1. Morality arises from two factors - the point of view of society through its customs and rules, and the point of view of the individual internalizing these social norms.
2. For morality to occur, two necessary conditions must exist: freedom, which assumes one is a free moral agent responsible for their choices, and obligation, which is one's duty to exercise freedom rationally.
3. John Paul Sartre argued that humans are radically free yet condemned to this freedom, with responsibility for their actions and consequences but no exemptions from choice.
1. Morality arises from two factors - the point of view of society through its customs and rules, and the point of view of the individual internalizing these social norms.
2. For morality to occur, two necessary conditions must exist: freedom, which assumes one is a free moral agent responsible for their choices, and obligation, which is one's duty to exercise freedom rationally.
3. John Paul Sartre argued that humans are radically free yet condemned to this freedom, with responsibility for their actions and consequences but no exemptions from choice.
1. Morality arises from two factors - the point of view of society through its customs and rules, and the point of view of the individual internalizing these social norms.
2. For morality to occur, two necessary conditions must exist: freedom, which assumes one is a free moral agent responsible for their choices, and obligation, which is one's duty to exercise freedom rationally.
3. John Paul Sartre argued that humans are radically free yet condemned to this freedom, with responsibility for their actions and consequences but no exemptions from choice.
1. Morality arises from two factors - the point of view of society through its customs and rules, and the point of view of the individual internalizing these social norms.
2. For morality to occur, two necessary conditions must exist: freedom, which assumes one is a free moral agent responsible for their choices, and obligation, which is one's duty to exercise freedom rationally.
3. John Paul Sartre argued that humans are radically free yet condemned to this freedom, with responsibility for their actions and consequences but no exemptions from choice.
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PHILOSOPHY
Chapter 3: Freedom in the Context of Morality Human Acts
Lesson 1: Morality and Freedom Actions that we; knowingly, Morality voluntary, deliberately, Seems to be a heavy or broad subject willingly matter for discussion if we do not Acts of man have the basic tools for analysis Actions that are; instinctive, Quality of actions automatic, reflexive Distinction of right/wrong, good/bad Factoid Came from the root word mores The act of killing a member of Ethics one’s family by members of one’s A branch of philosophy that deals extended family including some with the systematic questioning and members of a closely knit critical examination of the community where he/she belongs underlying principles of morality and has brought dishonor to is Came from the root word ethos sometimes called an honor crime. Ethos William Sumner Refers to the character of a culture A well-known anthropologist Includes the attitude of approval or His article entitled Folkways, our disapproval in a particular culture at notion of what if ‘right’ stems a given time and place. from man’s basic instinct to In every action there’s survive a consequences. Notion of ‘right’ and ‘true’ is Mores known as folkways The customs including the customary Mores come from folkways, with the behavior of a particular group of added element of societal welfare people. embodied in them Mores (in Latin) and Ethos (in Greek) “The ‘morals’ of an age are never Both refers to customary behavior anything but the consonance between what is done and what the mores of Ethics has been associated with Two the age requires. General Approaches Sanction A threatened penalty for Normative Ethics disobeying a law or rule Is meant to give an answer to the Customs question, ‘What is good?’ A traditional and widely accepted Pertains to certain norms or way of behaving or doing something standards for goodness and badness, that is specific to a particular rightness or wrongness of an act. society, place or time A comprehensive normative ethical Habits system tries to give a moral A settled or regular tendency or framework, where its standards of practice, especially on that which is morality, are based. hard to give up. Meta-ethics Tries to go beyond the concepts and Two important factors in the emergence parameters set by normative ethics of morality by trying to question the basis of the assumptions proposed in a Point of view of society framework of norms and standards Together with its customs, by normative ethics. social rules and sanctions Examine the presuppositions, Point of view of the individual or meanings and justifications of ethics human person concepts, and principles. Who has unconsciously developed habits in following the social norms 3 Ethos of Human established by his society. 1. Man has the capacity to know what is good Freedom and evil Has been widely used and applied in 2. Man knows what is good and does it and he the analysis of Philippine society as a knows what is evil and avoid it whole, as well as the application of 3. Man feels the consequences of his actions freedom to individual right. expecting reward and punishment Freedom, of the human person from the moral sense of the word, assumes that one is a free moral agent When we are exercising freedom in making “All values are priorities with respect choices, we are taking control and to some aspect of human experience. assuming full responsibility for the choices; This is usually expressed by saying we are taking control and assuming full that values are imperatives; they responsibility for the choices that we are make a claim upon us, whether we making. admit the claim or not.” There is one important caveat: you are free “Making moral judgments is but his freedom is not absolute budgeting actions.” Moral “A moral decision is the most When one is free to make his choice important class of moral judgments,” in accordance with his own moral more for him, “has reference to the discernment of what is good and bad judger’s own future action.” Jean-Paul Sartre “Not all moral judgments are An existentialist philosopher decisions,” thus “many of our moral Assume the idea of radical freedom, judgments have reference to other by claiming that man is condemned people or groups of people.” to be free Argues that a value can become a There are no exemptions even when moral value if they become faced with such situation; the unlimited priorities in their scope of consequences will not save him. relevance in our life. John Paul Sartre Instinct “man in nothing else but that which A natural or intuitive way of he makes of himself” acting or thinking Obnoxious Scientists agree that animals are known to Extremely unpleasant possess instincts, while some animals have John Mothershead been recognized to have the ability to solve Author of the book entitled Ethics: simple problems Modern Conception of the Principle Pre-Reflective Morality of Right (1955) Animals are not capable of the wide range of deliberation, reflection, Two necessary conditions for morality to occur concept construction and rational and critical thinking that humans are able Freedom to do. Assumed when one is making his Moral Value choices and is the agent that is taking Takes precedence and priority full responsibility in planning his over other value life, and in the process, planning and One is willing to give up other budgeting his actions for some values in order to promote what he future outlook or goals. considers as a moral value Accordance with his moral and Moral judgments rational capacity to know and discern What others should or ought to do. what is right and wrong How people should behave or what Obligation they should have done Construed as one’s duty to himself Victor Grassian to exercise this freedom as a rational Author of book entitled “Moral moral being. Reasoning: Ethical Theory and Some Contemporary Moral Lesson 2: Value Experience and Morality Problems” (1922) Deliberation Labeled this confusion as “the An act pertaining to humans alone confusion between what one ought This act requires reflection and an to do and what one would be exercise of one’s rational capacity inclined to do” to the fullest without sacrificing his “What do I ought to do given this ability to empathize with other situation?” with this question in mind, We human being could very well examine and analyze the Mothershead situation as objectively as possible with the Conduct refers to deliberate human use of intellectual and rational capacity in action order to come up with an intellectual choice only humans are moral in so far as he “What would I be inclined to do, given is capable of deliberate human action the situation?” has to do with the practical Added that this is the side-taking part choice when faced with the actual situation of our experience. Lesson 3: Approaches to Moral Reasoning other motive must give place, Moral Reasoning A process of examining moral arguments Contain analysis of what is considered as good or bad, right or wrong, correct or incorrect in the moral realm Also known as evaluative reasoning since one is trying to evaluate the soundness of the argument from the moral point of view Argument Defined as the search for a statement or a set of statements that can be made to yield a new statement, which is its conclusion Phenomena The object of a person’s perception The knowledge of reality that our mind is capable of interpreting and understanding. Deontological Ethics Also known as deontological reasoning is an ethic based on duty Came from the Greek word dein, meaning duty Recognizes that there are moral principles that we follow which we consider as universally correct and should be applicable to all of humanity This fundamental moral principle is known as the categorical imperative or the law of morality Immanuel Kant Philosopher from Konigsberg Made an exhaustive elaboration of deontological ethics in his article entitled, Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals (1785) As human being, we perceive the world as phenomena Insist that you are doing something from duty, which has moral worth as against doing something according to duty, which has no moral worth Each member of humanity belongs to the kingdom of ends, and for this, you have a duty to save and respect the life of every human being regardless of your feelings or emotions “A maxim is the subjective principle of volition. The objective principle is the practical law, that I should follow such a law even if it thwarts all my inclinations.” “Thus, the moral worth of an action does not lie in the effect which is expected from it…to duty, every because duty is the condition of the will good-in-itself, whose worth transcends everything. Pure reason Provides the a priori (or prior to experience) source of knowledge which contains the structure of our mind as human being Practical Reason Responsible for our capacity to recognize what is good through the will, which he called the Goodwill, and which he claimed as the only thing good in-itself, without qualification. It is practical reason that makes it possible for us to have knowledge of phenomena. Once this will fully functioning, according to Kant, this is the point where freedom is truly exercised because this is also when our reason is working to tell us what we ought to do Goodwill Responsible for the recognition of the foundation of morality and the objective basis for it in the form of the practical law which in turn is the one responsible for the cognition of the law of morality in the form of the categorical imperative Categorical imperative (law of morality) The guiding principle in its simplest formulation could be stated as the universalizability principle: “Act only on that maxim, through which you can at the same time will that is should become a universal law. Universalizability principle We could now recognize that there are things that we have to do, for example, even if we do not want to do them The faculty of pure intuition of space and time A posteriori (from experience) source. From duty We could now trace the subjective principle of you willingness to do it, or the maxim of you action. Has a moral worth According to duty Has no moral worth Maxim A short, pithy statement expressing a general truth or rule of conduct Marcel Dupre Deontological ethics presumes that “actions are thought to have intrinsic value in their own right.” “In choosing between various “It is better to be a human being available courses of action, dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; consequentialism will merely weigh better to be Socrates dissatisfied than up the good and bad consequences in a fool satisfied” each case and make their decisions Jeremy Bentham on that basis.” The original version of utilitarianism Teleology before Mill came into Jeremy Came from the root word telos, Bentham’s assumption that pleasure meaning end, goal or purpose is quantified. Teleologist The amount of pleasure could easily Believes that the end, goal or be measured and demonstrated, or purpose of an action must be based quantified using Bentham’s on its consequences hedonic calculus, in terms of Examine the actual consequences of intensity (the more intense it is, the the act of lying, which could, at better), duration (the longer it last, times, become good or right, if the the better), certainty (how certain act is proven to bring about good its occurrence will be), propinquity consequences like saving life. (how near at hand will not be Consequentialism followed by pain), and extent (the Use of the dictum, “the end justifies number of people affected by it) the means” Sentient Teleological or consequentialist ethics Able to perceive or feel things Aims to examine the instrumental Deontological point of view value of the act for the attainment of It is your duty to save him, no matter the desired consequences or purpose what your inclinations may be. Teleological reasoning The act of killing a patient is wrong The most popular form of in itself. teleological reasoning is based on Teleological point of view utilitarian ethics Could be considered from a means Utilitarianism and ends analysis Construed as the maximization of pleasure and the avoidance of pain in Lesson 4: Common Mistakes in Moral Reasoning order to promote happiness. Victor Grassian Happiness, become the summum bonum or Pointed out that there are some the ultimate goal for utilitarian morality common pitfalls or mistakes that we Summum bonum are prone to commit or we may fail The highest good, especially as the to recognize when faced with moral ultimate goal according to which arguments values and priorities are established It is possible for anyone to lie in an ethical system 1. The failure to recognize the John Stuart Mill vagueness of moral concepts “Actions are right in proportion as Grassian used as an example, The they tend to promote happiness; moral principle that it is wrong to wrong as they tend to produce the lie reverse of happiness. By happiness is “lying as false statement made with intended pleasure and the absences an intent to deceive of pain” 2. The failure to recognize the Made a very profound contribution value-laden nature of many concepts to the development of teleological which appear value-free ethics through his major article Grassian used the concept of entitled Utilitarianism pornography and the definition given There must be a difference not just by a leading feminist Helen Longino in its quantity but, what is more Pornography as defined by Longino important to consider, is the quality as “a verbal or pictorial of pleasure representations of sexual behavior He distinguished between two kinds that have a distinguishing of pleasure, intellectual or mental characteristic: the degrading and pleasure and bodily or demeaning portrayal of the role and physiological pleasure status of human female as a mere Intellectual pleasure must be sexual object to be exploited and superior than Bodily manipulated sexually” this definition pleasure could be value-laden Longino was stating her value-laden Happens when one is trying to judgment in the same definition that dismiss the view of another based pornography is wrong. solely on the basis of its origin. Value-laden Racial biases would be evident in the Pre-supposing the acceptance of a commission of this fallacy. particular set of values These are forms of argumentum ad Arguments may go along for years hominem when one is attacking not without being resolved, precisely the belief itself but the source or its because of two opposing values that causal origin, that is, the person each proponent holds. himself and his origins 3. The uncritical use of emotive terms Emotive terms are normally Chapter 4: The Human Person in Their employed for propaganda purposes. Environment They considered emotive because Lesson 1: Approaches to Environmental Ethics they are emotionally loaded Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Emotive terms from propaganda “Environmental ethics is the purposes is the word communism discipline in philosophy that studies which has been used by western the moral relationship of human capitalist countries to scare their beings to, and also the value and citizens and let them make the moral status of, the environment and impression that in a communist its non-human contents.” country, citizens do not enjoy Aldo Leopold their freedom to the fullest An American conservationist and Someone concludes in a propaganda forester by profession; published an that “Communism is bad” article entitled A Sand Country “I disapprove of communism, you Almanac (1949), which emphasized should disapprove as well” the importance of the adoption of a According to Alfred Jules Ayer “A land ethic giving importance to land value statement is nothing else than a as an entity that should be given due command in a misleading respect and love. grammatical form.” An action is right and therefore, 4. Hasty Generalizations moral, when it has the tendency to An attempt to make a universal preserve the integrity, stability, statement using ‘all’ based only on and beauty of biotic community; a few cases observed. and wrong when it does the opposite According to Grassian, “…all human which is destruction beings were considered to have an “A thing is right when it tends to equal claim to our aid.” preserve the integrity, stability, and Grassian “All human beings were beauty of the biotic community. It considered to have an equal claim to is wrong when it tends to do our aid,” otherwise.” 5. Faculty Causal Reasoning “Obligations have no meaning In an accepted statement of a causal without conscience, and the problem connection between A and B, you we face is the extension of the social are making an inference that A is the conscience from people to land.” cause for the occurrence of B. Bryan Norton Causal His article entitled, Environmental Relating to or acting as a cause Problems and Future 6. Rationalization Generations, sees the analysis of A defense mechanism recognized by environmental problems as psychologist. belonging to three generations: Process of offering justifications or 1. Dealt with wisely using our reasons to cover-up or clothe an resources together with the already arrived at decision meant to protection of natural monuments hide one’s true negative or or protected areas destructive motive, to become an 2. Dealt with the destruction of acceptable course of action. natural environments and pollution 7. The dismissal of a moral position on the 3. Deal with the possibility of basis of their origin cataclysms or catastrophes Also known as the genetic fallacy. brought about by ozone depletion, acid rain, and the “Our own good requires that we have greenhouse effect. due and wise regard for animals and Cataclysms the environment. Moreover, this A large scale and violent event in the good need not be defined narrowly in natural world terms of the satisfaction of individual Anthropocentrism human interests of a limited source. Human being Aesthetics and health interests may State of being human, personhood be included.” Considered human being as the “A good dose of altruism or center of moral consideration concern for others and for future Panthocentrism generations.” Higher animals Commonly known as enlightened or Ability to suffer prudential anthropocentrism Paved the way for animal liberation and animal rights movement Prudential anthropocentrism Biocentrism Could pave the way for more All living things environmentally conscientious State of being alive protection and preservation of the Is the view that not only humans and environment, coinciding with the animals, but also plants should be virtues of prudence, altruism, and morally considered responsibility toward the Holism environment Animate, inanimate & Conscientious supraorganismic whole Wishing to do one’s work or Existence duty well and thoroughly Ecosystem-centered ethic or Reformist anthropocentric ecocentrism regard ecosystem as Constitutes the more popular and holistic entities that should be given accepted philosophical view on the moral consideration environment and is one of the three Intrinsic Value broad areas in environmental Has inherent worth in itself, meaning philosophy to say, it is worth pursuing as an Environmental philosophy argues end- in-itself because it is valuable that the root causes of environmental or good for its own sake crises stem from man’s ignorance, Instrumental Value shortsightedness, and greed. Considered as a means towards Peter Singer achieving a certain end, thus its An Australian philosopher who worth depends on whether it was wrote an article entitled successful in bringing about the Animal Liberation. particular purpose or end that it is Panthocentric view is against supposed to serve. speciesism (interpreted as Criterion of moral consideration or exclusively for the benefit of the standing has been the center of debates in species Homo sapiens) environmental ethics. “To give preference to the life of a Judeo-Christian being, simply because that being is a Tradition where human beings were member of our species would put us given “dominion over the fish of sea in the same position as racists who and over the birds of the air and give up preference to those who are every living thing that moves upon member of their race.” the earth. “All the arguments to prove man’s Protagoras superiority cannot shatter this hard One of sophists; also claimed that fact: in suffering the animals are man is the measure of all things. our equals.” Barbara Mckinnon The gist of animal liberation Author of a book entitled Ethics: proposed by Peter Singer Theory and Contemporary Issues Panthocentrism (1995), claims that a human centered Argues that there are two reason anthropocentric perspective would why animals should have moral have to support broad consideration environmentalism for it to be viable 1. Animals are sentient beings and they could feel pain 2. Animals are morally organisms, accepting that each has a considerable because they good or purpose to fulfill on its own possess inherent or instinct or Emphasized the importance of intrinsic value. species as having intrinsically more Tom Regan value than an individual specimen A proponent of animal rights who “In an evolutionary ecosystem, it is wrote an article entitled The Case not mere individuality that counts, for Animal Rights, proposed that but the species is also significant animal rights should be accorded to because it is dynamic life form higher forms of animals, especially maintained over time. The mammals individual represents a species in Paul Taylor each new generation. It is a token of His article entitled, The Ethics of a type. The type is more important Respect for Nature, all living things than the token. should be considered as “teleological “The system is a value transformer centers of life” where form and being, process and Kenneth Goodpaster reality, fact and value, are His article entitled, On Being inseparably joined. Intrinsic and Morally Considerable, proposes instrumental values shuttle back and that being sentient is just a means of forth… every good is in community” attaining a living organism’s goal Callous which is being alive or having life Showing or having an insensitive J. Baird Callicott and cruel disregard for others His article entitled The Conceptual Foundations of the Land Ethic, Lesson 2: Theories in Radical Ecological proposed that the land ethic morality Philosophy is the next stage of man’s ethical Deep Ecology evolutionary development Proponents of deep ecology, “A species is what it is because it especially Norwegian mountaineer has adapted to a niche in the Arne Naess, could not keep their ecosystem. The whole, the system disillusionment with existing modes itself, thus, literally and quite of depletion of natural resources by straightforwardly shapes and forms industries and the heavy pollution its components parts.” they cause “A universal ecological literacy They see shallow ecology as an would trigger sympathy and feeling extension of the traditional and for fellow members of the biotic conventional worldview. community and feelings of loyalty The article entitled Deep Ecology by and patriotic regard for the Bill Devall and George Sessions community as a whole.” An environmental approach Niche emerged as a reaction to this shallow A comfortable or suitable position in ecological point of view. life or employment Presupposes biospheric Benevolence egalitarianism which assumes that all The quality of being well meaning living things possess equal value and Holmes Rolston, III intrinsic worth regardless of their His article entitled, Challenges in usefulness or utility to other beings. Environmental Ethics, has Arne Naess emphasized the need for an Believed that human beings should ecological conscience for look at the self as an extension of environmental ethics to take a nature, where the human ego would footholds. be identified with nature “Environmental ethics is not a “… To maximize self-realization – I muddle; it is an invitation to moral don’t mean self as ego but self in a development.” broader sense – we need maximum Tried to improve on the diversity and maximum symbiosis… individualistic biocentrism and at the Diversity then is a fundamental norm same time, tone down the and a common delight. As deep excessively holistic perspective of ecologist, we take a natural delight in Leopold and Callicott’s ecocentrism diversity, as long as it does not Assumes the equal baseline or include crude, intrusive forms, like intrinsic value of all living Nazi culture, that are destructive to Second Nature (Human Nature) others” From the social relations of man as a social Depletion being together with his culture Reduction in the number or quantity Utopia of something an imagined place or state of things in which Symbiosis everything is perfect Interaction between two different organisms Ecofeminism or Ecological feminism living in a close physical association It was a reaction against male domination and the corresponding oppression of women. Deep Ecology Dominant Worldwide Superiority justifies subordination Harmony with Dominance over nature nature Some Features of the Ecofeminist View All nature has Natural 1. Historical, typically causal connections intrinsic environment as According to Warren, some ecofeminists argue worth/biospheric resource for that this is traceable to “prototypical patterns of equality humans domination” Elegantly simple Material/econom 2. Conceptual connections material need ic growth for Karen J. Warren emphasized that the (material goal human historical-causal connections are justified using serving the population conceptual parameters or framework larger goal of Belief in ample Disjunctive is the lacking connection or self- realization) resource consistency Earth “supplies” reserves 3. Symbolic connections limited High In the realm of symbols or language, evidence Appopriate technological regarding the devaluation and degradation or technology; non- progress and women and nature comes to the fore dominating science solutions Doing with enough- Consumerism Lesson 3: Environmental Challenges recycling National/ Minority Centralized Environmental Challenges tradition/bioregion community Climate Change (The Present Challenge) Ramachandra Guha of India Preservation of Endangered Species The poor are not at all concerned with intrinsic (The Continuing Challenge) value of nature and its species or the quality of Water Scarcity (The Emerging Challenge) life: survival is their main concern Sustainable Development (The His main concern is from the point of view of Future Challenge) the poor people of the Third World. He believed that concerns about pollution and Peter Wenz land ownership should be given priority to He recognized prima facie obligation to our benefit the poor population. ecosystems, particularly, the obligation to Social Ecology avoid destroying them It is an offshoot of the movement against He claims that a positive duty is a “duty to domination of existing hierarchial structures in protect the environment from any and every society. threat, or a duty to bring aid.” Murray Bookchin Scarcity means the state of being short “Until human beings cease to live in societies in supply that are structured around hierarchies as well as economic classes, we shall never be free of Global Initiatives domination, however much we try to dispel it Kyoto Protocol (1997) with rituals, incantations, ecotheologies, and It was agreed upon by member nations to the adaption of seemingly natural ways of life.” reduce their carbon dioxide emissions, thus He believes that ecological problems could be reducing human-induced warming traced to social problems, which, he claims are (anthropogenic) of the global climate the ‘sources of the growing environmental Montreal Protocol (1987) crisis’ This is the result of the Vienna Convention of the Protection of the Ozone layer which aims to 2 Natures: reduce ozone depletion by phasing out products First Nature (Biotic Nature) that contain substances responsible for such Man’s biological evolutionary history or Basel Convention (1989) his physical world It is aimed at controlling ‘transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and their disposal’ Global Marshall Plan (1990) It was proposed by Albert Gore. It envisions the attainment of sustainable development by making wealthy nations with advanced economies help Third World nations by bringing and sharing their advanced green technologies
5 Strategic Goals in the Global Marshall Plan
1. The stabilizing of world population 2. The rapid development of environmentally appropriate technologies 3. A comprehensive change in the economic “rules of the road” by which we measure the impact of our decisions on the environment 4. Negotiation and approval of a new generation of international agreements 5. A cooperative plan for educating the world’s citizens about global environment
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