Introduction - PART ONE General Ethics

Introduction: PART ONE General Ethics
A. Ethics: Its meaning and Scope.

1. What is Ethics? Etymologically[ that is according to the origin of the word and its
meaning] derived
from the greek word EOWO [Ethos] which means custom to mean the way of acting
common to all men
of all places of all times. The english term moral is taken from the latin MOS or MORIS
which also means
custom. Thus Ethics and Moral Philosophy or Moral Science are IDENTICAL/same.
From a realistic point of view, Ethics is the practical and philosophical science of the
morality of the human act or human conduct.
Based on this definition there are three importants points to consider.
a.] Ethics is a science -- means Ethics is a body of knowledge together with its
explanations arranged
SYSTEMATICALLY
b.] Ethics is practical -- means Ethics present principles and rules to be acted upon [ to be
practice/done].
c.] Ethics is Philosophical -- means Ethics seeks to explain its subject matter in the light
of its deepest principle
by means of human reason alone.
2. The Objects of Ethics. Every science has its own proper objects [ the focus of
study/subject matter ]
a.] Material object -- Human Act/Human Conduct b.] Formal Object -- human reason
which will give
the moral rectitude of human act [ good or bad/ right or wrong ]
3. Division of Ethics. There are Two main division of Ethics. a.] General Ethics - which is
the general principles
of right or wrong/ good or bad. b.] Special/Applied Ethics - which is the application of
the general principles
of good or bad to the particular or specific field/area. Under this division [Special
Division ] it has two kinds;
a. Individual Ethics b. Social Ethics -- under this kind it has five types -- a. in the
family b. in the state c. in the church d. international society e. in the various profession
4. The Importance of Ethics. It has Four basic Importance.
a. Only Ethics studies the morality of the human act by means of human reason alone
b. It teaches man how to act in accordance with his/her rational nature by giving
him/her the
rules of human conduct.
c. By providing rules of human conduct Ethics enables men to live together in harmony.
Thus Ethics
make life in society possible.
d. The principles of Ethics are in unison with the principles of Christian morality. These
principles are also
used as a means of approach to the demonstration of many truths of the Catholic
religion.
Kinds of valuation and Types of Norms. One of the most important element by which
human act is measured
and determined in terms of its morality is in reference to a NORM. A norm is
understood as a rule, standard
or measure. It means that it is something by which a human act or conduct is
judged/assessed as right or
wrong, good or bad. So by norm of morality we mean the STANDARD OF RIGHT AND
WRONG in
human action.
a. Technical norm -- is concerned with the techniques of how certain things pertaining
to survival be done or not ;
Because of these every community prescribes certain proper ways of working and
doing things. Ex. washing dishes, building a house
b. Societal norm -- this norm has something to do with the need for group cohesion
and for strengthening the
bonds that keep the community together. Ex. certain manners of attire.
c. Aesthetic norm -- refers to a typical perceptual appreciation of something beautiful
and critizising something
ugly in terms of color, shape, space, movement, sound,feeling and emotions,touch
and texture, taste, scent
and odor.
d. Ethical and Moral norm -- refers to some ideal vision of a human person ; an ideal
stage or perfection of
his/her being which serves as the ultimate goal of norm. In this norm the human
person and his/her actions
are judged to be right or wrong, good or bad in relation to the ideal vision of what a
human person should be.
This is what the community sometimes as the " NON - NEGOTIABLES. "
Because of this idea all other norms stated above are subordinated to Moral/Ethical
norm.
Characteristics of Moral Principles.
Moral principle is an important feature of morality. Moral philosophers are able to
come up with a short list
of specific characteristics that , taken as a whole can be a good description of the
distinctiveness of moral
principles in particular and of morality in general. Though there is no universal
agreement on the characteristics
of moral/ethical principles must have but there is a wide consensus that these are the
traits.
1. Reasonability -- means that when we judge right and wrong it must be backed up
by good reason and do
not let our emotions influenced our descisions.
2. Impartiality -- means moral rule should be applied to anyone regardless of one's
status and situation in life.
3. Prescriptivity -- it refers to the practical, or action - guiding principle of morality. It
is a command intended
to direct people on what to do and avoid.
4. Overridingness -- it means that moral standard/rules are over and above other
standard of valuation.
5. Autonomous from arbitrary authority -- means moral rules must/should stand on
their own independent
of the desire of the majority.
6. Publicity -- means moral rules or laws must be made public [ known to everybody
] if they are to serve
as clear guidelines to our actions.
7. Practicability -- means moral rules/laws should/must be doable or attainable can
be done by anyone.
8. Universalizability -- moral rules/laws must be applicable to everyone without
exception, provided of
course that all people are in relevantly same context or situation.
All of these are the Key Concepts under Introduction.

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Introduction: PART ONE General Ethics

A. Ethics: Its meaning and Scope.

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