GE108 Ethics Lesson 6 (Feelings and Moral Decision-making) 2024-2025 PDF

GE108_ETHICS First Semester, Academic Year 2024-2025 WEEK 7-8, LESSON 6 FEELINGS AND MORAL DECISION-MAKING PRESENTED BY: ASST. PROF. LAUDIMER C. HINGADA  WEEK 1, LESSON 1 (PRELIM TERM)...

GE108_ETHICS First Semester, Academic Year 2024-2025 WEEK 7-8, LESSON 6 FEELINGS AND MORAL DECISION-MAKING PRESENTED BY: ASST. PROF. LAUDIMER C. HINGADA  WEEK 1, LESSON 1 (PRELIM TERM) Introduction to Ethics: The Moral Standards LEARNING OBJECTIVES: At the end of the presentation, students are expected to achieve the following objectives: 1. Define the differences between emotions and feelings and explain their roles in moral decision-making 2. Analyze a moral scenario to identify the influence of feelings versus rational reasoning in the decision-making process 3. Apply ethical theories to justify a decision and create a balanced response considering both emotional and rational perspectives GE108 (Ethics) First Semester | Academic Year 2024-2025  WEEK 7-8, LESSON 6 (MIDTERM) Feelings and Moral Decision-making Anyone can become angry — that is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way — that is not easy. GE108 (Ethics) First Semester | Academic Year 2024-2025  WEEK 7-8, LESSON 6 (MIDTERM) Feelings and Moral Decision-making Have you ever made a decision based on how you felt it rather than relying on your rational thought? Was it a good decision? GE108 (Ethics) First Semester | Academic Year 2024-2025  WEEK 7-8, LESSON 6 (MIDTERM) Feelings and Moral Decision-making WHAT IS A MORAL DECISION? Moral decision represents a choice based on a person's ethical convictions, on their manners and character traits, on what the individual considers appropriate. Such a decision affects not only the well-being of the person, but also that of those around him. GE108 (Ethics) First Semester | Academic Year 2024-2025 FEELINGS vs REASONS  WEEK 7-8, LESSON 6 (MIDTERM) Feelings and Moral Decision-making WHAT ARE FEELINGS Feelings are internal and emotional responses that may guide a person towards caring action. They are what gives us the ability to experience the joys and sorrows that life and all its ups and downs brings to us. They also help us to develop and navigate our way through relationships, make important life choices and identify our responses to events. GE108 (Ethics) First Semester | Academic Year 2024-2025  WEEK 1, LESSON 1 (PRELIM TERM) Introduction to Ethics: The Moral Standards What did you feel when you first met your first love? GE108 (Ethics) First Semester | Academic Year 2024-2025 FEELINGS WHEEL  WEEK 7-8, LESSON 6 (MIDTERM) Feelings and Moral Decision-making THE FEELINGS WHEEL The feelings wheel is a tool that can help people identify and understand their emotions. It’s a circular diagram with different categories of emotions, each divided into smaller subcategories of more specific feelings. GE108 (Ethics) First Semester | Academic Year 2024-2025  WEEK 7-8, LESSON 6 (MIDTERM) Feelings and Moral Decision-making THE FEELINGS WHEEL USES OF THE FEELINGS WHEEL 1. It can help individuals become more aware of their emotional states and the different nuances of their emotions. 2. It can aid in improving communication with others by giving individuals the vocabulary to express their emotions more accurately. 3. It can also help people avoid the common pitfall of mislabeling emotions, which can lead to misunderstandings or miscommunication. GE108 (Ethics) First Semester | Academic Year 2024-2025  WEEK 1, LESSON 1 (PRELIM TERM) Introduction to Ethics: The Moral Standards Why do feelings can cause trouble? GE108 (Ethics) First Semester | Academic Year 2024-2025  WEEK 7-8, LESSON 6 (MIDTERM) Feelings and Moral Decision-making HOW TO UNDERSTAND FEELINGS? Our cognitions influence how we feel. This means that the way we see and perceive everyone and everything around us, impacts how we feel. We tend to follow a very simple formula in the precise order of: THINKING FEELING BEHAVIOR GE108 (Ethics) First Semester | Academic Year 2024-2025  WEEK 7-8, LESSON 6 (MIDTERM) Feelings and Moral Decision-making FEELINGS VS EMOTIONS Feelings and emotions are two terms that are used as if they mean the same thing but have distinct meanings. Emotion. Often experienced at a subconscious level and are automatic responses that happen in a person’s brain and body when something triggers them. Feelings. Are conscious experience of emotions. Feelings occur when one becomes aware of the emotion GE108 (Ethics) First Semester | Academic Year 2024-2025  WEEK 7-8, LESSON 6 (MIDTERM) Feelings and Moral Decision-making FEELINGS VS EMOTIONS Example No. 1 Imagine you are in a situation where you are given praise in front of a group. The emotion might be a quick surge of happiness or embarrassment. After this initial reaction, you become conscious of your emotional response, and it becomes a feeling. Analysis: Emotion: Happiness Feeling: Feeling Happy GE108 (Ethics) First Semester | Academic Year 2024-2025  WEEK 7-8, LESSON 6 (MIDTERM) Feelings and Moral Decision-making FEELINGS VS EMOTIONS Example No. 2 You see your partner or a loved one after a long time, and you automatically feel warmth and joy. This is the emotion of love that surfaces immediately. Later, you reflect on what makes you feel this way and realize, “I feel loved because of the deep connection.” This awareness transforms the emotion to feeling of love. Analysis: Emotion: Love Feeling: Feeling Love GE108 (Ethics) First Semester | Academic Year 2024-2025  WEEK 7-8, LESSON 6 (MIDTERM) Feelings and Moral Decision-making Emotions are immediate and instinctual. Feelings comes after you become aware. Emotions are biological reactions. Feelings are shaped by thoughts, beliefs, and memories. GE108 (Ethics) First Semester | Academic Year 2024-2025  WEEK 7-8, LESSON 6 (MIDTERM) Feelings and Moral Decision-making WHAT ARE REASONS? Reasons are rational deliberation, often associated with ethical principles or logical steps in decision-making. Ethical reasoning helps determine and differentiate between right thinking, decisions, and actions and those that are wrong, hurtful and/or harmful— to others and to ourselves. GE108 (Ethics) First Semester | Academic Year 2024-2025  WEEK 7-8, LESSON 6 (MIDTERM) Feelings and Moral Decision-making THREE CRITERIA IN ETHICAL REASONING The following criteria can be used in ethical reasoning according to Weiss 1. Moral reasoning must be logical. Assumptions and premises, both factual and inferred, used to make judgments should be known and made explicit. 2. Factual evidence cited to support a person’s judgment should be accurate, relevant, and complete. 3. Ethical standards used in reasoning should be consistent. When inconsistencies are discovered in a person’s ethical standards in a decision, one or more of the standards must be modified GE108 (Ethics) First Semester | Academic Year 2024-2025  WEEK 7-8, LESSON 6 (MIDTERM) Feelings and Moral Decision-making Reason can support us to make our moral views more consistent with each other. We can become more willing to universalize our principles when we recognize that there is no relevant difference between different cases. GE108 (Ethics) First Semester | Academic Year 2024-2025  WEEK 7-8, LESSON 6 (MIDTERM) Feelings and Moral Decision-making Do you think that homosexuality is unnatural? GE108 (Ethics) First Semester | Academic Year 2024-2025  WEEK 7-8, LESSON 6 (MIDTERM) Feelings and Moral Decision-making WHY DO FEELINGS MATTER IN MORAL DECISIONS? Feelings are integral to the human experience. They enable us to connect deeply with others and respond to situations on both instinctive and empathetic level. Feelings trigger us to feel that somethings is morally right or wrong. Without feelings, principles could remain abstract and lack the motivational force needed to take action. GE108 (Ethics) First Semester | Academic Year 2024-2025  WEEK 7-8, LESSON 6 (MIDTERM) Feelings and Moral Decision-making WHY DO FEELINGS MATTER IN MORAL DECISIONS? Feelings are integral but not sufficient in making ethical and sound decisions. It is just a component of moral decision-making because they motivate actions. Different people may have different emotional responses to the same situation due to past experiences and cultural context, impacting their decision. GE108 (Ethics) First Semester | Academic Year 2024-2025 THE IMPORTANCE OF FEELINGS IN MORAL DECISION-MAKING  WEEK 7-8, LESSON 6 (MIDTERM) Feelings and Moral Decision-making Feelings such as empathy, guilt, compassion, fear, and anger play a crucial role in prompting moral behavior. Feelings are often referred to as “motivating force” GE108 (Ethics) First Semester | Academic Year 2024-2025  WEEK 7-8, LESSON 6 (MIDTERM) Feelings and Moral Decision-making THE IMPACT OF FEELINGS IN ETHICAL ACTIONS Feelings are integral to the human experience. They enable us to connect deeply with others and respond to situations on both instinctive and empathetic level. Feelings trigger us to feel that somethings is morally right or wrong. Without feelings, principles could remain abstract and lack the motivational force needed to take action. GE108 (Ethics) First Semester | Academic Year 2024-2025  WEEK 7-8, LESSON 6 (MIDTERM) Feelings and Moral Decision-making THEORIES ON FEELINGS IN MORAL DECISIONS Moral Sentimentalism. Introduced by David Hume, according to this perspective, feelings are fundamental in determining our moral judgements – morality stems from our emotions than from abstract reasoning. Example: Choosing to help someone out of “compassion” and not necessarily reasoning out that it is the correct thing to do. GE108 (Ethics) First Semester | Academic Year 2024-2025  WEEK 7-8, LESSON 6 (MIDTERM) Feelings and Moral Decision-making THEORIES ON FEELINGS IN MORAL DECISIONS Neuroscientific Perspective. Proposed by Antonio Damasco, this perspective argues that people with damage to parts of their brain that is responsible for emotions find it difficult to make even basic decisions, illustrating that feelings play a vital role in guiding moral choices. Example: Phineas Gage's brain injury, a railroad worker who experienced severe brain injury in 1848. An iron rod accidentally went through his skull, damaging part of his prefrontal cortex, which is a region involved in regulating emotions. The incident caused him to lose emotional regulation and struggle with decision-making. GE108 (Ethics) First Semester | Academic Year 2024-2025  WEEK 7-8, LESSON 6 (MIDTERM) Feelings and Moral Decision-making BENEFITS OF FEELINGS IN MORAL DECISIONS 1. Immediate Action. Feelings often lead to immediate moral action without needing prolonged deliberation. 2. Enhancing Moral Relationships. Feelings like empathy and compassion strengthen social bonds and motivate us to care for others. GE108 (Ethics) First Semester | Academic Year 2024-2025 ARGUMENTS AGAINST FEEELINGS IN MAKING MORAL DECISIONS  WEEK 7-8, LESSON 6 (MIDTERM) Feelings and Moral Decision-making DISADVANTAGES OF OVER-RELIANCE ON FEELINGS IN MORAL DECISIONS 1. Subjectivity. Feelings are highly subjective and can differ greatly between individuals, leading to inconsistency. 2. Bias. Emotions can be influenced by personal biases (e.g., prejudice, fear), which may lead to unfair or irrational decisions. 3. Impulsivity. Emotional decisions are often made in the heat of the moment, which might not always be in line with moral reasoning. 4. Conflict with Rationality. Sometimes what feels good may not be ethically correct (e.g., revenge might feel justifiable emotionally but is morally problematic). GE108 (Ethics) First Semester | Academic Year 2024-2025  WEEK 7-8, LESSON 6 (MIDTERM) Feelings and Moral Decision-making KANTIAN ETHICS AND THE ROLE OF FEELINGS Immanuel Kant was a key figure in the development of deontological ethics, a theory that emphasizes the role of duty, rules, and rational principles in moral decision-making. According to Kant, moral actions are those that are performed out of a sense of duty and guided by reason, rather than driven by emotions or personal desires. For Kant, the ethical value of an action lies in its adherence to universal principles, rather than its emotional motivation. GE108 (Ethics) First Semester | Academic Year 2024-2025  WEEK 7-8, LESSON 6 (MIDTERM) Feelings and Moral Decision-making KANTIAN ETHICS AND THE ROLE OF FEELINGS One of Kant's most famous ideas is the Categorical Imperative, which is a rule that one should act only according to maxims that could be willed as universal laws. This means that a person should consider whether the principle behind their action could be consistently applied to everyone, without leading to contradiction or harm. GE108 (Ethics) First Semester | Academic Year 2024-2025  WEEK 7-8, LESSON 6 (MIDTERM) Feelings and Moral Decision-making REASONS OVER FEELINGS Kant believed that feelings—such as empathy, anger, or guilt—are too subjective and unreliable to serve as the foundation of moral decisions. Emotions can be fleeting and may vary greatly from person to person. For instance, what might feel right for one person could feel wrong for another, depending on their emotional state or personal biases. GE108 (Ethics) First Semester | Academic Year 2024-2025  WEEK 7-8, LESSON 6 (MIDTERM) Feelings and Moral Decision-making For Kant, the moral worth of an action comes from the intention behind it, not from its emotional impact or the outcomes it produces. If someone chooses to act honestly out of a rational sense of duty, rather than merely because they felt guilty, their action has greater moral worth in Kantian ethics. GE108 (Ethics) First Semester | Academic Year 2024-2025  WEEK 7-8, LESSON 6 (MIDTERM) Feelings and Moral Decision-making Feelings provide motivation for immediate action, foster human connection, and guide us in moral situations. However, these same feelings may also lead to inconsistent or biased outcomes, which leads into the discussion of the disadvantages of over-relying on feelings. GE108 (Ethics) First Semester | Academic Year 2024-2025  WEEK 7-8, LESSON 6 (MIDTERM) Feelings and Moral Decision-making Morality is not the doctrine of how we may make ourselves happy, but how we may make ourselves worthy of happiness. GE108 (Ethics) First Semester | Academic Year 2024-2025