I.
Normal Definition
A. expresses the logical features of
the term based on how it was
used historically, colloquially, and
etymologically.
 A. this level is basically philosophical
II. Real Definition
A. expresses the objective features
of the term specifying additional
conceptual notes such as causal
background, scope and
exclusions, formal attributes, and
purpose.
III. Normal Definition of Philosophy
A. Philosophy, etymologically defined
from Greek by way of Latin is "a
friend of wisdom". This form of
friendship goes beyond our
contemporary notion of
acquaintance; rather, this
expresses a deeper sense of
conceptual assimilation and unity.
IV. Real Definition of Philosophy
A. transcendental inquiry into the
constitutive core of reality
considered in its entirety, borne
out of wonder, by way of deductive
reasoning, as regards reality's
ultimate and necessary principles
and causes, for the purpose of
acquiring knowledge for its own
sake, and for the critical and
contingent evaluation of concepts,
facts and inductive conclusions
V. First level of abstraction
A. deals with material things in the
light of their material properties;
physical sciences.
VI. Second level of abstraction
A. goes beyond the first level by
dealing with the same material
things but this time in the light of
their mathematical properties ;
utilised by mathematical sciences.
VII.Third level of abstraction
and as such, it would produce the
transcendental concepts of reality
in its entirety
VIII.Efficient Cause
A. that which makes something to
be; this is essentially prior to the
object created or changed.
IX. Final Cause
A. roughly termed as purpose, it is
basically the end of the action in
things and, as ordained by the
thing's nature, draws even non-
intelligent beings - which are
unable to conceptualize any form
of purpose - towards their ends.
X. Material Cause
A. is that which the entity is
constituted.
XI. Formal Cause
A. is that by which the constitution of
the material cause is determined.
XII.Ethics being subjectively
authoritative
A. The dogmatic approach to values
by adults to children would
naturally lead the child to consider
and ideal model from which
behaviour could be patterned.
XIII.Ethics being subjectively relative
A. If such is taken as a decision
which he has undertaken to
accept.
XIV.Morality of Cooperation
A. When man learns to accept the
fact that he has to deal with his
peers for his decisions.
XV. Consequentialist
A. moral judgment considering the
effects of one action,
standardizing these effects vis-à-
vis a certain criterion that would
eventually become the basis as to
whether the decision is right or
wrong. .
XVI.Deontological
A. judges the morality of an action
regardless of its outcome.
XVII.Teleological
A. the endeavour to guide man,
through his moral decisions,
towards his natural end. It centers
on the perfection of habit leading
to virtue.
XVIII.Ethical language in the first order
A. the syntactical (arrangement of
words) and semantical (meaning
of words) structure of language
attempts to establish itself as a
sign of representative of the real
world.
XIX.Normative Ethics
A. When a philosopher asks the
question "What actions in this
particular situation are right and
wrong?" there is an attempt to
establish a universal right and
wrong that can be related to the
problem at hand. As an answer
becomes acceptable, this ethical
decision becomes a norm.
XX.Ethical language in the second
order
A. Whenever a person would
mention the word "right" for
instance, a logical process is
presumed as regards the
conceptual origin of the word; and
at the same time, a reflective
process ensues since language,
this time, no longer attempts to be
a sign of the real world, but rather
used to determine the meaning it
ascribes to itself.
XXI.Metaethics
A. "How do we attribute connotations
to the concepts of 'right' and
'wrong' whenever it is applied to
particular situations?"
XXII.Integrative Ethics
A. when certain fields of knowledge -
like anthropology, biology,
theology, politics, and psychology
- determine certain ethical trends
and positions and these forms of
assimilations can radically change
moral considerations. Most of
these fields serve as
presuppositions to ethics.
XXIII.Real Definition of Ethics
A. Ethics is the reflective and
objective analysis of the nature of
the human acts in relation to
man's ultimate end, as the basis
for a foundationally speculative
and essentially practical
determination of right and wrong,
for the perfection of man and
correlatively that of his universe
XXIV.Ultimate end
A. is understood as that from which
all other particular ends are
subordinated.
XXV.Subjective and Objective
determination of the ultimate end
A. Subjective - where the person
establishes particular ends
(finishing studies, having a career,
building a family, etc.) in order to
create a personal ultimate end
such as being a person who will
be remembered as a good man.
B. Objective - where the person,
through philosophy, establishes
the nature of man's end by looking
at the commonalities of species
itself - an act which if properly
known could be considered as the
common good of all men.

XXVI.Ethics is primarily subjective in
the metaphysical order.
A. One proceeds from ones own
knowledge of his human acts and
then proceeds to universalize it.
Because of this, the primary
reason for one's study of ethics is
for the development of his own
personal morality.
XXVII.Ethics is secondarily objective
in the metaphysical order.
A. The standard of one's personal
morality is not defined by one's
personal desires or whims, it is
established by one's personal
morality which he objectively
shares with others of the same
species.
XXVIII.Thomistic moral philosophy is
subdivided into:
A. Monastics - morality of the
individual
B. Economics - morality of one's
domestic environment
C. Politics - morality of one's greater
political structure.
XXIX.Happiness (in Thomistic sense)
A. Happiness is not just a feeling of
elation, neither is it merely the
acquisition of riches, nor
sensuality and power.
XXX.Synderesis
A. "do good and avoid evil"
XXXI.Philosophical methodology
A. refers to conceptual processes
through which a relevant principle
is applied to particularities. Ethics
is both foundationally speculative
and essentially practical.
B. Moral philosophy is governed by
an operation which is an imperfect
habit.
C. It would not be able to set a
universal right action for all
situations, it functions on a case to
case basis.
XXXII.Act of Man
A. Acts that are involuntary and
which do not emanate from the
will. They are not under the scope
of ethics directly.
XXXIII.Human Acts
A. Actions which are voluntary, even
if these are not executed. They
are those that emanate from the
will.
XXXIV.Voluntariness, according to St.
Thomas Aquinas
A. knowledge together with
immanent motion
XXXV.Perfectly voluntary act
A. Where the subject is aware of the
end as it functions as an end.
XXXVI.Imperfectly voluntary act
A. act done by a subject who merely
apprehends the end, without
understanding it further.
XXXVII.Modifiers
A. certain factors that affect the
voluntariness of human acts.
(Violence, fear, concupiscence,
and ignorance)
XXXVIII.Violence as an extrinsic
principle
A. Violence only affects the external.
The interior act of wishing cannot
suffer any form of violence.
XXXIX.Concupiscence
A. understood as a natural
movement of the lower appetite
towards its end which, in certain
situations, may run contrary to
reason. It means those bodily
appetites or tendencies which are
called passions.
XL. Ignorance
A. considered as lack of knowledge
which is essential for the voluntary
disposition of one's acts
considering the situation at hand.
XLI.Three rational perspectives by
which ignorance affects
voluntariness:
A. Concomitant - when the act and
the ignorance merely happened
together
B. Consequent - when ignorance is
caused by the will
C. Antecedent - when the will acted
wrongly because of its ignorance.
XLII.Two ways which ignorance can be
caused by will or be consequent
A. Affected ignorance - when a
man deliberately refuses to know
B. Ignorance of evil choice - when
a man simply ignores what he
should consider.
XLIII.Nescience
A. mere absence of knowledge
XLIV.Circumstances
A. who, what he did, where, by what
aids, why, how and when
XLV.Treachery
A. There is treachery when the
offender commits any of the
crimes against the person,
employing means, methods, or
forms in the execution thereof
which tend directly and specially
to insure its execution, without risk
to himself arising from the defense
which the offended party might
make.
XLVI.Band
A. Three or more malefactors
XLVII.Recidivist
A. A recidivist is one who, at the time
of his trial for one crime, shall
have been previously convicted by
final judgment of another crime.