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.
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!
oIt is defined as the
ETHICS
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
Itbegins 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
Ethics is a science and depends upon rational investigation of
its truth. Religion is a system and practices based on faith or
revelation.

This
 two is inseparable 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 AND LAW
Ethics studies human motivation. It goes deeper than
the study of external actions.

Just like religion, law is

also inseperable from
ethics.
Law is
concerned Ethics is governed by
with the law and law is the basis
externality of
the act. 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 ETHICS
Even 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.
Huma
n 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 ACT
Human 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.
are conscious
reasoning,
recalling
something,
encouraging
oneself,
controlling arouse
emotions and
others.
external
actions are
walking, eating,
dancing,
laughing,
listening,
reading and
others.
1. MORAL DISTINCTION
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
 VOLUNTARINESS
Voluntariness
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
 Indirect
Involuntariness -
accompanies an act or
situation which is the
mere result of directly
willed act.
INDIRECT INVOLUNTARINESS
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.
 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.
1.
FOUR CONDITIONS
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

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

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 PASSION
Antecedent 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 FEAR

Acts 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 EMOTIONS
Ethics 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.
ForAristotle, 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.

Thehighest 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...