SOC 412 Ethics Module 6 PDF

PNTC COLLEGES Zone III, Lt. Cantimbuhan St. Poblacion, Dasmariñas City COLLEGE OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT EDUCATION ONLINE DISTANCE LEARNING MODULE COURSE CODE S...

PNTC COLLEGES Zone III, Lt. Cantimbuhan St. Poblacion, Dasmariñas City COLLEGE OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT EDUCATION ONLINE DISTANCE LEARNING MODULE COURSE CODE SOC 412 PRE-REQUISITE None COURSE TITLE Ethics SEMESTER 2nd UNITS 3 YEAR LEVEL 2nd 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. Morality pertains to the standards of right and wrong that an individual originally picks up from the community. The course discusses the context and principles of ethical behavior in modern society at the level of society of individual, society and in interaction with the environment and other shared resources. The course also teaches students to make moral decisions by using dominant moral frameworks and by applying a seven-step moral reasoning model to analyze and solve moral dilemmas. The course is organized according to three main elements of the moral experience: a) agent, including context-cultural, communal and environmental, b) the act and c) reason of framework (for the act). MODULE 6 (WEEK 7) Acts of Man TOPIC LEARNING OUTCOMES At the end of the lesson, students should be able to: 1. Compare responses based on reason and those based on feelings 2. Identify and analyze their feelings in personal moral experiences ENGAGE Explain the passage, Small acts, big impact. Form No. BPM2-CME 20 F-009 SOC 412 Module 6) Rev.03 Page 1 of 6 COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION Copyright © 2023 PNTC Colleges, All rights reserved. When printed, this document is uncontrolled unless properly identified as controlled  PNTC COLLEGES Zone III, Lt. Cantimbuhan St. Poblacion, Dasmariñas City EXPLORE Identify conscious and unconscious acts that you do in a daily basis: Unconscious a. b. c. d. e. Conscious a. b. c. d. e. EXPLAIN AND ELABORATE The Act You make moral decisions daily. However, have you noticed that some decisions are automatic responses and that you are not consciously deciding at all? For example, you help an elderly cross the road. Without thinking, you ran to the opposite side of the road, away from some perceive danger. Your desire to help and your fear of danger are gut reaction while reasoned argument is just swirling beneath conscious awareness. Forms of Acts and Components of Moral Acts Not all acts are to be taken as formal objects of ethics. Certain acts are of some value to ethics, while others are expendable to ethical analysis. These become clearer if we consider the two general forms of acts in the light of their moral value: the acts of man and the human acts. Follow closely the discussions below and study why human acts are the formal object of ethics. Form No. BPM2-CME 20 F-009 SOC 412 Module 6) Rev.03 Page 2 of 6 COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION Copyright © 2023 PNTC Colleges, All rights reserved. When printed, this document is uncontrolled unless properly identified as controlled  PNTC COLLEGES Zone III, Lt. Cantimbuhan St. Poblacion, Dasmariñas City Acts of Man Involuntary Natural Acts Acts of Man, are of two types: the first type is called involuntary natural acts. These include the involuntary intuitive or reflex acts exhibited by man, such as the blinking of the eye, the beating of the heart, sneezing, yawning, breathing, scratching, and others. When eating, are you always aware of the way you chew or swallow your food? Probably not, unless you just had dental surgery, or are suffering from tonsillitis (inflammation of the tonsil). or gingivitis (inflammation of the gums). Try doing the following and confirm for yourself if they are indeed involuntary: 1.Stop blinking for Five to ten minutes. 2. Stop breathing for live to ten minutes. 3.Stop your heart from beating. 4.Stop your stomach from digesting the food you have taken during breakfast. Now, after performing the suggested exercises above, answer the following questions: Can you choose not to blink for an entire day? Can you stop breathing, even for one hour? Can you stop your heart from beating? Can you tell your stomach to stop digesting the food you have eaten? If you can, you are surely not of this world. If you cannot, then, be rest assured that you are normal just like everybody else because the acts you tried to stop are unstoppable and uncontrollable. They are involuntary and natural acts. Voluntary Natural Acts The second type of nonmoral acts is called voluntary natural acts. They include voluntary and natural, but not necessarily reflexive acts, such as sleeping, eating, drinking, etc. These types are actions we usually perform as part of our daily, socially learned activities, such as brushing our teeth, combing our hair, cutting our nails, taking a bath, etc. The second type of nonmoral acts is different from the first type because it involves a certain degree of freedom or voluntariness, so to speak. One may decide, for instance, when to sleep, or whether to sleep or not, whether or not to brush one‘s teeth, but one cannot decide when to start or stop his heart from beating. However, these actions are similarly categorized under acts of man because they are neither moral nor immoral. We cannot, for instance, judge our classmate to be moral or immoral just because his heart is heating, or because he did not take his breakfast before going to school. Hence, because involuntary natural acts and voluntary natural acts are neither moral nor immoral, they do not possess any moral values. Nonmoral acts can hardly be the formal object of ethics. But we should take note that the voluntary natural act, like sleeping, could become moral acts if they are performed beyond their natural purposes. Sleeping at work, for example, is no longer perceived as simply a natural act, but an unethical and an unacceptable act. Human Acts The second general form of act is called human acts. Human acts include actions that are conscious, deliberate, intentional, voluntary and are within the preview of human value judgment. Human acts are either moral or immoral. These actions are products ofman‘s rationality and freedom of choice like telling the truth, helping others in distress and caring for the sick. Since moral acts contain the elements that allow for moral judgment and setting of moral responsibility. These acts are then said to be theformal object of ethics. Form No. BPM2-CME 20 F-009 SOC 412 Module 6) Rev.03 Page 3 of 6 COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION Copyright © 2023 PNTC Colleges, All rights reserved. When printed, this document is uncontrolled unless properly identified as controlled  PNTC COLLEGES Zone III, Lt. Cantimbuhan St. Poblacion, Dasmariñas City Classification of Human Acts Acts are judged as to their moral worth based on conformity to standards or norms of morality. Human acts are classified into the following: Moral or ethical acts. These are human acts that observe or conform to a standard or norm of morality. Some examples of moral or ethical actions include helping others in need. taking examinations honestly, returning excess for change received, giving party to your friends, and others. Immoral or unethical acts. These are human acts that violate or deviate from a standard of morality. Immoral/unethical actions may include, refusing to help others in distress, cheating in an examination, speaking ill of others, and others. Amoral or Neutral Acts For purposes of clarity, let us include amoral or neutral actions in the discussion. Amoral or neutral actions do not apply to human acts because human acts can either be moral or immoral but not morally neutral. Instead, the classification applies to nonmoral acts (acts of man). Recall that these acts are neither good nor bad in themselves. However, depending on the circumstances surrounding a neutral act, it may become a moral/ethical or immoral/unethical act. As we pointed out earlier, neutral acts like, for instance, sleeping, becomes an immoral/unethical act if it is done during office work schedule (e. g., a teacher sleeping in her class, a security guard sleeping in his night duty, and others. Components of Moral Act Depending on the ethical theory applied, a moral or human act may be ethical/moral or unethical/ immoral if one or two of its elements either conform to or violate a moral principle of the theory. Differences in elements emphasized mark the difference between and among major theories of ethics. These elements upon which to focus assessment of whether moral or human acts conform to or violate a particular norm are enumerated below: 1.The intention or motive of the act. For instance, studying the lesson is intended to pass an exam. or training for a basketball match is intended to win the championship title. 2.The means of the act. This is the act or object employed to carry out the intent of the act. The act of studying hard is a means to pass an exam, or the act of training one‘s self is a means to win the championship match. The means can also be a person. For example, a person who pretends to help another to advance his selfish interest is a person who treats another person as a means to his personal end. 3.The end of the act. The intent of the act is assumed to be always directed toward a desired end or a perceived good, such as passing the exam or winning the basketball championship tournament, wherein the means Form No. BPM2-CME 20 F-009 SOC 412 Module 6) Rev.03 Page 4 of 6 COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION Copyright © 2023 PNTC Colleges, All rights reserved. When printed, this document is uncontrolled unless properly identified as controlled  PNTC COLLEGES Zone III, Lt. Cantimbuhan St. Poblacion, Dasmariñas City employed will help achieve the end. For example, reading the lesson to pass an exam or training in the hard court for the championship. The end of the act thus becomes the basis or foundation for the intent of the act. Distinction is made between the end and the consequence of the act. If the end refers to the perceived good that can be derived from the performance of the act, the consequence is the outcome or the actual conclusion or result of the moral act. This determines whether or not the intent of the act was carried out or the end of the act was successfully realized. Moral Act and Human Will Moral acts or human acts stem from the human will that controls or influences the internal and external actions of man. The will stirs a person to act, or hampers him from acting. It colors the motives for his engaging or disengaging in a certain action. Living against all odds, hoping in the midst of hopelessness, finding meaning in great loss, selfless sacrifice for others these are just a few cases that demonstrate the power of the will to motivate the human soul for goodness, hope and determination, it is this part of the soul that affects the' freedom and reasoning of the individual. The will is the agency of choice. The will may prompt reason to overpower passion or on the other extreme, arouse passion and allow it to overrun reason. As such, the will is a potential force for both good and evil. The strength or weakness of the will determines the strength or weakness of a person's character. If action follows being, agere sequitor esse, and if the will affects action, the will must be brought closer to reason and to the proper sense of morality and goodness. The human will is what ethics and religious and values education aim to tame through the instruction of the moral sense which is borne out of human experience. It is morality which directs the will to its proper choice. EVALUATE a. Identify the following act as Human Acts or Acts of Man Form No. BPM2-CME 20 F-009 SOC 412 Module 6) Rev.03 Page 5 of 6 COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION Copyright © 2023 PNTC Colleges, All rights reserved. When printed, this document is uncontrolled unless properly identified as controlled  PNTC COLLEGES Zone III, Lt. Cantimbuhan St. Poblacion, Dasmariñas City EXTEND Is free will really existing amongst us humans? Explain your answer. References: Revision Status: MOD SOC 412 (6) Rev.: 00 Sep. 15, 2023 Form No. BPM2-CME 20 F-009 SOC 412 Module 6) Rev.03 Page 6 of 6 COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION Copyright © 2023 PNTC Colleges, All rights reserved. When printed, this document is uncontrolled unless properly identified as controlled