School of Education, Arts and Sciences

Christian Faith Education Department

LEARNING MODULE
CFED 1023 (Christian Morality in Our Times)

Lesson 3: BASIC CONCEPTS IN MORALITY

Topics: Meaning and Purpose of Morality

The Presuppositions of Morality
Human Acts and Acts of Man

Learning Outcomes: At the end of this module, you are expected to:

a. Explain the Purposes of Morality;

b. Explicate the Causes and Implications of Morality;
c. Elaborate the Object of Morality; and
d. Differentiate Human Acts from Acts of Man.

LEARNING CONTENT:

Morality is an encompassing concept that serves as the underlying force for every action
of an individual and of a society. Morality takes the crucial role of formulating, establishing, and
setting ethical norms of conduct that govern the behaviors and actions of an individual or group of
individuals to achieve harmony, unity, and order within a society.

Purposes of Morality:

Why do we need to follow certain standards or sets of norms? In our past discussions, we answered this
by saying that we need norms since some of the faculties of the human person like freedom and his/her passions
can be exercised in an abusive manner or even destructive to the person himself/herself and others. Going
deeper, why do we need to use our faculties in a wise or good way? Will it lead us to a higher end? This will tell
us that there are noble reasons why we need to follow a set of norms which are the below:

A. For the Fullness of Freedom ---- for the human

person to be free
- God created the human person as a rational
being, conferring him/her the dignity of an
individual who can initiate and control his/her
actions. God willed that man/woman should be
‘left in the hand of his/her counsel’ so that she/he
will, of his/her own accord, seek his/her Creator
and freely attain his/her full blessed perfection.
Man/Woman is “rational and, therefore, like God.
He/She is created with free will and is master over his/her acts.” So, norms are not prohibitions or
 imprisonment for the human person but are guides for him/her to be free. To clarify this, what will happen
to you if you do whatever you want? This is the young’s perception of freedom. If I do whatever I want
like I will just steal others’ property or even kill someone, what will happen to me? It is either I will end up
in the prison cell or I will go hiding. Doing whatever I want will make me unfree. So, freedom does not
mean I will do whatever I want, but I will always do anything so long as it is good for me and others.
Freedom is aimed at the perfection of the human person.

B. A Guide to the Fullness of Human Development

- Moral development is part of human development. Moral development is the process through which
children develop proper attitudes and behaviors toward other people in society, based on social and
cultural norms, rules, and laws.
- Moral development is a concern for every parent. Teaching a child to distinguish right from wrong and
to behave accordingly is a goal of parenting.
- Moral development is a complex issue that—since the beginning of human civilization—has been a
topic of discussion among some of the world's most distinguished psychologists, theologians, and culture
theorists.
- Material progress that does not follow moral norms and which others still consider as development
is not so. Examples of this are the jet fighters, bombs, and others. These are not developments but are
aimed at destruction; destruction of human lives or destruction of things, and nature.
So, developments whether scientific, social, economic, or others should always follow norms of morality,
or else, they are aimed at the destruction of many things as mentioned above.

C. A Guide towards Reality (truth of things, life)

- Morality is a guide for the human person to discover reality or the truth of things, and life. This will lead
the human person to discover the hierarchy of values until the ultimate value of life and all things. So,
this will help the human person to set his/her priorities in life until her/his attainment of the ultimate
goal which is the eternal union and happiness with his/her Creator.

D. A Guide towards Meaning of Life

- As mentioned above, morality or always doing good will allow the human person to discover the real
value of things and life which in the end will let him/her experience the true meaning of life.

E. the Entrance of Eternal Life into the Life of the Human Person
- After following the moral norms, discovering the truth and real value of all things, and bringing
himself/herself to perfection, the human person will be able to reach his/her final destiny which is to
enter the kingdom of God. Morality reveals and leads the human person to his/her ultimate
end/destiny.

After finding out the Purposes of Morality, let us go back to the causes of why there is morality. Although
these were implied in the discussions above, we will enumerate and briefly explain them for clarification
purposes.
MORALITY PRESUPPOSES the following:

1. The existence of God

Morality points us to the existence of the Creator of all things who is good and perfect and whom we call
“God”. Since this Creator is good or perfect, He/She also gave us a guide to attain total goodness or perfection.

2. Intellect and Free Will

Intellect, freedom, will, and passions need moral norms so that they are not to be abused, misused, or
overused.

3. Ultimate Destiny
As discussed above, moral norms are guides for the human person to attain his/her ultimate destiny
which is the Kingdom of God or eternal happiness with God.

4. Accountability to an Ultimate value

Morality tells us that there are ultimate values or ends that we will be accountable for (responsible) or we
will face the consequences later if we do not follow the norms. This ultimate value is our final destiny which is
the Kingdom of God.

OBJECT OF MORALITY

We have been talking about norms, rules, standards, or laws which is being used by morality to judge our
actions. To clarify this, what does morality judge as good or bad? Is it the human person or his actions? It is the
action of the human person. To be very specific, what kind of action needs to be judged as good or bad? There
are two kinds of acts which are the so-called human acts and acts of man. Which of these two should be
moralized? While human acts and acts of man both pertain to the actions or behaviors of an individual or group
of individuals, they must be delineated to discern which brings moral responsibility.

Human Acts are actions that are proper to humans, thus the crucial element of willful consent and
knowledge of the action must be present. One must freely use his/her intellect and free will when acting. Human
acts reveal the value of responsibility or accountability. Eating healthy foods, reading notes in preparation for an
exam, and saying no to drugs are just a few examples.

Acts of Man are the actions that do not reflect the person as a rational being. The actions are performed
without conscious deliberation or knowledge and with the absence of free will. Acts of man constitute
unconscious and involuntary actions. Examples are one’s way of sleeping, suddenly catching a falling object,
one’s way of walking, reacting instinctively when touching a very hot surface, and the like. These are done
without the use of free will and reason. Some of these just happen naturally as automatic responses to the
situations.

HUMAN ACTS ACTS OF MAN

Deliberate Indeliberate
Free Not free
Voluntary Involuntary
Conscious “Unconscious”
Willful Unwillful
Known “Unknown”
Aware “Unaware”
CONSTITUENTS OF HUMAN ACTS

1. Human acts are known and deliberate. An individual, as the moral agent, has full knowledge of doing
a certain action. There is prior knowledge and a deliberate evaluation of whether to do an action or not.

2. Human acts are free. An individual as the moral agent is free from any external factors as well as internal
pressure to do the act. He/She is neither forced nor intimidated to do or not to do something.

3. Human acts are voluntary. The action proceeds from the willingness of an individual to act with a
perceived knowledge of the end.

With the given distinction above, it is now very clear that we cannot moralize acts of man but the Human Acts
Morality therefore covers human acts and not acts of man.

*****END OF LESSON*****
 EVALUATION:

Read each statement below carefully. Write T on the line if you think a statement is TRUE. Write an F on the
line if you think the statement is FALSE. (2 points each)

1. With the help of morality, we can be able to achieve peace, integrity of creation, and justice. T
2. Norms are not prohibitions or imprisonment for the human person. T
3. Freedom is aimed at the perfection of the human person's soul. F
4. Moral development is the process in which human develop their identity and personality-like attitude. F
5. Morality is a guide for the human person to discover reality or the truth of things. T
6. Morality points us not just to the existence of the Creator but also to his perfectness. T
7. An example of the Human Act are being hungry, sneezing, and being sad. F
8. Act of Man is with the absence of freedom and awareness. T
9. Morality reveals a human person to the achievements of his/her dreams. F
10. Morality therefore covers acts of man and not human acts. F

REFERENCES:
Books:

Living A Christian Moral Life (150 years of CICM in the Philippines) by CICM Philippines

Salbay, Esteban Jr., (2008). Christian Morality in Contemporary Society. C & E Publishing, Inc.

Online References:

Encyclopedia of Children’s Health: Moral Development. Retrieved February 08, 2021 from
http://www.healthofchildren.com/M/Moral-
Development.html#:~:text=Moral%20development%20is%20the%20process,norms%2C%20rules%2C%20and
%20laws.

The Sentinel: Moral Values and Importance of Moral Education. Retrieved February 08, 2021 from
https://www.sentinelassam.com/editorial/moral-values-and-importance-of-moral-education/

Picture credits:

Morality: https://catholicnewstt.com/index.php/2017/08/24/aspiring-higher-morality/