Chapter I: Ethical Dimension Of Human Existence, Ge 8 Ethics 2Nd Sem PDF

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CHAPTER I: ETHICAL DIMENSION OF HUMAN EXISTENCE Ethics – generally speaking, is about matters such as the good thing that we should pursue and the bad thing that we should avoid; the right ways in which we could or should act and the wrong ways of acting. It is about what is acceptable and unacceptable in human behavior. It may involve obligations that we are encouraged to meet. Ethics as a subject to study is about determining the grounds for the values with particular and special significance to human life. CLASSIFICATIONS TERMINOLOGY

what we see, hear, smell, or taste. In fact, we often use the word “taste” to refer to the personal aesthetic preferences that we have on these matters, such as “his taste in music” or “her taste in clothes.” -

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Recognizing the notions of good and bad, and right and wrong, are the primary concern of ethics. In order to start, it would be useful to clarify the following points. Kinds of Valuation -

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Our first point of clarification is to recognize that there are instances when we make value judgements that are not considered to be part of ethics. o For instance, I could say that this new movie I had just seen was a “good” one because I enjoyed it, or a song I had just heard on the radio was a “bad” one because it had an unpleasant tone, but these are not part of the discussion of ethics. o I may have an opinion as to what is the “right” dip (sawsawan) for my chicken barbeque, or I may maintain that it is “wrong” to wear a leather vest over a Barong Tagalog, and these are not concerns of ethics. These are valuations that fall under the domain of aesthetics. The word “aesthetics” is derived from the Greek word aesthesis (“sense or feeling”) and refers to the judgements of personal approval or disapproval that we make about

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Similarly, we have a sense of approval or disapproval concerning actions which can be considered relatively more trivial in nature. o Thus, for instance, I may think that it is “right” to knock politely on someone’s door, while it is “wrong” to barge into one’s office. o Perhaps, I may approve of a child who knows how to ask for something properly by saying “please” and otherwise, disapprove of a woman that I see picking her nose in public. These and other examples similar examples belong to the category of etiquette, which is concerned with right and wrong actions, but those which might be considered not quite grave enough to belong to a discussion on ethics. To clarify this point, we can differentiate how I may be displeased seeing a healthy young man refuse to offer his seat on the bus to an elderly lady but by indignation and shock would be much greater if I were to see a man deliberately push another one out of a moving bus.

- We can also consider how a notion of right and wrong actions can easily appear in a context that is not a matter of ethics. o This could also be when learning how to bake, for instance, I am told that the right thing to do would be to mix the dry ingredients first, such as flour, or sugar

Dianna Rose O. Belen, RN, LPT 2018-2019

GE 8 ETHICS

2nd Sem

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before bringing in any liquids, like milk or cream; this is the right thing to do in baking but not one that belongs to the discussion of ethics. o This could also be when learning how to play basketball. I am instructed that it is against the rules to walk more than two steps without dribbling the ball; again, obeying this rule to not travel is something that makes sense only in the context of the game and is not an ethical prohibition. We derive from the Greek word techne the English words of “technique” and “technical” which are often used to refer to a proper way (or right way) of doing things, but a technical valuation (or right and wrong technique of doing things) may not necessarily be an ethical one as these examples show. Recognizing the characteristics of aesthetic and technical valuation allows us to have a rough guide as to what belongs to a discussion of ethics. They involve valuations that we make in a sphere of human actions, characterized by certain gravity and concern the human well-being or human life itself. Therefore, matters that concern human well-being such as poverty, inequality, or sexual identity are often included in discussion of ethics. One complication that can be noted is that the distinction between what belongs to ethics and what does not is not always so clearly defined. At times, the question of what is grave and trivial is debatable, and sometimes some of the most heated discussion in ethics could be on the fundamental question whether a certain sphere of human activities belongs to this discussion.

Dianna Rose O. Belen, RN, LPT

o Are clothes always just a matter of taste or would provocative clothing call for some kind of moral judgment? o Can we say that a man who verbally abuses his girlfriend is simply showing bad manners or does this behavior deserve stronger moral condemnation? ETHICS AND MORALS -

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This discussion of ethics and morals would include cognates such as ethical, unethical, immoral, amoral, morality, and so on. The term “morals” may be used to refer to specific beliefs or attitudes that people have or to describe acts that people perform. Thus it is sometimes said that an individual’s personal conduct is referred to as his morals, and if he falls short of behaving properly, this can be described as immoral. We also have terms such as “moral judgement” or “moral reasoning”, which suggest a more rational aspect. Ethics - can be spoken of as the discipline of studying and understanding ideal human behavior and ideal ways of thinking. o It is acknowledged as an intellectual discipline belonging to philosophy. With regard to acceptable and unacceptable ways of behaving in a given field, we have “professional ethics” (e.g., legal ethics for the proper comportment of lawyers and other people in the legal profession; medical ethics for doctors and nurses; media ethics for writers and reporters).

Philosophy is commonly thought of today as a particular discipline in a curriculum, perhaps as a subject that one could take, or a course in which one could get a degree. - The word philosophy is rooted in the Greek words that translate to “love of wisdom” (philia is the noun often translated into GE 8 ETHICS

2nd Sem...