Republic of the Philippines

Commission on Higher Education

Region VIII
NORTHWEST SAMAR STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Education – Graduate Program
Calbayog, City

Topic: Right and Reason

Subject: Philosophical Foundation of Education
Reporter: Renno Jose B. Gabuya
Teacher: Raul D. Agban, Ed.D.
Day/Time: Saturday/10:30 A.M-1:30 P.M
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RIGHT AND REASON

MEANING OF RIGHT

Right is a state of mind in accordance with what is good, proper or just. It is in

conformity with fact, reason or some standard principle.

Right means something that is straight, not crooked, in opposition to wrong.

Right is something that squares with a rule or norm. It means that it squares with the
norm of morality and thus is morally good.

Right, or moral power works by appeal to one’s will through the intellect. It is a
moral power over what is one’s own, or more expressly, moral power to do, omit,
hold, or exact something.

All rights come from law, natural rights from natural law, and positive rights
from positive law. Natural rights are deduced from natural law. The natural law
imposes obligation on man, who must therefore have a moral power to fulfil them
and prevent others from interfering with this fulfilment, such rights coming from the
natural law are natural rights.

Right is limited by duty, which is the moral necessity to do or omit something.

Every right supposes a duty and vice versa.

REASON

Reason is a basis or circumstance explaining some belief, action, fact, or

event. It is also a statement presented in justification or explanation of a belief or
action. Reason is the mental power concerned with forming conclusions, judgments,
or inferences based on sound judgment. It is the power of the faculty of acquiring
intellectual knowledge either by direct understanding or by intelligent arguments.

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Renno Jose B. Gabuya
RIGHT REASON AS A NORM

A question may be asked. Does human reason have any guidelines for
determining when it is right and when it is not? Since making such determination is
part of reason’s own critical function; it will have to find the guidelines within himself.
Reason works out an ethical judgment, and these are:

1. Any moral choice is preceded by intelligent deliberation, a weighing of the

reasons for and against the contemplated course of action. These reasons
are expressed in sound judgment and practical judgments that are direction of
action. They present the good to the will for its acceptance, the arguments in
its favour, the strength of the moral obligation involved, the general moral
principle of which this act is an instance, and the reasonableness of choosing
this form action.
2. Habit is said to be second in nature. If we want to find out whether habits are
good or bad, we should compare them with the nature they are supposed to
enhance especially so when the nature is in question is rational and we are
dealing with right reason. Reason, reflecting on human nature of which it is a
part, sees the congruity of some actions. Conformity of action with nature is
rule all over the universe. In as much as man is a natural being within the
scope of total nature, man’s actions are good if they conform to nature, bad if
they go counter to it. Many of man’s action are natural in the sense that he
feels the prompting of nature to perform them. On the other hand, man’s
actions are immoral because they are unfitting for a rational and free being.
3. It is characteristic of reason to direct to an end. Aimless conduct is called
irrational, even when an individual performs it. Reason is right when it does
good as it leads to the end because it is morally good. Reason can perceive
the inner dynamism of the human being, his abilities and capacities craving
fulfilment, and the suitability of certain acts and objects to contribute t the
human being’s fulfilment.
4. Some values are seen to be nobler in intrinsic worth, more inclusive in scope,
more compatible with other values, and more productive of order and
harmony in man and his relations with others. Reason sees that such values
must have a higher place in any rationally constructed order of things. Right
reason as the norm of normality is intended to act according to its nature,
since nature is the essence of a thing as the inner directing principle of its
activity.

CONSCIENCE
A man knows when he has been misjudged by others, and can know it only
by comparing their judgment with his own and passing a final judgment on
both these judgments. The form of reflective knowledge awareness of his own
responsibility is sometimes confused with conscience but is more of form of
cautious.

An individual judges not only whether and how far he is responsible for he is
responsible for his acts but also whether these acts are good or bad. Whether
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Renno Jose B. Gabuya
 such judgments are correct or not is another question, but the fact is that men
do make them. The power to do is called conscience.

Conscience is the intellect itself in a special function, the function of judging

the rightness or wrongness of an individual’s act.

The major premise played in forming the judgment of conscience is a general

moral principle. “Do good and avoid evil”. “Respect the right of others”.

Conscience is the sense of what is right and wrong in one’s conduct or

motives, impelling one toward right action. It is the ethical and moral principle
that control or inhibit the actions or thoughts of an individual.

CARDINAL VIRTUES
The cardinal virtues include prudence, courage, temperance, and justice.
Plato, thought he probably did not invent them, makes his whole theory of the
human soul and of the political state independent of them. Aristotle centers
his Ethics on these cardinal virtues, and they have been universally adopted
by Christian writers.

PRUDENCE
Prudence is an intellectual virtue by essence; however it enters into the field
of the moral virtues by pointing out the mean and suggesting ways of attaining
it. Without prudence, fortitude becomes boldness, temperance becomes
senseless, and justice becomes harshness.

Prudence is the quality of being cautious with regard to one’s interests. It is

care, caution and good judgment. Prudence chooses the right means towards
worthy ends, the choice of good means toward bad ends. It is impossible to
have the moral virtues without prudence. Likewise, it is impossible to have
prudence without moral virtues. The rebellion of passion and will usually
clouds reason and prevents the formulation of a prudent judgment.

The significant role of prudence in an individual’s ethical life cannot be

overemphasized. Whenever a general rule of conduct, such as ethics devises,
must be applied to a concrete case, prudence is called for.

It may be of interest to note that are a number of lesser virtues implied in

prudence. These are foresight, care; docility, caution, and circumspection,
Negligence, in consideration, and recklessness indicate a defect of prudence.
Craftiness, deceit, timidity, and cowardness may result from an excess of
prudence not balance by other virtues.

Right and Reason

Renno Jose B. Gabuya
 COURAGE
Courage is the quality of the mind or spirit that enables a person to face
difficulty; danger or pain with firmness and without fear. Courage, fortitude, or
bravery inclines a person to face danger and toil without flinching. Some
people are inclined to quail before danger, and courage drives them into it.
But not everything that looks like a brave act is a manifestation of the virtue of
courage. To rush into peril out of danger, ignorance, or stupidity is not a sign
of courage. The truly courageous man acts from a rational motive, whereby
he understand that danger while counting it the lesser evil. In our instinct,
death is the most dreadful of all things, but reason tells us that there are other
things better than life and still others worse than death. Courage enables men
to overcome their abhorrence of death. It frees them from slavery of fear. The
brave man may act with fear but, in spite of it, faces the eminent danger.

It is interesting to note that courage is primary requisite of the soldier, who is

useless without it, but in some way it is a part of all fields of life. Active
courage consists in attacking the threatening evil, fighting against it. Passive
courage endurance of an evil that cannot be overcome, holding one’s ground
and not yielding no matter what the cost. Courage exists on both sides – the
victor and the vanquished.

The two types of courage are the physical courage and the moral courage.
Moral courage, in the sense of refusing to do anything morally dishonourable
no matter what the consequences, is indeed essential to any moral living..

Courage implies patience, perseverance, constancy, and tenacity of purpose.

Aristotle adds two unusual virtues – magnificence, to dare wisely in the matter
of expense, and magnanimity, to dare wisely in the matter of honor. Lack of
courage is shown in cowardice, weakness, timidity, impatience, and
irresoluteness. On the other hand, boldness, presumption, stubbornness,
quarrelsomeness, and ruthlessness are faults of the over brave.

TEMPERANCE
Temperance is moderating or self-restraint in action or statement.
Temperance regulates the appetite in the use of sensible pleasure. It
moderate one’s drive toward self-preservation. It also acts as a curb on
excessive indulgence in food and drink and in the indulgence of sex.

Inasmuch as there are people inclined to excess in pleasure, the mean is

usually short of one’s desire and closer to the side of restraint. Generally,
these people who differ in the strength of their sensuous cravings and so the
mean varies.

Temperance has the subordinate virtues of abstinence and sobriety, chastity,

and continence. By analogy, temperance also regulates cravings that are less
animal in nature and puts a proper curb on our self-esteem. This is called

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Renno Jose B. Gabuya
 modesty, humility, gentleness, and mildness. Lack of temperance appears in
gluttony, drunkenness, pride, cruelty, lust, and vanity.

JUSTICE
Justice is the quality of conforming to principles of reason to generally
accepted standards of right and wrong, and to the stated terms of laws, rules
and agreements in matters affecting persons who could be wronged or unduly
favoured.

Justice inclines every man to give each one his own. According to Aristotle,
justice is divided into two types – general and particular. General justice is so
broad as to cover all virtue that has any social significance and is therefore
not the specific cardinal virtue of justice. Particular justice which is a cardinal
virtue, Aristotle divides into distributive and corrective, the corrective justice is
called commutative. Commutative justice is the basis of contracts.

Distributive justice is a relation between the community and its members.

Distributive justice requires a fair and proper distribution of benefits and
burden among the members of the community. Distributive justice applies
primarily to the state and its various agencies. It is the particular obligation of
public officials as they discharge their function when in some cases is violated
by favouritism and partiality. Usually, it does not exist between equals but
between a superior and his subordinates.

Social justice is a modern term that has been given various meanings by
writers. For St. Thomas, legal justice shows in law-abiding conduct; it is the
same as Aristotle’s general justice.

Social justice refers to the organization of society in such a way that the
common good to which all are expected to contribute in proportion to their
ability and opportunity is available to all members for their ready use and
enjoyment. It shows itself more in economic, industrial, racial, and political
relations.

Social justice involves everything connected with being good citizen and
reaping what ought to be the reward of upright and cooperative social
conduct, one’s proper share of the benefits of social living. Almost the whole
of social ethics is a study of social justice.

It is important to understand that any arrangement of society that excludes or

hinders certain classes or groups within it from their fair share of the common
good is a violation of social justice.

Right and Reason

Renno Jose B. Gabuya
 HAPPINESS
Happiness results from the possession or attainment of what one considers
good. It is the quality or state of being happy because of good fortune or good
things happen. The man who is fortunate, lucky, successful, satisfied,
cheerful, glad or joyous maybe considered happy in the sense that he has
come closer to happiness.

Happiness is not a passing feeling or emotion, such as joy or gladness, but it

is lasting state of being. One maybe happy though suffering a temporary grief,
just as another’s chronic unhappiness may be punctuated by moments of joy.
The immature and feeble-minded can have a cheerful outlook, but it is due to
lack of appreciation, not to fulfilment and possession.

Happiness is desire satisfied by the conscious possession of the good. It is

perpetual subjective state that exists only in an intellectual being. It is not a
transitory emotion.

All men seek happiness, since all want their desires satisfied, however, they
differ in what they judge will make them happy. Happiness is the basic motive
in all we do, though we may seek it only implicitly.

Perfect happiness fully satisfies all men’s desires. On the other hand,
imperfect happiness has flaws in it. Our natural desire for happiness is our
basic tendency and it is unique. Attainment of happiness requires our
cooperation, and that legitimate self-seeking is not selfishness, but in
essence, the very purpose of our being.

LOVE
The man who has no love in his life can hardly be thought of as human.
Although love may be too blind as a guide and too uncritical as a norm, so
that we cannot use it to show us what is good, it is surely, the noblest
aspiration and the most dynamic force we can have to drive us on toward
whatever good we know.

Love is justice expanded to the fullest scope of the human person’s dignity.
Love is raised to its highest plane when suffused with the love of God.

PLEASURE
Pleasure is the state or condition of being pleased. It the enjoyment or
satisfaction derived from what is to one’s liking, gratification, and satisfaction.

Men in their search for something that might make life satisfactory, the most
obvious factor is pleasure. No one will object to enjoyment, though not all will
find enjoyment in the same light. Many would think that is the only element in
the good life, and this view expressed philosophically is called hedonism.
Hedonism comes from the Greek word pleasure. It is the doctrine that

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 pleasure or happiness is the highest good. It is a devotion to pleasure as a
way of life.

Hedonism is one of the oldest, simplest and most earthly of ethical theories. It
has persisted throughout all ages, and many people who have never
consciously formulated for themselves any philosophy in life live according to
its principles.

Pleasure is a very important good. It is a stimulus that nature uses to allure us

to the proper use of our abilities. It is also a subjective experience sought for
its own sake. There is nothing in seeking pleasure so long as it is kept within
proper bounds and not to too much.

RESPONSIBILITY
From the acts man performs we have separated out those over which he has
control. The point of control is within the consent of the will and prepared for
by the deliberation of the intellect. If the consent can be thrown to either
alternative, for or against, the person himself is the cause of his own decision
and is responsible for the act chosen.

Responsibility is the state or fact of being responsible of one’s action and

answerable for the act in so far as he did it.

There is a difference between not willing to do something and willing not to do

something. In the first case there is no act of the will and therefore no
voluntariness. In the second case there is an act of the will, an act of
deliberate omission or refusal, and this is quite voluntary. Voluntariness is
positive if one wills to do something; negative if one wills to omit something.
Voluntariness’ is perfect if there is full knowledge in one capable of doing it.

Fear is the apprehension of impending evil. Fear affects voluntariness only

when it is the motive for acting. It does not destroy responsibility but only
lessens it because of the contrary wish mingled with one’s actual will. On the
other hand, force is actual external physical power making one act against his
will. Cooperation in evil is helping another to do wrong by joining him in the
act or by supplying him with the means.

Right and Reason

Renno Jose B. Gabuya
 THE COMMON GOOD

The common good is the end for which society exists. The common good is
an intermediate end, and end that also a means towards man’s ultimate goal.
The means society uses to develop and share the common good are called
institutions. These are the schools, hospitals, police, military, public utilities,
corporations, law courts, and banks. These institutions are regarded as
instrumental agencies used by society for storing, distributing and
implementing the common good. The common good is to be shared in by all
people in the community this common good should be shared inn not equally
but proportionately. However, since not all contribute equally, neither should
all receive equally.

The establishment of social justice, the foremost task of society is so difficult

that in this imperfect world we can only hope for an approximation.

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Right and Reason

Renno Jose B. Gabuya