UNIT 1: WHAT IS ETHICS?

Table of Contents
Introduction 2
Background of Ethics 2
What is Ethics 2
The Material and Formal Object of Ethics 3
The Value and Importance of Ethics 4
The Nature of Human Act 5
Constituents of Human Act 6
Modifiers of Human Act 7
Summary 10

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:

1. Discuss the background, nature and importance of Ethics;

2. Point out the object and subject matter of ethics;
3. Identify Human act from Acts of man;
4. Discuss the elements of human acts; and
5. Discuss the modifiers of human acts.

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OVERVIEW

Welcome to Unit 1! This is a module on Ethics. This course will

not tell you what is right and wrong; instead, it will help you in determining it
for yourself. More specifically, it will present you with conceptual and analytic
tools that will hopefully guide you in your moral judgment.
The Commission on Higher Education had mandated that Ethics
be a general education course required for all college students. As stated in
Memorandum Order No. 20, series of 2013, “The fundamental purpose of higher
education…is not only to develop knowledgeable and competent graduates in a
particular field, but also well-rounded individuals who appreciate knowledge in
a general sense, are open-minded because of it, secure in their identities as
individuals and as Filipinos, and cognizant of their role in the life of the nation
and the larger community.”
Ethics, then, is one of the courses that will ideally contribute to
the development of your intellectual competencies and civic capacities, and to
the development of your ability to comprehend the complexities of the social
and natural realities around us, as well as your ability to think through the ethical
and social implications of a given course of actions. This module strives to be
faithful to the pursuit of this ideal.
Again, this module is designed to help you become knowledgeable
and critical about various moral theories. Hopefully, this could also help you
become better in reasoning skill, a quality which you can subsequently apply to
your other academic subjects and various facets of life. The lectures, moreover,
call for you to provide context for the topics by eventually considering them in
forming or modifying your personal beliefs and principles.
To online students, you should treat this module as your personal
tutor. By dedicatedly reading the lectures and faithfully accomplishing all the
things required by your assigned professor, you can teach yourself the
necessary knowledge and skills related to Ethics. Remember that those
competencies cannot be acquired by unintelligently subscribing to 'cut-and-
paste' malpractice in accomplishing your tasks and assignments.
To all students, if you wish to benefit much from this module, you
should be ready to dedicate as much time as necessary. Taking this module
seriously will help you transform into an intellectually mature, creative, and
responsible moral person.

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READ

Background of Ethics

The name Ethics is derived from the Greek work word ethos, which means “a
characteristic way of acting.” Now the characteristics mark of human conduct is
found in the free and deliberate use of the will: in a word, this characteristic is
found in human acts. Thus, we perceive that the name Ethics is suitably employed
to designate the science of human acts, of human conduct. The Latin
mos(stem:mor-) is the equivalent of the Greek ethos. Hence we understand why
Ethics is sometimes called Moral Science or Moral Philosophy. (Glenn,1968)

What is Ethics?
Ethics can be
defined as “the practical
science dealing with the
morality of human conduct
(human actions). This
definition elicits two
important elements: Ethics
as a science and as a
Practical science.
Ethics is
Science—A science is a
relatively complete and systematically arranged body of connected data
together with the causes or reasons by which these data are known to be true.
Ethics squares with this definition because it is a complete and systematically
arranged body of data which relate to the morality of human conduct; and it
presents the reasons which show these data to be true.
Ethics is a practical science—as a practical science, Ethics

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presents data which directly imply and indicate directions for human conduct.
The opposite of practical is speculative, speculative science presents truths that
are to be known, but not necessarily to be acted upon.

The Material and Formal Object of Ethics

The Material object is the subject matter of the science: the thing, or
things, with which the science deals. The Material object of Ethics is human
acts, that is to say, human conduct.
The Formal object is the aim or special way that the science employs in
studying with its material object. Now Ethics deals with human acts (Its material
object) to discover what these must be in order to agree with the dictates of
reason. Hence, the Formal object of Ethics is the right morality or the rectitude
of human acts.
Ethics has two dimensions, to wit: General Ethics and Applied or
Special Ethics. The first deals with the morality of human act that mainly
focuses on the basic concepts. On the other hand, the second division refers
to the application of the moral principles, standards and norms in various
specific areas of human life and activities, such as Legal Ethics for lawyers,
Judicial Ethics for judges, Medical Ethics for doctors, Police Ethics for law
enforcers, etc.

Ethics then is both a theory and a practice. One has to know the theories
or ethical principles of knowing what is right and what is wrong and good and
bad actions. However, one has to translate these theories into actions. Knowing
what is right without changing the way one’s behave morally is a useless
knowledge (Fernadez, 2012).

Moral Principles must have the following characteristics:

1. Prescriptivity. It refers to the action-guiding nature of morality. Morality
is something that “prescribe” or guide and direct people what to do or
should not do. Like “Obey your parents” or “You should not tell lies.”
2. Impartiality. It means that moral principles should be neutral. It should
apply to anyone regardless of status or situation.
3. Overridingness. It should mean that moral principles should surpass all
other norms or standards of evaluation.
4. Autonomous from arbitrary authority. Moral standards should be
independent, hence, be able to stand on its own. Regardless of what the
majority says or decides, something is moral or immoral. An act should

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be based on ethical principles and not on what men say.

5. Publicity. Since moral standards guide people what to do, they should be
made public. Reason dictates that rules are made and promulgated to
advice as well as praise or blame certain actions.
6. Practicability. Rules are made for men to follow. Hence, moral standards
exist in which human beings are capable of doing.

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The Value and Importance of Ethics

Having a sense of morality is one of the things that differentiate us from
animals. By nature, we are sincerely concerned with what is right and what is
wrong in human behavior. Unlike animals, we care about living out ethical
principles. Since we can produce abstract concepts such as truth, righteousness,
and goodness, reflection about morality has been an essential element of human
civilizations. Around the world, people ask basic moral questions such as, “What
is the good?” “What makes a life a good life?” “What are the virtues of a human
being?” and “What duties do we have to each other?”
A course in Ethics is thus undoubtedly fundamental and necessary. The
subject significantly helps in endorsing valuable moral and social values like
cooperation, social responsibility, respect for human rights, compliance with the
law, and peace preservation. As Ethics calls for rational and righteous living, it
encourages making good choices and living a purposeful and meaningful life.

The following are reasons that can be cited why ethics should be a required
course. They are enough to convince us of the importance of Ethics:
1. We live in a world where we must not only make decisions but where
there are right ways and wrong ways. Ethics should make clear to us why
one act is better than another.
2. In order to have any orderly social life, we must have agreements,
understanding, principles, or rules of procedure. Ethics seeks the most
intelligent principles of behavior, or the principles which will make life
most wholesome.
3. Moral conduct and ethical systems, both of the past and the present,
must be intelligently appraised and criticized. Some of them express the
needs of man; some do not. Some of them are aids to wholesome living
today; others are definitely hindrances. Hence, there is the constant need
to study the fundamentals of morality which is not subject to change or
modifications.

4. Ethics seeks to point out to men true values of life. It attempts to

stimulate the moral sense, discover the true values of life and inspire
men to join in the quest for these values . It employs the marvelous
faculty of human reason upon the supremely important question of what
an upright life is and must be.

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5. Faulty ethical theories, as well as the lack of definite ethical principles,

have been and are still the cause of great disorders in the political and
social world. This is apparent in such things as Nihilism, Socialism, Birth
control through the use of contraceptives, Companionship Marriage, etc.
Ethics is therefore a science deserving of careful study.

What is Human Act?

It is important to determine on what kind of act of which man is morally
accountable and responsible. There are two acts: human act and act of man. A
Human Act is an act which proceeds from the deliberate free will of man . In a
wide sense, the term human act means any sort of activity, internal or external,
bodily or spiritual performed by a human being. It is only the act that proceeds
from the knowing and freely willing human being that has the full character of
human act.
Those acts that man performs indeliberately or without the full exercise of
free choice, are called Acts of man. Thus, such acts as are affected in sleep,
in delirium, in the state of unconsciousness; acts done abstractedly; acts done
in infancy; acts due to infirmity of mind or weakness of senility—all these acts
are acts of man, not human acts. It is to be noticed that acts which are, in
themselves, acts of man may sometimes become human acts by the consent of
the human agent (doer of the act).

Constituents of Human Acts

In order that an act be human, it must possess three essential qualities:
it must be knowing, free, and voluntary. Hence, we list the essential elements,
or constituents, of the human acts as: Knowledge; Freedom, and Voluntariness.

1. Knowledge

Knowledge here means the act whereby the intellect

perceives the action that the person is about to perform or
is performing. It is necessary for an act to be free since no
one can consent to or reject something unless he is aware
of it first. Hence, a person must know what is doing in order
to be responsible for it. Someone, for instance, cannot be
held responsible for what he does while he is asleep or half-
asleep.

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The will cannot act in the dark, for the will is a “blind” faculty in itself. It
cannot choose unless it “see” to choose, and the light, the power to see, is
afforded by intellectual knowledge. I cannot “will” to go to the island of Boracay
unless I know that there is such an island. I cannot choose to eat oranges or
not to eat oranges, if I have never seen nor heard of oranges. I cannot will to
play the guitar if I do not know such musical instrument. Knowledge, therefore,
is an essential element of the human act.

2. Freedom
Man’s freedom is the capacity to act or not to act
(freedom of exercise), or to choose this thing in
preference to others (freedom of specification). This
freedom of choice gives man full dominion over his
actions. His will does not necessarily adhere to the goods
known and presented to it by the intelligence. What is
the root of this freedom? Its root lies in man’s
intelligence. The will loves only that object which the
intellect presents to it as good in all respects since the
good as such is the object of the will.

3. Voluntariness
The Latin word for the will is voluntas, and from this word we derive the
English terms, voluntary and voluntariness.
The other condition that is necessary for an act to be morally imputable
to a person is that the person must do it voluntarily or with consent. Many
factors affect the voluntariness of an action. One important factor is the
advertence which is the
act whereby the intellect perceives the action that the person is about to perform
or is performing. Since volition follows upon cognition, there can be full consent
only if there was full advertence to the act. Therefore, actions that we perform
semi- advertently (like out of surprise, sudden anger, sudden fear, etc) are for
that reason semi-deliberate actions, they are not done with full consent.

How are you doing so far? Before going on, you might want to
put your feet up for a while and relax. You are just half way of your reading
exercise,
don’t be comfortable in your favorite chair.

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Modifiers of Human Acts

By the modifiers of human acts we mean the things that may affect
human acts in the essential qualities of knowledge, freedom, voluntariness, and
so make them less perfectly human. Such modifiers lessen the moral character
of the human act, which, consequently, diminish the responsibility of the agent.
There are four modifiers of human acts that call for detailed study,
viz., ignorance, fear, violence, habit.

IGNORANCE
Ignorance is the absence of knowledge-and, for our purpose here, it may
be defined as the absence of intellectual knowledge in man. Ignorance is thus
a negation of knowledge; it is a negative thing. But when the absence of
knowledge that ought to be present, the ignorance is not merely negative, but
privative. Thus, ignorance of the higher mathematics in a structural-steel worker
is merely negative; but such ignorance is privative in the architect or engineer
who designs steel structures such as bridges and the framework of buildings.
We are to consider ignorance in its effect upon human acts by considering
it in two ways, that is, 1. in its Object, meaning in the thing of which a person
may be ignorant; 2. in its Subject, that is, in the person in whom ignorance
exists

1. Ignorance in its Object—the thing of which a person may be ignorant

is a matter of law, fact, or penalty.

a. Ignorance of Law—is the ignorance of the existence of duty, rule,

or regulation.

Example: A motorist drives at a rate of forty miles an hour, not knowing

that the local speed limit is twenty miles an hour. A hunter shoots game in early
October, unaware that the game-laws forbid such an act. A young freshman
leaves the campus during noon-recess, not knowing that his action is a violation
of the college rules.

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b. Ignorance of Fact—is ignorance of the nature or circumstance of an act

as forbidden.
Example: A motorist knows the speed-limit, but unknowingly violates it
because of an inaccurate speedometer. A hunter knows the game-laws, but
reads his calendar amiss, and kills game one day before the season opens. A
freshman knows that he must not leave the campus, but goes out of bounds
through misinformation about the extent of the college property. Thus—
ignorance of fact is lack of knowledge that what one is actually doing comes
under the prohibition of a known law.

c. Ignorance of Penalty—is the lack of knowledge of the precise

sanction. Example: A motorist knowingly violates the speed-law, not knowing
that, in the particular locality, the set punishment for such an offence is a short
prison term, in lieu of which no amount of money will be accepted. A hunter
violates the game-laws, believing that, if apprehended, he will be merely fined,
whereas the established penalty for his offence is the revocation of the license
to hunt. A freshman willfully leaves the campus, thinking that he will escape
with and reprimand not to do so again, whereas the fixed penalty for his offence
is the suspension of all student- privileges for a period of two weeks.

2. Ignorance in its subject.—in the person in whom it exist, ignorance

(of law, fact, or penalty) is either vincible or invincible.

a. Vincible Ignorance—(i. e., conquerable ignorance; ignorance that

can and should be supplanted by knowledge) is ignorance that can be dispelled
by the use of ordinary diligence. Such ignorance is, therefore, due to lack of
proper diligence on the part of the ignorant person, and is his fault. Vincible
ignorance is, in consequence, culpable ignorance.

b. Invincible Ignorance—is ignorance that ordinary and proper

diligence cannot dispel. This sort of ignorance is attributable to one of two
causes, namely: either the person in whom the ignorance exists has no
realization whatever of his lack of knowledge, OR the person who realizes his
ignorance finds ineffective his

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effort to dispel it. Hence, invincible ignorance is never the fault of the person
in whom it exists, and it is rightly called inculpable ignorance.

FEAR
It is one of the passions, and is included under the general denotation of the
term concupiscence, but it is usual to give special mention in Ethics because it is a
very common passion, and we should know in detail its relation to the morality of
acts, and because it has a characteristic distinctive among the passions, viz., that is
(when it is the cause of an act) induces the will to do what it would not do otherwise.
We may, however, present the ethical doctrine on the subject of fear in very short
space.
Fear is the shrinking back of the mind from danger. More accurately, it is the agitation
of mind (ranging from slight disturbance to actual) brought about by the apprehension
of impending evil.
Actions may proceed from fear as their cause, or may be done with fear
as an accompanying circumstance. Thus, a soldier who runs to shelter from a
dangerous position acts from fear, while his bolder companion who stays at his
post may be affected with fear, but it is obviously not this fear that keeps him
in the position: on the contrary, he remains in spite of fear.

VIOLENCE
It is also known as coaction. It
is defined as the external force
applied by a free cause for the
purpose of compelling a person to
perform an act which is against his
will. Example: Martyrs suffered
violence when they were dragged to
the altars of idols in the effort to
make them offer sacrifice to false
gods.
Violence cannot reach the will directly. It may force bodily action, but
the will is not controlled by the body, rather, the body is controlled by the will.

HABIT
By Habit ethics understands operative habit, which is a lasting readiness and
facility, born of frequently repeated acts, for acting in certain manner. Thus a man
who has the always endeavored to speak the truth, has a habit of truthfulness, and
it goes against his habit to lie. Such a man finds it necessary to make a distinct effort

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in order to utter a deliberate falsehood.

Again, a man who has the habit of lying, finds it very easy to falsify or
evade the truth and it is difficult for him to tell the truth when a lie would prove
convenient.

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Summary

In this unit, we defined ethics and elaborated its object and subject. We
also mentioned its importance and value to human life in the pursuit of
happiness and sense of fulfillment.

We have defined human act, and have contrasted it with act of man. We
have noticed in passing that the human act stands related to the dictates of
reason, and is, in consequence, a moral act. We have viewed human act in their
moral aspect as good, bad, or indifferent acts. We have seen that human act is
essentially the product of the will (voluntary act) acting with native freedom in
the light of intellectual knowledge.

As regards the modifiers of human act, we have endeavored to determine

their general influence upon human acts, whether they aggravate, mitigate, or
diminish the culpability (responsibility) of the person in performing the act.

Further Readings

Agaton, Sheldon Ives G., Purog, Joezenon, Workbook in Ethics, Tacloban:

EVSU.

Gallinero, Winston, Rex Oliver Papel, Ricky Acero (2019). Ethics. Manila:
Mutya Publishing House, Inc.

ETHICS A Class Manual in Moral Philosophy By Right Rev.Msgr.Paul J.

Glenn, Ph.D., S.T.D., B.HERDER BOOK CO. 314 North Jefferson, St.
Louis, MO. and 2/3 Doughty MEWS, London, W.C. 1968.

Bulaong, Calano, Langliva, Mariano, Princepe, Ethics: Foundations of Moral

Obligations. (Manila: Rex Bookstore INC., 2018).

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Ramirez, Luzviminda F. and Eden Tongson-Beltran (2004) Man, Values and

Work Ethics. Manila: Trinitas Publishing, Inc.
Frs. Santos, Caezar, Carlos Estrada, Juan Manuel Perez. Lecture Notes in
Moral Theology, University of Asia and the Pacific, Manila.

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Let’s have a break after trying to understand all those concepts. Try to stretch
your muscles a bit and when you get back, we’ll do a little review of the points
we just learned by doing some exercises. Now, don’t get too nervous. Self-
assessment questions are designed to help you measure how well you
understood each lesson. It is useful way to do small reviews as we go along.
Good luck!

ACTIVITY

Look an ethical issue in the internet and make a reflection. Write at least 500
words. A rubric given below will guide you to make a comprehensive reflection.

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REFLECTION PAPER RUBRIC

Criteria Superior (54-60 Sufficient (48-53 Minimal (1-47 Unacceptable

points) points) points) (0 points)
Depth of Response Response Response Response
Reflection demonstrates an in- demonstrates a demonstrates a demonstrates a
depth reflection on, general reflection on, minimal lack of reflection
(25%) and personalization and personalization reflection on, on, or
of, the theories, of, the theories, and personalization
___/15 concepts, and/or concepts, and/or personalization of, the theories,
strategies presented strategies presented of, the theories, concepts, and/or
in the course in the course concepts, and/or strategies
materials to date. materials to date. strategies presented in the
Viewpoints and Viewpoints and presented in the course materials
interpretations are interpretations are course materials to date.
insightful and well supported. to date. Viewpoints and
supported. Clear, Appropriate examples Viewpoints and interpretations
detailed examples are provided, as interpretations are missing,
are provided, as applicable. are unsupported inappropriate,
applicable. or supported and/or
with flawed unsupported.
arguments. Examples, when
Examples, when applicable, are
applicable, are not provided.
not provided or
are irrelevant to
the assignment.
Required Response includes all Response includes all Response is Response
Components components and components and missing some excludes
meets or exceeds all meets all components essential
(25% ) requirements requirements and/or does not components
indicated in the indicated in the fully meet the and/or does not
___/15 instructions. Each instructions. Each requirements address the
question or part of question or part of indicated in the requirements
the assignment is the assignment is instructions. indicated in the
addressed addressed. All Some questions instructions.
thoroughly. All attachments and/or or parts of the Many parts of the
attachments and/or additional documents assignment are assignment are
additional documents are included, as not addressed. addressed
are included, as required. Some minimally,
required. attachments and inadequately,
additional and/or not at all.
documents, if
required, are
missing or
unsuitable for
the purpose of
the assignment.
Structure Writing is clear, Writing is mostly Writing is Writing is unclear
concise, and well clear, concise, and unclear and/or and disorganized.
(25%) organized with well organized with disorganized. Thoughts ramble

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excellent good Thoughts are and make little

___/15 sentence/paragraph sentence/paragraph not expressed in sense. There are
construction. construction. a logical numerous
Thoughts are Thoughts are manner. There spelling,
expressed in a expressed in a are more than grammar, or
coherent and logical coherent and logical five spelling, syntax errors
manner. There are manner. There are no grammar, or throughout the
no more than three more than five syntax errors per response.
spelling, grammar, or spelling, grammar, or page of writing.
syntax errors per syntax errors per
page of writing. page of writing.
Evidence Response shows Response shows Response shows Response shows
and Practice strong evidence of evidence of synthesis little evidence of no evidence of
synthesis of ideas of ideas presented synthesis of synthesis of ideas
(25%) presented and and insights gained ideas presented presented and
insights gained throughout the entire and insights insights gained
___/15 throughout the entire course. The gained throughout the
course. The implications of these throughout the entire course. No
implications of these insights for the entire course. implications for
insights for the respondent's overall Few implications the respondent's
respondent's overall teaching practice are of these insights overall teaching
teaching practice are presented, as for the practice are
thoroughly detailed, applicable. respondent's presented, as
as applicable. overall teaching applicable.
practice are
presented, as
applicable.

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