Theories of

ethics
GLYDEL DELA PEÑA-
ALMAZAN
REORTER
 Prayer
Heavenly Father, We come to you today in
prayer, asking for your guidance and wisdom as
we begin this online class. Help us to stay focused
and attentive as we learn and grow together. Give
us the strength to stay motivated. We thank you
for the opportunity to learn and grow in
knowledge. May our minds be open to new ideas
and our hearts be filled with understanding. In
Jesus namw. Amen.
 Theories of ethics
Ethics, the discipline concerned with what is morally good and bad and morally right
and wrong. it is also applied to any system or theory of “moral values or principles”

Ethical Choices
Theorizing Ethical Egoism
Virtue Ethics and the
Ethics and Subjectivism
Personalities

Deonto;ogical Justice and

Consequential Cultural
Theories Right-Based
Theories Relativisim
Theories
Post-Modernity and
Criticizing Ethical
Theory
 Ethics

moral principles that

govern a person’s
behavior
Ethical EGOISM AND
SUBJECTIVISM

It contends each person has a duty to act in ways

that promote his or her self-interest above the interests of all others.
Ethical Egoism
The idea that we should act in our own self interest exclusively.
Help others only if it benefits you.

Ethical Subjectivism it implies that all you have to do to make a correct moral judgement is to
sincerely state your own moral beliefs and attitudes.
individual opinion, feeling, or preference.
virtue ethics
the quality of doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong.
a good moral quality in a person, or the general quality of being morally
good. A virtue itself is a disposition to act, think and feel in certain ways.
Bad actions display the opposite and are informed by vices, such as
cowardice, treachery, and ignorance.
according to Aristotle- the primary focus of virtue ethics is to aim towards
the intermediate while cultivating a balanced life,
ethical choices and
personalities
An ethical choice involves one doing more that he or she has to
do. It is choosing to do what one has to do. Since operating
with honor at times means not doing what one would like to
do, ethical choices call for self-discipline

An ethical choice entails making out the disparity between

right and wrong. It is a dedication to do all that is right,
respectable and principled. It involves one asking themselves
whether they are ready to bear the price for going ahead with
an unethical decision.
 deontological
theories What is Kant's deontological
theory of ethics explain?

Derived from the Greek word “Deon” meaning

Kant's deontological philosophy
“Duty”.
stemmed from his belief that
humans possess the ability to
The main focus of deontology is duty and
reason and understand universal
intentions. Deontological ethics acknowledges
moral laws that they can apply
that actions are morally independent of outcomes
because good actions can result in bad outcomes in all situations. Unlike many
and vice-versa. Therefore, an action can only be other ethical theories,
moral if it has goodwill behind it and if the action deontology does not focus on
is dutiful or necessary. the consequences of individual
actions.
consequential
theories
Consequentialism is a theory that says whether something is good or bad
depends on its outcomes. An action that brings about more benefit than harm
is good, while an action that causes more harm than benefit is not.

One example of consequentialism would be praising a burglar who accidentally

robs a crime lord. While the burglar only sought to benefit themselves, their
robbery actually stopped the crime lord from using their wealth to hurt others.
Thus, the best overall consequences were achieved through robbery.
justice and right-based
theories
What is the theory of justice in ethics?

A Theory of Justice holds that every individual has an equal

right to basic liberties, and that they should have the right to
opportunities and an equal chance as other individuals of
similar ability.

The concept of rights-based ethics is that there are some

rights, both positive and negative, that all humans have based
only on the fact that they are human. These rights can be
natural or conventional. Natural rights are those that are
inherent while conventional rights are those created by
humans and that reflect society's values.
Rights-Based Ethics
System: Examples
The term right can be defined as "a justified claim that individuals and groups
can make upon other individuals or upon society." Rights-based ethics means
that ethical behavior must uphold the rights of people, such as civil rights
within a democracy. Rights can be legal in nature, or they can pertain to
morality or human rights.
The right to life
The right to liberty
The right to pursue happiness
The right to a jury trial
The right to a lawyer
The right to freely practice a religion of choice
 cultural relativisim
Cultural relativism refers to not judging a culture to our own standards of what
is right or wrong, strange or normal. Instead, we should try to understand
cultural practices of other groups in its own cultural context.

Cultural relativism is the ability to understand a culture on its own terms and
not to make judgments using the standards of one's own culture. The goal of
this is promote understanding of cultural practices that are not typically part of
one's own culture.

Examples of cultural relativism in the Philippines include diverse marriage

arrangements, traditional beliefs and superstitions, food and eating habits,
rituals and festivals, clothing and fashion, gender roles and relationships,
traditional healing practices, music and dance, languageand communication,
values and etiquette, and education and learning.
Post-Modernity and
Criticizing ethical theory
What is postmodernism?
Postmodernism is a late 20th-century movement in philosophy and literary theory
that generally questions the basic assumptions of Western philosophy in the modern
period (roughly, the 17th century through the 19th century).

What do postmodernists believe?

Many postmodernists hold one or more of the following views: (1) there is no
objective reality; (2) there is no scientific or historical truth (objective truth); (3)
science and technology (and even reason and logic) are not vehicles of human
progress but suspect instruments of established power; (4) reason and logic are not
universally valid; (5) there is no such thing as human nature (human behavior and
psychologyare socially determined or constructed); (6) language does not refer to a
reality outside itself; (7) there is no certain knowledge; and (8) no general theory of
the natural or social world can be valid or true (all are illegitimate “metanarratives”).
What are some general characteristics of postmodernism?
Postmodern philosophy is characterized by broad skepticism or
relativism and a general suspicion of reason. It also broadly asserts that
Western intellectual and cultural norms and values are a product of, or
are in some sense influenced by, the ideology of dominant or elite groups
and at least indirectly serve their interests.
skepticism
skepticism, in Western philosophy, the attitude of doubting knowledge
claims set forth in various areas. Skeptics have challenged the adequacy
or reliability of these claims by asking what principles they are based
upon or what they actually establish. They have questioned whether
some such claims really are, as alleged, indubitable or necessarily true,
and they have challenged the purported rational grounds of accepted
assumptions. In everyday life, practically everyone is skeptical about
some knowledge claims; but philosophical skeptics have doubted the
possibility of any knowledge beyond that of the contents of directly felt
experience. The original Greek meaning of skeptikos was “an inquirer,”
someone who was unsatisfied and still looking for truth.
relativism
ethical relativism, the doctrine that there are no absolute truths in ethics
and that what is morally right or wrong varies from person to person or
from society to society.

Example of ethical relativism

Certain practices, such as customs regarding dress and decency, may
depend on local custom whereas other practices, such as slavery, torture,
or political repression, may be governed by universal moral standards
and judged wrong despite the many other differences that exist among
cultures.
Thank you so
much!