Chapter 3

The Relationship of Ethics with Other Sciences and Other Phases of Human Life

“The unexamined life is not worth living.”

- Socrates

Introduction

 Ethics is a branch of philosophy that studies the nature and the morality of human conduct.
 Ethics is related to other sciences because it also deals with the investigation of the nature of man
as a rational and a being in relation with other beings.
 The focus and locus of ethics is to study man’s nature and his behavior from the standpoint of
morality.
 The material object of ethics is the HUMAN CONDUCT and the formal object is MORALITY.

A. Relationship of Ethics with Other Sciences

1. Ethics and Logic

 Ethics is the study of correct action or doing, while Logic studies the process of correct and
organized thinking.
 Doing follows thinking.
 Ethics focus first and foremost on the demands of the subjective human world, or world of people
and relationships. (Perceiving information)
 Ethics focuses and studies people’s feelings and emotional states based on non-verbal information
and how things are said. (Communication)
 Logic focused on the demands of the material, nonhuman world, or world of things in one’s
environment. (Perceiving information)
 Logic focuses on and studies what is done and said or the content of one’s speech.
(Communication)
 Ethics is people-oriented while Logic is task-oriented. (Intellectual qualities)
 Ethics is focused on enhancing relationships, modifying content and forms of speech to match or
contract what others expect to hear.
 Logic is focused on not misleading a person and giving him correct information.
 Ethics shows people’s feelings for their partners directly through emotions. (Behavioral
relationships)
 While logic shows their feelings for their partners by doing things for them. (Behavioral
relationships)

2. Ethics and Psychology

 Psychology studies how man behaves, while ethics studies how man ought to behave.
 Psychology is not interested in the morality of human behavior, while ethics is concerned with
man’s moral obligation or the result of his behavior.
  Ethics is the study of human behavior from the perspective of morality.
 Psychology on the other hand, is the scientific study of mental and behavioral characteristics,
associated with a particular kind of behavior.

3. Ethics and Sociology

 Sociology deals with the study of the social order while Ethics deals with the study of moral order in
the society.
 There is no social order if there is no moral order
 Foundation of any society depends on the moral values of people and their perspective concept of what
is good and bad in human relationships.
 Society depends on Ethics for its underlying principles.
 Sociology deals with human relations in a society, but it is based on proper order and proper order
comes only with the proper observance of moral and principles which regulate the actions of men and
women in a community.

4. Ethics and Economics

 Economics as a science deals with the study of wages, labor, production, and distribution of wealth,
these involves relationship and individuals.

Ex. Wages: Between employer and employee; Production: Between Seller and Customer.

 At the heart of this behaviour are moral norms and moral rules that should guides people behaviour as
they relate with others.

According to Charles K. Wilber (1986)

 These are three ways in which ethics enters economics:

1. Economist have ethical values that help shape the way they do economics.
2. Economic actors (consumer, worker, business owners) have ethical values that help shape their
behaviour.
3. Economic institutions and policies impact people differently and thus, ethical evaluations, are
important.

B. Relationship of Ethics with other Phases of Human Life

5. Ethics and Law

 Ethics and Law are closely related

6. Ethics and Religion

 Ethics is a discipline or set of, oral principles and values governing an individual or institution
behaviour.
 Religion generally refers to the service and worship of God (or some other object) and is typically
expressed as a personal or institutional set of beliefs, attitudes and practices.
 Ethics evaluates the behaviour of man against his values regardless of the source of those values, while
Religion certainly can create an impact of individuals and may actually include mandates for ethical
behaviour, it is a distinct concept from ethics.
 Both ethics and religion are based on the same postulates.
 Ethics and Religion have the same end or purpose – that is, the attainment of man’s happiness in this
life and beyond.
 Lastly, ethics and religion prescribe right living as the means of attaining the goal of man in this world.

7. Ethics and Professional Codes of Conduct

Professional – is relating to or characteristics of a profession; engaged in one of the professions; participating

Professionalism – on the other hand is the conduct that characterizes a profession or a professional person; or
it can also be the pursuit of a profession for gain or livelihood.

E.G.

As a Manager, Engineer or as a Lawyer

The words profession and professional imply a public declaration with the force of a promise. Professions are
groups which declare in a public manner that their members will act in certain ways according to their
profession and that the same group and in some instances, the society may discipline those who fail to
conform to its prescribe ways. The traditional professions include medicine, law, education, and clergy.

Professional Code of Ethics

- is a set of behavioural guidelines that members of a professional are required by their association to observe
in the course of their professional practice. These guidelines, in general terms, prescribe responsibilities that
members must adhere to and questionable situations in which they must not be involved.

In some cases, members must be sanctioned for violation of the code. These sanctions may include the
following:

 Payment of a fine;
 Payment of the cost of any investigation;
 Reprimand;
 Imposition of conditions on membership;
 Suspension from membership; and
 Expulsion from membership.
8. Ethics and Etiquette

Etiquette

- came from a French word which means ticket.

- is a code of behaviour that outlines expectations for social behaviour within a society, social class or group.
Rules of etiquette include all aspects of social interaction including manners. But etiquette is not just about
saying “please and thank you”. One important function of etiquette is that it shows respect and deference to
others.

- it can vary a lot from country to country especially in business and social interaction.

Ethics

- are the moral or honest way to behave.

Etiquette

- is the polite and “proper” way to behave.

9. Ethics and Education

Education

- defined as an instruction or training by which people learn to develop and use their mental, moral and
physical powers and abilities. It is also one way of gaining experience about human life. Since man however,
primarily a rational moral being, the purpose of education is to perfect the moral character in man.

- a great educator once said “education is coextensive with life.”

- hence, we can say that ethics is life because it is the one that gives life its direction, purpose, and meaning.

10. Ethics and Art

Art – is concerned with the use of imagination to make things of aesthetic significance.

Ethics – s aimed at conforming to an accepted standard of good behaviour.

- it also stands for moral goodness, art, and beauty.

It may be difficult to ascertain whether a piece of art which is offensive to morals can be considered beautiful.
Both true art and true ethics have the same aim: that is, to arouse and to inspire the noble emotions of man,
thereby creating no conflict at all. Consequently, an art which arouses the lower impulses of man defeats the
very purpose of art.