Lesson 1: Introduction To ETHICS: The Concept of Ethics

Lesson 1: Introduction to ETHICS
We live in a dangerous world. Whether it is more

dangerous than in crimes past is an open question. One can think,
for example, of the thirteenth century when Genghis Khan and his
successors swept across Asia, Europe, and northern Africa and
threatened to destroy all Islamic civilization. We can also think of
the bubonic plague in the mid-fourteenth century, which wiped
out one-fourth of Western Europe’s population and still
reappeared in the following three centuries. On the other hand,
today’s threats may be even more powerful and have the capacity
to affect millions more people. For example, we have recently
been made only too aware of the extent and capacity of terrorist
networks around the world. Unstable nations and rulers possess
powerful weapons of mass destruction. Individuals promoting a
cause, acting out of revenge or in frustration, or for no clear
reason at all can randomly kill people who are simple going about
the business of life. We question what we may rightly do to lessen
these dangers or prevent great possible harm. In some cases, the Photo source: insurancejournal.com
only way to do so seems to involve threats to other important values we hold- for example, rights to
privacy and our basic civil liberties.
These are matters not only of practical and political bearing but also of moral rights and
wrongs. They are also matters about which it is not easy to judge. We do not always know what
is best to do, how to balance goods, or what reasons or principles we ought to follow.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
After studying this chapter, the students should be able to:

1. Discuss the concept of ethics;
2. Distinguish the three general subject areas of Ethics; and
3. Write a short summary of trending stories on social media which convey important ethical
issues.
LECTURE NOTES
The Concept of Ethics

What do people think about when they think ethically? What is the experience on which
ethical reflection is grounded? It is grounded on the experience of free persons who have to act
in difficult situations. It developed from the reality that when people act, they do not merely
need to know the best way to realize something but there are times when they need to act in a
way that realizes the good. And the good does not always mean the easiest or most expedient
way. Ethical norms and the question of good and evil arise when people need to act as free
persons. But not all actions are inherently ethical. Actions only require ethical reflection when
they are free acts that involve a person’s desire to realize the good. Thus, the field of ethics (or
1
moral philosophy) involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and
wrong behavior.
Ethics and Ethos

The term ethics comes from the Greek word ethos, which means custom, a
characteristic, or habitual way of doing things, or action that is properly derived from one’s
character. The Latin word mos or moris (and its plural mores) from which the adjective moral is
derived is equivalent to ethos. From the purely etymological point of view, ethical and moral
are, therefore synonymous. Also, restricted to such root word considerations, ethics and
morality many only be simple description of the mores or ways of behaving, whether of the
human person is general or of a particular population. It seems then that as a field of study,
ethics need not be “normative” in guiding human action and it is even seemingly imperative to
preserve an attitude of neutrality that excludes all judgments of value.
The three general subject areas of Ethics

Philosophers today usually divide ethical theories into three general subject areas:
metaethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics.
 Metaethics investigates where our ethical principles come from, and what they mean.
Are they merely social inventions? Do they involve more than expressions of our
individual emotions? Metaethical answers to these questions focus on the issues of
universal truths, the will of God, the role of reason in ethical judgments, and the
meaning of ethical terms themselves.
 Normative ethics takes on a more practical task, which is to arrive at moral standards
that regulate right and wrong conduct. This may involve articulating the good habits
that we should acquire, the duties that we should follow, or the consequences of our
behavior on others.
 Finally, applied ethics involves examining specific controversial issues, such as abortion,
infanticide, animal rights, environmental concerns, homosexuality, capital punishment,
or nuclear war.
By using the conceptual tools of metaethics and normative ethics, discussions in applied
ethics try to resolve these controversial issues. The lines of distinction between metaethics,
normative ethics, and applied ethics are often blurry. For example, the issue of abortion is an
applied ethical topic since it involves a specific type of controversial behavior. But it also
depends on more general normative principles, such as the right of self-rule and the right to
life, which are tests for determining the morality of that procedure. The issue also rests on
metaethical issues such as, “where do rights come from?” and “what kind of beings have
rights?”
REFERENCES
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from https://www.iep.utm.edu/ethics/

Mackinnon, Barbara. (2012) Ethics: Theory and Contemporary Issues. Wadsworth Cengage
Learning.
Pasco, Marc Oliver. Et al. General Education: Ethics. C & E Publishing, Inc.,2018

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Lesson 1: Introduction to ETHICS

We live in a dangerous world. Whether it is more

After studying this chapter, the students should be able to:

The Concept of Ethics

Ethics and Ethos

The three general subject areas of Ethics

Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from https://www.iep.utm.edu/ethics/

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