Ethics and the Authority of Law

• Several ways of thinking about ethics are based on the idea that a higher authority imposes standards of valuation that command our obedience.
• The text explores the authority of law, religion, and culture as sources of ethical standards.

Law

• Law is viewed as a guide to ethical behavior.
• In the Philippines, Filipinos must obey the laws stated in the country's criminal and civil codes, and local ordinances.
• Positive law includes rules and regulations from an authority figure.
• Many acts considered unethical are also forbidden by law, which is enforced with sanctions.
• Using law as the basis of ethics provides an objective and obligatory standard applicable to all.
• Problems exist with equating ethics and law because law is prohibitive and does not tell us what to do, only what to avoid.
• Some actions not forbidden by law may still be ethically questionable.
• The law does not always compel people to help others in need, even when it might be considered ethical to do so.
• Ethics should not be simply identified with obedience to the law.
• The concept of law is creatively utilized in Immanuel Kant's Deontology.

Religion

• Many find the idea of obeying God in all things appealing.
• The divine command theory states that the divinity commands and one is obliged to obey their creator.
• Divine commands are found through figures and texts linked to the Divine.
• Maintaining a radical form of this theory involves the claim that God might "speak" directly.
• Religion presents a code of prohibitions and ideals to pursue.
• One may be called to forgive or be charitable.
• Taking religion as the basis of ethics provides a set of commands and a Supreme Authority that can inspire and compel obedience.
• The Divine can command absolute obedience.
• There are problems with using religion as a basis of ethics.
• The presence of multiple religions results in conflicting ethical standards.
• Some religions have prohibitions concerning food, while others do not.
• Differences exist within the same faith.
• One may question which passages from the sacred scriptures to follow.
• It is required to clarify the connection between ethics and the Divine.
• Is something right only because God commanded it, or is it right in itself?
• If killing is wrong only because God commanded it, there is nothing wrong with it.
• There is something arbitrary about it all, in the sense that God could will whatever he wants.
• There are instances of people believing that God wills them to kill.
• If killing is wrong in itself, there are standards of right and wrong independent of God.
• One does not obey a command because God commanded it, and are looking for those objective standards of right and wrong.
• It is generally good for a person of faith to abide by the teachings of her particular religion.
• The divine command theory requires the identification of the entire sense of right and wrong with what religion dictates.
• Doubts exist on whether to set aside this way of thinking.
• This is not a challenge to one's faith, but an invitation to consider other ways of seeing the connection between faith and ethics.
• Natural Law theory contributes to ethical thought.

Culture

• Exposure to different societies and cultures reveals different ways of thinking and valuing.
• There are aesthetic, religious, and etiquette differences.
• Conclusions have been drawn that cultural differences extend to ethics.
• Variations exist in views on nudity and relations between men and women across cultures.
• Cultural relativism posits that what is ethically acceptable or unacceptable is relative to one's culture.
• Cultural relativism seems to conform to experience, provides a basis for valuations, and teaches tolerance.
• One's culture's moral code is neither superior nor inferior to any other.
• Discussion of Filipino values, such as respect for the elderly, close family ties, hospitality, and solidarity, is important.
• Problems can be caused by this idea.
• The argument of cultural relativism is premised on the reality of difference.
• The presence of disagreement does not equate to no right or wrong answers.
• Under cultural relativism, we do not render judgement on other cultures.
• Practices such as genocide and head-hunting call for comment.
• In cultural relativism, we do not render judgement on practices in our own culture.
• A tradition of arranged marriage is accepted.
• Contemporary difficulty is that it can only be maintained by following the presumption of culture.
• It is increasingly difficult to determine what defines one's culture.
• One must question on what to take as "my culture".
• Cultural relativism tends to deprive us of our use of critical thought.
• Cultural relativism promotes humility.
• It renders us incapable of discerning about the values.
• It keeps us from comparing and judging the valuations.
• One's understanding of belonging to a certain culture should be more fruitful and meaningful.