WESTERN ETHICAL

FRAMEWORKS AND
PRINCIPLES
BASIC AREAS OF ETHICAL STUDY
 NORMATIVE ETHICS

• Normative Ethics is concerned with the standard

• and criteria by which we can judge man’s actions to be morally right or morally wrong.
• This was the prevalent form of ethics in philosophy until the end of the 19th Century.
• normative ethical ethics is that there is only one ultimate
• principle or standard of moral conduct, whether it is a solitary law or a set of rules. It
• stresses three elements: the person who performs the act (the agent), the act, and the
• consequences of the act.

• Normative ethics deals with the standards, the rubrics, the specific guidelines explaining what makes actions moral or immoral

• It is also known as prescriptive ethics because it provides specific guidelines on how to determine what is moral and what is not moral.

• THERE IS A STANDARD TO JUDGE, WHERE WE CAN SAY IF ITS RIGHT OR WRONG, GOOD OR BAD.

• IT TELLS US WHAT SHOULD OR SHOULD NOT DO, AND WE USE A RULE /RULES FOR BASIS TO JUDGE.
THREE CATEGORIES OF NORMATIVE ETHICAL
THEORIES
• deontology
• teleological ethics
• virtue ethics.
 DEONTOLOGY
• Also called duty-based ethics, deontology is interested with what man does, not
• with the consequences of his actions. It advises people to do the right thing because
• it is the right thing to do and keep away from wrong things because they are wrong.
• People are counseled to do the right thing, even if that produces more harm than doing
• the wrong thing. People have a moral obligation to do the right thing, even if it produces a bad result.
• deontological ethics an action is considered morally good
• because of some characteristic of the action itself, not because
• the product of the action is good.

• INTENTIONS ONLY MATTER

• AND CONSEQUENCES IS DONT OR DOESN'T MATTER

• SO WHERE WILL WE JUDGE, TO LOOK FOR INTENTIONS OR TO LOOK FOR THE CONSEQUENCES AS A BASIS.
 TELEOLOGICAL ETHICS
• This theory of morality derives duty or moral obligation from what is good or
• desirable as an end to be achieved.
• It believes that the rightness or wrongness of a human act is contingent on its outcome. Hence, a
human
• act is considered morally right if it produces a good outcome. Since the moral
• goodness of a human act is dependent only on its results, the more good results a
• human act produces, the better or more right that human act is.

• CONSEQUENCES ARE THE ONE THAT MATTERS

• INTENTIONS IS NOT, OR DOESN'T MATTER

 VIRTUE ETHICS
• theories that emphasize the role of character and virtue
• in moral philosophy rather than either doing one’s duty or acting in order to bring about good consequences
• the fundamental component of moral behavior is the person’s character rather than ethical duties and rules
about the acts themselves or consequences of particular actions.
• This moral
• theory is character or person-based rather than action based because it places special
• emphasis on the moral character of the person executing the act.

• HELPS US UNDERSTAND WHAT IS MEANS TO BE A VIRTUOUS HUMAN BEING.

• DECISIONS OR ACTIONS WILL BE BASED ON OUR VIRTUES, OUR ACTIONS WOULD INDICATE OR TELL IF WHO WE ARE

• IT GIVES US A GUIDE FOR LIVING LIFE WITHOUT GIVING US SPECIFIC RULES FOR RESOLVING ETHICAL DILEMMAS
META-ETHICS
• Meta-ethics is a branch of analytic philosophy that explores the status,
• foundations, and scope of moral values, properties, and words.
• It is an inquiry about the nature of ethical assertions, attitudes, and evaluations.
• People that studies ethics itself as a discipline
• Does not proposed any moral principles or norms of action,
• Consists solely of philosophical analysis, analyzing the terms, statements, behavior,
codes and etc.

• Deals with the basic or fundamental principles concept and terms and the definition of these concept and terms in ethics.

• ex. What is ethics, what is good and evil, what is right or wrong.

• Focuses on the meaning or definition of moral or ethical language, or the terms used in ethics; the notions and the principles and their meaning.
It ask the question : what is morality? What is ethics? Does morality or ethics exists? And if they exist then what does it consist of?
 MORAL COGNITIVISM
• holds that moral statements do express beliefs and that they
• are apt for truth and falsity
• It claims
• that ethical sentences convey propositions that are capable being true or false. It
• also declares that right and wrong are matters of fact. Moral realism and ethical
• subjectivism are the two most common forms of cognitivism.

• It explains that good and evil, right or wrong are things that can be known by the mind, either objectively or subjectively. According to this theory, good and evil is
something that can be known, that can be shared to others and that can be taught, cause all moral judgement and statements have truth value, meaning; a moral
judgement, a moral statement, a moral claim is either true or false, it has truth or falsity.
 MORAL REALISM (OR MORAL OBJECTIVISM)
• is the position that ethical
• sentences express propositions that refer to objective features of the world, that
• is, features independent of subjective opinion.
• It assumes that moral values are objectively true and their truth does not depend or
• are independent of our opinions, perception, beliefs, feelings or attitudes of them

• Claims that moral standards, moral norms, moral guidelines, frameworks and theory, morality, they are by nature
UNIVERSALITY, it means that these moral standards, principles; the good and evil, right and wrong can be applied to
all communities, to all people, societies, culture and to all religion. They transcend differences, uniqueness, boarders,
cultural differences and religion differences, so they are universal, they are applicable to all people despite of the
difference in gender, age, culture society and beliefs
 ETHICAL SUBJECTIVISM
• meta-ethical view which claims that the truth or
• falsity of such propositions is in eliminably dependent on the (actual or

• hypothetical) attitudes of people.

• Contrary to moral realism, ethical subjectivism argues that there are no objective moral truths.
The truth or falsity of ethical propositions is dependent on our opinions, perception, beliefs,
• feelings or attitudes towards them. Ethical sentences are arbitrary because they

• do not convey unchanging truths.

• good and evil depends on the individual or the subjects, so the subjects become the ultimate standard of what is right or wrong, or what is
good and evil. It is the individual,(the subject) or the moral agent; who determines whether or not his actions is good or evil, it is the
individual who will decide what is wrong or right for him, or good or evil for him.

• Morality differs or changes from one individual to another so it means that there will be multiple standards as there are many unique
individuals out there. The individual is the ultimate determinant of right and wrong
 MORAL NON-COGNITIVISM
• holds the view that ethical statements lack truth value which means they are neither true
nor false.
• Non cognitivist denies the cognitivist claim that moral judgments are capable
• of being objectively true, because they describe some feature of the world. If moral
• statements cannot be true, and if one cannot know something that is not true,
• noncognitivism implies that moral knowledge is impossible.

• Claims that there is no such thing as moral truths or moral statements, moral judgements, moral claims are without
rational,empirical or logical basis and therefore they don't have any truth value at all.
 EMOTIVISM
• meta-ethical view that claims that ethical sentences do not
• express propositions but emotional attitudes.
• It assumes that the purpose of ethical propositions is to convey
emotions of approval or disapproval. To a certain degree they are also
imperatives meant to sway the frame of mind of other people.

• In emotivism we are answering the question, what do people mean when they say that something is
good or bad.

• Claims that statement about good and evil are just expressing a subjects approval or disapproval of
a particular thing.

• Ex. To say that "Charity is good" I would just says that ( I approve of charity or Yay, Charity) or to
say that "stealing is wrong" I would just says that ( I disapprove of stealing or Boo! Stealing!)
 MORAL UNIVERSALISM
• Moral Universalism which is also called moral objectivism proposes
• that ethical implications of an action is universally applicable to everybody,
• regardless of circumstance. It believes that there is a universal moral
• system which applies to anyone which transcends culture, nationality, race,
• religion, sexuality or other distinguishing feature.

• Claims that moral standards, moral norms, moral guidelines, frameworks and theory, morality, they are by nature
UNIVERSALITY, it means that these moral standards, principles; the good and evil, right and wrong can be applied to all
communities, to all people, societies, culture and to all religion. They transcend differences, uniqueness, boarders, cultural
differences and religion differences, so they are universal, they are applicable to all people despite of the difference in gender,
age, culture society and beliefs
 MORAL RELATIVISM
• is a philosophical position which believes that moral
• judgments are true or false only relative to some particular standpoint (for
• instance, that of a culture or a historical period) and that no standpoint is
• uniquely privileged over all others. Moral judgments differ from person to person and are
all equally valid and no one’s belief of right and wrong is really better than any other.
There is no objective and ultimate standard of morality, so each moral judgment about right
and wrong is
• relative to a person’s cultural, social, historical or personal circumstances and preferences.

• No universal or absolute set of moral principles. Morality that advocates "to each her own" and those who follow it says "who am I
to judge".

• Meta ethical relativism states that there are no objective grounds for preferring the moral values of one culture over another.
Societies make their moral choices based on their unique beliefs, customs, and practices.

• Ex. When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

MORAL EMPIRICISM

• Moral Empiricism is an ethical perspective which assumes that moral

• knowledge is based on one’s experiences and observations. It claims that
• moral learning and knowledge is not possible without experience. This ethical
• view is an extension of empiricism in epistemology that states that knowledge
• comes only or primarily from sensory experience.

• A philosophical doctrine that holds the view that knowledge is derived from experience.

• All knowledge begins with experience and that the mind is like a blank sheet that the human person fills with ideas as she experiences the
world through his five external senses.
MORAL INTUITIONISM

• argued that moral truths are self-evident, that is, evident

• in and of themselves and so can be known without the need of any proof or
• reasoning. What is morally right or morally wrong is self-evident in nature and
• cannot be known through human experience.

• Key idea : the good is self evident, intuitionist are realists in nature, they think that the good really is a fact in the world, so for them, good is a fact. They are also
cognitivist, because they believe that moral language or statements is truth act that can be true or false.

• Ex. You are in a cliff, you can see the sky, the trees, the beautiful environment below, but you can also see danger. And a danger is fact in the world that we can
perceived.

• For intuitionist, morality is a fact in the world, and we perceive it, so wee see it.

• This moral goodness or badness is something that exists and is perceived.

MORAL RATIONALISM

• is a view in meta-ethics according to which moral principles are

knowable a priori, by reason alone. It considers reason as the main
source and test of moral knowledge. Because of reason, certain moral
truths exist and that the intellect can directly grasp these truths.

• A philosophical doctrine that holds the view that knowledge is derived from reason rather than
experience. Reason is the ultimate source of knowledge and the test of it's validity. Truth exist and
that the intellect can grasp them directly.

• These truth are fundamental so that denying them would cause us to fall into contradiction. These
truth are self evident true and that their negation is self evidently false.
 APPLIED ETHICS
• Applied ethics, in a broad sense, refers to any use of philosophical methods
• critically to examine practical moral decisions and to treat moral problems,
practices,
• and policies in the professions, technology, government, and the like.
• Some of the key areas of applied ethics are: bioethics, environmental ethics,
business ethics, sexual ethics, and social ethics.

• It philosophically examines specific, controversial moral issues, it deals with difficult moral questions and
controversial moral issues that people actually face in their lives.

• Ex. The moral issues regarding abortion, animal rights, same sex marriage death penalty, suicide, cloning humans,
vaccination, harassment, discrimination, gay or lesbian relations, war tactics, . Two features are necessary for an issue
to be considered an applied ethical issue.

• FIRST, the issue needs to be controversial, in the sense that there are significant groups of people both for and
against the issue at hand.

• It must be a distinctly moral issue and morally relevant as well.

TYPES OF APPLIED ETHICS

• Bioethics
• Environmental Ethics
• Business Ethics
• Sexual Ethics
• Social Ethics
 BIOETHICS
• This is branch of applied ethics that studies the philosophical, social, and legal
• issues arising in medicine and the life sciences. Bioethics devotes its
• time and attention in studying the moral controversies brought about by advances
• in biology and medicine. It is concerned with scientific advances that can alter the way
• we understand health and illness and, ultimately, the way we live and die.
• Issues that are considered in bioethics include: cloning, surrogate motherhood,
• human genetic engineering, genomics, stem cell research, organ donation and
• transplantation, transplant trade, medical and genetic data privacy.

• Is the application of the principles of ethics to the field of medicine and healthcare. Bioethics as applied ethics is defined as the ethics of life.

• Ex. A bioethicist may argue that abortion is immoral because using Kantian ethics, it treats human person as a means rather than as an end.
 ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS
• This is the discipline in philosophy that studies the moral relationship of human

• beings to, and also the value and moral status of, the environment and its non-human contents
• It deals with man’s moral obligation to the
• preservation and care of the non-human world.
• Environmental ethics rests on the principle that all life forms on earth have
• the right to live. Human beings and nature are closely linked with each other because
• they depend on one another for their existence. Owing to their inseparable

• relationship, the guiding principles of man’s life and his ethical values should include
• it. By destroying the environment and its non-human contents, man unjustly and

• immorally denies its right to live.

• The topics for debate in environmental ethics include: global climate change,
• the depletion of natural resources, loss of biodiversity, destruction of ecosystems,
• water and air pollution, waterways, the use of fertilizers, animal experimentation, and
• endangered species preservation.

• Ex. Should human continue to clear-cut forests for the sake of human consumption? Why should human continue to propagate it's species and life itself? Should humans continue to make gasoline-
powdered vehicles? What environmental obligations do human need to keep for future generations.

• How should humans best use and conserve the space environment to secure and expand life.
 BUSINESS ETHICS

• Business ethics is beyond just a moral code of right and wrong in the workplace.
• Over and above their obligation to the law, business organizations must be conscious
• of the moral impact of their activities on customers, employees, shareholders,
• communities and the environment in all aspects of their operations.
• Corporate governance, employee rights, unions, insider trading, bribery,
• misleading advertising, discrimination, corporate social responsibility, fiduciary
• responsibilities, and even slavery are some of the controversial subjects addressed in
• business ethics
• Refers to the standards and practices in the workplace setting, business ethics includes societal standards of right and wrong, business ethical standards and circumstances and legal
standards.

• Business ethics is more often rigid than in personal areas.

• ex. You may be flirtatious in your personal life, but at work it will be or will become harassment. At work you can't decide which rules are worthy of following.

• You can show up late for personal appointments but not for work, and you can't just borrow things from others, at work any borrowing without permission is considered stealing. And you
can't just say whatever you feel like saying in the workplace.

• Ethics in the workplace is not subjective but is clearly define by your employer.
 SEXUAL ETHICS
• This is commonly understood as the study of human sexuality and sexual
• behavior. It seeks to investigate thoroughly moral behavior regarding with whom
• people have sex and how they do so. It is an attempt to bring about a comprehensive
• understanding of the moral conduct of interpersonal relationships and sexual practices
• from social, cultural, religious, medical, legal and philosophical perspectives.
• Sexual ethics explores topics such as procreation, abortion, contraception,
• adultery, extramarital sex, sexual harassment, sexual abuse, polyamory, seduction,
• flirting, prostitution, homosexuality, pornography, masturbation, incest, rape,
• sadomasochism, bestiality, pedophilia, sexually transmitted infections, genital
• modification and mutilation, teenage pregnancy, celibacy, and marriage.

• It studies moral issues about sexuality and human sexual behavior. In a word, it seeks to understand and evaluate the moral conduct of
relationships and sexual activities from a philosophical perspective
 SOCIAL ETHICS
• This is an analysis of the set of rules, guidelines, values, behaviors and
• responsibilities people have toward themselves, each other, and the world as a whole.
• The collection of social principles regulate relationships within a society, specifically
• with regard to determining what is considered morally right, just and noble. The rules
• which society judges acceptable are expected to be followed because they are meant
• to guide people in their ethical choices and values.
• Social ethics teaches what each person will and will not tolerate from each other
• within society. To maintain social equilibrium, the welfare of society as a whole must
• be placed ahead of the interests of any individual. People in a society cannot do as they please
• Social ethics validates if people’s decisions and actions cause harm to society
• or the environment. Each person is responsible to act in manner that benefits his
• society and not solely himself
• environmental pollution, global warming, antisocial behavior, poverty,

• malnourishment, lack of access to food and clean water, access to clean and

• affordable living, unemployment, homelessness, discrimination and violence,

drug

• abuse, alcohol abuse, political corruption, prostitution, sexual abuse, rape, early

• pregnancy, same-sex marriage, birth control, HIV/AIDS, prostitution, gay

marriages,

• gender issues, child labor, lack of proper access to education, the shortage of
schools,

• the lack of infrastructure, alcoholism, food and drug safety, suicide, drug abuse,
capital

• punishment, animal abuse, human rights, women's rights, children’s rights,

world

• population, organ & body donation, euthanasia & assisted suicide, death
penalty,

• consumer debt and bankruptcy, judicial reform, censorship, gun control,

terrorism,

• nuclear weapon production, immigration, tobacco, nuclear proliferation, cancer,

health

• care reform, religious conflict & war, political polarization, government

accountability,
 • THANK YOU SO MUCH

THANK YOU
THANKS • GROUP 1
• JOHN PHILIP OPPUER
• MARC LUIGIE JOSE
• LYNDELL DARAY
• ROGER TUMINEZ
• MARK ANGELO BARNACHA
• Ethics and morals relate to “right” and “wrong”
conduct. While they are sometimes used
interchangeably, they are different: ethics refer to rules
provided by an external source, e.g., codes of conduct
in workplaces or principles in religions. Morals refer
to an individual's own principles regarding right and
wrong.