PAMBAYANG DALUBAHASAAN NG MARILAO

Abangan Norte, Marilao, Bulacan

GENERAL EDUCATION – SOCIAL SCIENCES AND NSTP DEPARTMENT

COURSE SYLLABUS

I. COURSE CODE: GE7

II. COURSE TITLE: Ethics
III. COURSE CREDIT: 3 Units (3 hrs. lecture/week)
IV. PRE-REQUISITE/s: None

V. COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Ethics focuses on the application of different ethical principles and values of a human being in the context of different level of the modern society namely:
individual, societal, and interaction with his environment and other natural resources. (CMO 20, s.2013). It talks about moral issues in the context of ethical standards of
right and wrong that is developed and learned primarily by an individual from the community. This course also teaches to make moral decisions by using dominant moral
frameworks and by applying a seven-step moral reasoning model to analyze and solve moral dilemmas.
The course is organized according to the three (3) main elements of moral experience: (a) agent, including context – cultural, communal, and environmental; (b)
the act, and (c) reason and framework for such action. This course also includes the ethics of taxation, the obligation of citizens to pay taxes, as well as the state’s duty to
spend and utilize taxes properly.

VI. LEARNING OUTCOMES:

At the end of the course, students must be able to:
1. Differentiate between moral and non-moral problems
2. Describe what a moral experience is as it happens in different levels of human existence
3. Explain the influence of Filipino culture on the way students look at moral experiences and solve moral dilemmas
4. Describe the moral development and moral experience
5. Use ethical frameworks or principles to analyze moral experiences
6. Make sound ethical judgment based principles, facts, and the stakeholders affected
7. Develop sensitivity to common good
8. Understand and internalize the principles of ethical behavior in modern society at the level of the person, society, and in interaction with the environment
and other shared resources.

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 VII. COURSE OUTLINE:
Introduction. Key Concepts  What are the advantages of over-reliance on feelings?
This section addresses the following questions:  How can we make reasoned and impartial decision?
 What are moral standards, and how do they differ from other rules of  Why is reason not enough in carrying out moral decisions?
our lives?
 What is moral dilemma? Part III. Framework and principles behind our moral disposition
This section addresses the following questions:
 Why is freedom crucial in our ability to make moral decision?
 What are the overarching that dictate the way we make our individual moral decisions?
 What is the advantage of owning moral standards over merely abiding
 What is my framework in making my decisions?
by moral standards?
Conclusions: Ethics through thick and thin, Ethics and religion
Part I. The Moral Agent
This section addresses the following questions:
This section addresses the following questions:
 What are the challenges to ethical behavior in today’s world?
 How does culture shape moral behavior?
 Is it still meaningful to search for universal values?
 Why should culture not be the ultimate determinant of values?
 How do we respond to an increasingly pluralist and individualists globalized world?
 Is there a Filipino understanding of wright and wrong? Why this
interpretation? What are its influences?

Part II. The Act

This section addresses the following questions:
 What is the role of feelings in moral decisions?

VIII. LEARNING PLAN:

SPECIFIC LEARNING OUTCOMES
WEEK 1 1. Discuss mission/ vision and policies
of the school
2. Discuss the course and its
requirement/grading system
3. Provide students the basic
knowledge and proper introduction
of Moral Philosophy and its key
TOPICS/CONTENTS TEACHING METHODS/ STRATEGIES STUDENT ACTIVITIES/
EVALUATIVE MEASURES
Syllabus Distribution and Orientation STUDENT ACTIVITY: o Homework that requires students to pay
A. Mission/ Vision of the school Class discussion: What rules do you find close attention to school and community
B. School Policies constricting? Why rules? rules experienced in daily life. Evaluate these
C. Grading System rules.
D. Course outline MINI-LECTURE: Why rules are important to o Class recitation after the lecture on key
social beings concepts, importance of rules, and the
KEY CONCEPTS: difference between moral and non-moral
a. Ethical interest STUDENT ACTIVITY: standards
1. Ethics, morality, and law Class discussion: When do you say it is a

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 concept
WEEK 2 1. Recognize and recall a moral
experience
2. Detect a moral dilemma
3. Identify the three levels of moral
dilemma
WEEK 3 1. Explain why only human beings can
be ethical
WEEK 4 1. Articulate what culture means and
attribute facets of human behavior
to culture
2. Recognize and appreciate
differences in moral behavior of
different cultures
3. Evaluate the strengths and
weaknesses of cultural relativism
WEEK 5 1. Analyze crucial qualities of the
Filipino moral identity in their own
moral morale experiences
2. Evaluate elements that need to be
changed Explain the relationship
between the individual acts and
character
3. Identify and articulate each stage of
2. What is the relationship of law to
morality?
3. Why is morality necessary?
b. Moral vs. non-moral standards
c. What are dilemmas?
d. Three levels of moral dilemma
(individual, organizational, systemic)
e. Determinism and Indeterminism
1. Concept of freedom
2. Freedom vs freewill
f. Foundation of morality: Freedom-
responsibility to one’s act and to other
g. Minimum requirement for morality:
reason and impartiality
PART I. MORAL AGENT
a. Culture in moral behavior
1. Culture and its role in moral
behavior
2. What is cultural relativism? Why is
it not tenable in ethics?
3.Asian and Filipino morality: What
are their strengths and
weaknesses?
b. The moral agent: Developing virtue as
habit
1. Universal values
2. How is moral character
developed?
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moral experience?
LECTURE: Difference between moral and
non-moral standards
STUDENT ACTIVITY:
For individual dilemmas: case discussion on
students’ moral dilemmas
For organizational dilemmas: medical, legal,
and business case study
For systemic/structural dilemmas: e.g. war
on drugs
LECTURE: What are moral dilemmas?
Examples of moral dilemmas. Three levels
of moral dilemma.
FILM/CLIP VIEWING demonstrating absolute
freedom or the absence of it
LECTURE: Freedom as foundation of ethics
STUDENT ACTIVITY:
Class discussion: How do you think your
community influences your behavior?
LECTURE: What is culture? How does it
define moral behavior? Why can’t all
cultural practices be correct?
VIDEO CLIP on the Filipino Way, and lives of
Nelson Mandela and Adolf Hitler
STUDENT ACTIVITY:
Class discussion: Description of highlights of
Filipino culture its strengths and
weaknesses of Filipino moral character.
During discussion, bring out students’
o QUIZ #1 to test first and second topic.
o Group discussion: students identify dilemmas
in cases submitted by their classmates
o OR written exercise where teacher could give
two of dilemmas submitted (all personal and
age-appropriate), where students write them
down and discuss the results
o Class discussion to bring out reactions and
insights on the clip presented, zeroing on
why freedom is crucial to ethical experience.
o OR assigning of reflection paper on reactions
and insights on the film.
o Through an essay, ask student to narrate
their personal experience, analyze how
problem rooted from Filipino qualities, and
how they would have done things differently.
o QUIZ #2 Question/s: Explain the position in
ethics called cultural relativism. Discuss its
strengths and weaknesses.
At the end of the class, hold group discussions
and presentations, analyzing the lives of
Mandela and Hitler.
 moral development
WEEK 6
WEEK 7
1. Identify and articulate each stage of
moral development
2. Check their personal growth, and
three other cases, against the stages
of development
WEEK 8 1. Recall immediate response to moral
dilemmas
2. Differentiate responses based on
reason and those based on feelings
3. Capture and analyze their feelings in
personal moral experience
4. Compare reasonable and emotional
responses
WEEK 9 5. Check real-life cases against the 7-
step model using reason and
impartiality
6. Differentiate knowing and actually
executing a good moral decision
7. Judge their own behavior in terms of
planning and execution in important
moral experience
WEEK 10 1. Explain the role of mental frames in
moral experience
2. Classify the dominant mental frames
3. Articulate, critiques, and make use
of virtue ethics
3. The circular relation of acts that
build character and acts that
emanate from character
PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION
4. Moral development
4.1 stages of moral development
4.2 how to come up with the
highest level, conscious-based STUDENT ACTIVITY:
moral decision
PART II. THE ACT
a. Feelings and moral decision making
1. Feelings as instinctive and trained
response to moral dilemmas
b. Reason and impartiality as minimum
requirements for morality
1. Reason and impartiality defined
2. The 7-step moral reasoning model
c. Moral courage
1. Why the will is as important as
reason
2. Developing the will
PART III. FRAMEWORKS AND PRINCIPLES
BEHIND MORAL DISPOSITION
a. Virtue ethics
1. Aristotle
1.1 Telos
1.2 Virtue as habit
understanding of contributory elements to
their moral character.
LECTURE: Moral character as disposition;
how it is developed
LECTURE: Kohlberg’s Six Stages of moral GROUP CASE ANALYSIS #1
development Using the 7-step model on business ethics case
called The Star employee
Draw a chart of their life’s journey showing
the incipient moments in their lives and
where they are now in their development.
Illustrate feelings as instinctive response via Role-play three cases, highlighting in one case
case analysis from the news. emotional response, and in other case rational
response
STUDENT ACTIVITY:
Students are given three situations – The class critiques the behavior and responses
medical, business, and government ethics. of agents in three cases
And asked to role-play three moral
experiences
Individual reflection sessions in class on a most
LECTURE: What is reason? What is recent dilemma: How did I decide and what did
impartiality I actually do during my most important moral
experience in the past year?
CLASS DISCUSSION: personal experiences
and feelings attached to these.
STUDENT ACTIVITY:
Group discussion – stories from news clips
highlighting emotional and rational
responses
LECTURE: moral theories as frames of moral REFLECTION PAPER:
experiences. What is the bigger context in which I make my
individual decisions?
CLASS DISCUSSION: St. Thomas and the
natural law GROUP DISCUSSION using Aristotelian and
Thomistic perspectives on contentious issues

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WEEK 11 1. Articulate and understand the rights
theory
2. Differentiate legal from moral rights
3. Make use of rights theory
WEEK 12
WEEK 13 1. Understand and articulate egoism as
a moral theory
2. Articulate what social contract is
3. Make use of the concept of social
contract
WEEK 14
1. Articulate what utilitarianism is
2. Critique utilitarianism
3. Make use of utilitarianism
1.3 Happiness as virtue STUDENT ACTIVITY:
2. St. Tomas Aquinas Students will interview parents and church
2.1 The natural and its tenets leaders about positions on contentious
2.2 Happiness as constitutive of issues
moral and cardinal virtues
b. Kant and rights theorists LECTURE: o QUIZ #4: What is/ are the difference
1. Kant a. Kant and right theorists between the rights and virtue theories?
1.1 Good will b. What is legal is not always moral o Case analysis: a case highlighting why options
1.2 Categorical imperative taken by the agent may be legal but not
2. Different kinds of rights STUDENT ACTIVITY: moral
2.1 Legal Analysis of case using rights theories
2.2 Moral
MIDTERM EXAMINATION
c. Egoism LECTURE: o QUIZ #5: Compare then contrast the egoism
1. Egoism as a moral theory and a. Egoism as moral principle and Social Contract
some problems with this theory. b. Social contract theory theory?
2. social contract as basis for moral
thinking STUDENT ACTIVITY:
3. Social Contract Theory Case analysis
1.1 Hobbes
1.2 Locke
1.3 Nozick
1.4 Rawls.
d. Utilitarianism LECTURE: Utilitarianism INDIVIDUAL CASE ANALYSIS #1
1. Origins and nature of theory
1.1 Act utilitarianism STUDENT ACTIVITY: The Marcopper and Boac River case
1.2 Rule utilitarianism Case analysis
1.3 Utilitarianism vs hedonism
2. Business’s fascination with
utilitarianism

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WEEK 15
1. Articulate what justice and fairness
are
2. Critique justice and fairness
WEEK 16 3. Make use of justice and fairness
WEEK 17 1. Identify the important moral
challenges of globalization
e. Justice and fairness: promoting common LECTURE: Justice and fairness
good
1. The nature of the theory STUDENT ACTIVITY:
2. Racism Discussion and debate: GROUP CASE ANALYSIS #2
3. Sexism President Duterte’s case: Whose interest?
4. Speciesism Social housing - who should pay for the
5. Distributive justice cost?
2.1 egalitarian
2.2 capitalist Who should carry the burden of taxation?
2.3 socialist
1.3.1 State – citizen Who should benefit from taxation?
responsibilities: principles of
taxation and inclusive growth
f. Challenges of pluralism and VIDEO CLIP: On facets of globalization: Identify the important moral challenges of
fundamentalism: search for universal Ethical challenges for business that works in globalization
values a globalized world; and what standards do
1. Globalization and pluralism workers follow?
2. Challenges of filinnials
3. Religious response: the role of religion CLASS DISCUSSION: the moral challenges of
in ethics globalization

IX. COURSE REQUIREMENTS

1. Written up moral dilemmas experienced by students

2. Regular quizzes and/or major exams to test if the students recall the concepts and principles
3. Group and individual case analyses
4. Final oral exam
5. Final paper

X. GRADING SYSTEM:
A. Weight Distribution for Periodical Grade:
Quizzes 40%
Individual case analyses/ reflection paper 20%
Group case analyses 20%
Final oral exam (can be replaced by written exam) 20%
100%

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 B. Weight Distribution for Final Grade: PG: 30% MG: 30% FG: 40%

XI. REFERENCES:

Angeles, Antoinette and Azada, Rowena. “Medicine prices, price control and the Philippine pharmaceutical industry monograph produced by the Jose B Fernandez Jr. Ethics Center and
Ateneo Graduate School of Business. 2011.
Aquinas, Thomas. On law, eternal law, and natural law. Summa Theologiae, vol. 28. Blackfriars in conjunction with McGraw Hill Book Company, New York, 1966, Pp. 5-97
Aristotle, Book I-II, Nichomachean Ethics trans. Martin Oswald, indiananapolis: Bobs-Merrill Educational publishing. 1963
Licuanan, Patricia et. al., A moral recovery program: building a people – building nation. In Values in Philippine Culture and Education: Philippine Philosophical Studies I, edited by
Mannuel B. Dy Jr., 31-48. Washington, DC: The council for research in values and philosophy. 1994.
Rachels, James. Whaty is morality. Chapter 1, and The challenge of cultural relativism, Chapter 2, in The elements of moral philosophy. 4th ed. New York: MacGraww-Hill College 2004.

Prepared by: Reviewed by: Noted by: Approved by:

ROMEO M. TEOPE JR. SEVERINA DC. ORTAL, MAEd. DOLORES DC. CAJUCOM,MAEd MILAGROS B. DAVID Ph. D.
Faculty SOC/ NSTP Coordinator School Administrator School President

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