GEN006: Applied Ethics

Module #1 Teaching Guide

Name: _____________________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: _______________________________________ Date: ______________

Learning Unit: Ethics vs. Morality Learning Materials:

Learning Objectives: Student Activity Sheets (PEN Modules)

At the end of the module, the student should be able to:

1. Recognize the nature of the basic units of Ethics and Learning Resources:
Morality, and philosophical reasoning.
Mabaquiao, N. (2017). Making Life Worth Living:
2. Differentiate Morality and Ethics. An Introduction to Philosophy of the Human
Person. Phoenix Publishing House, Inc.

Rachels, J. (2004). The Elements of Moral

Philosophy (4th Edition). McGraw-Hill Publishing.

A. LESSON PREVIEW/REVIEW

INTRODUCTION (5 MINS)
Welcome to Applied Ethics!
This course will introduce you to various perspectives in analyzing personal and moral dilemmas. It aims to mold
you to become responsible citizens and/or leaders for nation-building. You will have activities and assessments
to develop your critical decision-making skills in addressing social and ethical issues. Make sure to read the
instructions and concept notes for you to maximize the learnings for each student activity sheet (SAS). Also,
expect that the school and your subject teacher will make necessary adjustments along the way, so don’t
hesitate to ask.

In this lesson, you will learn the basic concepts of Ethics and Morality. You should be acquainted with the
definition and nature of ethics and morality for you to identify and understand their differences, as well as their
similarities. This lesson aims to provide a guide for human interaction towards the realization of an ethical, just,
and human society and towards the ‘Search for the Ultimate Good’.

Instructions: Answer the following question/s and write your answers in 2-3 sentences only.
1. If our society does not adhere to any moral/ethical standard, what would happen to the kind of leaders we
would have? Elaborate your answer.

B. MAIN LESSON

LESSON PRESENTATION/CONTENT NOTES (15 MINS)

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 Instructions: Take your time to read and understand all the important information you need to know about the
lesson. Also, please do not forget to highlight important information to help you remember.
ETHICS
− A branch of philosophy that consists of the fundamental issues of practical decision making, and its major
concerns on the nature of ultimate value and the standards by which human actions can be judged as right
or wrong. It is concerned with knowing what is right and wrong.
− It came from the Greek word, “ethos”, which means character.
− Deals with norms or standards of right and wrong applicable to human behavior.
− Aims: (1) Addresses questions about morality, (2) Identifies the standards of making moral judgements, (3)
Clarifying the meaning of moral judgments, and (4) Seeks to understand the basis of morals, how they
develop and how they are and should be followed.
− Branches: (1) Descriptive Ethics, (2) Normative Ethics, (3) Meta Ethics, and (4) Applied Ethics.
− Frameworks/Theories: (1) Virtue Ethics, (2) Deontological Ethics, and (3) Teleological Ethics.
− At a more fundamental level, it is the method by which we categorize our values and pursue them. It
studies what ought to be done and answers the question, “Do we pursue our own happiness, or do we
sacrifice ourselves to a greater cause?”

INTERACTIVE DISCUSSION: Ask the students to explain or express their ideas on this statement.
“According to Socrates, people will naturally do what is good provided that they know what
is right, and that evil or bad actions are purely the result of ignorance.”

MORALITY
− It refers to the extent to which an action is considered right or wrong. It concerns the recognition of the
inherent values of people (culture and religion), a value that is not reducible to how others benefit us.
− Moral Standards. Refers to norms (rules and values) about the types of actions which are morally
acceptable. the rules people have about the kinds of actions they believe are morally right, as well as the
values they place on the kinds of objects they believe are morally good.
− Non-moral Standards. Refers to norms that are unrelated to moral or ethical considerations such as
etiquettes, fashion standards, rules in the game, house rules and legal statutes. A nonmoral act or action is
not subject to moral judgment because morality is not taken into consideration (e.g., clothes you wear).
− Immoral Standards. Describes a person or behavior that conscientiously goes against accepted morals or
the proper ideas and beliefs about how to behave in a way that is considered right and good by most
people. It connotes the intent of evilness or wrongdoing.
− Unmoral Standards. Means that there is no moral perception and not influenced or guided by moral
considerations. Unmoral is used describing nonhuman or inanimate things incapable of understanding
right and wrong (e.g., hurricanes and machines).
− Amoral Standards. Defined as having or showing no concern about whether behavior is morally right or
wrong—compendiously, “without morals” (e.g., An infant who is unlearned in what is right and wrong, and
people with mental illness).
● IMPORTANCE OF MORALS/RULES (Allow the students to imagine a society without morals/rules)
− Regulates unwanted or harmful behavior and to encourage wanted or beneficial behavior in society.
− Dictated by the values of the culture regarding what is viewed as acceptable or unacceptable for
individuals in a society.
− Specific sets of norms of behavior and a prescribed guide for conduct or action useful in guiding and
monitoring the interactions of humans in a society.
− Prevent chaos and encourage uniformity. Rules also tend to make things fairer and to provide a stable
environment for humans to co-exist in a society which leads to peace and development.

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 − Encourages order to make members of society feel comfortable, secure, and safe.

“Moral duties or establish laws exist in order for society to survive.”

SKILL-BUILDING ACTIVITY: GRAPHIC ORGANIZER (30 MINS)

Instructions: Create a graphic organizer about Ethics and Morality. You can highlight their differences as well as
their similarities. Use a concept definition map as the format of your output. You can use online editing
applications such as Canva and PPT, then, paste it in the space below. If you don’t have access to these
applications, you can draw or doodle your graphic organizer.
NOTE: Emphasize the difference of Ethics and Morality during the discussion so the students will be guided in
doing this assessment. Allow the students to display their creativity and imagination. Also, make sure that the
students are guided by the rubrics below.

CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING: IDENTIFICATION (5 MINS)

Instructions: Determine whether the following actions are moral or non-moral standards.
__________1. Killing the suspect of the crime.
__________2. Helping an elderly cross the street.
__________3. Wearing a face mask during a pandemic.
__________4. Washing your hands before eating.
__________5. Posting offensive words on social media.

C. LESSON WRAP-UP

THINKING ABOUT LEARNING (5 MINS)

Think About Your learning. Take a few minutes to reflect on the quality of your work and effort.
1. How can you be an ethical or moral person? Illustrate your answer.
2. What parts were challenging for you to do? Why do you think was it challenging for you ?
NOTE: Students are expected to provide opinionated answers. Guide them in reflecting, provide real-life
situations or applications of the topic, and take this time to identify their difficulties and try to answer their
questions.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs) (Use as trivia questions during the discussion)
1. What action is considered ethical?
- When an action is guided by ethical frameworks such as Utilitarianism and Deontology and is a specific
and rational response to a moral situation based on one’s reflection about the legal and institutional
norms of the group or society a person is in (e.g., raising your hand if you have a question during class).
The concept of wrong and right is based on ethical theories and/or social institutions.
2. What action is considered moral?
− When an action is guided by the belief that it is the right thing to do based on the cultural values and
moral principles held by the person doing the action (e.g., pagmamano). The concept of wrong and right
is based on the personal perception of an individual.
3. Why is Morality and Ethics usually interchangeable and indistinguishable?
− Because when we talk about doing what is good (morality), it usually starts from knowing about it
(ethics).

RUBRICS (Make sure to discuss these rubrics to the students before they accomplish the assessments above)
ESSAYS

Content Content is comprehensive, Content is somewhat Content is incomplete and

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 accurate, and credible. It comprehensive but appears inappropriate. It demonstrates a
demonstrates an in-depth disorganized. It demonstrates lack of reflection and analysis of
reflection and analysis of the a general analysis and the lesson. (1)
lesson. (3) minimal reflection of the
lesson. (2)

There are no/few spelling There are some spelling or There are significant spelling and
Mechanics
and/or punctuation errors. (2) punctuation errors. (1) punctuation errors. (0)

CREATIVE OUTPUT

Output demonstrates the Output is factual but showed Output demonstrates no

learner’s own interpretation little interpretation from the interpretation and expression
and expression of the lesson, learners, and details from the learners, and details has
Content
and shows appropriate details somewhat show the concepts no connection with the concepts
and concepts of the lesson. of the lesson. (2) of the lesson. (1)
(3)

Output contains various visual Output contains visual aids There is very little evidence of
aids to display information in but distracts or hinders the creativity. There is not clear
Creativity multiple ways. Very details of the lesson. structure. It seems that texts and
appropriate use of creative Appropriate use of creative graphics were randomly placed.
texts and graphics. (3) texts and graphics. (2) (1)

Output is well organized, easy Output is satisfactorily Output is poorly organized and
Clarity to understand, and easy to organized but difficult to very distracting to read and
read. (2) understand and read. (1) understand. (0)

There are no/few spelling There are some spelling or There are significant spelling and
Mechanics
and/or punctuation errors. (2) punctuation errors. (1) punctuation errors. (0)

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