Binalonan, Pangasinan

1 Semester | A.Y. 2020-2021

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Module 3
Foundation and Requirement for Morality

Course Title: Ethics

Course Code: GE 8

Name: _________________________________
Course and Year: ________________________
Date and Time Allotment: __________________

Introduction
This module entitled Foundation and Requirement for Morality is about to discuss the difference between
morality and ethics, the role of freedom as foundation of morality, and the significance of reason and impartiality as
requirement for morality. In this module, you will be acquainted with contrasting philosophical ideas that are, in
varying degrees, instrument to assessing the moral dimensions of an act, and eventually to man’s moral and ethical
development.

I. Objectives
In this module, you will:
1. Be able to distinguish the difference between ethics and morality;
2. Be able to outline the significance of freedom as foundation of morality;
3. Be able to establish the role of reason and impartiality, and sentiment in moral decision-
making.

II. Lecture and Discussions of the Lesson/s

Introduction
The question of what is morally right and wrong has hounded man throughout the history. We
allowed ourselves to be judged by standards that we have imposed upon ourselves. In our attempt to
perfect our actions, and live in peace with our fellows, and with nature, we deemed it necessary to create
ethical standards that will surmise whether our actions are good, and of the greatest virtue, or if we have
been outrightly missing the mark.

What is Morality?
 The effort to guide one’s conduct by reason, that is, to do what are the best reasons for doing while
giving equal weight to the interests of each individual who will be affected by what one does.
 Refers to the system of beliefs and values that ensures that individuals will keep their obligations to
others in the society and behave in ways that do not interfere with the rights and interests of others
(Gerrig&Zimbardo, 2002).
 Morality is influenced by culture, religion and education. For one to learn it, it has to be taught directly or
indirectly, it has to be observed in words and in practice, better yet, it has to be experienced in one’s
interaction with other people.
 Morality has to do with the way we live our lives and helps us to judge the difference between right and
wrong. Once we knew the difference between the two, we can do what is right and avoid what is wrong.
Morality is defined into two kinds:
1. Descriptive
 Refers to a certain codes of conduct put forward by a society or a group (such as religion), or
accepted by an individual for her own behavior.
 Refers to personal or cultural values, codes of conduct or social mores. It does not connote
objective claims of right or wrong, but only refers to that which is considered right or wrong.
2. Normative
 Refers to a code of conduct that given specified conditions, would be put forward by all rational
persons.
 Refers to whatever (if anything) is actually right or wrong, which may be independent of the values
or mores held by any particular people or cultures. Normative ethics is the branch of philosophy
which studies morality in this sense.

Five Levels of Understanding Morality

1. As Law
 Something that we have to follow and if you do not follow, then there is a violation. For example,
The Ten Commandments.
 Talks about norms and standards
2. As Inner Conviction
 Something that has to do with one’s understanding of his/her beliefs
3. As Love
 Morality is something that is relational.
 Loving the other, God and self
 This understanding of morality is an approximation of how we Christians understand morality.
4. As personal Growth
 Something that has to do with one’s personhood
5. As Social Transformation
 Morality as bringing about changes in society
 Something that has to do with social conditions

Where does our Morality come from?

1. Home and Family
 The home and family play an important part in influencing our moral outlook.
 Our parents were the first people to teach us the difference between right and wrong.
For example: As children we learned that it is good to share our toys, to always tell the truth and
not hit other children.
2. Friends and Peers
 As grow older we begin to be influenced by others outside the home.
 Going to school, making friends and mixing with other children our own age meant we encountered
different types of values.
 Therefore, it can be said that our friends and peers also play an important role in influencing our
moral outlook.
3. Religion and Church
 People’s moral outlook is strongly influenced by the religion in which they have been brought up.
 Many young people go to schools with religious ethos where they are educated in their faith.
 Therefore, the values that they received at home are reinforced by the teachings and practices of
their religion.
4. Society and State
 The State plays an important role in deciding our moral outlook.
 The State passes the laws of the country.
Society also plays an important role in influencing our moral outlook as it can decide what is
accepted as good or bad.
 Usually when the majority of the society behave in a certain way then that behaviour can become
acceptable.
5. Emotions
 We can be influenced by our emotions to behave in certain ways.
 This can be a positive impact on us in situations where we are moved by sympathy or compassion
to help somebody in need.
 Emotions can also provide us with negative outcomes when we are driven by anger or hatred when
responding to certain situations.

Difference Between Ethics and Morality

ETHICS MORALITY
Greek: Ethos Latin: Mos (Mores, plural form)
“customary behavior”. ”customary behavior”
“Theory” of right action and the greater good. “Practice”, rightness or wrongness of human action.
 “systematic study” of the underlying  “prescriptive”
principles of morality o tells us what to do
o exhorts us to follow the right way
Generally, refers to the systematic study of the Generally, understood as the rightness or wrongness
rightness and wrongness of a human action of a human action
The science of “morals” The practice of basic principles of “ethics”
Provide systems of moral principles and the Refers to principles of right and wrong behavior or
reasons why these principles are valid. rightness and wrongness of human actions.
Basic Ethical Principles: *In determining the morality of human actions, the
1) Respects for persons moral agent is guided by the broader rules or
2) Truthfulness and Confidentiality principles of ethics.
3) Autonomy and Informed Consent
4) Beneficence
5) Non-maleficence
6) Justice
Ethics says that, killing is wrong because it Morality says that, “Do not kill” because it is wrong.
violates the basic ethical principles of “Respect for
persons” or “Non-maleficence.”

FREEDOM ASFOUNDATION OF MORALITY

What is Freedom?
 Is the willful act and decision that give form and shape to the actions and inclinations of people. This
freedom is oriented toward the wherefore, the what for, and the whom for of the doings of the
people.

For Immanuel Kant:

 He runs to human autonomy (freedom) as the principal foundation of morality.
 Comes from obeying the law for the right reasons.
Kant pointed out that moral rightness and wrongness apply only to free agents who have the
capacity to regulate their behavior and have it in their power, at the time of their actions, either to act rightly
or not. Hence, when we make choices, we must act “under the idea of freedom”(Morality as Freedom, n.d.).
Freedom then becomes the foundation of our moral act.

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2016:

 Literally means giving the law to oneself, and our understanding provides laws that constitute the a
priori framework of our experience.
o a priori – means “prior to,” orindependent of, experience, but more importantly, identical for all
human beings and not subject to change (Louden, 1992).

Morality in Today’s Generation

In a globalized world:
 Poushter (2014) asked the question: “What’s morally acceptable?”specifically in the issues of
extramarital affairs, gambling, homosexuality, abortion, premarital sex, alcohol use, divorce, and
contraception use. The answer from the poll was: “It depends on where in the world you live.”

3rd world country:

 Belief in God is essential to be a moral person according to Pew’s survey in 2014 though this is only
limited to the poorer countries.
 In the Philippines, 93% believe that belief in God is necessary to have morality.

REQUIREMENT FOR MORALITY

Reason and Impartiality
“Impartiality is not neutrality. It is partiality for justice.”
- Stanislaw Jerzy Lec
In deciding on important matters, no approach is more appropriate than a moral one. Morality, after
all, is first and foremost a matter of consulting reason (Rachels, 2003).Given that feelings sometimes get the
better of people when choosing where to stand on issues, sound moral reasoning must play even more
critical role.

What isReason?
 The foundation of what is ethical.
 The sole ground for determining the good.
 Functions as the very effort to think through moral principles and apply what he/she knows to get to the
right thing to do.
 The power of comprehending, inferring, or thinking especially in orderly rational ways

What is Impartiality?
 Simply states that no one is above or beneath any standard when making moral valuations.
 Distracts from moral personal whims when doling out judgments. From a moral standpoint, people
should not be treated differently if there are no truly good justifications to do so.

For example:
1. The Antebellum era, the period in the South America leading up to the Civil War when racism (i.e. the
enslavement of black people) was not only a norm but also a lucrative industry, is one historical
example of when moral impartiality was not properly observed.
2. The Philippines under Spanish colonial rule is another, a time when the natives (called “indios”) were
discriminated against mainly due to their inferior physical appearance and their perceived laziness (a
claim without evidence).
3. Suppose a man owns an apartment building and it only has one available unit left. Suddenly, a couple
came in to inquire, and they seem eager to rent. After the man’s brief explanation on the monthly rate,
 the couple took out some cash for the initial deposit. A tenancy deal is about to be struck. A smile
crossed the man’s face. Business is good.
But see, there is one thing bothering the man the entire time he was interacting with the couple: the
fact that the couple are of the same sex. As he is near to closing the deal, the man saw a heterosexual
couple walking towards the buildings, bags in hand. Without saying anything, he returned the first couple’s
money and instead handed the keys to the second couple. When pressed by the same-sex couple to
explain why the man gave the unit to the second couple when they were the first to inquire, he replied
plainly: “It is nothing personal. I merely abided by my religious beliefs.”
 Was the man able to ground his valuation on impartiality and reason? From the looks of it, the
answer is a resounding no. Why? First, the fact that the same-sex couple came in first is good
enough a reason for the man to hand them the unit, money also is not an issue, as they were more
than ready to pay in cash. But prejudice, not sound reasoning, took the better of him.
 Prejudice
 preconceived judgment or opinion
 It is an intrinsic flaw in human thought (i.e. bias)

Reason and Impartiality in the First Amendment Defense Act

The so-called First Amendment Defense Act (FADA) was introduced in the United States Congress
in June 10, 2015 by Senator Mike Lee of Utah and House Representative Raul Labrador of Ohio. This
controversial bill, if passed into law, will protect people who will take actions against others “on the basis that
they acted in accordance with a religious belief or moral conviction” from being penalized by the federal
government. Its scope will cover acts of discrimination committed against the third sex that are premised on
the idea that:
1. Marriage is or should be recognized as the union of one man and woman, or
2. Sexual relations are properly reserved to such a marriage.

The Foundation of Moral Life

1. God – perfectly good
2. Man – Who is man? What is man?
a) Man is rational animal – Aristotle and the scholastics
b) Msgr. Futlon Sheen compares man into three-level structure 1st level is his body, the 2nd level is his
soul, and the 3rd level is his spirit.
c) Man is a phenomenon, “a very special phenomenon” – Teilhard de Chardin

The Determinants of Morality

a) The act in itself
b) The motive of the act
c) Circumstances of the act
– Who, what, where, with whom, why, how, and when.

Human Acts
Characteristics of Human Act:
 It must be performed by a conscious agent who is aware of what he is doing of its consequences.
 It must be performed by an agent who is acting freely, that is, by his own violation and powers.
 It must be performed by an agent who decides willingly to perform the act.
Kinds of Human Act
1. Elicited Acts – voluntary uses of understanding and will
2. Commanded Acts – Are perfected by the action of mental and bodily power under the control of the will,
or so to spread under orders from the will.

Classifications of Human Acts

1. Moral – Refers to the actions which are on conformity with the norm of morality.
 A moral person knows the difference between right and wrong and chooses to do what is right.
2. Immoral – Refers to the actions which are not in conformity with the norm of morality.
 An immoral person knows the difference between right and wrong but still chooses to do what is
wrong.
3. Amoral – Refers to the actions which stand neutral in relation to the norm of morality.
 An amoral person has no regard for any standards of right or wrong and just do what he/she likes.

The Human Act vs. the Acts of Human

 An act carries with it moral consequences when the agent exercises his intellect and will in performing
the act. These are human acts.
 An act is not moral (amoral) when it is accomplished without knowledge or deliberation. These are the
acts of a human.

Issues Concerning Man’s Morality

 Abortion
 Contraception
 Divorce
 Euthanasia
 Homosexuality
 Pornography
 Sexuality
 Cloning

“Morality which depends upon the helplessness of a man or woman has not much to recommend it. Morality
is rooted in the purity of our hearts.”
- Mahatma Gandhi

Summary
Morality should not be limited in our words or thoughts alone but may it overflow to our actions,
behavior, and treatment to other people regardless of race, gender, belief, age, education, or socio-
economic status. Morality defined at home is the same morality developed in school, church, community,
and media. In this module, the important role of freedom (as postulated by Immanuel Kant) as
foundation of moralitywas discussed, and so were those of reason and impartiality as requirement for
morality.

Study Questions
1. What is morality? How do you understand the meaning?
2. What are the five levels of understanding morality?
3. What is the difference between ethics and morality?
4. What is freedom according to Immanuel Kant?
5. Define what is reason and impartiality?