this challenge, Ford Motor decided to manufacture its own version
of subcompact cars, which they called the Pinto. The design of the Pinto
was hastily done and was mass produced to cope with competition.
When the Pinto was subjected to crash testing, engineers of Ford Motor
found one serious problem: if another car traveling at a certain speed hits
the Pinto at the rear, the gas tank of the Pinto would punctured and
would eventually explode. Despite this, the Pinto passed the safety stan-
dards existing in U.S. laws at that time. This, however, did not prevent
the management of Ford Motor from considering the redesigning of the
Pinto if it would be in the best interest of the company. But when they
made a study to this effect, they found out that it would be cheaper for
the company to just pay the necessary expenses in case there would be
accidents involving the Pinto (like expenses for the burial and hospital-
ization of the victims, insurance, legal fees, etc.) than for the company to
redesign all the Pintos that had already been manufactured. As a result,
Ford Motor decided not to redesign the Pintos and they just paid the
necessary expenses for the accidents that happened. (Velasquez, 1988)
This decision was legal at that time, but was it ethical? Did their consid-
eration of the law lead them to morally desirable behaviors? Why?
The third one called The Amorality Argument, claims that business ac-
tivities are amoral or do not have moral worth, that is, it cannot be said to
be morally good or bad because moral principles do not apply to them.
This argument looks at business as a game akin to games like poker and
basketball. When we play a game, we normally do not judge the value of
playing it using moral principles; we judge it according to whether it fa-
cilitates the winning of the game. Just like chess, we say that an act is
either a “good move” or a “bad move” depending on the results of our
moves. Notice that the terms “good” and “bad” here have nothing to do
with morality. Morality only comes in when one is already cheating in
playing the game, like in chess when one changes the position of the rook
while his opponent is not looking to gain advantage.
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The argument that sees business as being amoral makes it possible for
businesses to use deceptive techniques in marketing their products. Ob-
serve the various advertisements on TV. How many can you say are tell-
ing the truth? Yet society and the law allow these practices. Why? Part of
the reason is the belief that deception, just like in some card games, is an
allowable move in the “game” of business. But let us consider the follow-
ing case.
2. While interned in clinics and hospitals, new mothers were given free
samples of infant formula.
“Give him Klim and watch him grow! Klim is full of goodness to build
strong bodies, bones, and teeth. Give your baby the best full cream
powdered milk—give him Klim. KLIM IS GOOD FOR YOUR BABY AND
YOUR GROWING CHILDREN TOO!” and ‘Help your baby grow healthy
and happy. Give him [Nestlé’s] Lactogen with Honey” (Velasquez, 1995).
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Among others, there are two criticisms hurled against this argument. First,
while there are indeed aspects of the business activity captured by the
game analogy, like the presence of competition and the goal of winning,
there are more serious aspects of the business activity that are glossed
over by this analogy. These include the following: (1) unlike ordinary
games, people affected by business activities, particularly consumers, have
not consciously and freely chosen to be part of this business “game;” (2)
unlike ordinary games, the rules of the business “game” are not always
clear to the people engaged or involved in it (for instance, when dining
out we do not always know when the food on display will exactly re-
semble what will be served to us or we might not be able to distinguish
truth from deception in the advertisements at all times); and (3) unlike
ordinary games, we cannot just quit this “game” of business—precisely
because it is so pervasive in society—if we do not agree to the rules of the
game (we cannot just quit being a consumer or a receiver of advertise-
ments). And second, even if we grant that business is some kind of a
game, any action cannot be exempt from moral evaluation just because it
is done in the context of playing a game; otherwise, anyone can just claim
that he is playing a game to excuse his immoral acts. Let us ask ourselves,
what if some people begin to think that killing other people is just a game?
Acts done in the context of playing a game are subject to the same moral
evaluation as any other acts, such that if these acts—like the deceptive
marketing strategies of corporations in the infant formula business—lead
to serious human injuries, injustices, and violations of moral rights, they
should be morally condemned.
The fourth argument can be called The Immorality Argument. This argu-
ment works under the premise that businesses are always immoral; hence
there is no need to subject it to a moral evaluation. This is based on the
claim that the profit motive, which is the essential goal of any business if
you will remember, is essential goal of any business if you will remember,
is essentially selfish. This makes it impossible for businesses to have be-
nevolent motives (motives which consider the welfare of other people).
To illustrate this, consider the situation of a selling agent of a certain cor-
poration who engages in a business transaction with a purchasing agent
of another company. The goal of the selling agent is to sell his products at
the highest possible price, while the goal of the purchasing agent is to buy
the products of the agent at the lowest possible price. In their transaction,
they haggle for their desired price while employing some deceptive mar-
keting techniques. In their business game, they go about bluffing about
the real quality and quantity of the products. They both act in ways that
would be profitable for their respective companies and would be advan-
tageous to their respective careers. In this situation, how can one regard
the welfare, or be concerned with the good, of the other?
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However, this argument fails to consider two things. First, an action can
possibly have a more than one motive. And second, selfishness need not
prohibit one from being benevolent at the same time. Regarding the first
point, this means that it is possible for the same act to be driven by both
the profit and benevolent motive all at the same time. But this will only be
possible if we consider the second point.
Let us consider the case involving Ford Motor Company again. Supposing
that the alternative decisions are as follows. The first alternative is to recall at
the Pintos and not to sell them anymore. In this case, no lives will be put to
danger but this would mean tremendous loss to the company. The second
alternative is to sell all the Pintos as they are. In this case, lives will be put to
danger but this would mean maximum profits for the company. And the
third alternative is to sell all the Pintos as they are. In this case, lives will be
put to danger but this would mean maximum profits for the company. And
the third alternative is to redesign the Pinto. In this case, lives will not be put
to danger but this would mean moderate profits for the company.
Someone who only has benevolence in mind and has no regard for profit
would probably choose the first alternative. Someone who only has profit in
mind and has no regard for the welfare of the Pinto users would probably
choose the second alternative. But someone who has profit in mind but also
has regard for the welfare of the Pinto users would probably choose the third
alternative. The person who has both regard for the welfare of the users will
choose the third alternative over the first alternative because of his profit
motive. But at the same time, he chooses the third alternative over the sec-
ond alternative because of his benevolent motive. In this case, the profit
motive co-exists with benevolence.
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SAQ 9-2
A. Fill in the blanks with the correct answers.
B. True or False
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ASAQ 9-2
A. Now it’s time to check your answers.
B. True or False
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In this simple case, we can see how corporations usually perceive the
duty of being conscious of nature’s welfare, in this case, the dolphins.
First, this duty can be viewed from a legal point of view wherein the
corporation does its duty because it is a duty imposed by the law. In this
instance, if the law does not require it, it need not be done. And if the law
does not require it, corporations would only perform this duty for eco-
nomic reasons.
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This leads us to the second view, which looks at the duty of regarding the
welfare of nature from an economic point of view. Accordingly, regard
for the welfare of nature in this instance is considered a duty only if it is
an alternative that will bring in the highest profit. There may be cases
where, like the example we have given, considering the economic and
legal factors would lead to the morally desired behavior. But this is merely
coincidental and this is not what usually happens. This is because the
legal and economic factors change relative to the situation. This means
that we need more than legal and economic reasons for corporations to
be more responsive to the environmental crisis. What we need is to look at
this duty from a moral point of view, that is, to look at this duty as an
ethical duty. More particularly, we need to look at this duty from the
point of view of the moral principles of moral rights, utility, and justice.
Some philosophers have already worked on this issue, and they have ap-
proached it in various ways. Without going through the details, the fol-
lowing are some of their main arguments put across by Velasquez (1988):
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SAQ 9-3
Fill in the blanks with the correct answers.
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ASAQ 9-3
Fill in the blanks with the correct answers.
Summary
The dawn of the global age has spawned the increase of business activity.
It has become so pervasive that we can no longer ignore it. We encounter
it at many points in our life; it can even be said that it has become a
permanent fixture in our everyday lives, affecting our well-being, our val-
ues, and even our environment. Perhaps, this is enough reason to subject
business to a moral evaluation.
However, there are sectors that downplay the importance of morally evalu-
ating businesses. The use arguments like the Invisible Hand Argument,
Legal Argument, Amorality Argument, and the Immorality Argument.
The Invisible Hand Argument, if you will remember, says that businesses
do not need moral principles because its outcome, which is profit, will
turn out to be beneficial to society. On the other hand, the Legal Argu-
ment says that the law can take over the role of moral principles. As long
as business go by the rules of law, then business acts cannot be considered
morally wrong. The Amorality Argument in the mean time likens busi-
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These arguments, however attractive they may seem, have certain loop-
holes that put to test their validity. For example, the Invisible Argument
fails to take into account businesses involved in drugs and prostitution
that do not bring good to society. The Legal Argument, on the other hand,
fails to consider that laws are not necessarily ethical at all times. In the
mean time, the Amorality Argument can be used as a convenient excuse
for business establishments to engage in deceptive techniques to lure the
public to purchase their products. Lastly, the Immorality Argument elides
the possibility that actions can have more than one motive and that self-
ishness need not prohibit one from being benevolent at the same time.
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References
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