Korbel Foundation College, Inc.
Purok Spring, Brgy. Morales, City of Koronadal
Tel Number 877-2051/0228-1996
CHAPTER 2.1. THE PHILOSOPHICAL
BACKGROUND OF BUSINESS ETHICS
GOOD GOVERNANCE AND SOCIAL
RESPONSIBILITIES
GGSR
Learning Objectives
At the end of this lesson
you will be able to:
• Explain the philosophical background of
business ethics
• Explain different definition of ethics
• Know the divisions of philosophy
• Know the definition that is under theoretical
philosophy and practical philosophy
•Differentiate under theoretical philosophy and under
practical philosophy
•Understand ethics and morality and know the ethics as a normative
science
•Understand the problem of ethical relativism and
situation ethics
Content
Introduction
Business ethics as an applied branch of General Ethics
must be studied from the perspective of philosophy. This is
because Ethics is part of philosophy, and it is unthinkable
to discuss ethical concepts and moral principles without
being philosophical.
Content
Ethics and Philosophy
ETHICS Content
AND PHILOSOPHY
• Philosophy
- from the Greek words philos, which means love and sophia which means wisdom.
- Philosophy means love of wisdom
- As a science, philosophy is interested with the meaning of reality including our
human experience. It is a science that seeks to explain the ultimate cause of everything
by the use of human reason alone.
- Philosophy as a science therefore gives the one philosophizing an opportunity not
just to reflect and think but also to analyze the contents of his thoughts. In this case,
philosophy is not actually an abstract or speculative science, as some people think, but a
subject that is directed towards meaningful activity as a result of profound reflection
analysis
• ETHICS
- is a philosophical science that studies the morality of human act. As a science, Ethics is
concerned with the analysis of the nature of the human conduct from the point of view of morality.
- provides us with an answer to one of our basic social needs by defining behavior we expect
and will accept from one another.
- allows us to live together, productively and in harmony with one another.
Definitions of Ethics
( Felix Montemayor. 1994. Ethics: The Philosophy of Life. Mandaluyong City: National
Bookstore, pp. 8-9)
1. Ethics is the practical science of the morality of human acts.
2. Ethics is the study of human conduct from the standpoint of morality.
3. Ethics is the science which lays down the principles right living.
4. Ethics is the science of human acts with reference to right and wrong.
5. Ethics is the scientific inquiry into the principles of Morality.
DIVISIONS OF PHILOSOPHY
• Theoretical or Speculative Philosophy
- studies the truth to be known. Example God, Immortality of the
soul, origin of the universe.
• Practical Philosophy
- studies truths to be acted upon. Example ethics, axiology,
semantics, and the like.
PHILOSOPHY
THEORETICAL PRACTICAL
Cosmology Semantics
Ontology Axiology
Metaphysics
Aesthetics
Psychology
Logic
Theodicy
Epistemology Ethics
UNDER THEORETICAL PHILOSOPHY ARE THE FOLLOWING:
• Cosmology
- is a subject that study the origin, evolution and the ultimate fate of the entire universe. The
word “Universe” comes from the Greek word “Kosmos”.
• Ontology
- deals with the nature of existence of things and the status of reality. The word “onta” is a
Greek word which means “being” .
• Metaphysics
- came from the Greek words- “meta” (beyond) and “physikon” (nature).
- studies the nature of mind, the self, and consciousness.
• Psychology
- for the Greeks was basically a study about the nature of the soul of the person and other
entities. Defined as a science that studies human and animal behavior.
• Theodicy
- it investigate the nature, being and attributes of God not based on the bible and
divine revelation but by logical abstractions and reasoning.
• Epistemology
- concerned with the definition of knowledge and related concepts, the sources
and criteria of knowledge, the kinds if knowledge possible, the degree of its veracity
and the exact relation between the one who knows and the object known.
UNDER PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY ARE THE
FOLLOWING:
•Semantics
- the practical branch of philosophy studies the meaning of words and its linguistic forms,
their functions and their relationship to other words.
• Axiology
- the discourse or the study of philosophy or system of value or worthiness, values, its
origin, types, and characteristics.
• Aesthetics
- branch of philosophy that aims to establish the general principles of art and beauty.
• Logic
- deals with the nature of thinking and reasoning using empirical support to establish the
truth.
• Ethics
- the goal of ethics is to investigate the nature of the human act or human conduct.
Content
ETHICS AND MORALITY
ETHICSContent
AND MORALITY
The terms ethics and morality are often used interchangeably. Indeed this terms usually
can mean the same thing, and in casual conversation there is no problem with switching
between one and the other.
• Morality
- refers to the quality of goodness or badness in human act. Good is described as moral
and bad is immoral.
• Ethics
- involves the study of those standards and judgement which people create. It assumes
that the standard exist and seeks to describe them, evaluate them, or evaluate the premises
upon which those standard exist.
ETHICS AS A NORMATIVE SCIENCE
Ethics is a branch of philosophy and is concerned a normative science because it is concerned
with the systematic study of norms of human conduct, as distinguished from formal sciences such as
mathematics, physical science such as chemistry and physics, and empirical sciences such as
economics and psychology.
There are three categories of General Ethics:
Descriptive Ethics
Normative Ethics
Meta Ethics
• Descriptive ethics
- consist of studying and describing the morality of a people, culture, or society. It also makes a
comparison and contrasts on the different values, principles, code of ethics, beliefs, and practices of
people.
Example:
Psychological egoism
Cultural Relativism
• Normative ethics
- Involves moral judgement based on ethical norm or theory. This consist both the basic moral principles and
values and the particular moral rules that govern people’s behavior. The three task of normative ethics are the
following:
a. To inform into a related whole the various norms, rules and values of a society’s morality
b. To find the basic principle from which the particular norm can be derived.
c. To justify an ethical norm or moral principle.
• Metaethics
- is a branch of normative ethics. In some other ways both normative and descriptive ethics
involvresome metaethical activity. It is concerned with analysis or meaning of words and the logic
of moral reasoning .
THE PROBLEM OF ETHICAL RELATIVISM AND SITUATION
ETHICS
Ethical Relativism
- claims that when any two cultures or any people hold different moral values of an action, both
can be right. An action may be right for one person or society and the same action taken in the
same way may be wrong for another reason, yet both persons are equally correct.
There are four approaches in dealing with moral
differences, which can be found in the following:
There is no Moral Truth- there is no ultimate right of wrong
There is no universal Moral Truth- each culture has its own set of rules
that are valid for that culture.
Deep down, We can Find Basic Moral Truths- despite differences,
people of different cultures can still agree on certain moral basics.
There is One Universal Moral Truth - this moral paradigm maintains
that there is only one universal moral code that everybody must follow.
Highlight Summary
This week we already discussed ethics and philosophy, division
of philosophy, theoretical philosophy, ethics and morality, ethics as a
.
normative science and the problem of ethical relativism and situation
ethics. And we already tackled the four approaches in dealing with
moral differences.
