SENAJON, KRIZIA MAE G.

BSCE TTH 2:00-3:00 PM

1. Should ethics be normative? If it is, what are the different types of norms that will guide
people as to right actions. Explain them one by one and pls give concrete examples.
Yes, ethics should be normative because it guides a man for a living in order to do and
distinguish what is right and wrong, good or bad, and act what is acceptable. There are four types
of norms namely Technical Norm, Societal Norm, Aesthetic Norm, and Ethical or Moral Norm.
A norm is considered to be a kind of awareness that may people should know because it implies
as the measure or standard of a certain thing or even a rule that can be used as basis that we can
say that the action that is being done is either right or wrong, bad or good, and moral or immoral.
First, Technical Norms, it pertains to the natural needs of a man it may be physical, mental,
and emotional aspect in order to take an immediate action in a certain situation, specifically how
things should be done and also there are certain steps that must be applied. For instance, I would
cook a scrambled egg so first, I would crack the egg and put it in a bowl and use fork/whisk in or
der to stir it then after put it in a pan with oil heated in it.
Societal Norm, this relates to manners, attires or certain ways of speaking or conducting
oneself, certain rituals and ceremonies that are considered “proper” or “fitting” “appropriate’ or
“recommended” and strengthen the bonds that keep the community together for example, a group
of girls in a school wears fashionable clothes and shining jewelries, people will classify them as
“rich” just because of what they look and how they dress.
Aesthetic Norm, this refers to typical perceptual forms based on its color, shape, space,
movement, sound, feeling and emotion, touch and texture, taste, scent and odor which are
considered by the community as “beautiful”. For example, in Tang Dynasty China where foot-
binding was first practiced by a female child in order to restrict the normal growth and that could
make the feet as small as possible as stated by Cartwright 2017, that time it was considered as an
attractive quality that even though this process causes distress and irreparable.
Ethical or Moral Norm, refers to an absolute vision of a human person , an ideal phase or
magnificence of his/ her being, which can serve as an ultimate goal target and norm by which
actions are judged to be as good or bad, right or wrong and such. For example, abortion and divorce
in which it can be judged as bad to some, but it is also good or right to some people, because these
issues can be taken through ethical standards, legal actions, and rules.

2. Should all areas of human existence be covered by ethics? Defend your answer.
All areas of human existence should be covered by ethics because ethics enables us to have
a life that is worth living. A life that is worth living is a roller coaster ride, and for us to keep going,
there are things that will make us feel unjust, unfree, etc. With this, ethics may affect how a man
can truly make his decisions in life with responsibilities that would bring him to success. Ethics
act as map that consists of moral acts that can help a moral issue to be called as a an acceptable or
not for instance, abortion and euthanasia, in these issues we can often think of the things that what
our heart told us so because the target is more on our emotional aspect with this, in ethics, we
argue not only by our heart but also with our critical thinking capabilities that we can find a way
through with these difficult issues in which there can be philosophers in order to give us more
radical ideas. Ethics is the best way to ponder confusion and give everything clarification because
just like when we argue we can slowly think of what is right and wrong. Ethics is selfless, because
it is concerned about others rather than the desires of an individual that is according to Gluchman
2003. As mentioned, ethics is concerned with the larger scope just like a country which consists
of billions of individuals in which laws were imposed that a man should abide in order for the
people living in the country practice fairness and live with responsibility and in peace. Ethics can
avoid society or even environmental aspects from harm whenever law would not able to cater
anymore since legality does not always mean it is identical to morality. Ethics is deeper than the
law and what is right is right even if few are only doing it, and wrong is wrong even if there are a
lot is doing it.

3. What makes an act truly human? Can someone with mentally challenged state commit
human act or just act of man? What is the difference between human act and act of man?
Give examples.
When it considers the outcomes whether it is good or bad, right or wrong and moral or
immoral. And look beyond the actions in a way that also consider other options for the goodness
of all, do things with purpose, and his own will, and with responsibility and accountability, that
makes an act truly a human. Someone that is mentally challenged will only commit just an act of
a man because as stated earlier, human acts are performed by a man who is a master of something
in which it is considered as intentional or conscious to what are the results of doing such act in
which in contrary, act of man is when a man performs actions without being a master of his intellect
or not knowledgeable, his instincts are involuntary in a way that when he think about something
without proper use of reasoning, in short a mentally challenge man is not as responsible as a man
who acts according to his will with responsibility and accountability.

An example of human act is when a girl is a college student, her mother is a fish vendor,
and his father is a carpenter. He profits of her parents cannot support her in her daily needs and
especially in her tuition in school. Before finals, her parents failed to send her money. As a student
who is at the right age and well state of mind, she has the decision to work whether as a prostitute
or not.
Mrs. Sy is a multibillionaire with a business that performs as one of the best. Her only child
was kidnapped by a white van, a man called her and asked for php100 million or else her child
will be shot dead, she gave the money right away to free her child. It is an act of man because it
involves coercion or violence which it leaves a person no choice but to sacrifice. Everyone’s life
is genuine. it is an act of man because fear and violence are being present. Mrs.Sy was afraid of
losing her child so she gave the money.
Human act is an action in which being knowledgeable, free but with responsibility and
accountability, and voluntary is being possessed while in act of man, it is on the contrary meaning
it is a decision being made involuntarily like when ignorance, passion, fear, violence, and habit is
present in a certain situation in short it is done without knowledge, and permission, or said to be
as involuntary that is stated by Cahill et. al. 2016.

4. How do we know whether one is morally responsible for his/her actions? Explain
further.

We can say if person is morally responsible for his actions when he can reflect his actions
and knows its consequences and whenever a certain situation is under our control. And because of
this action, it is either praise or blame will be justified to the person because of his free will. Moral
responsibility is when you deserve to have blame or praise in all the actions that you do that is
according to Talbert 2012. Moral praise refers to the response after the judgment that a person is
morally responsible for his actions whether it is right or good. Conversely, moral blame refers to
the response that causes to a judgment that a person that is said to be morally responsible for his
actions whether it is wrong or bad. A person is morally responsible when he is accountable towards
anyone and knows whether he is doing something right or wrong, knows fully the rightness of his
action and decides freely to perform the act if he is worthy of praise because he performs an act
that is fully his. And on the contrary, a person is not morally responsible if he is not well
knowledgeable or has mental disability.

5. Ms. A agreed through a contract to lend her uterus to a couple who wishes to have a
baby but cannot make it. However, after experiencing what it means to have a baby, she
wanted to return the money and keep the baby. The judge who handled the case ruled out
in favor of the couple saying that "a man's contract with a woman concerning his sperm is
sacred, and that pregnancy and childbirth are not." Was the decision of the judge moral?
Explain and defend your answers.
For me, this is immoral because even though she signed the contract, she is the mother of
the child. In this manner, I can anchor the moral theory called “ethics of care” if we look into to
the maternal side, according to Ruddick she defines as mother the person who can only take
liability for a child’s life and it is a significant part of her working life. The judge’s verdict took the
rights of a mother in which she is the only person who is obliged to take care of her child. That
even though she signed the contract, she was just inspired to sign the contract because of the
money being imposed and because of her action being done according to the theory of Hobbes,
“Everything we do is motivated solely by the desire to better our own situations, and satisfy as
many of our own, individually considered desires as possible.” And as Hobbes said, “actions are
not limited by any moral or even legal notions.” Which can be defended that as biological parent
there is a moral obligation to love their child (Austin 2007, Boylan 2011, Liao 2006) because they
are the once who are entitled to be the one who should help and be there as the child grows and
develop capabilities as a person that is needed for a prosperous life. There is this empirical
evidence that says that the lack of love may harm child’s development of well-being according to
Austin 2007.

References:
Austin, M. (2007). Conceptions of Parenthood: Ethics and the Family. Aldershot: Ashgate.
Boylan, M. (2011). Duties to Children. The Morality and Global Justice Reader. Michael
Boylan, ed. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, pp. 385-403.
Cahill, W. F., & LL B, J. C. D. (2016). Some General Criteria of Morality. The Catholic Lawyer,
4(1), 6.
Cartwright, M. (2017, September 27). Foot-Binding. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Retrieved
from https://www.ancient.eu/Foot-Binding/s
Gluchman, V. (2003). Human being and morality in ethics of social consequences. E. Mellen
Press.
Hobbes, T. (1985) 1651a. Leviathan. C.B Macpherson (Editor). London: Penguin Books.
Ruddick, S. (1989). Maternal Thinking: Toward a Politics of Peace. New York, NY: Ballentine
Books.
Talbert, M. (2012).“Moral Competence, Moral Blame, and Protest”, The Journal of Ethics,
16(1): 89–109. doi:10.1007/s10892-011-9112-4