ETHICS
MODULE 2
RULES
Meaning and Importance:
Rules are defined in several ways:
1. Rules are instruction that tell you what you are allowed to do and what you
are not allowed to do.
Example: a. Raise your hand when you want to ask questions.
b. You are not allowed to go to the canteen while classes are
going on.
2. A Rule is s statement telling people what they should do in order to
achieve
success or a benefit of some kind.
Example: a. Eat nutritious food to maintain a healthy life.
b. Study your lesson well in order to get high grades in this
Ethics class
3. Rules are statement that describe the way things usually happen in a
particular situation.
Example: a. In English, adjectives generally precede the noun they modify.
b. In science, all objects thrown up, go down
4. Rule tells you the normal state of affairs.
Example: a. School are established for the education of the individual,
b. Policemen have the duties to maintain peace and order.
5. Rules influence or restrict actions in a way that is not good for a person.
Example: a. It has been found that fear can ruin our live and make us ill.
b. Unauthorized person are not allowed to enter this room.
6. Rules tell us something that is true or should happen and then the
authority has officially decided that it is true.
Example: a. The court has decided that the respondent is liable for civil
damages.
b. The judge has finally decided that the protest is in favor of
the complainant.
7.Rules are principles or regulations governing conduct, action, procedure,
arrangement, etc.
Example: a. Fall in line when entering the classroom
b. Knock before you enter
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Important of Rules
a. Prudent laws are the foundations of a nation because they define the
parameters of civil society. If law become elastic, the boundaries become
dysfunctional.
b. Laws organize our lives. We are able to deal and live together because of
rules and laws.
c. Rules get as get along together and show respect to each other. If there
are no rules to follow, everyone is free to do whatever he wants.
d. Most things we do are governed by rules. Imagine if a student ignores the
rule against talking a class, the teacher will not be able to achieve her goal
and other students cannot concentrate. Drivers who disobey traffic rules
can cause serious accident.
e. Rules organize the relations between individuals and between societies to
make it clear to them what is right or wrong. They are designed to ensure
fairness, safety and respect for each other’s rights.
f. Rules make the world a peaceful place to live.
g. Rules are needed to our community because they serve as balances
between laws and rights. If there are more laws than rights, there is more
chance that people will revolt because of the lack of their rights. On the
other hand, If there are more rights than laws, the people will go out of
control and become abusive. Thus, laws are needed for regulation between
laws and rights.
Difference between Moral and Non-Moral Standard
Moral Standard – are those moral actions which are within the moral sphere
and are thus objects of moral judgments. The word moral means moral quality
(rightness or wrongness, or badness) what is right is morally good.
Non-moral actions or standard are those actions devoid of moral quality
and thus excluded from the scope of moral judgment.
The word moral means that moral quality (rightness or wrongness, goodness or
badness) is present, that is what is either right or wrong. In a narrower sense,
moral means what is right or morally good and this is opposed to immoral, that
is- wrong is morally bad.
An instinctive action in one in which an individual feels himself impelled without
knowing the end to be accomplished yet with the ability to select the methods for
the attainment of an object.
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Instinctive tendencies are found most explicit in lower animals and are expressed
in the activities displayed by them in seeking food.
Examples:”
• Actions of animals and insect
• Grazing of a cow
• Mourning of a dog or cat
• Action of young children and insane and idiots
• Actions done under compulsion
• Actions under the spell of hypnotic forces
These actions are not morally wrong, they are not moral actions, they are
incapable of discriminating between right or wrong.
It is important to note that different societies have different moral beliefs and our
beliefs are deeply influenced by our own culture and context. Some values do
have moral complications, while others don’t. like for example: in traditional
Muslims communities, the wearing of hijab is the most appropriate act that
women have to do in terms of dressing up. In fact for some Muslims, showing
part of the woman’s body, such as legs and face, is despicable, however in many
parts of the world, especially in Western societies most people don’t mind if
women barely cover their bodies, as a matter of fact, the Hollywood canon of
beauty glorifies a sexy and slim body and the wearing of extremely daring dress.
Moral Dilemma
Moral refers to our standards for judging right and wrong. A Moral Dilemma is a
situation where:
1. You are presented with two or more action, all of which you have the
ability to perform.
2. There are moral reasons for you to choose each of the actions.
3. You cannot perform all of the actions and have to choose which action, or
action when there are three or more choices to perform
Since there are moral reasons for you to choose each action, and you cannot
choose them all. It follows that no matter what choice you make will be failing to
follow your moral. In other words, someone or something will suffer no matter
what choice you make.
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For Example: Gia will suffer if you tell the truth, and you will lose your friendship.
But if you don’t tell the truth, you will be a liar and possibly a lawbreaker, and
Kayla will get arrested for a crime she did not commit.
Example of Moral Dilemma:
Imagine yourself—
You are walking to a department store with your friend Maricar. Maricar tells you
that Beth, a student in your school, stole money from the canteen and blame
Maricar for it. As a result, Maricar was suspended by the school head for one
week and had to pay the money back.
As you and Maricar keep walking into the department store, you see Beth.
Maricar pushes Beth and drop a pair of gold earrings into Beth’s bag. The alarm
sounds once Beth tries to walkout of the department store. Beth is pulled aside by
the security guard for shoplifting and they call the police. Beth tells them that she
is innocent and that Maricar drooped the earring in her bag. Maricar calls Beth a
lair and asks you to back her up.
If you tell the truth, Maricar will get in trouble again, and will face consequences
from the law and her parents. Beth will be unpunished for originally staling money
from the canteen.
If you don’t tell the truth, Beth will be finally punished from stealing and Maricar
will have her revenge. However, you may be committing a crime by lying to the
policeman, and Beth’s punishment will be more severe than it would have been
for stealing money in the canteen.
The policeman arrives and ask for you version of the story.
What do you say? (This a moral dilemma)
Three Levels of Moral Dilemma;
1. Individual
2. Organizational
3. Systemic
1. Individual dilemma is experienced by individuals who have a hard time
to choose the right action from two or more actions. No matter what
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choice, the individual has someone or something will suffer no matter
choice the individual makes.
Example: A Father’s Agonizing Choice
You are an inmate of Muntinglupa Bilibid Prison. A jail guard is
about to hang your son (also a prisoner) who tried to escape and wants
you to pull the chair underneath him. He says that If you don’t, he will not
only kill your son but some other innocent inmates as well. You don’t have
any doubt that he means what he says. What should you do?
2. In an organizational moral dilemma, administrative decisions are
characterized as having routines, and challenges. In business,
organizations, there are always dilemmas encountered by the administrator
and the employees. It is really very hard to pin down the necessary moral
to benefit the company. Guiding institutionalization and nurturing conflict
are both viewed as useful in moral leadership within organizations.
Example: Company Policy
You have a job as a network administrator in a big mall in your
place. The mall also employs your best friend’s husband. One day, your
best friend’s husband sends you a text message asking you to release an
email from quarantine. This require you to open the email, at which point
you discover that it is correspondence between this guy and his secret
lover. After releasing the email, you find yourself in a pickle. Your instinct
is to tell your best friend about husband’s infidelities but divulging the
contents of company emails is against company policy and you could lose
your job. Once it becomes plain that your best friend found out about his
cheating husband through a company email, all trails will inevitably lead to
you as the leak. Do you tell him about the indiscretion?
Systemic Types of Dilemmas - occurs in the ordinary conditions of life. Why
do dilemmas occur in ordinary everyday life? Some, however, may not seem to be
dilemmas at all but an ordinary ethical problem. Also, while it is common in a
modern ethics to address dilemma merely to propose theories to resolve, it must
be remembered that systemic dilemmas may betray a structure to ethics that
means they cannot be resolved.
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