THE STUDY OF ETHICS

The value of studying ethics in life is a must responsibility and such, is also obligatory. Not because we are purposely driven nor illuminated by its essence, it is already deeply imbued to us. It only needs to be followed every time we undertake any actions or endeavor in life.

Such actions are considered ethical or unethical depending on the intention and its effect to the receiver. Don’t always leave things in fate and to quote it properly, “Let fate take its course” or “bahala na” has been the uttered line of our mouth. Bear in mind that there is always an effect after every undertaking.

In ethics, we ask if it must be. What you think is right is the bottomline. That’s ETHICS!

ETHICSoIt is defined as the science of the morality of human acts.oDerived from the Greek word ethos meaning “characteristic way of living.” While in Latin is mos, mores meaning tradition or custom.

Human Acts- are actions performed by

human, knowingly and freely- also called intentional or

deliberate actions, or, voluntary.

Acts of Man- in contrary to human acts, it is

involuntary and instinctive and unintentional.

o Ethics is also said to be the study of human motivation, and ultimately, of human rational behavior.

o Ethics is morality.

*Morality – is the quality of human acts by which they are determined as good, bad, or indifferent.

Ethics is Moral Philosophy and is distinguished from Moral Theology.

oAs a branch of philosophy, it relies solely on human reason to investigate truths.

oOn the other hand, Moral Theology employs reason insofar as it is enlightened by faith or divine revelation.

ETHICS AS VALUES EDUCATION

oIt takes the value of Value Education by guiding individuals in choosing wisely his values and in acting upon them.oIt is also the rational foundation of any attempt at Values Education. It explains human values in relation to the ultimate purpose of human existence.

THE ART OF CORRECT LIVING

In this context, Ethics is an art.

Art, literally means appreciation of beauty. It implies order and harmony of parts in a given whole.

Human life does not imply merely physical survival. The demands of daily life includes and derives meaning from the cultivation of these traits that truly relates man’s innate dignity.

ETHICS IS AN ART BECAUSE:

1.It is the breath of life.

-It pulsates with the desire for growth and development.

2. It is master plan.- It indicates where man must go and what he/she ought to do in order to live well.

IMPORTANCE OF ETHICS

It is an indespensable knowledge.Moral integrity is the only true measure of what man ought to be.oMorality is the foundation of every human society.

TWO ETHICAL SYSTEMS

ATHEISTIC APPROACH

This approach assumes that only matter exists and that man is only responsible to himself since there is no god who creates and rules the universe.It favors science than religion.It tries to centralized scientific ideology.Its followers are called atheist.

FAMOUS ATHEISTS

PROPOSE PRINCIPLES OF THE AETHEISTIC APPROACH:

1. Matter is the only reality.2. Man is matter and does not have

spiritual dimension.3. Man is free and must exercise his

freedom to promote society’s welfare.

4. There is no life after death.5. Man is accountable to the state.

THEISTIC APPROACH

It begins with the assumption that God is the Supreme Lawgiver.

Employs the aid of a favoring religion.

God’s will is the core of this approach. It believes that God is the point of origin.

With God’s will, man must exercise his freedom.

POSTULATED TRUTHS OF THE THEISTIC APPROACH:

1. God is the Supreme Creator and Lawgiver.

2. Man is free and must use his freedom to promote his personal and social interests along with his fellownmen.

3. Man has an immortal soul which cannot die.

4. Man is accountable for his actions, both good and evil.

“To one who has faith, no explanation is needed. To one who has no faith,

no explanation is possible.”

- St. Thomas Aquinas

ETHICS AND RELIGION

This two is inseperable from one another for religion is a frontrunner of ethics and ethics has been a norm for every religion.It teaches the value of religion, presenting it as a duty to the Almighty.On the other hand, religion, composed of a unified hierarchy, teaches ethics and continues to enrich with its moral insight.

Ethics is a science and depends upon rational investigation of its truth. Religion is a system and practices based on faith or

revelation.

ETHICS AND LAWEthics studies human motivation. It goes deeper than

the study of external actions.

Law is concerned with the

externality of the act.

Just like religion, law is also inseperable from ethics.Ethics is governed by law and law is the basis of ethics.

Ethical norms cover thoughts and feelings. Laws don’t judge man’s thoughts and feelings. Morality therefore, has a wider implication than law, because law can be moral or immoral.Ethics is not simply a body of do’s and don’ts in the manner laws are. It’s a personal commitment to uphold what is true and good.

PROFESSIONAL ETHICSEven professions in every field are regulated by norms so not to produce any unwanted effect on their side as they practice it. Each profession is subject to a set of moral code. This Code of Ethics guides the actuation of a professional where the law is silent and inadequate.

A Code of Ethics implies that, before anything else, a professional is a person who has the obligation to listen to the “dictates of reason.”

COMPONENTS OF PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

1. Honesty- this refers to the truthfulness and straightforwardness along with the absence of lying, cheating or theft. 

2. Integrity- the honesty and truthfulness or accuracy of one's actions.

3. Transparency -  implies openness, communication, and accountability.4. Accountability - is blameworthiness, liability, and the expectation of account-giving.5. Confidentiality - is a set of rules or a promise that limits access or places restrictions on certain types of information.

6. Respect - gives a positive feeling of esteem or deference for a person or other entity.7. Obedience to the law - faithfulness and being truthful to the law.

REFLECTION: MORALITY IS BEST FORM OF GOVERNMENT

“No system of power can replace morality, which is necessary in any human society.” For me, that line discusses everything in the passage. Morality is the means of change used by Mikhail Gorbachev to lift his country’s peace.Nowadays, there are lot of types of government in the world. Unfortunately, morality can’t be observed in any of the government. There is this big issue of corruption in any country in this world today, specially, in our country Philippines. This corruption really drag us down even if our country has a big potential in excelling in every aspect.I think if morality is observed in our community, it might lead our country to a big lift in every aspect. Also, morality will bring peace and order to our society. That’s why people should work on their morality if they really want a peaceful and happy living.

Human Acts

According to Ken Levine, “We all make choices, but in the end our choices make us.” We have to admit that we, humans have imperfections. However, we could minimize those imperfections. We only have to control ourselves in doing such actions and be mindful of the possible consequences of the actions that are done.

Human act is defined as those actions which man performs knowingly, freely, and voluntarily. These are the actions performed with presence of knowledge and the control of the will. We refer these actions as deliberate, intentional or voluntary.

Distiction is made between human acts and acts of man.

Human acts are action which man performs knowingly, freely, and voluntarily.

Acts of man are those actions which happen in man; They are instinctive and are not within the control of the will.

CHARACTERISTICS OF HUMAN ACTS

•Conscious agent(knowing)

•Performed by agent where acting freely(free)

•Performed by agent who decide willfully to perform the act (willful)

KINDS OF HUMAN ACTHuman act are either elicited acts or commanded acts

•Elicited acts are those performed by the will and are not bodily externalized.

ACCORDING TO PAUL GLENN ENUMERATES THE FF.

ELICITED ACTS: Wish - the tendency of will towards something, whether this be realizable or not.

Intention - something that is attainable but without necessarily committing oneself to attain it.

Consent - the acceptance of the will of those needed to carry out the intention.

Election- the selection of the will of those means elected to carry out the intention.

Fruition- the enjoyment of the will derived from the attainment of the thing he had desired earlier.

Commanded acts are those done either by man ‘s mental or bodily powers under the command of the will. It is either internal or external actions.

Examples of internal actions are conscious reasoning, recalling something, encouraging oneself, controlling arouse emotions and others.

Examples of external actions are walking, eating, dancing, laughing, listening, reading and others.

MORAL DISTINCTION1. Moral actions are those actions which are in conformity with the norms of morality. They are good and permissible actions.

2. Immoral actions are not conformity with the norm of morality. They are bad or evil and are not permissible.

3. A moral actions are those actions w/c stand neutral in relation to the norm of morality. They neither be good or bad in themselves. But certain moral actions may become good or bad because of the circumstances attendant to them.

Extrinsic and Intrinsic

Evil

IMPUTABILITY OF HUMAN ACTS

The imputability of human acts means that the person performing the acts is liable of such acts. It involves the notion of guilt or innocence. Thus actions are either praiseworthy or blameworthy. Actions are attributed to the doer as their principal cause.

Sanction and

Penalties

VOLUNTARINESSVoluntariness come from the Latin word “Volunias”, referring to the will. Voluntariness is essential to an act.

•Perfect Voluntariness -present in the person who fully knows and fully intends an act.

•Imperfect Voluntariness - present in an action who acts w/o fully realizing what he means to do or without fully intending the act.

•Conditional Voluntariness - is present in the person who is force by the circumstances beyond his control to perform an act w/c he would not do under normal condition.

•Simple Voluntariness - present in a person doing an act willfull, regardless of whether he likes to do it or not. It is either positive or negative.

TYPES OF VOLUNTARINESS

Direct Voluntariness - accompanies an act which is primarily intended by the doer, either as a means to achieve something else.

Indirect Involuntariness - accompanies an act or situation which is the mere result of directly willed act.

A person considers accountable for indirect voluntary result of his acts when:

1. The doer is able to see the evil result or effects, at least in general way.

2. The doer is free to refrain from doing that which would produce the foresee evil.

3. The doer has mortal obligation not to do that which produces an evil effect.

INDIRECT INVOLUNTARINESS

ALFREDO PANIZO CITES THIS PRINCIPLES:

1. A person is held morally responsible for any evil effect w/c flows from the action itself directly and necessary as natural consequences, though the evil effect is not directly willed or intended.

2. Human act from w/c two effects may result, One good and one is evil, Is morally permissible under four conditions. If any of this conditions is violated, then the action is not justifiable and should not be done.

FOUR CONDITIONS1. The action w/c produce double effect must be good in itself, or at least morally indifferent.

2. The good effect must not come from the evil effect. To do evil in order to achieve something good is not justifiable.

3. The motive of the doer must be towards the attainment of the good. The evil effect is permitted only as an incidental result.

4. The good effect must not out weigh the evil effects in its importance.

EXAMPLES:

•An elder brother who puts hot sauce on a cake before giving it to a begging younger brother, so that the younger will not ask for more, and the elder can have the cake all to himself.

•A teenager who is yawning a lot, showing how uninterested she is to listen in her professor.

MODIFIERS OF HUMAN

ACTS

Factors that influence man’s inner disposition towards certain actions are called modifiers of human acts. They affect the mental or emotional state of a person to the extent that the voluntariness involved in an act is either increased or decreased. This is significant because the accountability of the act is correspondingly increased or decreased.

1. IGNORANCE - Is the absence of knowledge which a person ought to possess.TYPES OF IGNORANCE

a. Vincible ignorance-can easily be reminded through ordinary diligence and reasonable efforts.

b. Invincible ignorance-is the type which a person possesses without aware of it, or , having awareness of it, lacks the means to rectify it.

c. Affected ignorance -is the type which a person keeps by positive efforts in order to escape responsibility or blame.

PRINCIPLES OF IGNORANCE

Invincible ignorance renders an act involuntary.

Vincible ignorance does not destroy, but lessen the voluntariness and the corresponding accountability over the act.

Affected ignorance, though it decreases voluntariness, increases the accountability over the resultant act.

2. PASSION

-are either tendencies away, from under undesirable or harmful things.

-positive emotions , the former include love, desire, delight, hope and bravery.

-Negative emotions, the latter include hatred, horror, sadness, despair, fear and anger.

TYPES OF PASSIONAntecedent Passion

-are those that precede an act.

Consequent Passion -are those that are intentionally

aroused and kept.

PRINCIPLES OF PASSION

Antecedent passions do not always destroy voluntariness, but they diminish accountability for the resultant act.

Consequent passions do not lessen voluntariness, but may increase accountability.

3. FEAR

- is the disturbance of the mind of a person who is confronted by an impending danger or harm to himself or loved ones.

- is an instinct for self- preservation.

PRINCIPLES OF FEARActs done with fear are voluntary.

Acts done out of fear, however ,great, is simply voluntary, although it is also conditionally voluntary.

Acts done because of intense fear or panic are involuntary.

4. VIOLENCE

- refers to any physical force exerted on a person by another free agent for the purpose of compelling said person to act against his will.

PRINCIPLES OF VIOLENCE

External actions, or commanded actions, performed by a person subjected to violence, to which reasonable resistance has been offered, are involuntary and are not accountable.

Elicited acts, or those done by the will alone, are not subject to violence and are therefore voluntary.

5. HABITS

-as defined by Glenn “ is a lasting readiness and facility, born of frequently repeated acts, for acting in a certain manner.”

PRINCIPLE OF HABITS

Action done by force of habit are voluntary in cause, unless a reasonable effort is made to counteract the habitual inclination.

 

6. ACTION AND EMOTION

-Emotions are generally instinctive in origin. Neither the degree of their intensity, clarity or awareness makes them human acts to be judged as good or evil. They become good or evil by the attitude of the person manifesting them. A person who nourishes his feeling of hostility towards another is more prone to acquire the motive for inflicting harm on the object of his hatred. This is not to say that man is helpless in the tide of his emotions and that man’s responses to action are emotionally motivated. It means simply that man’s thoughts and actions are colored by his emotions.

7. REFINEMENT OF EMOTIONSEthics deals with emotions as factors affecting human motivation and behavior. Instead of repressing them, it calls for their refinement. This means that man is expected to act not only with his mind and body, but precisely with his heart and soul.

Doing good for another is not a virtue unless it comes from the “love” of what is good.

THE ENDS OF HUMAN ACT

End-it is the purpose or goal of an act.- it is the act which completes or finishes an act.

End of the act – it is the natural termination of an activity.

End of the doer – it is the personal purpose intended by the person performing the act.– it is called the motive.

Motive – is the reason why a person performs an act.– it is the force that sustains the act and brings it to completion.

KINDS OF ENDS Proximate or Remote End

- Proximate end is the purpose which a doer wishes to accomplish immediately by his actions. (eg. The proximate end of eating is the satisfaction of hunger.)- Remote end is the purpose which a doer wishes to accomplish in a series of acts. (eg. The remote end of the proximate end of eating is the promotion of health.)

Intermediate or Ultimate End

- Intermediate end is the purpose which is desired as a means for obtaining another thing. (eg. All of those activities leading towards graduation...)- Ultimate end is the purpose which is desired for its own sake and not because of something else. (eg. A student may assign his graduation as an ultimate end.)

ACTION AND MOTIVATION

Alfredo Pizano gives us opportunity to cite principles according to human principles:

Every agent that performs an action acts for the sake of an end or purpose to be attained.

Every agent act towards an ultimate end.

Every agent has the power to move himself towards an end which he finds suitable for him.

END AS SOMETHING GOOD

The concept of end coincides of that of good. According to Aristotle, good means either: good as an end itself or good as a means to another end.

Apparent good – it is evil viewed or disguised as good.

When someone desires evil as an end, it is only because he views it, subjectively, as something good. Every human activity is intended for the attainment of something good.

THE MEANING OF GOOD

Good is that which fits a function.

“The good of man proves to be activity of social conformity with excellence; and if there is more than one excellence, it will be the best and the most complete of these.”

-Aristotle

Needs are those goods which are essential to man as man.

Wants are those goods that an individual requires because of his particular circumstance in life.

KINDS OF GOOD Essential and Accidental good

-Essential good are those that fit the natural needs of man as man. It is also called as perfective. (eg. NEEDS: food, shelter, health, knowledge, virtue, life...)

-Accidental good are those that fit the wants of an individual because of his circumstance. It is also called as non-perfective. (eg. WANTS: money, car, good name...)

Real and Apparent good

-Real good is something which has an intrinsic value. It includes both essential and accidental goods. (eg. good acts and habits, parents and parenthood, pleasure and joy...)

-Apparent good is actually an evil thing but is viewed as “good” under certain aspects. (eg. diseases, sadness, death, worry, crimes...)

Perfective and Non-perfective Good

-Perfective good is that which contributes to the integral perfection of a person. (eg. education, virtue, food, exercise, medicine...)

-Non-perfective good is that which merely contributes to the external appearance or convenience of a person. (eg. clothes, wealth, social status, political power...)

Perfect and Imperfect Good-Also called unlimited or limited goods respectively, absolute and relative goods.

-Perfect good has the fullness of qualities enabling it to fully satisfy human desire.

-Imperfect good possesses only certain qualities so that it does not fully satisfy human desire except in a relative of limited sense.

THE GREATEST GOOD

In the language of the philosophers, the greatest good is Summum Bonum. For Aristotle, the greatest good is happiness. Happiness is what man aims to achieve in all his activities. The ultimate purpose of life is the attainment of happiness. As a psychological state, happiness is the feeling of contentment arising from the possession of a good.

SOME ERRORS CONCERNING HAPPINESS:

Some people give the impression that money or wealth can buy happiness.Some people equates health with happiness.Sensual people vainly seeks happiness in earthly pressures.Certain people cling to their public image as if God Himself was made after their illusion.Some dedicate their lives to science and art.Some propose that the final purpose of man is the promotion of the state of government.

NATURAL AND SUPERNATURAL

HAPPINESS

Natural happiness is that which is attainable by man through the use of his supernatural powers.

Supernatural happiness is that which is attainable by man through the use of his natural powers as these are informed and aided by God’s infusion of grace.

Natural happiness consists in the perfection that can be attained by man through the employment of his body and soul and the powers inherent in them.

For Aristotle, natured happiness does not rest on one single object. Rather, it consists in the attainment of all development. Complete happiness, in the natural order, consists in those goods pertaining to the soul.

The highest good, according to Aristotle, belongs to the intellect: the contemplation of truth.

THE ULTIMATE PURPOSE

Christian philosophers, notably St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas teach that man in every deliberate action acts toward an end and ultimately, to an absolute ultimate end: happiness.

Man cannot attain perfect happiness in his life, because God can never be known.

READING/S:

FIRST LESSON: (COINCIDENCES) “It is because the human spirit knows, deep down, that all lives intersect. That death doesn’t just take someone, it misses someone else, and in the small distance between being taken and being missed, lives are changed... Strangers are just family you have yet to know.” – The Blue Man

SECOND LESSON: (PROMISES) “Sacrifice is a part of life. It’s supposed to be. It’s not something to regret. It’s something to aspire to. Little sacrifices.Big sacrifices. A mother works so her son can go to school. A daughter moves home to take care of her sick father. A man goes to war.” – The Captain

THIRD LESSON: (FORGIVENESS) “People don’t die because of loyalty.” “They don’t? religion? government? Are we not loyal to such things, sometimes to death? To be loyal to one another..” – Ruby

FOURTH LESSON: (LOVE) “Lost love is still love, Eddie. It takes a different form, that’s all. You can’t see their smile or bring them around a dance floor. But when those senses weaken, another heightens. Memory. Memory becomes your partner. You nurture it. You hold it. You dance with it. Life has to end. Love doesn’t.” – Marguerite

THE FIFTH LESSON: (ACCEPTANCE) The purpose of life...

HEALTH ETHICS

GROUP 1MEMBERS:

M Ambay, Rose Ann V.Badajos, Kristel Mae E.

Barajan, Lois Sandrine B.Bautista, Kristine

Bernadette S.Guan, Almira N.

Guttierez, Rochelle L.Matienzo, Kent Raphael M.

Soledad, Ferdinand Christian L.