BSBA 2-A
The
Foundation of Ethics
The study of ethics belongs primarily
within the discipline of philosophy, in the sub-
discipline of ‘moral philosophy’, and so our
account begins there. Philosophical study
concerns the systematic and rational
consideration of human systems of belief. The
process of asking and answering questions about
belief systems is therefore fundamental to
philosophical study – it is not sufficient merely to
‘learn’ the answers that have been proposed by
other philosophers!
As human beings live their lives, they
acquire a wealth of information about the world
around them that they use to build up a collection
of ideas about the world and their place within it.
Those ideas come from a variety of sources.
Different philosophers have had different
aims and have been concerned with asking and
answering different questions. While some of the
questions that philosophers have asked have
changed through the centuries, some important
questions continue to be asked. Why are we
here? How was the world created? How should
society be organised? How ought we to live?
What is ‘right’ and ‘wrong’? These are some of
the questions that have intrigued and occupied
philosophers across the ages.
So, through the study of ethics, you are
invited to examine critically your own and others’
arguments and intuitions about some important
issues, however clear-cut those arguments may
seem to be at first glance. As Wraight (2011 p.
48) points out, ‘many things that once seemed
obvious (like witches having the power to curdle
milk and the sun revolving around the earth) no
longer do so to most people, in part, because
rational individuals took the time to scrutinize
them and found them wanting’. The study of
ethics is , therefore, just as much concerned with
developing the ability to ask and answer
questions as it is with ‘learning’ the answers that
other people have suggested to some of the
questions posed here. Hopefully, by building up a
clearer picture of the building blocks of people’s
beliefs, values and arguments, ‘we can be more
confident about our actual moral behaviour in the
real world. We might even change our minds
about a few things’ (Wraight 2011 p. 48).
What is Ethics?
The branch of philosophical study that
focuses on ‘ethics’ is concerned with studying
and/or building up a coherent set of ‘rules’ or
principles by which people ought to live.
theoretical study of ethics is not normally
something that many people would regard as
being necessary in order for them to conduct their
everyday activities. In place of systematically
examined ethical frameworks, most people
instead carry around a useful set of day-to-day
‘rules of thumb’ that influence and govern their
behaviour; commonly, these include rules such as
‘it is wrong to steal’, ‘it is right to help people in
need’, and so on.
But sometimes the vicissitudes and
complexities of life mean that these simple rules
are sometimes put to the test. Consider the idea
that it is wrong to kill. Does this mean that capital
punishment is wrong? Is it wrong to kill animals?
Is killing in self-defence wrong? Is the termination
of pregnancy wrong? Is euthanasia wrong? If we
try to apply our everyday notions of right and
wrong to these questions, straightforward
answers are not always forthcoming. We need to
examine these questions in more detail; and we
need theoretical frameworks that can help us to
analyse complex problems and to find rational,
coherent solutions to those problems. Whilst
some people attempt to do this work individually,
for themselves, philosophers attempt to find
general answers that can be used by everyone in
society.
The Objects of Ethics
The principal cause of actions is usually
attributed to the doer. Hence, a person in control
of his faculties is judged as moral if he performs
an act that observes a particular standard of
morality, and immoral if he commites an act that
violates any given moral standard.
The doer of an act and the act done by the
doer are two different objects of Ethics. The doer
of an act is the physical object. The Physical
Object does not only refer to a person but to an
institution and to other forms of social
organization that perform moral actions and other
rational activities such as decision making, moral
calculation, etc.
On the other hand, the action done by the
moral agent, such as the act of telling the truth,
helping others in distress, etc., are called the non-
physical object of ethics. Though considering the
nature of the moral agent is important in ethical
analysis, it is the act, and not the doer of the act
which is considered to be the formal object of
ethics. As we will soon learn further, as long as
the act is knowing and free, the act should be
judged as moral or immoral, regardless of the
accidental characteristics (gender, nationality,
race, creed, etc.) of the moral agent who performs
the act. Now, consider the case example below:
Ethics serve as guide to moral daily living and helps us
judge whether our behavior can be justified. Ethics
refers to society’s sense of the right way of living our
daily lives. It does this by establishing rules, principles,
and values on which we can base our conduct.
Ethics is important because of the following: satisfying
basic human needs: being fair, honest and ethical is
one the basic human needs.
Values are important because they help us to grow
and develop. They help us to create future we want to
experience. Every individual and every organization is
involved in making hundreds of decisions every day.
Ethics and Morality
Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of
philosophy that involves systematizing,
depending, and recommending concept of right
and wrong conduct. The field of ethics, along with
aesthetics, concerns matters of value, and thus
comprises the branch of philosophy called
axiology.
Ethics refer to rules provided by an external
source, example: codes of conduct in workplaces
or principle in religions.
Morals refer to an individual’s own principles
regarding right and wrong.
Descriptive and Normative study of Ethics
Descriptive ethics is a form of empirical research
into the attitude of individuals or groups of
people. Those working on descriptive ethics aim
to uncover people’s beliefs about such things as
values, which action are right and wrong, and
which characteristics of moral agents are virtuous.
Normative ethics is the study of ethical action. It is
the branch of philosophical ethics that
investigates the set of question that arise when
considering how one ought to act, morally
speaking. Most traditional moral theories rest on
principles that determine whether the action is
right or wrong.
Philosophy is the study of general and
fundamental question about existence,
knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language.
Such questions are often posed asked problems to
be studied or resolved. The term was probably
coined by Pythagoras.
MORAL ISSUE -Are those which involved a
difference of belief and not a matter of
preference.
A moral dispute would involve a factual
disagreement (or a disagreement in belief) where
one of the other neither belief is correct. It would
not involve disagreement in attitude (or a
disagreement in feeling).
An ethical decision is one that engenders trust,
and thus indicates responsibility, fairness and
caring to an individual. Ethical decision-making
requires a review of different options, eliminating
those with an unethical standpoint, and then
choosing the best ethical alternative.
Ethical Judgement Is reasoning about the possible
actions in the situation and judging which action is
most ethical. A person making an ethical
judgement uses reason to decide what the best
solution or decision is to a problem.
An ethical dilemma or ethical paradox is decision-
making problem between two possible moral
imperatives, neither or which is unambiguously
acceptable or preferable. The complexity arises
out of the situational conflict in which obeying
one would result in transgressing another.
Ethical Reasoning -Pertains to the rights and
wrongs of human conduct. Each person has
standards that are defined by their personal
values which come into play when the person
faces certain dilemmas or decisions.
Is the ability to identify, assess, and develop
ethical arguments from a Variety of ethical
positions? “For the purposes of this application, it
may be useful to think of an ethical reasoning
course as one that integrates ethical questions
into the intellectual work required in the course.
Sources of Authority
Authority is a degree of discretion conferred on
people to make it possible for them to use their
judgement. In this sense, authority is a matter of
not only the ability of power to make decisions,
but the right to make these decisions and execute
them with commensurate power.
Religion is a social-cultural system of designated
behaviours and practices, morals, worldviews,
 texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or
organizations that relates humanity to
supernatural, transcendental, or spiritual
elements.
Natural law-Is the theory that says there is set of
rules inherent in human behavior and human
reasoning that governs human conduct. Natural
law is pre-existing and is not created in courts by
judges.
Ethical culture -An organization with an ethical
culture provides a culture that promotes ethical
behaviour among the members of the
organization. An organization with a strong
culture has values and standards that are clearly
defined and understood by the majority of its
members
Sense of self is our own self image. A character my
not truly know who he is but he always knows
who he think he is . This inwards-looking view
maybe right on the mark or not even close.
A sense o self is defined as one’s perception of
one self. Each person’s sense of self is directly
related to how they feel about themselves, their
levels of self esteem, and confidence are lock
thereof.
Psychological egoism is the thesis that we are
always deep down motivated by what we
perceive to be in our own self-interest.
Psychological altruism, on the other hand , is the
view that sometimes we can have ultimately
altruistic motives.
Ethical Egoism -Is the normative ethical position
that moral agents ought to act in their own self-
interest. It defers from psychological egoism,
which claims that people can only act in their self-
interest.
ETHICS- Refers to a good thing that we should pursue
and the bad thing that we should avoid.
PYSCHOLOGICAL EGOISM- A theory that describes the
underlying dynamic behind all human actions.
LAWS-. It is one’s guide to ethical behaviour.
RELIGION- The idea that one is obliged to obey her
God in all things.
MORAL DILEMMA- The reasons that we give to decide
or to judge that a certain way of acting is either right
or wrong.
MORAL DECISION-. When one is placed in a situation
and confronted by the choice of what act to perform.
MORAL JUDGMENT- When a person is an observer
who makes an assessment on the actions or
behaviour of someone.
MORAL DECISION- When an individual can choose
only one from a number of possible actions and there
are compelling ethical reasons for the various choices.
CULTURE- Set of beliefs and practices of a person.
MORAL- Used to refer to specific beliefs or
attitudes that people behave or to describe acts
that people perform
The Assumptions of Ethics
Assumption #1 - Man is a rational being -
this means that man is rational and acts with a
purpose, unlike brutes who merely act out of
instinct and reflex. Man is capable of knowing
both the intentions and consequences of his
actions, and is capable of judging them as right
and wrong.
Assumption #2 - Man is free - ethics
assumes that man is free to act according to his
will and he has the power to act, speak, or think if
he chooses to without restraints. In general, this
assumption tells us that man has the capacity to
excercise choice in his actions. It implies that man
has the capability to choose what to do and what
is good.
These two elements, however, could
mitigate or aggravate the degree of people’s
moral responsibility. This is the reason why we
cannot rightly judge a 5 year old child, or a person
who has gone insane to be unethical, even if their
acts harm other people.
Classifications of Human Acts
Acts are judged as to their moral worth
based on conformity to standards or norms of
morality. Moral acts are classified into the
following:
1. Moral or ethical acts. These are human
acts that observe or conform to standards or
norms of morality.
2. Immoral or unethical acts. These are
human acts that violate or deviate from a
standard of morality.
Amoral or Neutral Acts. These acts neither can be
good or nor bad in themselves. However,
odepending on the circumstance, these acts may
become moral or immoral. For example, sleeping
becomes an immoral act if done during office
hours.
 The Nature of Man for himself but for all men. Man uses reason
above the lower levels of his existence and
Man is a complex organism, for he is composed teaches consciously beyond himself into a being
of a physical body, intellect, and emotions. He of which he partakes - and becomes more than
has needs and wants to be satisfied in order to
he is. Since man has freewill, as society changes,
live a successful and happy life. He has needs
his values will follow.
and wants that are physiological, intellectual,
psychological or emotional, social, economic, IV. Oriental Philosophic View - Human nature is
political, moral, and spiritual in nature. All his originally good. Man is bestowed with knowledge
efforts are geared towards the fulfilment of these of what is right and what is wrong or what is good
needs as he strives to life a full life. He has to
and bad. Life is not a delusion, a curse or misery.
work for the satisfaction of these varied needs.
It is a living reality, a blessing, a natural priceless
These needs, therefore, should be fulfilled in
order to avoid frustrations. right and opportunity to work together with your
fellows for the common good and attain
Scientifically named as homo sapiens, man has happiness.
distinct characteristics that make him different
from other creatures on earth. Man differs from V. Contemporary View - Man is considered as a
other animals in biological and behavioural multi-bejewelled crown of creation. He has the
aspects. Various authors have put forth their own ability to become the best among all creations.
observations to such differences. Through his values, ideals, intelligent insights,
and productive efforts, man has the capacity to
BIOLOGICAL BEHAVIORAL
MAN ANIMAL become MAN progressive. ANIMAL
Man walks erect on two Other animals just crawl Man is rational and Man is irrational. They
feet or walk on four feet with has a power of only have instincts.
bodies horizontal to the reasoning
ground
Man has two full hands Animals, except the Man has various Animals just roam
which he uses in ape, have no free complexes in around and look for
handling things hands preparing and their own food and eat
consuming food them raw
Man has the capability Most animals only Human beings show Animals cannot share
to nourish and take shows parental curiousity, imitation, their own ideas
care of his siblings and care/love attention, memory,
to show love and imagination

Philosophical Views of Man

There are many views given by philosophers and

scholars about man. These views enlighten us
about how to issect man’s essence and
understand his motivations.
I. Classical View - Man is endowed with
hierarchical virtues whose nature is designed to
serve as building blocks of society. Man is distinct
from animals as he is the sole being who
possesses a physical body and a soul. Man’s soul
is composed of intellect and the will.

II. Christian View - Man is the “image of God”.

Hence, man is endowed with divine attributes and
these characteristics will bring all men to a
common bond forming essentially one family.

III. Existentialist View - Man is a being who

knows what he knows and is responsible not only