1. “ Without moral perception, man is
only an animal. without
morality, man as a rational being is
a failure.”
The Philosophical
Background of Business
Ethics
- Ramon B. Agapay

2. Introduction
Business Ethics as an applied branch of
General Ethics must be studied from the
perspective of Philosophy. This is because
Ethics is a part of moral principles, you will
not know Ethics without being
philosophical.

3. Ethics and Philosophy
Philosophy, etymologically came from two
Greek words philos, which means love and
sophia, means wisdom. (Love of Wisdom)
Hence, a philosopher is one who loves
wisdom.
As a science, philosophy is interested with
the meaning of reality including our
human experiences. It is a science that
seeks to explain the ultimate cause of
everything by the use of human reason
alone.

4. Ethics and Philosophy
Ethics is philosophical science that studies
the morality of human act. As a
science, Ethics is concerned with the
analysis of the nature of the human
conduct from the point of view of morality.
The two contradictory Principles
1. Man believes that there are certain things
that he should not do to anyone.
2. Man believes that values are subjective and
incapable of being disputed.

5. Divisions of Philosophy
1. Theoretical Philosophy – studies the
truth to be known, e.g.
God, immortality of the soul, origin of
the universe.
2. Practical Philosophy – studies truths to
be acted upon, e.g.
ethics, axiology, semantics, etc.

6. Divisions of Philosophy
PHILOSOPHY
THEORETICA
L
PRACTICAL
Cosmology
Origin of universe
Ontology
The theory of being
Metaphysics
Meta (beyond) physikon
(nature)
Psychology
Human/animal behavior
Theodicy
God on logical
abstraction
Epistemology
Theory of knowledge
Semantics
Words and its linguistic
forms
Axiology
Discourse of value
judgment
Aesthetics
Principles of beauty and
art
Logic
Reasoning to establish
truth
Ethics
From Greek word “ethos”
means “Characteristic way of
acting” which is proper to as a
rational being.

7. Ethics and Morality
Morality
refers to the quality of goodness or
badness in a human act. Good is described
as moral and bad as immoral. It means
conformity to the rules of right conduct.
Ethics
refer to the formal study of those
standards and conduct. It is also often
called “ moral philosophy”.

8. Ethics as a Normative Science
Ethics is considered a Normative
Science because it is concerned with the
systematic study of the norms of human
conduct, as distinguished from formal
sciences such as Mathematics, chemistry
physics etc..
Ethics is a normative science because it
involves a systematic search for moral
principles and norms that are justify our
moral judgments.

9. Three Categories of General Ethics

10. Descriptive ethics maintains objectivity in
studying human behavior but it does not
provide a clear standard of morality. It
simply describes how people act and does
not prescribe how people should act.
Three Categories of General Ethics

11. Involves moral judgment based on ethical
norm or theory. This consists both the basic
moral principles and values and the
particular moral rules that govern people’s
behavior, which is right or moral and wrong
or immoral.
Three Categories of General Ethics

12. It does not describe moral beliefs of
people, does not evaluate the process of
moral reasoning, but simply analyzes the
usage and meaning of words.
Three Categories of General Ethics

13. Ethical relativism claims that when any two
cultures or any people hold different moral
values of an action, both can be right. An
action may be right for one person or society
and the same action taken in the same way
may be wrong for another reason, and
yet, both persons are equally correct.
The Problem of Ethical Relativism and
Situation Ethics
Ethical Relativism

14. The Problem of Ethical Relativism and
Situation Ethics
Approaches to Moral Differences
Approaches to Moral Differences
There is no Moral Truth
There is no Universal Truth
Deep down, we can find basic Moral
Truth
There is One Universal Moral truth

15. The Problem of Ethical Relativism and
Situation Ethics
Approaches to Moral Differences
There is no Moral Truth
There is no ultimate right or wrong.
Moral views differ from one person to
another. This results to a subjective
morality, in which case, what is good
for one person may be bad for another.

16. The Problem of Ethical Relativism and
Situation Ethics
Approaches to Moral Differences
Each Culture has its own set of rules that
are valid for that culture, and we have no
right to interfere, just as they have no
right to interfere with our rules. This
ethical paradigm maintains that there are
moral truths that exist but these truths are
relative and dependent on cultures and
beliefs of people.
There is no Universal Truth

17. The Problem of Ethical Relativism and
Situation Ethics
Approaches to Moral Differences
Despite differences, people of different
cultures can still agree on a certain moral
basics. There are some common ground
on basic moral principles. This is called
“Soft Universalism”
Deep down, we can find basic Moral
Truth

18. The Problem of Ethical Relativism and
Situation Ethics
Approaches to Moral Differences
This view is also known as hard universalism
or moral absolutism. This moral paradigm
maintains that there is only one universal
moral code that everybody must follow.
Because this moral code is universal and
objective, moral problems, and moral
conflicts can be solved through proper
moral reasoning.
There is One Universal Moral truth

19. Deontological vs. Teleological Approaches
To Ethical Evaluation of the Human Conduct
A
C
T
I
O
N
Motives/Intentions
End of the actor
Means/Action itself
End of the Act
Consequences/Resul
t,
Probable and actual
Non -
Consequentialist
Consequentialist

20. Deontological vs. Teleological Approaches
To Ethical Evaluation of the Human Conduct
Deontological Ethics
Also known as non-consequentialist
approach is a body of ethical theories
that measures and evaluates the nature
of a moral act based on the validity of
the motive of an act. This means that if
the motive or intention of the act is
good, then regardless of the
consequences, the whole action is good.

21. Deontological vs. Teleological Approaches
To Ethical Evaluation of the Human Conduct
Teleological Ethics
Came from the Greek word “tele” which
means far or remote. Known also as
Consequentialist theory measures the
morality of an action based on its
consequences and not on the motive or
intention of the actor. If the consequence
is good, regardless what motive is, the
act is always morally good.

22. The “Moral Sense” in us
The main difference between man and
animal is that man has a moral perception.
Man has a natural insight to morality, this
being a gift of the Creator who gave man a
”Moral Sense”

23. The “Moral Sense” in us
The Synderesis of Man according to
St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)
This Italian
philosopher, theologian, an
d priest is sometimes called
the Prince of Scholastics. He
died at the age of 49 and
49n years later he was
canonized as the Angelic
Doctor of the Church.

24. The “Moral Sense” in us
The Synderesis of Man according to
St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)
According to Aquinas, the moral sense in man is
manifested and expressed in the three different ways:
1. Man is able to distinguish or to know what
is good and what is bad.
2. Man is always obligated to do good and
avoid evil.
3. Man knows that he is accountable for his
actions-good or bad.

25. The “Moral Sense” in us
Sigismund Schlomo Freud (1856-
1953) Theory of the ID, EGO, and
the SUPEREGO
He was the Founding Father of
Psychoanalysis, which is a major
school of psychology. His key
points psychoanalytical theory
are the following:
1. Man must learn to control inborn
desires.
2. Man must achieve fulfillment in
ways that are harmonious with
others.

26. The “Moral Sense” in us
Sigismund Schlomo Freud (1856-
1953) Theory of the ID, EGO, and
the SUPEREGO
Superego – has elements in common with both
reason and will power. It basically reflects social
rules and values of the society that govern our
behavior.
Ego – is the rational self or the conscious self. It is
part reason (intellect) but also part will power. It
is under constant pressure to fight off the
pleasure - seeking desires of the Id.

27. The “Moral Sense” in us
Sigismund Schlomo Freud (1856-
1953) Theory of the ID, EGO, and
the SUPEREGO
Id – is the irrational part in us or the unconscious
instincts, such as sex and aggression.
For Freud, a healthy personality is a person
who has an ego that does an effective job of
coping with the urges of the Id and the
restrictions of the Superego.