MODULE 2-MIDTERM COVERAGE

ETHICS030
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
Prepared by: Miss Diana B. Rodrigo

UNIT 3: THE MORAL AGENT

Unit Objectives: At the end of the lesson, the students should have:
1. Articulated the roles of culture in morality;
2. Identified the different universal values and explained why such are necessary for human survival;
3. Acknowledged the different levels and stages of morality one undergoes through; and
4. Recognized the role of conscience in moral decision-making.

LESSON Culture & moral

Principle: culture influences moral behavior.
5 behavior ✓ Individual behavior is connected to the persons situations (circumstances) that contributes
to his action. We frame our actions in accordance to the culture a group or a society has that, it has been an
influence to how do we behave in our everyday life.
e.g. we attribute the idea, “daw taga squatter ka” to someone who always talks loud.
A Filipino woman may be more reserved and conservative compared to those from Western countries, because
it is what a Filipino society expects her to be.
✓ Culture frames one’s understanding of good and bad (cultural orientation).
A Christian person may have a different perspective from a Muslim person.
A taga-uma has a different set of standards from a taga-syudad.
✓ On a global scope, considerations on women, marriage practices, and religious orientations are some significant
issues and experiences that show the concrete impact of culture on how one behaves morally.

Think time…

1. What different cultural practices across places that you know which concerns women, marriage,
and religion?
2. Cite at least 10 UNIQUE Filipino cultures.

CULTURAL RELATIVISM

✓ Relativism is a doctrine that asserts validity of culture in the process of thinking.

✓ Simply, it is a doctrine which asserts that culture dictates ones behavior and even the morality of one’s
act.

1
 ✓ It is culture –specific such that truth is measured dependent upon cultural logic and consistency.
By cultural relativism, we are told that what can be true to one culture may not be necessarily true to
another. The position is of what is right or wrong is seen from what is prescribed of a certain culture.
It is right for an indigenous person to wear a “bahag” even if he would roam around their land. It is their
culture. But for someone who lives in a city, it won’t be acceptable if he wears such clothes when going to
a mall. He has a different culture thus, he should abide the norms and standards set by his own group.
✓ What can be true to one culture may not necessarily be true to another.
✓ However, it is a myth to say, “culture dictates moral decision.”
Being a rational person who innately knows what is right from wrong, we already know how to act morally
thus, we don’t have to rely all our moral decisions to the culture that we belong to.

Final note on cultural relativism…

1. Cultural relativism asserts that there is no right and wrong culture because the truth someone
believes in depends on the validity and consistency of his /her own culture. Thus, cultural
relativism leads us to the value of respect. There is no superior nor inferior culture hence, we
should treat any culture fairly with our respect in the diversity of beliefs, ideas, customs, norms,
and standards.

LESSON Virtue Ethics &

Who is a MORAL AGENT?
6 Moral Development
✓ He is a doer/performer of a moral value.
✓ He has the full accountability for his action.
✓ He is capable of thinking what is good (or bad).
✓ He possesses the virtues which do not develop overnight.

What are VIRTUES?

✓ are formed character of a person who through time has consistently exercised the values commendable for his/her
own growth.
By hard work and perseverance, one tries to put his best in whatever he does. He doesn’t settle for a lowly result
because there is more that he can give.
o One has the virtue of hard work and perseverance if he tries to put his best in whatever he does at all times.
o One has the virtue of patience if he consistently exhibits good character in any kind of waiting.

One who is not virtuous as he tends not to possess the virtues, is a vicious person. A vicious person does the vices.

2
 VICE

✓ The opposite of virtue

✓ The inconsistency towards values
✓ The repetition of doing bad.
o Procrastination is to be slow or late about doing something that should be done which is usually because of
laziness. it is an inconsistency of the value of diligence thus, it is a vice.
o Smokers, gamblers, and alcoholics continuously engage themselves to bad habits thus, they are vicious.

Final note on moral agency…

✓ MATURITY, DECISIVENESS, and UPRIGHTNESS are certain qualities of an individual who has grown
through life.
✓ The mark of a moral agent is the attitude or trait cultivated not incidentally or functionally but
rather regularly or habitually in the course of time and in the performance of good actions. That’s
why virtue become an element of a moral agent.

MORAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY

✓ This theory proposed by Lawrence Kohlberg emphasizes the gradual progress experienced by the individual who in
turn can only realize his or her own status of personal development after passing through a lower level.
✓ It is composed of 3 levels of morality by which each level also characterizes 2 stages of moral development.
Kohlberg believes that the individual moves from on level to another, going through the varying stages of social
orientations.
LEVELS STAGES DESCRIPTION

PRECONVENTIONAL- The 1. Punishment and One is motivated by fear of punishment. He will

norms of morality are Obedience act in order to avoid punishment. a
understood through physical kindergarten would do his assignment to avoid
pain and pleasure getting baffled.
orientation. 2. Instrumental One is motivated to act by the benefit that one
relativist/individual may obtain later. “You scratch my back, I’ll
ism/naïve scratch yours.”
hedonism A child would do his assignment for him to be
allowed to play his play station.

3
 CONVENTIONAL- Concerns 3. Interpersonal One is motivated by what others expect in
are the values of family, of concordance behavior- good boy, good girl orientation. He
the nation, of the group, or in values how he appears to others. Nancy lets her
short, the society where one answer be copied by her friends so that they
belongs. would thing she’s kind.

4. Law and order One is motivated to act in order to uphold law

mentality and order. The person will follow the law
because it is the law. Someone uses the
pedestrian lane upon crossing the street
because it is the right thing to do.

POST CONVENTIONAL- An 5. Social contract Laws that are wrong can be changed. One will
individual shows an act based on social justice and the common
independent attitude in good. Students from UP Diliman went on a
his/her regard to values used social gathering for a protest on the anti-
to be prescribed by his or her terrorism bill.
society. 6. Universal principles This is associated with the development of
one’s conscience. Having a set of standards that
drives one to possess moral responsibility to
make societal changes regardless of
consequences to oneself. John organized a
kariton drive which aims to teach the street
dwelling kids the 3Rs.

Try time…
Determine what stage of moral development is exemplified by the following.
____1. Joy shows her classmates to copy her homework so that they will think she is kind and will like her to be
their friend.
____2. Ricky does everything to get passing grades because his mom will take his play station away if he gets bad
grades.
____3. A civic action group protests the use of pills for family planning, saying that although the government allows
this, it is actually murder because the pills are abortifacient (causes abortion).
____4. Jinky lets Hannah copy during their math test because Hannah agreed to let her copy during their Sibika test.

4
 ____5. Karen decides to return the wallet she found in the canteen so that people will praise her honesty and think
she’s a nice girl.
____6. John decides to return the wallet he found in the canteen because he believes it’s the right thing to do.
____7. Lyka wears her ID inside the campus because she likes to follow the school rules and regulation.
____8. A jeepney driver looks if there’s a policeman around before he u-turns in a no u-turn spot.
____9. Liza volunteers to tutor at-risk children in her community for free so they will learn to love school and stay in
school.
____10. Little Riel behaves so well to get a star stamp from her teacher.

MORAL DECISION MAKING: HOW DO WE MAKE ONE?

When confronted by moral issues especially the complex ones, a guide is of utmost important. To come up with a
better perspective and approach to certain issues, following these steps may be helpful:
1. Awareness of the issue of problem. Acknowledge the presence of a problem. The uncomfort and restlessness may
be indicators that there is something wrong with the situation.
2. Investigation of the problem. Take a closer look at the “problem.” Check if who or what are involved.
3. Practical alternatives. A sound thinking and proactive action could greatly manage the situation. Assess the
available options or plans or other factors which could alleviate the moral situation. Prudence is much needed to
assess how options would benefit or harm the involved.
4. Concrete action. Take the most essential or most suited to address the problem/issue.

CONSCIENCE-BASED MORAL DECISION

Man is endowed with freedom of choice but such freedom also entails responsibility. However, it is said that “although
we have the freedom to chooses our actions, we do not choose our consequences” thus, to avoid being misled in n our
decisions, just remember that good decisions are never selfish, self-centered, nor are confined in the inner circle.
Rather, good decisions are grounded on the voice of God from within-CONSCIENCE. A conscience is the inner voice
which leads one to rightly discern the correct values in a given situation. It is our conscience which tells a student not to
steal his seatmate’s money to buy his food in school. His conscience tells him that his value of dignity and righteousness
is way greater than his physiological needs. Conscience is basically a gift helping one to recognize the moral quality of
his action, whether is good or bad, wrong or right. A conscientious decision is determined when one follows the rightly
ordered values and in such case, one is making a good choice. On the contrary, bad decisions and choices show a
disvalue of distorted value-orientation hence, done in the absence of conscience.

In making good decisions grounded in conscience, the following steps are to be taken.

✓ Ask the Holy Spirit for help.

✓ Think about God’s law and the teachings of the church.

5
 ✓ Think about what will happen as a result of your choice. Ask yourself, will the consequences be pleasing to God?
Will my choice hurt someone else?
✓ Seek advice from someone you respect and remember that Christ is with you.
✓ Ask yourself how your choice will affect your relationship with God and others.

Case time…

Man Sues Wife Over Make-up

A man in Algeria is suing his new wife for fraud, trauma, and “psychological suffering” after seeing her for the first time
without make up.
The morning after the wedding, the man claims he was shocked to see his wife’s natural face. Emirate 247 reported:
“he said he was deceived by her as she used to fill up her face with make-up before their marriage.
He said she looked very beautiful and attractive before marriage , but when he woke up in the morning and found that
she had washed the make-up off her face, he was frightened as he thought she was a thief.
He is suing her for €13,000.
How do you judge the moral decisions of both the wife and husband in this situation?

Analysis time…

True or false

__________1. A moral agent is primarily a doer of an action with full knowledge and will; who stands for what is morally
good in the morally problematic situation.

__________2. Temperance is one of the cardinal virtues that pertains to the ability to govern and discipline oneself by
the use of reason or careful judgment.

__________3. Freedom is a task or duty that one is required to do because it is morally right, legally required, etc.

__________4. There is an interdependence between moral actor and moral action.

__________5. A moral agent is incapable of discerning what is good and what is bad.

__________6. The second stage in moral development theory is that which is seen in the light of marketability wherein
everything has a price tag.

_________7. The theory of moral development proposes that an individual, in his personality development, doesn’t
necessarily have to undergo a step by step process because someone’s morality depends on the kind of person he is.

6
 _________8. Being endowed with freedom means having the license to do things that accord to our whims and
caprices.

_________9. Following your conscience isn’t only for yourself but also for the significant others.

_________10. A conscientious decision is determined when one follows the rightly ordered values.

End of unit 3

UNIT 4. THE ACT

Unit Objectives: At the end of the lesson, the students should have:
1. differentiated the responses based on reason and those based on feelings;
2. compared reasonable responses from emotional responses;
3. applied each of the steps of Michael Davis model;
4. distinguished what moral courage is; and
5. described the dynamics of will and reason in the performance of moral courage.

LESSON Feelings and Moral

What are EMOTIONS?
7 Decision-making

✓ Are constitutive of being human on personal and collective levels.

✓ Are momentary feelings; unsuitable to moral decision making
✓ Are unwilled and subjective; are fleeting feelings hence, there can hardly be
accountability

Emotions are conscious mental reaction subjectively experienced as strong feeling usually directed toward a specific
object and typically accompanied by physiological and behavioral changes in the body.

When we get in love…

✓ We know that we are in love thus, we are conscious about it;

✓ We don’t feel the same way as others do towards the person we love thus, it is subjective;
✓ We don’t know how far can we get because of our emotions thus, it is a strong feeling;
✓ There are changes in our appearance and our behaviors.

therefore, the love that we feel, is an emotion.

Philosophers convinced that emotions play crucial role in moral decision-making. According to Blaise Pascal, “the
heart knows what the mind does not.” With that:
7
 ✓ The mind is not the sole arbiter of what is right and wrong. When that police officer in NCR gave 5k
assistance to the student riding the motorcycle whom he was supposed to give a violation ticket, he used
his emotions more than his rationality.
✓ Emotions operate with precision and consistency of its own. A mother who loves his child would
consistently care for him despite the odds in the circumstances.

There are two schools of thought concerning emotions:

✓ Emotions are hindrance and help. Sometimes, our emotions lead us to the wrong way like when we love
and care for the wrong person, commit crimes out of anger, or cross the boundaries out of lust. But
then, emotions also are a help in a way that we become more humane because of it.
✓ Emotions should be guided by reasons. As argued, emotions serve as a help however, emotions are also
defined above as momentary feelings, thus is unsuitable for moral decision making. That’s why one
should always find the equilibrium between rationality and emotions as the former is attributed to its
unstable characteristic.

The following are the moral principles involving emotions and reasons:
1. Emotions should be guided by reasons.
2. When moral claims could not be supported by reasonable arguments, then such claims would in no way
resolve a moral issue. As discussed in the previous lesson, anything that’s moral is reasonable and if a claim
is non-reasonable, it is therefore non-moral. If there is no good reason to back up moral statements/actions
that are done out of emotions, emotions could become a hindrance.
3. The neutral position (relativism) carried out by feelings implies a double standard. No 2 judgments are
contradicting each other." Stealing as bad” shares with the assertion that “stealing is good”. Both actions
are equally true on the basis of the agent’s (the person who steals) conviction. E.g., at the peak of Jose’s
frustrations, he indulged in stealing despite knowing that it is bad but then, he also thinks that doing it
would be way better than letting his family die out of hunger. There is a double standard on the part of
Jose’s stealing.
4. Emotions unaided by reason do away with critical analysis for objectivity, disconnecting ethics. Letting
emotions rule us over our rationality could blind us from what really the truth is. Someone who has hatred
and pain in his heart would always see a different “truth” compared to the “truth” that is seen by others.

St. Augustine said…

Animal passion is different from human rationality because non-humans are governed by their instinctive tendencies- a lion
would kill if it is hungry, a deer would run if it feels threatened. Although humans also such tendencies, they nevertheless

8
can control those by their rationality (capacity to reason). That’s why humans are seen to be “thinking first before acting”
because if otherwise, - if he engages himself on anything which appeals to his senses- he could be no more than an animal.

Final note: Feelings may be helpful, but it should be guided by reasons.

Debate time…

There will be a 2-group e-debate on the topic:

“It is usually argued if which should be superiorly used in terms of love: mind or heart?”
Criteria for the e-debate:
Objectivity: 15 points Participation of members: 5 points
Organization of ideas: 10 points TOTAL: 30 POINTS

Ask time…
Answer the following questions:
1. When should we use our emotions over our rationality? Cite a specific scenario.
2. Are we accountable if we did anything wrong due to our emotions? Why so?
3. What is the best way to control ourselves whenever we are at the peak of our negative emotions?

LESSON Moral
What is a moral courage?
9 Courage
✓ It is the power to act upon a moral situation on the basis of the agent’s moral decision.
✓It is when we do what is right when confronted with a problem.
✓ It is when we take a moral stand despite the risk, rejection, opposition, threats, and inconvenience.
o it is moral courage when one continues his education despite the poverty and all the odds in his life.
o It is moral courage when one stands as a court witness of a crime despite the threats in his life.
o It is moral courage when one does not tolerate his friend’s cheating on someone’s answer during a test.
What is NOT a moral courage?
X There is an inconsistency towards moral conviction.

X There is a FAILURE to respond to situations significantly needing his response.

X The intention for a moral action is only TO IMPRESS.

o It is not a moral courage when one distribute free facemasks to street children only to be publicly posted on social
medias.
o It is a not moral courage when one refuses to help the needy despite having the capacity to help.
o It is not moral courage when one gives up just because it is difficult.
9
 Will as Important as Reason
✓ Reason or intellect is basically the principle of human action. We act with an idea in mind of what we are going
to do. We do something because of that “reason” which moves us to act therefore, an agent needs to know
what he/she is going to achieve. A student strives to graduate for his reason of helping his parent later on.
✓ Will is the intrinsic principle moving an agent towards an end. It is a prerequisite of an action to be considered
a human act.
✓ According to St. Thomas Aquinas, who differentiated human acts from acts of man, it takes human act the
intellect (knowledge of the action) and the will (voluntariness on the action) otherwise, an action is just an act
of man.
✓ Moral courage must be a human act (performed knowingly and voluntarily), thus it should be an interplay
between the intellect and the will. e.g. a daughter who joins an outreach program just because the parent say
so, is not a moral courage. There is the knowledge in the part of the daughter on whatever she’s about to do
but then, she joined not because of her will of joining, but rather, because of an external factor (which is her
mother).

The ancient Greek philosophers, Plato & Aristotle, have pointed out that the human person can develop out of what he has
innately or does not originally have, respectively.
Plato
✓ He asserted that the nature of the person is already given and out of this, the person can actualize his potentials. With
this sense, a person can develop moral virtues through optimizing them.
✓ The morality of someone depends in his very nature as a person.
✓ There will always be people who would do good/evil regardless of their exposure to moral teachings. They just have
the innate tendencies toward things.

Aristotle
✓ He believes that a person is in need of virtues to be good.
✓ Moral virtues develop through time out of consistent practice of such and thus, Aristotle asserted that a person should
learn the skills to develop the virtues he needs for personal growth.
✓ E.g. a child may at first be incapable of understanding the moral virtues taught to them but eventually may imbibe such
virtues through constant reflection or actual following to their role model.
✓ A lot of the ex-convicts have changed their life disposition upon reflecting on the virtues which they should have.

But then, a thing to remember is that…

10
Whether such virtues are innate or acquired, a morally courageous person exhibits the steadfastness of such virtues
through the proper exercise of the will.

Doctrine of the Mean by Aristotle

✓ It suggests a balance between a surplus of virtues and a lacking of vices.
✓ Proposes that moral courage entails an equilibrium between any kinds of excesses.
✓ Hence, life should be seen in the light of moderation.
✓ E.g. over-indulgence and non-indulgence of the pleasant, over-working and complacency, being trustful and
doubtful, and so on are forms of excesses. In between are the virtues which we should acquire.

Try time…
Encircle the letter of your best choice.
1. A Greek philosopher who emphasizes that courage entails balance, hence, proposed the “Doctrine of the Mean.”
a. Pythagoras b. Plato c. Aristotle d. Empedocles
2. It is an intrinsic principle which is a prerequisite for an action to be considered human.
a. Reason b. Intuition c. Virtues d. Will
3. It is a faculty to act upon a moral situation on the basis of the agent’s moral decision.
a. Moral courage b. Moral stand c. Moral conviction d. Moral problem
4. From which among the following situations is a human act exemplified?
a. Wendell volunteered willingly to donate blood as Red Cross cerebrates “World Blood Day.”
b. Jayno could not stop sweating because of his fear.
c. Rindy eats his breakfast because he was told to do so.
d. Einstein’s beating of the heart.
5. The agent does not necessarily know what he/she is going to achieve. Because there is no definite result of the
agent’s action, it is determined without the will intending such result or end.
a. Both statements are true. c. the first statement is true, the second is false.
b. Both statements are false. d. the first statement is false, the second is true.
6. Moral courage is an interplay between which principles?
a. Reason and intuition c. Reason and will
b. Knowledge and virtues d. Voluntariness and values
1. Which among the statements does not exemplify human acts?
a. John cleans his own house every Saturday.
b. Mike takes up BS Nursing because that is the decision of her mom.
c. Gino shares his research to the class as a fruit of his curiosity.

11
 d. Nica will finally graduate because of her effort and sacrifices.
2. Action without full knowledge and willingness is an act of man. Therefore, in order for an action to be considered a
human act, there must be knowledge and will.
a. Both statements are true. c. the first statement is true, the second is false.
c. Both statements are false. d. the first statement is false, the second is true.
3. Human action entails responsibility and accountability because of knowledge and voluntariness. On the other hand,
acts of man entail only knowledge but then, accountability is still there.
a. Both statements are true. c. the first statement is true, the second is false.
b. Both statements are false. d. the first statement is false, the second is true.
4. Which among the following statements exemplify the practice of moral courage?
a. Ben tolerates the cheating he witnesses during the examination.
b. Kris informs the authority about the distribution of illegal drugs in her place.
c. Dianne accepts the law of pro-discrimination because of fear.
d. Lara refuses to tell the truth because of danger.

End of unit 4

Module 2 book references:

Buenaflor, L. (2006). The Meaning of Human Existence. Manduluyon g, Metro Manila. Books Atbp. Publishing.
Marinay, W. & Mejaro, M. (2018). Ethics: The Art of Doing Good. Cebu city, Philippines. REAP
e-sources:
https://serc.c arleton.edu/ geoethics/DecisionMaking
https://great ergood.berk eley.edu/arti cle/item/root s_of_moral_ courage

12