Republic of the Philippines

POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES OFFICE OF

THE VICE PRESIDENT FOR BRANCHES AND CAMPUSES
MARAGONDON BRANCH

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
FOR

GEED 10093
ETHICS
THE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

VISION

PUP: The National Polytechnic University

MISSION

Ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning
opportunities through a re-engineered polytechnic university by committing to:

● provide democratized access to educational opportunities for the holistic

development of individuals with global perspective
● offer industry-oriented curricula that produce highly-skilled professionals with
managerial and technical capabilities and a strong sense of public service for
nation building
● embed a culture of research and innovation
● continuously develop faculty and employees with the highest level of
professionalism
● engage public and private institutions and other stakeholders for the attainment
of social development goal
● establish a strong presence and impact in the international academic
community
PHILOSOPHY

As a state university, the Polytechnic University of the Philippines believes that:

● Education is an instrument for the development of the citizenry and for the
enhancement of nation building; and
● That meaningful growth and transmission of the country are best achieved in an
atmosphere of brotherhood, peace, freedom, justice and nationalist-oriented
education imbued with the spirit of humanist internationalism.

TEN PILLARS

Pillar 1: Dynamic, Transformational, and Responsible Leadership

Pillar 2: Responsive and Innovative Curricula and Instruction
Pillar 3: Enabling and Productive Learning Environment
Pillar 4: Holistic Student Development and Engagement
Pillar 5: Empowered Faculty Members and Employees
Pillar 6: Vigorous Research Production and Utilization
Pillar 7: Global Academic Standards and Excellence
Pillar 8: Synergistic, Productive, Strategic Networks and Partnerships
Pillar 9: Active and Sustained Stakeholders’ Engagement
Pillar 10: Sustainable Social Development Programs and Projects
SHARED VALUES AND PRINCIPLES

● Integrity and Accountability

● Nationalism
● Spirituality
● Passion for Learning and Innovation
● Inclusivity
● Respect for Human Rights and The Environment
● Excellence
● Democracy

POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

MARAGONDON BRANCH

GOALS

● Quality and excellent graduates

● Empowered faculty members
● Relevant curricula
● Efficient administration
● Development – oriented researches
● State-of-the-art physical facilities and laboratories
● Profitable income – generating programs
● Innovative instruction
● ICT – driven library
● Strong local and international linkage
 GEED 10093 – ETHICS
COURSE DESCRIPTION

COURSE TITLE : ETHICS

COURSE CODE : GEED 10093
COURSE CREDIT : 3 units
PRE-REQUISITE : None

The course will introduce and justify in the learner the necessity of moral thinking and the
choosing of meaningful moral positions and manners of acting and behaving in the face of
various situations requiring such. For the sake of flexibility, it should encourage the learner
to draw out and analyze the correctness or wrongness of behavior from acquired
communal values/culture, from one’s situatedness at the level of person, society,
environment, and later from the standpoint of classic ethical principles (Greek Virtue
Ethics, Augustinian/Thomistic Ethics, Kantian Deontology, Utilitarianism, and beyond).

COURSE OBJECTIVES

After this course, the student should be able to:

1. Develop and choose moral positions in the face of situations that require
moral decision making;
2. Argue for the correctness of the moral positions taken and for the inadequacies
of alternatives;
3. Comprehend and confidently articulate the most basic ethics principles and
their relevance to the moral choices in today’s world; and
4. Enhance awareness of others and how one’s moral decisions and behavior
affect them.
GEED 10093 – ETHICS

LESSON 1 UNDERSTANDING ETHICS

Unit 1 WHAT IS ETHICS?

Overview:

This lesson provides students an introduction and overview of

Ethics. Learning Objectives:

After completion of this lesson, you should be able to:

1. Explain ethics and its importance to man’s life; and
2. Differentiate the three types of ethics.

Course Materials:

MOTIVE QUESTION:
 When someone says, “Wala ka naming ethics!” What comes first in your mind?

DISCUSSION:

ETHICS
The English word ethics is derived from the Ancient Greek word ēthikós (ἠθικός),
meaning "relating to one's character", which itself comes from the root word êthos (ἦθος)
meaning "character, moral nature". This word was transferred into Latin as ethica and
then into French as éthique, from which it was transferred into English.

The word ethics in English refers to several things. It can refer to philosophical
ethics or moral philosophy—a project that attempts to use reason to answer various kinds
of ethical questions. As the English moral philosopher Bernard Williams writes, attempting
to explain moral philosophy: "What makes an inquiry a philosophical one is reflective
generality and a style of argument that claims to be rationally persuasive." Williams
describes the content of this area of inquiry as addressing the very broad question, "how
one should live". Ethics can also refer to a common human ability to think about ethical
problems that is not particular to philosophy. As bioethicist Larry Churchill has written:
"Ethics, understood as the capacity to think critically about moral values and direct our
actions in terms of such values, is a generic human capacity." Ethics can also be used to
describe a particular person's own idiosyncratic principles or habits. For example: "Joe
has strange ethics."

Ethics can be defined as the scientific study of moral judgments. It is the discipline
concerned with what is morally good and bad, right and wrong. The term is also applied to
any system or theory of moral values or principles. The subject of Ethics consists of the
fundamental issues of practical decision making, and its major concerns include the
nature of ultimate value and the standards by which human actions can be judged right or
wrong. To simplify, ethics is a system of moral principles, they affect how people make
decisions and lead their lives. Ethics is concerned with what is good for individuals and
society and is also described as moral philosophy. Ethics is derived from the Greek word
“ethos'' which means custom, habit, character or disposition. Our concepts of ethics have
been derived from religions, philosophies, and cultures. Ethics is also about the goodness
of individuals and what it means to live a good life. Virtue Ethics is particularly concerned
with the moral character of human beings.

TWO BRANCHES OF ETHICS:

1. Normative Ethics- actions are judged by their merits, allowing societies to

develop codes of conduct for behavior. The Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would
have them do unto you.”, is a classic example, since you’re determining morality through
your actions.
2. Descriptive Ethics- does not actually claim that things are right or wrong, but
simply studies how individuals or societies define their morals. Morals are seen as part of
a greater system that is not objective or unbiased but is created by culture, like language.

ETHICS AS VALUE EDUCATION

In classical tradition, Ethics is moral Philosophy and is distinguished from Moral

Theology. Ethics relies solely on human reason to investigate truths while moral theology
employs reason insofar as it is enlightened by faith or divine revelation. In contemporary
curriculum, Ethics takes the form of Value Education. Value is something a person
cherishes as important to him, like things, ideas, and experiences. The aim of Value
Education is to guide an individual in choosing wisely his values and in acting upon them.

Ethics is the rational foundation of any attempt at Value Education. Ethics goes
deeper into the reasons why we must choose certain values, and it explains human
values in relation to the ultimate purpose of human existence.

ETHICS AND RELIGION

Ethics is a science and depends upon rational investigation of its truths. Religion is
a system of beliefs and practices based on faith or revelation. Ethics teaches the value of
religion, presenting it as a duty to the Almighty. On the other hand, religion contributes to
the teaching of ethics and continues to enrich with its moral insights. Religion provides
both direction and motivation for the moral life of people.

ETHICS AND LAW

Ethics studies human motivation, it explores thoughts and feelings. Ethics requires
that man desires that which is good and acts in accordance with desire. On the contrary,
law requires that we perform the required action regardless of our feelings towards such
action. The law is concerned with the externality of the act

Ethical norms cover thoughts and feelings. Law do not judge man’s thoughts and
desires.

RELATION OF ETHICS WITH OTHER SCIENCES

Ethical science is particularly concerned with the study of man and human conduct
and is, therefore, especially related to all those sciences dealing with the study of human
nature and human living.

1. Ethics and Logic. Logic is the science of right thinking. Ethics is the science of right
living. To think right often means to do right, as knowledge of right leads to the doing
of right. Ethics and logic aim at rectitude: the former aims at right doing; the latter at
right thinking.

2. Ethics and Psychology. Both deal with the study of man, human nature, and human
behavior. However, Psychology is not interested in the morality of human behavior,
unlike ethics. Psychology studies how man behaves while ethics studies how man
ought to behave. Ethics is concerned with moral obligations while psychology is not.

3. Ethics is related to Sociology. Ethics deals with moral order which includes social
order. Whatever does violence to the social order does violence also to the natural
and the moral order. Society depends on ethics for its underlying principles:
Sociology deals with human relations in a society, but human relations are based on
proper order, and proper order comes only with the proper observance of moral laws
and principles which regulate the actions of men in a community.
 4. Ethics and Economics. Man is also an economic being because he has to support
himself by earning a living. Economics and morality are two aspects of one and the
same human nature. Economics deals with topics such as wages, labor, production
and distribution of wealth. Relationships of employer and employee, and other
relations in business must be based on justice and charity which are moral
principles. In order for peace and happiness to prevail in a community, the actions of
man must be governed by the invariable principles of morality.

PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

The practice of profession therefore subscribes to a set of moral codes. This code
of ethics guides the actuation of a professional where the law is silent or inadequate.

Activities/Assessment:

Written Activity.
Answer the following questions based on the discussion (It will be consolidated in your
portfolio)

1. Briefly discuss your understanding about Ethics. Write your answer in one paragraph,
with 200 maximum number of words.
2. Differentiate the three types of ethics: meta-ethics, normative ethics, and applied
ethics.

References:

Ethics and the Filipino by: Ramon B. Agapay

Ethics: The Philosophy of Life by Felix Montemayor
https://www.britannica.com/topic/ethics-philosophy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethics