Module 6

Why Be Moral
Character is both developed and
revealed by tests, and all of life is a
test. (purpose Driven Life, p. 43)
Ethical conscience

pertaining to or dealing with the
capacity of moral judgment or the
principles of morality.

Ethical

- being in accordance with the rules
or standards for right conduct or
practice, esp. the standards of a
profession
moral

1. Of or concerned with the judgment of the goodness
or badness of human action and character: moral
scrutiny; a moral quandary.
2. Teaching or exhibiting goodness or correctness of
character and behavior : a moral lesson.
3. Conforming to standards of what is right or just in
behavior; virtuous: amoral life.
4. Arising from conscience or the sense of right and
wrong: a moral obligation.
5. Having psychological rather than physical or
tangible effects: a moral victory; moral support.
6. Based on strong likelihood or firm conviction, rather
than on the actual evidence: a moral certainty
Rights

- are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or
entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative
rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people,
according to some legal system, social convention, or
ethical theory.
- are of essential importance in such disciplines as law and
ethics, especially theories of justice and deontology.
- are often considered fundamental to civilization,
being regarded as established pillars of society and
culture, and the history of social conflicts can be found in
the history of each right and its development.
- According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of
Philosophy, "rights structure the form of governments, the
content of laws, and the shape of morality as it is currently
perceived

Freedom
- Enjoyment of personal liberty, of not
being a slave nor prisoner.
- Immunity or release from obligation,
undesirable states of being.

Norm/standard
-are concepts (sentences) of practical import, oriented to
effecting an action, rather than conceptual abstractions that
describe, explain, and express.
-a principle of right action binding upon the members of a
group and serving to guide, control, or regulate proper and
acceptable behavior
Why study Ethics?
Ethics
.
is the branch of study dealing with what is the
proper course of action for man.
It is the study of right and wrong in human
endeavors.
is a central component of any happy, healthy,
and mature life.
it is the method by which we categorize our
values and pursue them.
Reasons
1. Ethics allows you to live an authentic life.
2. Ethics makes you more successful.
3. Ethics allows you to cultivate inner peace
4. Ethics provides for a stable society.
5. Ethics may help out in the afterlife.
Reasons why we be MORAL?
are often contained within ones definition of
what morality is.
people construct moralities that seem to them
the best means of achieving or attaining what
they view to be of greatest value
To be moral is obviously a choice.
To be moral is:
D1: to follow moral rules imposed by others.
D2: to follow God's moral rules.
D3: to follow one's own moral rules.
D4: to follow my (the speaker's) moral rules.
D5: to follow the absolutely right moral rules.
D6: to be loving (i.e., unselfish and altruistic)
towards others.
Principles of an Ethical Life
A just distribution of quality of life.
The basic right of living beings
The basic right of sentient beings
The intrinsic value of biodiversity.
Restorative justice.
Universal love.
Just caring.
The golden rule.