Ethics M1 & M2 Flashcards
Module 1 & 2
deals with questions of right and wrong in human conduct.
* It helps us live a good and moral life.
* The text provides various definitions of ethics, highlighting its focus on human actions and morality.
* Studying ethics helps us develop good character and make decisions that contribute to a better life.
Ethics
RULES BENIFIT SOCIETY BY:
o Protecting individuals from harm.
o Guaranteeing rights and freedoms.
o Promoting a sense of justice.
o Ensuring a healthy economic system.
MORAL STANDARDS vs. NON-MORAL STANDARDS
- Moral standards deal with right and wrong, while non-moral standards are matters of preference (e.g., clothing styles).
Norms and values that guide what we believe is morally right or wrong.
Promotes the well-being of humans, animals, and the environment.
Moral Standards
Situations with difficult choices between two or more undesirable options.
Dilemma
CHARACTERISTICS OF MORAL STANDARDS
o Deal with serious matters that can harm or benefit.
o Not established by authority figures, but based on reason.
o Override other considerations, including self-interest.
o Based on impartial considerations, ensuring fairness and justice.
o Associated with specific emotions and vocabulary.
Standards for judging what is good or bad in a non-moral way.
ex. Etiquette, law, aesthetics.
Matters of taste or preference, do not threaten human well-being, and do not involve moral obligations.
Non-Moral Standards
Conflicts between moral requirements, where doing one morally right action necessitates doing something morally wrong.
Moral Dilemmas
TYPES OF MORAL DILEMMAS
- Personal Dillemas
- Organizational Dillemas
- Structural Dillemas
These are experienced and resolved by individuals. Examples include choosing between conflicting promises or deciding whether to prioritize a mother’s or child’s life during childbirth.
Personal Dilemmas
These occur within social organizations, such as businesses, medical institutions, and public sectors. Examples include a healthcare institution’s decision to withdraw life support or a business’s choice between profit and ethical practices.
Organizational Dilemmas
These involve broader societal issues and institutions. An example is the high cost of medicine in the Philippines, which is influenced by factors like research costs, competition, government regulations, and patents.
Structural Dilemmas
Why only human beings can truly be ethical?
Humans possess rationality, autonomy, and self-consciousness, traits that enable moral behavior.
a complex concept that encompasses a group’s shared practices, beliefs, and perceptions. It is learned and transmitted through generations, shaping attitudes, values, and moral behavior.
It includes everything individuals learn while growing up, from language and etiquette to beliefs about right and wrong.
Culture
THE ROLE OF CULTURE IN MORAL BEHAVIOR
- Socialization and Enculturation
- Moral Standards as Social Conventions
As children grow up, they learn moral values from their parents, teachers, and other cultural influences. This process of acquiring cultural knowledge is called socialization or enculturation.
Socialization and Enculturation
Some argue that moral standards are simply social conventions, agreed-upon rules within a society. While these conventions are learned, they are not necessarily arbitrary inventions.
Moral Standards as Social Conventions
THEORIES OF MORAL THEORY
- Social Conditioning Theory
- Social Conventions
- Objective Morality
This theory suggests that moral behavior is learned through conditioning and reinforcement within a society.
Social Conditioning Theory
Moral standards may be seen as agreed-upon rules or customs within a society.
Social Conventions
