MODULE 1

Lesson 1 – Value; Ethics & Morals; them came forward to assume responsibility for
the death of Cris.
Reasoning
So, are you now ready to embark on Even as the leaders of the Sigma Rho
this journey? I wish you an enriching and fraternity publicly denounced he death of Cris,
productive learning experience. those members of theirs who had been with
him that night vanished, avoiding and refusing
INTRODUCTION: to cooperate with legal authorities. Meanwhile,
UP students and the general public clamoured
In August 2007, newspapers reported
for justice. In a move that surprised the student
what seemd to be yet another sad incident of
body, the UP chancellor called on all fraternities
fraternity violence. Cris Anthony Mendez, a
to justify their continued existence. Meanwhile,
twenty-year old student of the University of the
the case of the tragic death of Cris Anthony
Philippines (UP), was rushed to the hospital in
Mendez was left unresolved. It remains that
the early morning hours, unconscious, with
way up to this day.
large bruises on his cheek, back, & legs. He
passed away that morning, and the subsequent No one knows just what exactly
autopsy report strongly suggests that his happened. No charges have been filed, no
physical injuries were most probably the result definitive testimony has been forthcoming. But
of hazing. What exactly happened remains an there is more to this for us than just a criminal
open question, as none of those who were with mystery. Pondering on the death of Cris, we
him that night came forward to shed light on may find ourselves asking question such as
what had transpired? Needless to say, none of “What is the VALUE of one’s life?” “What
exactly were the wrongs done to Cris by his so- often use the word “taste” to refer to
called fraternity brother?” or perhaps even “is the personal aesthetic preferences that
there any good to fraternities?” These we have on these matters, such as “his
questions that concern good or bad, or right taste in music” or “her taste in clothes”
and wrong-and these are questions concerning Example:
value- are the kind of questions that we deal a. This new move I had just seen was a
“good” one because I enjoyed it.
with in ethics.
b. A song I had just heard on the radio
CLARIFICATIONS & TERMINOLOGY was a “bad” one because it had an
unpleasant tone.
Recognizing the notions of good and c. It is “wrong” to wear a leather vest
bad, and right and wrong, are the primary over a Barong Tagalog.
concern of ethics. In order to start, it would be d. The “right” dip (sawsawan) for my
useful to clarify the following points. chicken barbeque is patis (fish
sauce) and a calamansi.
VALUE
All of these examples are not concerns
ETHICS, generally speaking, is about of ETHICS. These are valuations that fall
matters such as the good thing that we should under the domain of AESTHETICS.
pursue and the bad thing that we should avoid;
the right ways in which we could or should act 2. EITQUETTE- is concerned with right &
wrong actions, but those which might
and the wrong ways of acting. It is about what is
be considered not quite grave enough
acceptable and unacceptable in human
to belong to a discussion on ethics.
behaviour. It may involve obligations that we
Example:
are expected to fulfill, prohibitions that we are a. I think it is “right” to knoeck politely
required to respect, or ideals that we are on someone’s door.
encouraged to meet. Ethics as a subject for us b. I think it is “wrong” to barge into
to study is about determining the grounds for one’s office.
the values with particular and special c. I may approve of a child who knows
significance to human life. how to ask for something properly
by saying “please” and otherwise,
KINDS OF VALUATION disapprove of a woman that I see
picking her nose in the public.
Our first point of clarification is to
recognize that there are instances when we All of these examples are not concerns
make value judgments that are not considered of ETHICS. These are valuations that fall
to be part of ethics. under the domain of ETIQUETTE.

1. AESTHETICS- the word “aesthetics” is 3. TECHNICAL VALUATION- derive from

derived from the Greek word aesthesis the Greek word “techne” the English
(“sense” or “feeling”) and refers to the words “technique” and “technical”
judgments of personal approval or which are often used to refer to a
disapproval that we make about what proper way (or right way) of doing
we see, hear, smell, or taste. In fact, we things, but a technical valuation (or
right & wrong technique of doing b. Can we say that a man who verbally
things) may not necessarily be an abuses his girlfriend is simply
ethical one as these examples show. showing bad manners or does this
a. I am told that the right thing to behaviour deserve stronger moral
do when learning how to bake condemnation?
is to mix the dry ingredients
first.
ETHICS & MORALS
b. I am instructed that it is against
the rules in playing basketball MORALS- may be used to refer to
to walk more than two steps specific beliefs or attitudes that people have or
without dribbling the ball.
to describe acts that people perform. Thus, it is
sometimes said that an individual’s personal
conduct is referred to as his morals, and if he
Recognizing the characteristics of falls short of behaving properly, this can be
aesthetics and technical valuations allows us to described as immoral.
have a rough guide as to what belongs to a
discussion of ethics. They involve valuations The term “ethics” can be spoken of as
that we make in a sphere of human actions, the discipline of studying and understanding
characterized by certain gravity and concern the ideal human behaviour and ideal ways of
human well-being or human life itself. thinking. Thus, ethics is acknowledged as an
Therefore, matters that concern life and death intellectual discipline belonging to philosophy.
such as war, capital punishment, or abortion However, acceptable and unacceptable
and matters that concern human well-being behaviors are also generally described as ethical
such as poverty, inequality, or sexual identity & unethical, respectively. In addition, with
are often included in discussions of ethics. regard to the acceptable and unacceptable
However, this general description is only a ways of behaving in a given field, we have the
starting point and will require further term “professional ethics” (e.g., legal ethics for
elaboration. the proper comportment of lawyers and other
people in the legal profession; medical ethics
for doctors & nurses; and media ethics for
writers and reporters).

DESCRIPTIVE & NORMATIVE

Descriptive- study of ethics reports how

people, particularly groups, make their moral
POINTS TO PONDER:
valuations without any judgment either for or
Take some time to reflect on these against these valuations. This kind of is often
questions. the work of the social scientist: either a
historian (studying different moral standards
a. Are clothes always a matter of taste over time) or a sociologist or an anthropologist
or would provocative clothing call
(studying different moral standards across
for some kind of moral judgment?
cultures).
Normative- often done in philosophy or what act to perform, then the person is called
moral theology, engages the question: What to make a moral decision.
could or should be considered as the right way
For instance, I choose not to take
of acting? In other words, a normative
discussion prescribes what we ought to something I did not pay for. When a person is
an observer who makes an assessment on the
maintain as our standards or bases for moral
valuation. actions or behaviour of someone, she is making
a moral judgment.
Hence, when engaging in discussion of ethics, it
is always advisable to recognize whether one is For instance, a friend of mine chooses
to steal from a store, and I make an assessment
concerned with a descriptive view (e.g., nothing
how filial piety and obedience are pervasive that it is wrong.
characteristics of Chinese culture) or with a MORAL DILEMMA- it is going beyond
normative perspective (e.g., studying how the matter of choosing right over wrong, or
Confucian ethics enjoins us to obey our parents good over bad, and considering instead the
and to show filial piety). A philosophical more complicated situation wherein one is torn
discussion of ethics engages in a critical between choosing one of two goods or
consideration of the strengths and weaknesses choosing between the lesser of two evils.
of these theories. This will be our primary
concern throughout this subject. For instance, when an individual can
choose only one from a number of possible
ISSUE, DECISION, JUDGMENT, & DILEMMA actions, and there are compelling ethical
As the final point of clarification, it may reasons for the various choices. A mother may
be conflicted between wanting to feed her
be helpful to distinguish a situation that calls for
moral valuation. It can be called a MORAL hungry child, but then recognizing that it would
be wrong for her to steal is an example of a
ISSUE.
moral dilemma.
For instance, imagine a situation
wherein a person cannot afford a certain item,
but then the possibility presents itself for her to
steal it. This is a matter of ethics (and not just
law) INSOFAR AS IT INVOLVES THE QUESTION
OF RESPECT FOR ONE’S PROPERTY.

We should add that “issue” is also often POINTS TO PONDER: REASONING

used to refer to those particular situations that
are often the source of considerable and  Why do we suppose that a certain way
inconclusive debate (thus, we would often hear of acting is right & its opposite wrong?
topics such as capital punishment and  Why do we decide to consider this way
euthanasia as moral “issue’). of acting as acceptable while that way
of acting, its opposite, is unacceptable?
MORAL DECISION – when one is placed
in a situation and confronted by the choice of
 What reasons do we give to decide or  I am in a situation wherein I
to judge that a certain way of acting is could obtain a higher grade for
either right or wrong? myself by cheating. I make the
decision not to do so. Or I know
A person’s fear of punishment or desire
that my friend was in a position
for reward can provide him a reason for to get a better grade for herself
acting in a certain way. It is common to hear by cheating. She refuses to do
someone say: “I DID NOT CHEAT ON THE so; I then make the judgment of
EXAM BECAUSE I WAS AFRAID THAT I praising her for this. In making
MIGHT GET CAUGHT,” or “I LOOKED AFTER this kind of moral decision or
MY FATHER IN THE HOSPITAL BECAUSE I moral judgment, the question
WANTED TO GET A HIGHER ALLOWANCE.” can be asked: WHY?
 Asking the question WHY might
In a certain sense, fear of punishment bring us to no more than a
and desire for reward can be spoken of as superficial discussion of
giving someone a “reason” for acting in a rewards & punishment, as seen
certain way. But the question then would above, but it could also bring us
be: IS THIS REASON GOOD ENOUGH? That is to another level of thinking.
to say, this way of thinking seems to be a  In other words, our thinking
shallow way of understanding reason may take on a level of
because it does not show any true abstraction, that is, detaching
understanding of why cheating on an exam itself from the particular
is wrong or why looking after a member of situation and arriving at a
statement like, “Cheating is
my family is in itself a good thing. The
wrong, “ by recognizing proper
promise of rewards and the fear of
reasons for not acting this way.
punishments can certainly motivate us o
 Beyond rewards & punishment,
act, but are not in themselves a it is possible for our moral
determinant of the rightness or wrongness valuation- our decisions and
of a certain way of acting or of the good or judgments-to be based on a
the bad in a particular pursuit. principle. Thus, one may
conclude that cheating is wrong
based on a sense of fair play or
a respect for the importance
and validity of testing. From
this, we can define principles as
rationally established grounds
by which one justifies and
maintains her moral decisions
and judgments.
IS IT POSSIBLE TO FIND BETTER
REASONS FOR FINDING A CERTAIN WAY OF
ACTING EITHER ACCEPTABLE OR
UNACCEPTABLE?
certain moral principles. Insofar as a
theory is a system of thought or of
ideas, it can also be referred to as
framework. We can use “framework”,
as a theory of interconnected ideas, and
at the same time, a structure through
which we can evaluate our reasons for
 BUT WHY DO WE MAINTAIN
valuing a certain decision or judgment.
ONE PARTICULAR PRINCIPLE
RATHER THAN ANOTHER? There are different frameworks
 WHY SHOULD I MAINATAIN
that can make us reflects on the
THAT I SHOULD CARE FOR FAIR
principles that we maintain and thus,
PLAY AND THAT CHEATING IS,
the decisions and judgments we make.
THEREFORE, WRONG?
By studying these, we can reconsider,
clarify, modify and ultimately
strengthen our principles, thereby
Returning to the case of fraternity
informing better both our moral
hazing where we started this chapter,
judgments and moral decisions.
why is it wrong to cause another person
physical injury or to take another’s life?
We can maintain principles, but we can We’re done with our Lesson 1.
Continue reading the module to
also ask what good reasons for doing
learn more. Good Job!
so. Such reasons may differ. So, for
example, what makes the death of Cris
such a tragedy?

 One person may say that

life is sacred and God-given.
 Another person may
declare that human life has
a priceless dignity.
 Still another may put
forward the idea that taking
another’s life does not
contribute to human
happiness but to human
misery instead.

HOW EXACTLY DO WE ARRIVE AT ANY

OF THESE CLAIMS?

This is where we turn to theory.

A moral theory is a systematic attempt
to establish the validity of maintaining
ACTIVITY #1

Name : ___________________________

Course & Year: _____________________ Section Code: ___________

Directions: Read carefully each questions. Answer it and make use of the frameworks as
you reflect on the questions being asks. You may try to reconsider, clarify, modify and
ultimately strengthen your principles on what should be your stand.

1. Identify a list of :
a. 3 - Obligations we are expected to fulfil
b. 3 - Prohibitions we are required to respect
c. 2 - Ideals we are encouraged to meet.
Discuss whether these are ethical in nature or not.
2. Look for a newspaper article that tackles an ethical issue. Consider the following
questions: (Copy & Paste the article)
a. What makes this a matter of ethics?
b. What is your own ethical judgment on this case?
c. What are your reasons for this judgment?
3. Imagine that you are a legislator. What rules or laws that currently prohibit certain acts
or practices would you want to amend or repeal? Also, are there certain acts or
practices currently permitted by the law that you would want to prohibit? Think of this
on the level of your school, your city, and the nation.

NOTA BENE: You may answer the activity in our classwork. Click on the attached
documents and you may answer it there. 