Ethics

Three Broad Fields of Knowledge

-Natural Science

-Social Science

-Humanities

Man-composed of body and soul.

Faculties of Man- free will and intellect.

3 Types of Soul

-Plant

-Animal

-Man (a rational animal.)

Human Act (Voluntary)- an act proceeding from man’s deliberate free will.

Act of Man (Involuntary)- action merely happening in the body without the mind’s awareness or
control of the will.

Ethics

-from the root word “ethos” which means, characteristic way of acting.

-the study of what’s right and wrong in human behavior and the pursuit of good life.

-morality of human act.

-practical science of morality of human conduct.

-good thing that we should pursue and bad thing that we should avoid.

-acceptable and non-acceptable behavior of human.

-involve obligations we are expected to fulfill and prohibitions we are required to respect.

-ideals we are encourage to meet.

-basis for the values we must uphold.

Terms related to Ethics:

-Ethical

describe a behavior, conforms to accepted standards.

-Moral

understood in the way as the term ethical.

-Unethical

an attitude, behavior, conduct or act which don’t follow the code of ethics.

-Immoral

behavior which does not conform to the moral standards.

-Freedom

synonymous to liberty; man’s ability to act in accordance to his will/or preferences.

-Right

a piece of property, to which one is justly entitled.

-Obligation

duty/responsibility to which one is bound.

-Amoral

can’t be judged as good or evil.

Value

-the good of man’s positive attitude.

-goal or vision which motivates man to act.

-principle which guides man’s action and thinking.

-basis of our choices, decisions, reactions and behavior.

-intrinsic worth of a thing.

Kinds of Values

1.) Biological Values

-aspects of life as biological fact.

ex. Foods, drinks, sex, health, survival, etc.

2.)Economic Value

-attached to material things used or exchanged for goods and services.

ex. Money, property, foods, credit, etc.

3.) Affective Values

-experienced in pleasant incidents.

ex. Play, excitement, comfort, delight in foods, drinks, sex, etc.

4.) Social Values

-experience in social interactions.

ex. Power, status, good name, reputation, etc.

5.) Intellectual Values

-experience in the use of the mind.

ex. Truth, knowledge, wisdom

6.) Aesthetic Values

-appreciation of the natural and artistic beauty of things.

ex. Beauty, talent, elegance, grace, symmetry, color, etc.

7.) Moral Values

-experienced in social or individual conduct.

ex. good will, concern, sympathy, charity, justice

8.) Religious Values

-based on what is interpreted to be man’s relationship to God.

ex. Piety, truthfulness, justness, etc.

Guide in Value Selection

1.) Intrinsic values are to be preferred to those that are extrinsic.

2.) Productive and relatively permanent values are to be preferred than less productive and
relatively permanent ones.

3.) We ought to select our values on the basis of self-chosen end or ideals.

4.) Of two or more values, the greater ought to be selected.

Terms related to the study of values:

-Value System

independent values that are systematically arranged in pattern in which are subject to reciprocal
or mutual variations.

enduring organization of beliefs concerning preferable modes of conduct, the dominant

motivation underlying the pattern of people’s behavior.

-Valuation

experience of contributing or assigning value to a thing, idea, or event or a mere feeling of value.

-Value Judgment

matter of appraisal, evaluating or assessing of the desirability of things.

-Good

possesses desirable qualities of which satisfy some preferable needs.

which is positive or advantageous to everybody at all times.

-Ideal

standard or model of perfection, excellence, beauty or goodness.

-Norm

rational concept of what ought to be.

a guide to what should be.

Reasons for being moral

-Self-interest

-Divine command

-Common interest

-Because it’s right

Principles of Ethical Life

1.) Personality is the thing of greatest value.

2.) The values of life must be shared.

3.) Some worthwhile task should be sincerely pursued by everyone.

4.) A wide range of appreciation must be cultivated.

5.) For growth, one needs to live in the presence of the best.

Types of Elicited Acts

1.) Wish

- a disposition of the will aspiring for something.

2.) Intention/Voluntariness

-purposive tendency of the will towards a realizable thing.

3.) Consent

-acceptance of the will of the means necessary to do the intention.

4.) Election

-selection by the will of the precise means to be employed in carrying out the intention.

5.) Use

-will’s employment of powers to carry out its intention by the means elected.

6.) Fruition

-enjoyment of the thing willed and done.

Principles governing the voluntariness of an act

1.) Principle of Imputability (evil indirectly willed)

-agent has foreseen the evil effect. He has the freedom to do or not and he wasn't morally bound
in doing it.

2.) Principle of imputability of a two-fold effect

a.) evil must not precede the good effect.

b.) there must be a reason sufficiently grave, calling for the act in its good effect and merely
permit the evil effect as a regrettable incident.

Modifiers of Human Act

-Ignorance

absence of human knowledge.

-Concupiscence (Passion)

strong tendencies toward the possession of something good or avoidance of something evil.

-Habit

constant or easy way of doing things acquired by repeating the same act.

-Fear

shrinking back of the mind from danger.

-Violence-co-action

an external force applied by a free cause for the purpose of compelling a person to perform an
act which is against his will.

Principles regarding Modifiers of Human Act

A. Regarding Ignorance

1.) Invincible ignorance destroys the voluntariness of the act.

2.) Vincible ignorance does not destroy an act’s intention.

3.) Vincible ignorance lessens an act’s intention.

4.) Affected ignorance in a way that lessens the voluntariness and in another way increases it.

B. Regarding Concupiscence

1.) Antecedent concupiscence lessens an act’s intention.

2.) Antecedent passion does not destroy the intention.

3.) Consequent action does not lessen the intention.

C. Regarding Fear
1.) An act one from fear, however great, it is simply voluntary, although, it is regularly also
conditionally involuntary.

D. Regarding Violence

1.) Acts elicited by the will aren’t subject to violence.

2.) External acts caused by violence, to which due resistance is offered, are in no wise imputable
to the agent.

E. Regarding Habit

1.) Habit doesn't destroy voluntariness.

Norms of Human Act

1.) Law

-ordinance of reason promulgated for the common good by one who has charge of a society.

2.) Conscience

-practical judgment of reason upon an individual act as good and to be performed, or as evil and
to be avoided.

Principles Governing the Norms of the Society

1.) A certain conscience is to obeyed, even when invisibly erroneous.

2.) It is never lawful to act when in practical doubt, moral certainty must be acquired.

3.) One may employ the reflex principle that a doubtful law doesn't bind only when direct means
are available or fail to lead to certainty.

4.) In question of the lawfulness or unlawfulness of an act to be performed or omitted - direct

certainty being unachievable and the reflex principle being employed - one may follow any solidly
probable reason (opinion), even to the neglect of a more probable one.

5.) One may not follow a probable opinion, even a most probable reason, when there is a
question of a definite end to be achieved and sure means to its achievement exist.

These moral principles are also applied in cases of a moral dilemma.