CHAPTER I: ETHICAL DIMENSION OF HUMAN EXISTENCE
Ethics – generally speaking, is about
matters such as the good thing that we
should pursue and the bad thing that we
should avoid; the right ways in which we
could or should act and the wrong ways of
acting. It is about what is acceptable and
unacceptable in human behavior. It may
involve obligations that we are
encouraged to meet. Ethics as a subject to
study is about determining the grounds for
the values with particular and special
significance to human life.
CLASSIFICATIONS AND
TERMINOLOGY
Recognizing the notions of good and
bad, and right and wrong, are the primary
concern of ethics. In order to start, it
would be useful to clarify the following
points.
Kinds of Valuation
-Our first point of clarification is to
recognize that there are instances
when we make value judgements
that are not considered to be part of
ethics.
oFor instance, I could say that
this new movie I had just seen
was a “good” one because I
enjoyed it, or a song I had just
heard on the radio was a
“bad” one because it had an
unpleasant tone, but these are
not part of the discussion of
ethics.
oI may have an opinion as to
what is the “right” dip
(sawsawan) for my chicken
barbeque, or I may maintain
that it is “wrong” to wear a
leather vest over a Barong
Tagalog, and these are not
concerns of ethics.
-These are valuations that fall under
the domain of aesthetics. The word
“aesthetics” is derived from the
Greek word aesthesis (“sense or
feeling”) and refers to the
judgements of personal approval or
disapproval that we make about
what we see, hear, smell, or taste. In
fact, we often use the word “taste”
to refer to the personal aesthetic
preferences that we have on these
matters, such as “his taste in music”
or “her taste in clothes.”
-Similarly, we have a sense of
approval or disapproval concerning
actions which can be considered
relatively more trivial in nature.
oThus, for instance, I may think
that it is “right” to knock
politely on someone’s door,
while it is “wrong” to barge
into one’s office.
oPerhaps, I may approve of a
child who knows how to ask
for something properly by
saying “please” and
otherwise, disapprove of a
woman that I see picking her
nose in public.
-These and other examples similar
examples belong to the category of
etiquette, which is concerned with
right and wrong actions, but those
which might be considered not quite
grave enough to belong to a
discussion on ethics.
-To clarify this point, we can
differentiate how I may be
displeased seeing a healthy young
man refuse to offer his seat on the
bus to an elderly lady but by
indignation and shock would be
much greater if I were to see a man
deliberately push another one out of
a moving bus.
- We can also consider how a notion of
right and wrong actions can easily
appear in a context that is not a matter
of ethics.
oThis could also be when
learning how to bake, for
instance, I am told that the
right thing to do would be
to mix the dry ingredients
first, such as flour, or sugar
Dianna Rose O. Belen, RN, LPTGE 8 ETHICS2nd Sem
2018-2019
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