External Authority

• Derived from societal norms, legal systems, religious doctrines, or cultural traditions

• Guides behavior through external rules,
  regulations, or expectations, often driven by fear of
  punishment or societal approval.

1. Law (State)

   • Law refers to a system of rules, regulations, and principles established by a governing authority (such as a government) to regulate the behavior of individuals and groups within a society

   • Not all LEGAL is MORAL and not all MORAL is LEGAL

2. Religion (Faith)

   • Multiplicity of Religion

3. Culture

   • Cultural Relativism

     • Practices viewed differently across culture

   • “we are in no position to judge whether the ethical thought or practice of another culture is acceptable or unacceptable”

   • JAMES RACHELS (1941-2003)

     • defines CULTURAL RELATIVISM AS THE POSITION THAT CLAIMS THAT THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS OBJECTIVE TRUTH IN THE REALM OF MORALITY.

     • since different cultures have different moral codes, then THERE IS NO ONE CORRECT MORAL CODE THAT ALL CULTURES MUST FOLLOW.

     • believed that moral progress is possible and that societies can improve their moral standards over time.

     • Accepting moral beliefs without questioning them can hinder this progress because it may prevent individuals from challenging and revising outdated or harmful moral norms

     • argued against cultural relativism, which is the idea that moral beliefs are entirely determined by one's culture, and there are no universal moral truths.

     • He believed that this view could lead to moral stagnation because it discourages questioning and moral progress. If individuals unquestioningly accept their cultural moral beliefs, they may fail to recognize and correct morally problematic aspects of their culture.

Internal Authority

• Stems from an individual's values, conscience, and sense of morality.

• Guides behavior based on personal convictions, moral values, and ethical beliefs, driven by an internal moral compass.

1. Subjectivism

   • The starting point of subjectivism is the recognition that the individual thinking person (the subject) is at the heart of all moral valuations.

   • The individual is the sole determinant of what is morally good or bad, right or wrongs

2. Psychological Egoism

   • Human beings are naturally self-centered, so all our action are always already motivated by self-interest

   • All people are selfish in everything they do

3. Ethical Egoism

   • we should make our own ends, our own interest, as the single overriding concern

   • We may act in a way that is beneficial to others, but we should do that only if it ultimately benefits us.