Ethics (Topics 1-3)

When people make moral decisions, feelings come into play, organizing them into inclinations, affects, passions, and desires.

• True

• False

Immanuel Kant asserts that there are human beings that have no moral feelings.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

Kant defines "moral feeling" as the susceptibility to feeling pleasure or displeasure merely from being aware that actions are consistent or contrary to the law of duty (Borges, 2013).

The values of one person determine his/her behavior and influence decision-making.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

Values are things considered important in our life, and a person’s value formation is majorly influenced by their family, peers, education, and the media. It is our standard for discerning what is good/bad, right/wrong, beautiful/ugly, and desirable/undesirable. Axiology is known as the study of values.

Filipinos strive to obtain fulfillment not only individually but also collectively, particularly for their families. Thomas Quintin Donato Andres (1980) arranged Filipino values in a hierarchy. Give at least one out of five Filipino values he mentioned.

_____________ is a prominent German philosopher who openly denounced fascism and national socialism, and is considered "the strongest philosophical force in modern Germany".

• Immanuel Kant

• Thomas Aquinas

• Max Ferdinand Scheler

• Aristotle

Answer explanation

He considers love as the center of all emotions and he argued that love and feelings have their own type of logic that is different from the logic of reason. Scheler formulated his theory of values which emphasized the feelings-states (which are the specific values that we give importance) and the value modalities.

Pleasure is incorporated in this value modality, the lowest level of value.

• Sensory-value modality

• Value of holiness modality

• Vital-value modality

• Spiritual-value modality

Answer explanation

We value those things that are pleasurable. We agree on things that bring pleasure and disagree on the things that brings pain.

Strength is incorporated in this value modality, a hero embodies this feeling-state.

• Sensory-value modality

• Value of holiness modality

• Vital-value modality

• Spiritual-value modality

Answer explanation

We value things that allows us to live or to succeed such as studying, fulfilling our basic needs, etc.

Joy is incorporated in this value modality.

• Sensory-value modality

• Value of holiness modality

• Vital-value modality

• Spiritual-value modality

Answer explanation

We now value the interest of others.

Holiness is incorporated into this value modality.

• Sensory-value modality

• Value of holiness modality

• Vital-value modality

• Spiritual-value modality

Answer explanation

Values in relation to higher beings.

According to Aristotle, good moral character is the mean between two vices - one that depends on excess and the other on defects.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

Aristotle refers good moral character as state, which is a firm condition that one person is in the ideal state of his or her beliefs. So, if one doesn't have good moral character, one will be vulnerable to vices (wickedness, lack of morality, corruption, etc).