MODULE 1-PRELIMINARY COVERAGE

ETHICS030
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
Prepared by: Miss Diana B. Rodrigo
UNIT I: INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS
Unit Objectives: At the end of the lesson, the students should have:
1. defined and understood the concept of Ethics;
2. differentiated human acts and acts of man;
3. identified the different kinds and modifiers of human acts; and
4. recognized the role of human acts on becoming ethical.
PHILOSOPHY

➢ Came from the Greek words, Philo and Sophia which means love and wisdom/knowledge
respectively.

➢ Literally means love of wisdom/ knowledge

➢ Systematic study of ideas and issues, a reasoned pursuit of fundamental truths, a quest for
comprehensive understanding of the world, a study of principles and conduct, and much more.
BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY
1. Epistemology
>>Addresses philosophical problems surrounding the theory of knowledge
>>concerned with the definition of knowledge and related concepts, the sources and criteria of
knowledge, the kind of knowledge possible, and the degree to which each is certain.
2. Metaphysics
>>Concerned with the nature of ultimate reality.
3. Aesthetics
>>Concerned with the essence and perception of beauty and ugliness.
4. Cosmology
>>Study of the universe as a whole including its past and its future.
5. Social and Political Philosophy
>>Concerned with the nature of legitimate authority, the nature of society, and the relation
between the individual, the community, and the state.
6. Logic
>>is the study of reasoning, or the study of the principles and criteria of valid inference and
demonstration. It attempts to distinguish good reasoning from bad reasoning. The art and
science of correct thinking. It deals with the principles of valid reasoning and argument.
7. Philosophy of Man
>> the study of all aspects of human life and culture. It examines such topics as how people live,
what they think, what they produce, and how they interact with their environment.
8. Ethics
WHAT IS ETHICS?

➢ Came from “ethous” or “ethos” which means use, custom, way of behaving, or character.

➢ A practical science of the morality of human conduct/act.

➢ The study of what is right and wrong in human behavior in the pursuit of good life.

➢ The morality of human acts.

➢ a practical science of the morality of human conduct.

➢ The good thing that we should pursue and the bad thing that we should avoid.
Take note…
Morality- the quality of human act.
-The quality of goodness or badness I a human act.
 Moral- Good human act
 Non-moral- Bad human act
 Amoral- indifferent human act
Ethical- Used to describe a behavior which conforms to accepted standards.
Unethical- Description of an attitude, behaviour, conduct or act which don’t follow the code of
ethics.
Freedom- man’s ability to act in accordance to his will and/or preferences. This is synonymous
with liberty.
Right- Something to which one has a just claim, such as a piece of property, to which one is
justly entitled.
Obligation- Duty/Responsibility to which one is bound.

Man
➢ Consists of nutritive, sensible, and rational souls.
Types of Soul:
1. Nutritive- for nourishment (present among plants, animals, and men)
2. Sensible- for senses and emotions (present among animals & men)
3. Rational- for reasoning (present among men)

➢ is a rational animal.

➢ Is composed of body and soul.

➢ has the faculties, freewill and intellect.

*by faculties refers to capacities. Therefore, man is capable of thinking and decision-making.

LESSON 2: HUMAN ACTS and ACTS OF MAN

HUMAN ACTS and ACTS OF MAN: Is there a difference?
HUMAN ACTS ACTS OF MAN

➢ Voluntary in nature ➢ Involuntary in nature

➢ An act proceeding from man’s deliberate ➢Action merely happening in the body
free will. without the mind’s awareness or control of
the will.
➢ examples are dancing, speaking, alms
giving, doing crimes, etc. ➢examples are heartbeat, digestion,
metabolism, breathing, blinking, etc.

Human acts are deliberate and intentional actions whereas acts of man are instinctive and are not
within the control of the will which may also include emotions like love, jealousy, and fear.
The following are essential attributes for an act to be a human act:
1. It must be performed by conscious agent who is aware of what he is doing and of its
consequences. Children below the age of reason, the insane, the senile(old age), are considered
incapable of acting knowingly.
2. It must be performed by an agent who is acting freely, that is, by his own volition and powers.
An action done under duress and against one’s will is not entirely a free action.
3. The agent wilfully performs the act.
KINDS OF HUMAN ACTS
Elicited acts are those which are performed by the will and are not bodily externalized. They are
as follows:
1. Wish- A disposition of the will aspiring for something. (can be possible or impossible)
>>“ I wish for a trip to Manila.”; “I wish that no Filipino would die of hunger.”
2. Intention/ Voluntariness- Purposive tendency of the will towards a realizable thing. (you
intended to act..there must be an action)
>>“I intend a trip to Manila.”; “I am going to vote for our officials this May.”
3. Consent- Acceptance of the will of the means necessary to do the intention.(you agree to fully
push through the intention)
>> “I’ll go to Manila by boat.”; “I’ll renew my voters registration in order to vote this
May.”
4. Election- Selection by the will of the precise means to be employed in carrying out the
intention. (there are options or choices on how you will materialized the intention)
>> “I’ll buy the boat ticket and board the ship earlier.”; “I’ll go to the precinct and cast
my vote before lunch.”
5.Use- Will’s employment of powers to carry out its intention by the means elected. (the choice
you choose)
>> “I’ll go to the precinct by walking.”
6. Fruition- the enjoyment of the thing willed and done. (feelings after the action)
>> “I’ll enjoy result of the election.”

IMPUTABILITY OF HUMAN ACTS

➢A human act is done by a person who is in control of his faculties: intellect and will. If so, a
person assumes full responsibility and accountability for his decisions. Hence, the imputability of
a human act means that the person performing the act is liable for such act.
E.g., you went to SM for leisure despite the peak of the pandemic thus, if you acquire the
virus, you cannot blame the others for that.

VOLUNTARINESS
➢It came from the Latin word “voluntas,” referring to the will. Without voluntariness, an act is
not a human act but rather, just a mere act of man. Voluntariness may be perfect, imperfect,
conditional, and simple.
1. Perfect voluntariness. The person fully knows and intends the act. It is perfect
voluntariness when a student cheats during examination to get a passing score.
2.Imperfect voluntariness. The person acts without fully realizing what he does, or
without fully intending the act. A drunken man for example might act irrationally without fully
knowing what he’s doing. Also a drug addict.
 3. Conditional voluntariness. A person does the act out of certain circumstances beyond
his control. A child, who is intimidated by his mother to study his lesson, acts with conditional
voluntariness. (there’s a condition)
4. Simple voluntariness. The person does the act wilfully either he likes to do it or not.
Examples may be polishing the floor, undergoing in a rehabilitation center, not taking prohibited
drugs, etc. (there’s no condition but you have no choice)

PRINCIPLES GOVERNING THE VOLUNTARINESS OF A HUMAN ACT

a. Principle of imputability (evil indirectly willed)

➢You denied your baby’s travel history when suspected of a COVID-19. You thought that your
baby’s too young for a swab test. Consequently, your baby was placed in a regular ward but days
later, more COVID symptoms have been evident on your offspring and when swab tested,
positive acquisition of the virus was reported. Because of your act, a number of facility personnel
have contacted with the baby and were placed in an isolation. In this case, you never have
wanted the evil result of your action, but since the first place, you should have had already
foreseen that your evil act may result to an evil effect, you still are morally accountable of the
consequence even if you never have willed the unwanted result.
b. Principle of imputability of a two-fold effect.

➢ Was it morally right to drop the atomic bomb which would shorten the war but which would
destroy numerous innocent lives? Is it morally right to do an act which entails bad as well as
good consequences? The answer is YES, but the following should be remembered:
 The act in itself should be good, or at least morally indifferent;
 The evil effect should not be directly intended, but morally allowed to happen as a
regrettable side issue;
 There should be a reason sufficiently grave in doing the act; and
 The evil effect should not outweigh the good effect. (If the evil effect be greater, then the
intention and the motive in doing the act would be for evil than for good.)

MODIFIERS OF HUMAN ACTS

➢Perfect voluntariness, which is the ideal for a man to act deliberately, is not always possible.
Sometimes, we act because emotions hold sway, or our impulse tells us to do so. There are
factors which influence man’s inner disposition toward certain actions and those are called the
modifiers of human acts.
1. Ignorance. It is the absence of knowledge which a person ought to possess. It may be
vincible, invincible, or affected ignorance.
  Vincible ignorance is that which we can be easily reminded or informed of just
like a street direction when one is just new in a place, or a person’s name when
one has newly met his companion.
 Invincible ignorance on the other hand is that which we lack awareness of
possessing it or, even if one is aware of such ignorance, he still lacks the means of
rectifying it. E.g. a cook may not be aware that the food he is serving is
contaminated.
 Affected ignorance is which a person keeps by positive effort just to escape
responsibility or blame, like refusing to read a memo to be exempted from the
requirements therein.

Principles involving ignorance:

a. Invincible Ignorance renders an act involuntary. A cook is not liable if he is not aware
that the food he is serving is contaminated. (therefore, the cook is not accountable)
b. Vincible ignorance lessens the voluntariness and corresponding accountability over the
act. A waiter who suspects that the food is contaminated has the moral obligation to
ascertain the fact. (can be accountable but not morally)
c. Affected ignorance decreases voluntariness but increases accountability over the act. A
child who refuses to be guided by his parents has only himself to blame for his
wrongdoings.

2. Passion or Concupiscence. The tendencies towards desirable objects, or away from

undesirable objects. It may be antecedent or consequent passions.
 Antecedent is that which precede an act. It is the reason behind for such
act like sweet and lengthy conversations because of love, or overnight
cries because of emotional pain. (indi mo hungod but because
passion/emotions triggered you to do the action)
 Consequent passions are intentionally aroused and kept thus, considered to
be voluntary. Consequent passion is the result of doing such act, like being
sexually aroused because of reading pornographic magazines.
Principles involving passion:
a. Antecedent passion renders voluntariness but lessens accountability over the resultant
act. A “crime of passion” is still voluntary but since passion interferes on the freedom of
the will, one’s accountability is diminished.
b. Consequent passion increases accountability. A person who does a rape due to being
sexually aroused for reading pornographic magazine is still fully accountable in any way.
 3. Fear. It is the disturbance of the mind of a person who is confronted by impending
danger or harm to himself or his loved ones.
Principle regarding fear.
a. Acts done because of intense fear or panic are involuntary thus, has no accountability. A
person who jumps in a building out of panic is involuntary does, may not be considered
as a suicide.

4. Violence. Refers to any physical force exerted on a person to make him act against his
will.
Principles regarding violence:
a. Actions performed by a person who is subjected to violence, to which reasonable
resistance has been offered, are involuntary and are not accountable. A person who is
tortured to make him not tell the truth, is not morally accountable if he tells a lie.
b. Elicited acts, or those which are performed by the will alone, are not subjected to
violence and thus, are voluntary.

5. Habits. The performance of certain acts with relative ease.

Principle regarding habit:
a. Actions done by habits are voluntary in cause, unless a reasonable effort is made to
counteract the habitual inclination. A heavy-drinker is accountable for whatever
consequence there may be for being an alcoholic. When a person decides to fight his
habit, actions resulting from such habit may be regarded as act of man and thus, renders
no accountability.

NORMS GOVERNING HUMAN ACTS:

Norms- standards which tell us what we can do and things which we are prohibited from doing
in the society.
Our actions are guided and are determined by the laws and our conscience.
1. Law. Is an ordinance of reason promulgated for the common good by the one who has
charge of the society (St.Thomas Aquinas).
 A law is an “ordinance of reason” because it is a rational deliberation intended to
guide men towards what is good for them. (there must be a valid reason for the law to
exist)
 A law is “promulgated” because it is known to people who are bound to observe it.
 A law is passed by “one who has charge of the society” because it can only be valid if
it is a legitimate exercise of the authority.
 2. Conscience. It came from the Latin word “conscientia” which means “trial of oneself”. It
is a practical judgment of reason(we all know if it is right or wrong) upon an individual
act as good and to be performed, or as evil to be avoided. Innate capacity to judge an
action if it is bad or good.
A “practical judgment” because the main function of conscience is to determine what ought
to be done in a given situation.
Types of Conscience:
1. Correct/ True conscience. Judges what is good as good and what is evil as evil.
(wla gasala/ very accurate ang judgement)
2. False/Erroneous conscience. Judges incorrectly what is good as evil and what is
evil as good.
3. Certain conscience. Implies that the person is sure of his certain decisions. (very
sure or accurate in making decisions)
4. Doubtful conscience. It is a vacillating conscience, unable to form a definite
judgment on a certain action. (uncertain in decision-making)
5. Scrupulous conscience. Is extremely afraid of committing evil. It is therefore
meticulous and wants proof before it acts. (as much as possible he wants to do
what is right)
6. Lax conscience. It refuses to be bothered by the distinction between what is good
and evil. It therefore rushes on and is quick to justify itself.
PRINCIPLES GOVERNING THE NORMS OF SOCIETY:
A. A certain conscience is to be obeyed, even when invisibly erroneous.
B. It is never lawful to act when in practical doubt. Moral certainty must be acquired.
C. One may employ the reflex principle that a doubtful law doesn’t bind, only when direct
means are available of fail to lead to certainty.
D. 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.
E. 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.
VALUE DEFINITION:

➢ It is the good of man’s positive attitude.

➢The goal or vision which motivates man to act.
➢The principle which guides man’s action and thinking.
➢ Is that which is important to us and are the bases of our choices, decisions, reactions and
behaviour. (important to you that is good)
➢The intrinsic worth of a thing.
KINDS OF VALUES
Values are classified according to the level of human life to which they correspond.
1. Biological values. These are necessary to the physical survival of man as an
organism. e.g. life & health, food & shelter, work
2. Social values. These are necessary to the essential needs and fulfilment. e.g.
leisure & sex, marriage, family & home, parental authority, education
(experienced in social interactions)
3. Rational values. These are necessary to the functions and fulfilment of the
intellect and will. e.g. understanding and control of nature, guide and control of
oneself, solidarity with fellowmen, religion
4. Aesthetic values. The appreciation of the natural and artistic beauty of things. e.g.
talent, elegance, grace, symmetry, colour
5. Moral values. These are experienced in social or individual conduct. e.g. values
of character and good will, concern, sympathy, charity, justice
6. Affective values. Experience in pleasant incidents. E.g. play, excitement,
comfort, delight in foods, drinks, sex, etc. (gapalipay cmu)
Here are other terms that are related to value:
1. Value system. Consists of independent values which are systematically arranged in
a pattern in which are subject to reciprocal or mutual variations.
 It is an enduring organization of beliefs concerning preferable modes of
conduct; the dominant motivation underlying the pattern of people’s
behaviour.
2. Valuation. The experience of attributing or assigning value to a thing, idea or event,
or a mere feeling of value.
3. Value judgment. A matter of appraisal, evaluating or assessing of the desirability of
things.
4. Good. Possesses desirable qualities of which satisfy some preferable needs.
Something which is positive or advantageous to everybody at all times.
5. Ideal. A standard or model of perfection, excellence, beauty, or goodness.
6. Norm. A rational concept of what ought to be a; a guide to what should be.

Guides in Value Selection

Every man has to choose his values. He is wise indeed who chooses values according to their
intrinsic worth. Our preference should be guided by the following:
1. Permanent or lasting values must be preferred over temporary or perishable values. e.g.
education over courtship
2. Values favoured by a greater number of people must be preferred over those that appeal
only to few. e.g. discipline over personal freedom
3. Essential values must be preferred over accidental ones. e.g. health over beauty
 4. Values that give greater satisfaction musts be preferred over those that give short-lived
pleasures. e.g. pursuing your artistic hobby over fanatical devotion to a movie star

REASONS FOR BEING MORAL

1. Self-interest. For your own good, so that the disposition of your life is fine
2. Divine command. To have a life with God
3. Common Interest. If everyone acts within their conscience may be there’s no crime,
chaos, and etc. the life will be peaceful.
4. Because it’s right

PRINCIPLES FOR ETHICAL LIFE

 Personality is the thing of greatest value. (Emotional quotient is preferred than
intellectual quotient)
 The values of life must be shared. (sharing is caring)
 Some worthwhile task should be sincerely pursued by everyone. (see to it that
what you are pursuing in life is worthwhile)
 A wide range of appreciation must be cultivated. (try to appreciate other
people, yourself, life for a positive disposition)
 For growth, one needs to live in the presence of the best. (don’t settle for less,
as long as you can try and try.
Take time to read…
Using Your Filipino Values Positively
Dr. Tomas Q.D. Andres
A Chinese proverb says that a journey of one thousand miles begins with one step. If the side of
the Filipino values has to have an impact on the national life, it cannot but begin from individual
person who desires and acts to live them.
You must first be aware of the negative Filipino values. You can classify them as 8 T’s:
“Tatamad-tamad, tatangatanga. tutulog-tulog, tsitsismis-tsismis, tatago-tago, tratraidor-traidor,
tsutsumi-tsumikap, and tataran-taranta.” These values may have influenced you, in one way or
another, and you must be sensitive to them.
But the most important part of your discipline in values is to be aware that values do not belong
to one category.
There are goal values- your aim and purpose in life-, and instrumental values- the way by which
you could attain the goal you prescribe to yourself.
The problem with the Filipino is that he often confuses goal value with instrumental values. Goal
values may vary according to one’s status: if one is a struggling student, his goal value could be
to become a doctor or a lawyer. But that would forever remain a dream if he does not
compliment it with an instrumental value. Students often falter in their studies, or else spend
years jumping from one course to another because their goal values are unclear- they do not
know what they want to be.
Ultimately, our goal values should be God and our fellowmen. Money and career are but
instrumental values to reach these goals and they are used negatively and become negative
values if they are our goal values. Think of some ofour countrymen could fool poor people by
having them hand in their hard-earned money for some promise of employment abroad. Troubles
erupt in our country because there is a misplacement of values.
You should establish your goal values and your instrumental values.

LESSON Moral & Non-moral Standards

Morality-is defined as the principle of what is considered to be right or wrong, of knowing of
what is good from what is bad.
Standards- Viewed as the set of norms or practices that measure a series of possible merit or
action. Moral standards therefore are viewed as a set of principles that serve as the actual
parameters or guides of how an action can be judged, whereas non-moral standards are
expressed and/or exhibited if there are inadequacies concerning the measures of how an action is
judged. The former is when a person uses his reason in evaluating an action while the latter is the
complete obverse, hence is arbitrary.
It was previously discussed that morality can be categorized into three. In rationally evaluating
an action whether it is moral (good act), non-moral (bad act), or amoral (indifferent act), take
note of the following criteria:

➢ Act (itself): whether the action itself is good or bad. (evaluate the nature of the action)

 Stealing is bad thus, non-moral.

 Taking down notes is good thus, moral.
 Eating cornik is neither good nor bad, thus amoral.

➢End: The goal or purpose of the act. (the reason why you did that act)
Take note, an act is only good if and only if its intention is also good otherwise, it becomes evil.
If one helps the needy for publicity or popularity, his act of giving (which is supposed to be
moral) becomes non-moral due to the evil intention for the act.

➢Circumstance: The surrounding factor affecting one’s choice. (ang time nga gn ubra mo ang
action)
 Having a boyfriend/girlfriend with no bad intention but despite being prohibited by your
parents in doing so (evil circumstance), becomes non-moral.
  Increasing the price of facemask due to very high demand amid the pandemic becomes
non-moral.
Take note, an act only becomes good if the act itself, the end, as well as the circumstance, are
also good.
Take note… Reasonableness becomes the actual backbone that makes an act ethical. Whatever
is moral is always reasonable and whatever is non-moral is non-reasonable. It is reasonable to
ask for assistance when needed thus, the act is moral. It is non-reasonable to steal when in need
of money thus, the act is non-moral.