Republic of the Philippines

OCCIDENTAL MINDORO STATE COLLEGE

Labangan, San Jose, Occidental Mindoro
website: www.omsc.edu.ph email address: omsc_9747@yahoo.com
Tele/Fax: (043) 457-0231 CERTIFIED TO ISO 9001:2015
CERT. NO.: 50500643 QM15

in

Compiled by:
NOEL N. BANTOG, MPA
MA. SOLEDAD O. GUARISMA, MAT
MARIA LUISA P. PULIDO, MAT

The compiler does not own any of the contents of this learning module. Due credits and
acknowledgment are given to the authors, internet sources, and researchers listed on the
reference page. Such sources are reserved to further explain concepts and cannot be credited to
the compiler and the school. All diagrams, charts, and images are used for educational purposes
only. The sole objective of this instructional material is to facilitate independent learning and
not for monetary gains because this is NOT FOR SALE.

2020 Edition
 LESSON 1
BASIC CONCEPTS ON MORAL AND NON-MORALS STANDARDS

Moral Standards
Moral standards are the criteria people or individuals have about the different actions considered
to be morally right or morally wrong, and also the values attached to what is believed to be morally good
or morally bad.
It is usually said that moral standards promote “the good,” or the welfare and well- being not only
of humans but also animals and the environment. These are the actions that can cause either benefit or
harm.
Therefore, moral standards determine what people ought to do in terms of rights and obligations .
Non-Moral Standards

Non-moral standards are guidelines which are entirely not associated with ethical or moral
considerations. The act of doing something which falls under non-moral standards does not harm human
beings. For example, the manner by which a person eats, either by bare hands or by using utensils, falls
under non-moral standards.

ASSESSMENT

Write M if the statement is a moral standard and NM if it is a non-moral standard.

1. Fall in line.
2. Always tell the truth.
3. Do not harm others.
4. No talking while inside the museum.
5. Keep right.
6. Do not lie.
7. Do not take what is not yours.
8. Take off your shoes before you enter.
9. Do not cheat.
10. Turn off your mobile phones during performance

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 TOPIC 2: MORAL DILEMMAS

Before we go to moral dilemmas, let us first understand what dilemma means. It is

defined as being in a situation where a person has to choose between two or more conflicting
options, neither of which is acceptable.

Moral dilemmas, therefore, are circumstances wherein persons, referred to as “moral

agents” in Ethics, are forced to choose between two or more opposing alternatives neither of
which leads to a morally acceptable outcome.

a.) there is an agent about to choose among

two or more options and
must act accordingly;

Three (3) conditions to be called a

b.) the options from which to choose from moral dilemma
are conflicting; and

c.) no matter which course of action the

moral agent chooses, there is always that
moral principle that is compromised

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 3 Levels /Kinds of
Moral
Dilemmas

INDIVIDUAL DILEMMAS - a
person, or an individual, has two ORGANIZATIONAL
or more moral values to consider,
DILEMMAS - can take many STRUCTURAL DILEMMAS -
he or she can choose one only,
and choosing one or the other forms and these are the
refer to moral predicaments
will not solve the problem in a moral problems in the
in public administration.
moral way. workplace.

Read very carefully the following paragraph. What will you do if you were Lindsay?
On a half sheet yellow paper, write a ten-sentence paragraph to summarize your answer.
Lindsay is a deeply religious person; hence, she considers killing humans absolutely
wrong. Unfortunately, it is found out that Lindsay is having an ectopic pregnancy. As is well
known, an ectopic pregnancy is a type of pregnancy that occurs outside the uterus, most
commonly in the fallopian tubes. In other words, in ectopic pregnancy, the fetus does not
develop in the uterus. Now, if this happens, the development of the fetus will definitely
endanger the mother. Thus, if Lindsay contin2ues with her pregnancy, then there is a big
possibility that she will die. According to experts, the best way to save Lindsay’s life is to
abort the fetus, which necessarily implies killing the fetus. If we do not abort the fetus, then
Lindsay, as well as the fetus, will die.

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 TOPIC 3: FREEDOM AS FOUNDATION FOR HUMAN ACTS

Freedom, defined as the act of doing something without any impediment, is an important
factor in doing moral actions. Man is said to be the highest of all creations and is endowed with
intellect and free will. In the Catechism of the Catholic Church Part 3, Section 1, Chapter 1, Article
3, No. 1730 it is stated, “Man is rational and therefore like God; he is created with free will and is
master over his acts.”
Even Charles Darwin (1871) wrote that he agreed with those writers who reinforced the
judgment that the most important difference between man and lower animals is the former’s moral
sense or conscience. He further stated that the biological makeup of man determines the presence
of three necessary conditions for ethical behaviour: a.) the ability to anticipate the consequences of
one’s own actions; b.) the ability to make value judgments; and c.) the ability to choose between
alternative courses of action.

Task/Activity

Before doing something, do you have options to choose from? Do you do

something on impulse? Do you think in advance before you act?
Write about something you did during the Enhanced Community Quarantine or
ECQ wherein you applied any one or all of the three necessary conditions for ethical
behaviour. (Minmum of ten sentences and maximun of 15 sentences only.)

Read carefully the following scenarios. Identify what kind of dilemma is encountered. (5
points each)

Rina works as the secretary to the sales manager, Mr. Alba, of S General Merchandise. She
overheard Mr. Alba talking to the accountant, Mike, who happens to be her boyfriend. Mr. Alba
told Mike to manipulate the sales figures for the month, just like what he did last month. Mike
replied he will gladly do it again and again only if Mr. Alba will increase his share from P75,000 to
P100,000.00 each month. Mr. Alba laughed and told Mike money is not a problem.
Rina was horrified. She thought his boyfriend was a highly-principled person. At the same time,
she was disappointed because she has been suspecting for months now that there is something
going on.
She is thinking of reporting what she knew to the owner, Mr. Blanco, but she knew that he is the
brother-in-law of Mr. Alba.
Answer:

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 Joe is a 3rd generation Guatemalan immigrant in the United States. He works as border patrol
officer along the Mexico-United States international border. He loves his job and he is determined
to enforce the law. Border patrol officers are responsible to prevent illegal immigration and
unlawful traffic of goods in the US.
His family has relatives who are not as lucky as they are. He has a first cousin, Andres, who
wants to seek asylum in the US but was trapped in Mexico when US closed its borders. Andres
was with his son, Angelito.
One day Joe received a call that Angelito was caught trying to illegally cross the border and was
held in a transfer facility and was scheduled for deportation to Guatemala the following week.
His relatives are pressuring him to do all he can to prevent the deportation from
happening.

Answer:

Myla has two best friends: Kyla and Lyla. Kyla has a suitor, Naldy, who happens to be
close to Myla as well. Naldy confided to Myla that he loves Kyla but he is also
attracted to Lyla. Naldy is having second thoughts about pursuing Kyla because she
is going to migrate to Canada. Naldy has a stable job here and migrating to another
country is not an option for him. Lyla, on the other hand, prefers to stay here in the
Philippines even though her parents and siblings are in the US.
Naldy did not call Kyla for two weeks. During that time, he was always with Lyla, trying
to get to know her better. Lyla has feelings for Naldy also and she did not care at all,
although she knew very well that Kyla is falling for Naldy, too.
Meanwhile, Kyla told Myla that she has decided to forego her dream of going to
Canada because she has decided to accept Naldy and build a career here. She was
very happy with her decision and cannot wait to tell Naldy. In fact, she might even call
him to inform him of her decision.
After Kyla left Myla, Naldy came to announce that he and Lyla mutually agreed to date
exclusively but they could not tell Kyla about it.
Answer:

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