PRELIMINARIES: ETHICAL CASES

Case 1
In the first day of class, the teacher asks: What makes something good or bad, right and
wrong? Many, if not most of the students, would just say, It depends! By this they
mean that the question of good and bad, right and wrong, is all a matter of personal
opinion. It is, they say, subjective.

What is right or wrong depends on how one looks at something. What is good or bad for
one may not be good or bad for the other. To each his/her own. Do you think this is
correct? What does the subject of ethics or moral philosophy say about this? Can
philosophical discipline of ethics help in clarifying this?

Case 2
Many educators who have taught ethics as a subject at one time or another share the
belief that ethics or morality cannot be taught. They say that moral values such as
respect, honesty, integrity, and the like are not learned through studying ethics or moral
philosophy in the classroom.

If this is correct, should ethics than as a course be taken out from the curriculum? Why or
why not studying ethics as an academic discipline relevant or not? Can ethics be taught?
Justify your answer.

Case3
In a college faculty meeting of philosophy teachers, the department chair proposed that a
percentage of students final grade in an ethics subject should cover their attitude or
moral behavior.
He said that ethics being a practical discipline, teachers should not just rate students
academic performance but also the way they apply in reality what they learn from the
course.

Some faculty members objected to this idea because according to them what the students
actually do with their lives are their own private business and should never be subjected
to somebody elses evaluation, not even that of ethics teacher. Do you agree? Why or why
not?

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