ETHICS for LIVING: Manual for Flexible Learning

LESSON 2: NATURE, DEFINITION AND PURPOSE OF ETHICS

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES:

At the end of the lesson, the students are expected to;

1. Understand the Ethics and its related concepts

2. Analyze the action between right and wrong.
3. Recognize the virtue of living upright and dealing other people morally.

MATERIALS NEEDED:

1. https://youtu.be/3_t4obUc51A
2. https://youtu.be/4vWXpzlL7Mo

TOPIC PRESENTATION

Asst. Prof. Wenceslao B. Ecoben – CDM, AY 2020-2021

ETHICS for LIVING: Manual for Flexible Learning

1. NATURE OF ETHICS

2. DEFINITION AND PURPOSE OF ETHICS

Whenever we make a choice, it was possible for us to have made a different one. The
Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard captures this sense when he describes standing on the

Asst. Prof. Wenceslao B. Ecoben – CDM, AY 2020-2021

ETHICS for LIVING: Manual for Flexible Learning

edge of a cliff. The only thing that prevents us from falling into the void is us – our choice to do
otherwise.
Ethics is only possible because we can act against our nature, based on our conscience.
It stops us from simply describing what is likely to happen, and allows us to make judgements
about what should happen. Of all the ways you might act, which is the best? Of all the
possibilities, which one should you bring into reality? That’s the question ethics seeks to
answer.
Of course you can only answer that question if you dare to ask it. It’s comfortable, safe
and pretty common to do what’s always been done – pass responsibility onto others or stick
with the status quo. Ethics asks us to take responsibility for our beliefs and our actions, and live
a life that’s our own.
Ethics is an important branch of philosophy occupying an indispensable part in the
human pantheon. In fact, it is only the moral phenomenon that distinguishes human beings from
other animals by guiding them how to behave properly. It teaches the notions of mutual co-
operation and understanding without which smooth livelihood can never be even thought of. The
most important feature that distinguishes human life from the brute one is that the former
desires not only to live, but also to live well with peace and prosperity. Ethics provides human
beings with the knowledge of what is right or wrong which is indispensable for peaceful living. It
is ethics or morality which creates favorable condition for making the society full of mutual love
and respect. In this way, ethics performs the most valuable role in the cultivation of an ideal
society and in the maintenance of it as well. The need for ethics arises from the fact that no man
is perfect by nature, so he has to train himself to be such. That is why, ethics or morality
becomes an important aspect of living.

WHAT IS ETHICS?

Ethics is philosophical discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral
duty and obligation.
Others define Ethics as a system of moral principles and perceptions about right versus
wrong.

Ethics covers the following dilemmas:

 how to live a good life

 our rights and responsibilities
 the language of right and wrong
 moral decisions - what is good and bad
 Ethics can provide a moral map

Ethics is two things. First, ethics refers to well-founded standards of right and wrong that
prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society,
fairness, or specific virtues. Ethics, for example, refers to those standards that impose the
reasonable obligations to refrain from rape, stealing, murder, assault, slander, and fraud. Ethical
standards also include those that enjoin virtues of honesty, compassion, and loyalty. And,
ethical standards include standards relating to rights, such as the right to life, the right to
freedom from injury, and the right to privacy. Such standards are adequate standards of ethics
because they are supported by consistent and well-founded reasons.

Asst. Prof. Wenceslao B. Ecoben – CDM, AY 2020-2021

ETHICS for LIVING: Manual for Flexible Learning

Secondly, ethics refers to the study and development of one's ethical standards. As
mentioned above, feelings, laws, and social norms can deviate from what is ethical. So it is
necessary to constantly examine one's standards to ensure that they are reasonable and well-
founded. Ethics also means, then, the continuous effort of studying our own moral beliefs and
our moral conduct, and striving to ensure that we, and the institutions we help to shape, live up
to standards that are reasonable and solidly-based.

PURPOSE OF ETHICS

The purpose of ethics is to make correct decisions, being able to determine what is
right or wrong and make the most rational decision for long term survival. It also helps you
determine whom is a social personality and who is anti-social and should be avoided.

Ethics is making human being;

‘To be good, To see goodness in others,
To share goodness, to appreciate goodness and
to promote goodness.

Asst. Prof. Wenceslao B. Ecoben – CDM, AY 2020-2021

ETHICS for LIVING: Manual for Flexible Learning

Ethics has a great value in human personal and professional life both. Everything is
directly or indirectly depends on ethics.

1. If you have all the qualities and you do not have good ethics to respect and
understand other emotions then will not be able to connect and enjoy the world.

2. To maintain a good relationship either you partner, family, friends, in your workplace
or anyone else ethics plays a great role in human life.

3. Ethics also shows the human behavior and their background the way they had
brought up.

Asst. Prof. Wenceslao B. Ecoben – CDM, AY 2020-2021

ETHICS for LIVING: Manual for Flexible Learning

Asst. Prof. Wenceslao B. Ecoben – CDM, AY 2020-2021

ETHICS for LIVING: Manual for Flexible Learning

Asst. Prof. Wenceslao B. Ecoben – CDM, AY 2020-2021

ETHICS for LIVING: Manual for Flexible Learning

Asst. Prof. Wenceslao B. Ecoben – CDM, AY 2020-2021

ETHICS for LIVING: Manual for Flexible Learning

Asst. Prof. Wenceslao B. Ecoben – CDM, AY 2020-2021

ETHICS for LIVING: Manual for Flexible Learning

Asst. Prof. Wenceslao B. Ecoben – CDM, AY 2020-2021

ETHICS for LIVING: Manual for Flexible Learning

BEING ETHICAL
Being ethical is distinct from being moral inasmuch as the latter, as far as I know, is the
state of obedience to the norms and normalized customs of the community in which one resides.
To be ethical is to be true to oneself and one’s reasoning. Ethics is the philosophical
discipline of arriving at informed and rational conclusions as to what best maximizes the utility
and quality of life of everyone involved in a situation, process, or organization.
Being ethical is of absolute importance, both for remaining true to oneself and to the
faculty reason, as well as for arriving at and implementing decisions which are as universally
beneficial as the circumstances will allow.
I think life without ethics is pointless. I strongly believe that we are here for a purpose to
achieve. Ethics means valuing a good way of living.

EVALUATION
EVALUATION

Discuss the following (100-150 words only)

Asst. Prof. Wenceslao B. Ecoben – CDM, AY 2020-2021

ETHICS for LIVING: Manual for Flexible Learning

Submit them at [email protected] before our next class begins.

A. Explain what is material and formal ethics?

B. How do you differentiate ethics from morality?
C. Is being a professional makes you ethical or morally upright?

_____________________
REFERENCES:

De Vera-Palean, Erland, et.al., (2019) Ethics: Exploring Moral Philosophy, BOOKS Atbp.
Publishing Corp, Mandaluyong City.
Ecoben, Wenceslao and Palparan, Alica (2015) Society and Culture with Family Planning,
BOOKS Atbp. Publishing Corp, Mandaluyong City.

Padilla, Reynaldo (2019), Ethics: A Textbook for the New General Education Curriculum,
BOOKS Atbp. Publishing Corp, Mandaluyong City.
https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/environmental-ethics.php

Jakimow, Liz  Religion and Human Rights

http://rightnow.org.au/opinion-3/genesis-126-28-and-environmental-rights/ (February, 2013).

Asst. Prof. Wenceslao B. Ecoben – CDM, AY 2020-2021