SOCSCI 101N Module 1.docx

**UNIVERSITY OF THE CORDILLERAS** **College of Arts and Sciences** **Department of Political Science** **[MODULE 1 IN SOCIAL SCIENCE 101N (ETHICS) ]** **Course:** **Soc Sci 101** ------------------------- ----------------- **Course Title:** **Ethics** **Course Credi...

**UNIVERSITY OF THE CORDILLERAS** **College of Arts and Sciences** **Department of Political Science** **[MODULE 1 IN SOCIAL SCIENCE 101N (ETHICS) ]** **Course:** **Soc Sci 101** ------------------------- ----------------- **Course Title:** **Ethics** **Course Credits:** 3 units **Contact Hours/week:** **2** hours **Prerequisite:** **None** **Course Description:** Ethics deals with principles of ethical behavior in modern society at the level of the person, society, and in interaction with the environment and other shared resources. (CMO 20 s 2013) **Course Outcomes**: At the end of the trimester, the students are expected to: 1. Differentiate between moral and non-moral problems 2. Describe what moral experience is as it happens in different levels of human existence 3. Explain the influence of Filipino culture on the way students look at moral experiences and solve moral dilemmas 4. Describe the elements of moral development and moral experience 5. Use different ethical frameworks and principles to analyze moral experiences 6. Make sound ethical judgments based on principles, facts, and the stakeholders affected. 7. Develop sensitivity to the common good 8. Understand and internalize the ethical implications of global issues in the modern society such as digital technology, environment and other social interactions **LESSON** ------------------------------------- **INTRODUCTORY CONCEPTS IN ETHICS** ------------------------------------- **OBJECTIVES:** +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | **At the end of the topic, students are expected to:** | | | | 1. Recognize the relevance of the principles of natural law | | deontological ethics in guiding ethical behaviors. | | | | 2. Understand the basis of respecting human rights and dignity, | | upholding justice, and promotion of common good. | | | | 3. Evaluate how the principles of utilitarianism are used in social, | | economic and political policies and practices. | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ **TEACHING-LEARNING ACTIVITY/LESSON PROPER:** +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | **ETHICS** | | | | Ethics is the branch of philosophy that studies morality or the | | rightness or wrongness of human conduct. Morality speaks of a code or | | system of behavior in regards to standards of right or wrong | | behavior. In this book, the two terms (ethics and morality), | | especially their adjective form ethical and moral), are oftentimes | | used interchangeably. | | | | As a branch of philosophy, ethics stands to queries about what there | | is reason to do. Dealing with human actions and reasons for action, | | ethics is also concerned with character. In fact, the word \'ethics\' | | is derived from the Greek ethos, which means character or manners. | | | | Some questions that are ethical in nature are: What is the good? Who | | is a moral person? What are the virtues of a human being? What makes | | an act right? What duties do we have to each other? Also called | | \'moral philosophy, ethics evaluates moraI concepts, values, | | principles, and standards'. Because it is concerned with norms of | | human conduct, Ethics is considered a normative study of human | | actions. Clearly, ethics and morality necessarily carry the concept | | of moral standards or rules with regard to behavior. | | | | **[Moral vs. Non-moral Standards]** | | | | Not all rules are moral rules. That is, not all standards are moral | | standards. Morality may refer to the standards that a person or a | | group has about what is right and wrong, or good and evil. | | Accordingly, moral standards are those concerned with or relating to | | human behavior., especially the distinction between good and bad (or | | right and wrong) behavior | | | | Moral standards involve the rules people have about the kinds of | | actions they believe are morally right and wrong, as well as the | | values they place on the kinds of objects they believe are morally | | good and morally bad. Some ethicists equate moral standards with | | moral values and moral principles. | | | | Non-moral standards refer to rules that are unrelated to moral or | | ethical considerations. Either these standards are not necessarily | | linked to morality or by nature lack ethical sense. Basic examples of | | non-moral standards include rules of etiquette, fashion standards, | | rules in games, and various house rules. | | | | Technically, religious rules, some traditions, and legal statutes | | (i.e. laws and ordinances) are non-moral principles, though they can | | be ethically relevant depending on some factors and contexts. | | | | The following characteristics of moral standards further | | differentiate them from non-moral standards; | | | | 1. Moral standards involve serious wrongs or significant benefits. | | | | 2. Moral standards deal with matters which can seriously impact, | | that is, injure or benefit human beings. lt is not the case with | | many non-moral standards. For instance, following or violating | | some basketball rules may matter in basketball games but does not | | necessarily affect one\'s life or well-being. | | | | 3. Moral standards ought to be preferred to other values. Moral | | standards have overriding character or hegemonic authority. If a | | moral standard states that a person has the moral obligation to | | do something, then he/she is supposed to do that even if it | | conflicts with other non-moral standards, and even with | | self-interest. | | | | 4. Moral standards are not the only rules or principles in society, | | but they take precedence over other considerations, including | | aesthetic, prudential, and even legal ones. A person may be | | aesthetically justified in leaving behind his family in order to | | devote his life to painting, but morally, all things considered, | | he/she probably was not justified. lt may be prudent to lie to | | save one\'s dignity, but it probably is morally wrong to do so. | | When a particular law becomes seriously immoral, it may be | | people\'s moral duty to exercise civil disobedience. There is a | | general moral duty to obey the law, but there may come a time | | when the injustice of an evil law is unbearable | | | | 5. Moral standards are not established by authority figures. Moral | | standards are not invented, formed, or generated by authoritative | | bodies or Persons such as nations\' legislative bodies. Ideally | | instead, these values ought to be considered in the process of | | making laws. In principle therefore, moral standards cannot be | | changed nor nullified by the decisions of particular | | authoritative body. One thing about these standards, nonetheless, | | is that its validity lies on the soundness or adequacy of the | | reasons that are considered to support and justify them. | | | | 6. Moral standards have the trait of universalizability. Simply put, | | it means that everyone should live up to moral standards. To be | | more accurate, however, it entails that moral principles must | | apply to all who are in the relevantly similar situation. | | | | 7. If one judges that act A is morally right for a certain Person P, | | then it is morally right for anybody relevantly similar to P. | | This characteristic is exemplified in the Gold Rule, \"Do unto | | others what you would them do unto you (if you were in their | | shoes)\" and in the formal Principle of Justice, \"lt cannot be | | right for A to treat B in a manner in which it would be wrong for | | B to treat A, merely on the ground that they are two different | | individuals, and without there being any difference between the | | natures or circumstances of the two which can be stated as a | | reasonable ground for difference of treatment.\" | | Universalizability is an extension of the principle of | | consistency, that is, one ought to be consistent about one\'s | | value judgments. | | | | 8. Moral standards are based on impartial considerations. Moral | | standard does not evaluate standards on the basis of the | | interests of a certain Person or group, but one that goes beyond | | personal interests to a universal standpoint in which each | | person\'s interests are impartially counted as equal. | | Impartiality is usually depicted as being free of bias or | | prejudice. Impartiality in morality requires that we give equal | | and/or adequate consideration to the interests of all concerned | | parties. | | | | 9. Moral standards are associated with special emotions and | | vocabulary. Prescriptivity indicates the practical or | | action-guiding nature of moral standards. These moral standards | | are generally put forth as injunction or imperatives (such as, | | \'Do not kill,\' \'Do no unnecessary harm,\' and \'Love your | | neighbor\'). These principles are proposed for use, to advise, | | and to influence to action. Retroactively, this feature is used | | to evaluate behavior, to assign praise and blame, and to produce | | feelings of satisfaction or of guilt. | | | | **[Dilemma and Moral Dilemma ]** | | | | The term \'dilemma\' refers to a situation in which a tough choice | | has to be made between two or more options, especially more or less | | equally undesirable ones. Not all dilemmas are moral dilemmas. So | | called ethical dilemmas, moral dilemmas are situations in which a | | difficult choice has to be made between two courses of action, either | | of which entails transgressing a moral principle. At the Very least, | | a moral dilemma involves conflicts between moral requirements. | | | | What is common to moral dilemmas is conflict. ln each ethical | | dilemma, an agent regards himself as having moral reasons to do each | | of two actions, but doing both actions seems to be ethically not | | possible. | | | | The key features of a moral dilemma are these: (a) the agent is | | required to do each of two (or more) actions; (b) the agent can do | | each of the actions; but the agent cannot do both (or alt) of the | | actions. In a moral dilemma, the agent thus seems condemned to moral | | failure; no matter what he does, he will do something wrong, or fail | | to do something that he ought to do. | | | | It can be submitted therefore that the moral requirement to protect | | others from serious harm overrides the ethical requirement to repay | | one\'s debts by returning a borrowed item even when its owner so | | demands. | | | | Some ethicists propose that when one of the conflicting moral | | requirements overrides the other, the case is not a genuine moral | | dilemma. Thus, in addition to the features mentioned above, in order | | to have a genuine moral dilemma, some add that it must also be the | | case that neither of the conflicting moral requirements is | | overridden. | | | | **[Three Levels of Moral Dilemmas]** | | | | Moral dilemmas can be categorized according to these levels: | | | | a. Personal (b)organizational, and (c) structural. | | | | **Personal dilemmas** are those experienced and resolved on the | | personal level. Since many ethical decisions are personally made, | | many, if not most of, moral dilemmas fall under, or boil down to this | | level. | | | | ln 1957, the philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre provided a. case that could | | exemplify a personal moral dilemma: \"Sartre tells of a student whose | | brother had been killed in the German offensive of 1940. The student | | wanted to avenge his brother and to fight forces that he regarded as | | evil. But the student\'s mother was living with him, and he was her | | one consolation in life. The student believed that he had conflicting | | obligations. Sartre describes him as being torn between two kinds of | | morality: one of limited scope but certain efficacy, personal | | devotion to his mother; the other of much wider scope but uncertain | | efficacy, attempting to contribute to the defeat of an unjust | | aggressor.\] | | | | There are many other personal moral dilemmas. lf a person makes | | conflicting promises, he faces a moral conflict. When an individual | | has to choose between the life of a child who is about to be | | delivered and the child\'s mother, he faces an ethical dilemma. | | | | **Organizational Dilemmas.** Organizational moral dilemmas refer to | | ethical cases encountered and resolved by social organizations. This | | category includes moral dilemmas in business, medical field, and | | public sector. | | | | A medical institution which believes that human life should not be | | deliberately shortened and that unpreventable pain should not be | | tolerated encounters a conflict in resolving whether to withdraw life | | support from a dying patient. This is a common moral dilemma faced by | | healthcare organizations. | | | | Ethical dilemmas arise even in professional work. Administrative | | bodies in business are confronted with situations in which severaI | | courses of action are possible but none of them provide a totally | | successful outcome to those affected by the decision or actions | | taken. Moral dilemmas in business involve issues about corporate | | practices, policies, business behaviors, and the conducts and | | relationships of individuals in the organizations. Other | | business-related dilemmas pertain to the social responsibility of | | businesses, employee rights, harassment, labor unions, misleading | | advertising, job discrimination, and whistle blowing. | | | | In a public sector, government leaders and employees have a moral | | duty. to act in a manner that is fair and unbiased, that is loyal to | | the public by putting public interest before personal gain, and that | | fulfills duties of competency, integrity, accountability, and | | transparency. In fulfilling these responsibilities, public officials | | may encounter moral dilemmas. These dilemmas include whether or not | | to favor family, friends, or campaign contributors over other | | constituents; favoring the agenda of one\'s political party over a | | policy one believes to be good for the community; dealing with | | conflicting public duties inherent in serving both as a council | | member and as a member of an agency or commission; resigning from | | organizations in which membership may give rise to future conflicts; | | becoming a whistle blower even if it means potentially derailing a | | policy objective one is pursuing; and accepting gifts if it is | | legally permitted but creates the appearance of impropriety. | | | | **Structural Dilemmas.** They usually encompass multi-sectoral | | institutions and organizations; they may be larger in scope and | | extent than organizational dilemmas. | | | | Case in point is the prices of medicine in the Philippines which are | | higher compared to other countries in Asia and in countries of | | similar economic status. | | | | Factors affecting medicine prices include the cost of research, | | presence of competition in the market, government regulations, and | | patent protection. Institutions concerned may want to lower the costs | | of medicine, thereby benefiting the Filipino public, but such a move | | may ruin the interests or legal rights of the involved researchers, | | inventors or discoverers, and pharmaceutical companies which own the | | patent of the medicines or healthcare technologies. | | | | Another case which is structural in nature is that of Universal | | HealthCare (UHC). Locally applied, it is called \"Kalusugan | | Pangkalahatan\" (KP). lt is the provision to every Filipino of the | | highest possible quality of health care that is accessible, | | efficient, equitably distributed, adequately funded, fairly financed, | | and appropriately used by an informed and empowered public. As a | | government mandate, it intends to ensure that every Filipino shall | | receive affordable and quality health benefits by providing adequate | | resources- health human resources, health facilities, and health | | financing. | | | | Concerning this program, health financing is first and foremost a big | | issue. Government could set aside bigger budget for health for the | | implementation of this provision. But then, this would mean cutting | | down allocations on other sectors (such as education or public works. | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+