GE 8 – ETHICS
MODULE NUMBER 3
MODULE TITLE MORAL PRAXIS: WHY SHOULD I BE MORAL?
AUTHOR ALVIN A. SARIO, Ph.D.
OPENING PRAYER A STUDENT’S PRAYER BY ST. THOMAS AQUINAS
Come, Holy Spirit, Divine Creator, true source of light and fountain of wisdom! Pour
forth your brilliance upon my dense intellect, dissipate the darkness which covers me,
that of sin and of ignorance. Grant me a penetrating mind to understand, a retentive
memory, method and ease in learning, the lucidity to comprehend, and abundant
grace in expressing myself. Guide the beginning of my work, direct its progress, and
bring it to successful completion. This I ask through Jesus Christ, true God and true
man, living and reigning with You and the Father, forever and ever. Amen.
MODULE INTRODUCTION AND FOCUS QUESTION/S
Why should I be moral? The question is tough and complex. One possible way to answer the question is to pose
another question, what is the aim of human life? I always think that the main reason why we exist is for us to find
meaning in our being. What is this meaning in our being is vague and relative and general, and the procedure to
do it is subject to many interpretations and even forms of skepticism. But our finding mission of the self is a
process, a series of becoming of being, I would say. I appeal to the notion of self-actualization ethics. We are in a
process to construct ourselves in such a way that we long and we intend to actualize ourselves towards our
fullness. Whatever that means, again, is subject to different hermeneutics of self, but as men try to go about it
and attain it, men are able to approximate and construct such notion of perfection and excellence. This can be
seen for instance in the notion of the care of the soul. To borrow the language of Foucault, it is epimeleia
heautou (care of the self), or that of the ancient Greeks as enkrateia (self-mastery), or that of Kong Zi as the
doctrine of 'jen.' The reason for the need to be moral is related to the notion of perfection and excellence in the
context of human flourishing and happiness. Every person is called to be perfect because his nature demands
completion of the reason for his existence. But this task is not self-directing or self-centering. To care for the self
is to take care for others. To feel one's humanity is to feel others' humanity. In this sense, all men drive
themselves to their fulfillment with the rest of humanity. Marcel and Buber may draw us to their notion of I -Thou
relationship, and even in Levinas in his 'face-to-face' encounter. The notion of oneself applies to all. It has a
universal form. There is a need to arrive to an objective set of reasons that would affirm personal moral
principles. It even calls for objective notions of good and bad. Since one cannot but to exist with others and that
these others are also looking for objective set of reasons to affirm their identity as human persons, men are to
find ways to a reconstruction of morals and ethics. Any notion of perfection of himself is also projected to the rest
of humanity. How to go about this is difficult to ascertain. One way could be in a form of dialectics. One has to
continuously converse with others and project his sentiments and ideas until the best idea comes out, or one has
to continuously project his 'totality' to the 'other' until a certain level of consensus is reached. It is through
dialectics or dialogue that things are clarified, common grounds are established, differences are recognized and
resolved, and a certain level of meeting of minds or fusion of horizons, to borrow the language of Gadamer, is
possible. One way could also be by following the maxims expressed in the categorical imperative of Kant. The
main point actually is that the need to be moral concerns not only the 'I' but also the 'Other;' in Filipino
Philosophy, the analytic of 'loob' and 'labas' relation. Regardless of the so many ways we put them, ethics posits
metaphysics and epistemology of our existence. It looks for an objective life of truth and meaning. I am pushed to
think that politics is one better form of ethics because the public life is not and supposedly should not be alien to
ethics. The value of justice, which is one of the objects of excellence and perfection, is greatly seen and
discussed and deliberated in the arena of politics. The main thesis of this whole discourse to be moral is to
consider this human world of ours to live a happy and meaning-full life, and that self-actualization a public matter,
GE 8 – ETHICS
and therefore morality concerns the 'participation' of all human beings. Why should I be moral? The question is
tough and complex.
Class Mode General Instructions
Online Class Please enroll in classroom.google.com (GE8)
Perform the designated activity
Use the learning materials uploaded in performing the activity
Submit the output as directed
The entire module is self-paced
Off-Site Class The learning material/s will be sent to your home thru a courier
Follow the instructions as provided in the material
Take note of the schedule and place of submission as provided
The entire module is self-paced
MODULE LESSONS AND THEIR CORRESPONDING COVERAGE
LESSON SUBTOPIC LEARNING OUTCOME TIME ALLOTTED
“I should be able to…”
1.1 The Ethical Question Re-state the ethical question 3.0 Hours
1.5 Special Questions or Apply moral principles in various human 15.0 Hours
Moral Praxis situations applying Scholastic Ethics,
Virtue Ethics, Situationism, Deontology,
and Utilitarianism
STUDY
Hook
Activity 1:
Access the materials found below:
(Videos)
1. 6 Hardest ‘Would You Rather’ Dilemmas Ever (Bright Side),
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzmNoFnxu68
2. The Lifeboat Case (Just_V3-Justice_Version_3),
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeZEvSMMRo0&list=PLH37By4v_fxl-VGRzq7R6yC4-uSihxAHK
3. A Moral Dilemma, What Would You Do, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8hcK2fwZq4
4. The Morality Dilemma (Freethinkers Colloquy), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LsiVOfZ-OY
5. Life Changing Road (PerfectShotPictures), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hX1G6z-P454
6. “What are the World’s Biggest Problems?” You may also download (and save) this video (3:34 minutes)
from youtube.com with the link, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YY9nxG2ZQ7w
7. “The Crisis Going On Right Now, That You are Not Being Told about” You may also download (and
save) this video (3:34 minutes) from youtube.com with the link, https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=Mr04Go9a5j4
8. I Believe In You (Michael Buble), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94MHIeeGwys
9. Choice (Jollibee Studios),
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGH4TBl7v&list=PLLJfPsD7JozutKZEjFFmK1_vBHvW3bRsL&index=11
10. Giving (Wall Street Journal), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVrQqWIs6ZE
11. Best Advertisement Ever (VinAy KrishNan), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9vFWA1rnWc
GE 8 – ETHICS
Process Questions:
1. What are your impressions of these videos?
2. What is the main point of the videos?
3. What personal principles you have that can be related to the main points of these videos?
You are not expected to share your thoughts yet. Just ponder on the message of these materials.
Activity 2:
Pre-Test
You will be presented 10 True or False statements. Write T if the statement is True and F if the statement is
False in the space provided for. Answer each with your own understanding of the statement. This is simply to
gauge your level of understanding of the concepts presented. Answer honestly. This is not a graded activity.
1. Ethics is morality. ____
2. The idea of the good is relative. ____
3. Religious views are our best source of moral norms. ____
4. The idea of the good is universal. ____
5. We are divided by our moral views. ____
6. What is good for someone may be bad for some. ____
7. We decide on the morality of our actions depending on the circumstances or situations. ____
8. The purpose or reason of the act justifies the nature of our actions. ____
9. What is good, as objective, is absolute. ____
10. What is bad is evil. ____
Please keep your answers. We will go back to this activity towards the end of the module. We shall proceed to
the content part of the module. You will be given responsibility to watch the video, read the text, and study the
PowerPoint Presentation on your own.
Essential Questions
1. What is ethics?
2. What makes an act good or bad?
3. Is it really possible for humanity to articulate universal/absolute/standard principles of/for morality?
4. What makes a human act a moral act?
Map of Conceptual Change
IDEA OF GOOD
WHAT IS GOOD
IS RELATIVE AND
CULTURAL
ETHICAL NORMS:
THERE IS NO MORAL
STANDARD ON THE 1. Scholastic Ethics
IDEA OF GOOD 2. Virtue Ethics
3. Situationism
WE ARE NOT 4. Deontology
ACCOUNTABLE TO ALL 5. Utilitarianism
OUR HUMAN ACTIONS
GE 8 – ETHICS
RESEARCH
Activity 3:
In classroom.google.com,
1. Articles
a. Why Should I Be Free?: A Reflective Essay on Human Freedom (Alvin Sario)
b. What Does It Mean To Be Human?: On Human Dignity (Alvin Sario)
c. What Does It Take To Live A Human Life?: On The Meaning of Human Survivability (Alvin
Sario)
d. What Do We Really Want?: On Human Success (Alvin Sario)
2. Access a PowerPoint Presentation (ppt_004) titled, “Moral Praxis” with the corresponding audio-
recording for the discussion of the concepts and principles found in the presentation.
You are required to access all these learning materials. You are expected to watch all the videos, read the
articles, and study the flow of the PowerPoint.
ANALYSIS
Activity 4:
Special Questions or Moral Praxis
1. How can we ascertain the nature of morality of human action given various ethical systems?
2. How do we apply principles of various ethical systems in varying human situations?
N.B. Plagiarism is a major offense punishable under the University Rules and of the laws of the land. If your work
is found plagiarized, you will automatically receive a grade of 65 for your output for Module 1.
GE 8 – ETHICS
Instructions:
Choose only ten (10) moral issues. Decide
whether each issue is good or bad. Provide
reason (justification) for your judgment.
ACTION
Activity 5:
Performance Task
1. You are expected to accomplish the desired output and have it submitted to classroom.google.com on
Saturday at 12MN.
2. Please make sure to submit the output first via the plagscan.com with the link or a code I will provide
before the Saturday comes.
GRASPS CONTENT
G To pass right moral judgments to various contemporary human problems
R Ethicist
A All Human Persons
S There are confronting moral dilemmas needing firm ethical decisions this 21st
Century. Everyone has to be guided in providing right reasons.
P Moral Judgments
S Clarity and organization of ideas, purpose/focus, justification of arguments
Narrative Form:
There are confronting moral dilemmas needing firm ethical decisions this 21 st Century. Everyone has to be
guided in providing right reasons. To pass right moral judgments to various contemporary human problems, you
shall act as ethicist to all human persons to pass ethical judgments based on Scholastic Ethics, Virtue Ethics,
Deontology, and Utilitarianism.
Summative Assessment
Instructions:
1. Decide whether each issue is good or bad based on Scholastic Ethics, Virtue Ethics, Situationism,
Deontology, and Utilitarianism. This is a correct-minus-wrong type of test.
2. Choose one (only) among the 23 moral issues listed. Provide argumentation (reason/justification) for
your judgment using ethical principles of Scholastic Ethics.
MORAL ISSUES Scholastic Ethics Virtue Ethics Situationism Deontology Utilitarianism
Death Penalty
Abortion
Doctor-Assisted Suicide
Extrajudicial Executions
Suicide
Teenage Pregnancy
Watching Pornography
Contraception Use
Sex between Teenagers
Sex between Unmarried
Man and Woman
GE 8 – ETHICS
Divorce
Having a Baby outside
Marriage
Married Men and Women
having an Affair
Polygamy
Homosexual Relations
Same Sex Marriage
Gambling Cussing
Alcoholism
Smoking Marijuana
Cloning Humans
Medical Research using
Stem Cells obtained from
Human Embryos
Buying and Wearing
Clothing made of Animal Fur
Cloning Animals
Rubric for the Justification Column
CRITERIA EXEMPLARY ACCOMPLISHED DEVELOPING BEGINNING SCORE
4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
Clarity and Ideas are well effectively Communicates Ideas are not
Organization of Ideas developed and communicates ideas communicated
explained ideas but some adequately but effectively and
portions lack many portions are confusing
clarity lack clarity
Purpose/Focus Focus is Focus is clear Has minor drifts Has major drifts
cohesive throughout in the focus in the focus
(somewhat (lack of focus)
focused)
Justification of Demonstrates Demonstrates Provides some Provides little
Arguments outstanding competent critical evidence of evidence of
critical focus thinking sound critical sound critical
thinking thinking
Total Score
Total Points Transmutation
12 100
11 96
10 92
9 88
8 84
7 79
6 75
5 74
4 72
3 70
2 68
GE 8 – ETHICS
1 66
CLOSURE
Activity 6:
Self-Assessment of your Readiness to do Performance Task
Kindly put a check on your honest response given the learning skill.
LEARNING SKILLS
With Not Sure A Little Bit
Confidence Though Confused
Re-state the ethical question
Apply moral principles in various human
situations applying Scholastic Ethics, Virtue
Ethics, Situationism, Deontology, and
Utilitarianism
If you have questions, you may consult me thru messenger or via a phone call for further discussion.
Activity 7:
Post-Test
You will be presented again 10 True or False statements. Write T if the statement is True and F if the statement
is False in the space provided for. Answer each with your own understanding of the statement. Again, this is
simply to gauge your level of understanding of the concepts presented after completing Module 4. Answer
honestly. This is not a graded activity. Once done, compare your responses in the Pre-Test.
1. We decide on the morality of our actions depending on the circumstances or situations. ____
2. What is good, as objective, is absolute. ____
3. The idea of the good is relative. ____
4. Ethics is morality. ____
5. The idea of the good is universal. ____
6. The purpose or reason of the act justifies the nature of our actions. ____
7. What is bad is evil. ____
8. What is good for someone may be bad for some. ____
9. Religious views are our best source of moral norms. ____
10. We are divided by our moral views. ____
Were you able to have all the items correct?
CLOSING PRAYER DOMINICAN BLESSING PRAYER
May God the Father Bless Us.
May God the Son Heal Us.
May God the Holy Spirit Enlighten Us,
And Give Us
Eyes To See With,
Ears To Hear With,
GE 8 – ETHICS
Hands To The Work of God With,
Feet To Walk With,
A Mouth To Preach The Word Of Salvation With,
And The Angel Of Peace To Watch Over Us And Lead Us At Last,
By Our Lord’s Gift, To The Kingdom.
Amen.
References
Bartholomew, Craig G. and Michael W. Goheen. Christian Philosophy: A Systematic and Narrative Introduction.
Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2013.
Brake, E. Marriage and domestic partnership. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/marriage/ 13.3.2020.
Brake, E. Parenthood and procreation. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/parenthood/ 13.3.2020.
Brown, Colin. Christianity & Western Thought, vol. 1. Downers Grove: IVP, 1990.
Campbell, R. Moral epistemology. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/moral-epistemology/ 13.3.2020.
Cholbi, M. Suicide. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/suicide/ 13 March 2020.
Clerigo, J. & Sario. A. Towards a metaethic of supererogation. Dunong XI, 1 (September 2017: 1-28).
Copleston, Frederick. A History of Philosophy. 9 vols. New York: Doubleday, 1946–1974.
Devolder, K. Cloning. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/cloning/ 13.3.2020.
Donnelly J (1980) Natural law and right in Aquinas’ political thought. Western Politics Quarterly 712 33(4):520–
535.
Ethical subjectivism. https://www.philosophybasics.com/branch_ethical_subjectivism.html 13.3.2020.
Ethical Principles of Scholastic Philosophy. https://tamayaosbc.wordpress.com/2008/08/20/ethical-principles-of-
scholastic-philosophy/
Gallup. Moral acceptability. https://news.gallup.com/poll/147845/moral-acceptability-pdf.aspx 13.3.2020.
Gallup. Moral issues. https://news.gallup.com/poll/1681/moral-issues.aspx 13 March 2020.
Gannett, L. The human genome project. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/human-genome/ 13.3.2020.
Gardner, E. Saint thomas aquinas on death penalty. https://dlib.bc.edu/islandora/object/bc-
ir%3A101201/datastream/PDF/view 13.3.2020.
Glenn, Paul Joseph. Ethics: A Class Manual of Moral Philosophy. 1930.
Gowans, C. Moral relativism. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/moral-relativism/ 13.3.2020.
Halwani, R. Sex and sexuality. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/sex-sexuality/ 13.3.2020.
Homiak, M. Moral character. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/moral-character/ 13.3.2020.
Humanistic and scholastic ethics in The Cambridge Companion to Renaissance Philosophy ed. James Hankins
(Cambridge University Press, 2007) 304-318.
Kukla, R. Pregnancy, birth, and medicine. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-pregnancy/ 13.3.2020.
Ladriere, P. Religion, morality, and politics: the abortion debate https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12339249
13.3.2020.
Livingston, James C. Modern Christian Thought, 2d ed. 2 vols. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2006.
Mercier, Cardinal. A Manual of Modern Scholastic Philosophy. (B. Herder: London, 1917).
McConnell, T. Moral dilemmas. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/moral-dilemmas/ 13.3.2020.
Montemayor, Felix. An Introduction to Moral Philosophy. (Manila: Catholic Trade School, 1966).
Pickett, B. Homosexuality. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/homosexuality/ 13.3.2020.
Richardson, H. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/reasoning-moral/ 13.3.2020.
Steve Wilkens and Alan G. Padgett, Christianity & Western Thought, Volume 2 (IVP, 1990).
GE 8 – ETHICS
N.B.
YOU ARE ONLY REQUIRED TO ACCOMPLISH ACTIVITY 5 AND SUBMIT YOUR OUTPUT ON OR BEFORE
JANUARY 10, 2021 BY WAY OF ANY OF THE FOLLOWING MEANS:
Subject: Pedro Dimakita Activity 5 Module 4 Output
2 fb name Simon Legaspi
File Name: Pedro Dimakita Activity 5 Module 4 Output
3 courier service address:
College of Arts, Sciences, and Education
University of Santo Tomas – Legazpi
Rawis, Legazpi City
4500
4 visit the University Hand-in to me personally your output at the CASE Office
5 phone call comprehensive oral examination
My Number: 09569152119 (Office Hours: 8am-5pm; seek schedule first)
