FUNDAMENTAL

PRINCIPLES OF
ETHICS
The Nature of Human Act
Human Acts in Relation to Reason
The Voluntaries of Human Acts
The Determinants of Morality
THE NATURE OF THE
HUMAN ACT
• Human Acts are actions that
proceed from the deliberate free
will of man.
HUMAN ACTS ARE
CHARACTERIZED AS:
The free and voluntary acts of man

Acts done with knowledge and consent

Acts which are proper to man as

rational being since man has been gifted
with rationality and freedom of will

Acts which are conscious and under our

control and for which we are responsible
• Acts of man, on the other hand,
refer to certain types of actions
that are naturally exhibited by man
and as such they are morally
indifferent (or neutral) because we
cannot judge them to be either
ethical or unethical
Two categories of
ACTS OF MAN
1. Natural involuntary actions-
these are actions of man that
are performed intuitively or
involuntarily
2. Natural voluntary actions- these
actions that are within the control of
man’s will but only for some period of
time.

. It is important to note, however, that

there are special circumstances where
some acts of man, particularly the
natural voluntary action, may become
human acts and therefore may be
judged to either moral or immoral
HUMAN ACTS IN RELATION
TO REASON
• Good acts are those done by man in
harmony with dictates of right
reason
• Evil Acts are those actions done by
man in contradiction to the dictates
of right reason
• Indifferent acts are those that are
neither good nor evil.
VOLUNTARIES OF THE
HUMAN ACTS
• Voluntary acts have moral
bearing

• Human acts are performed by

man with knowledge and consent,
he is therefore responsible for his
actions
Categories of
VOLUNTARY ACTIONS
1. Perfect voluntariness- actions
performed with full knowledge and
with full consent
2. Imperfect voluntariness- actions
that occur when there is no perfect
knowledge or consent, or when either
or both of the knowledge or consent is
partial
Categories of
VOLUNTARY ACTIONS
3. Direct Voluntary- actions that are
intended for its own sake, either as
a means or as an end
4. Indirect voluntary- actions that
are not intended for its own sake
but which merely follows as a
regrettable consequence of an
action
THE MORAL PRINCIPLE
INVOLVED IN ACTIONS
HAVING TWO EFFECTS (THE
INDIRECT VOLUNTARY ACT)
Conditions:
1. The action must be morally
good itself, or at least morally
indifferent
2. The good effect of the act must
precede the evil effect. The evil
effect is morally allowed to happen
as regrettable consequence
3. There must be a grave or sufficient
reason in doing the act
4. The evil effect should not outweigh
the good effect or, at least, the
good effect should be equivalent in
importance to the evil act
DETERMINANTS OF
MORALITY
• These are the factors that link
human acts with their norm
• It serves as the measure of the
goodness and the evilness of the
human act
THREE DETERMINANTS OF
MORALITY
1. The End of Action - this refers to the
natural purpose of the act or that in
which the act in its very nature
terminates or results, thus, the end of
action of studying is learning
2. The End of Actor- this refer to the
intention or the motive of the doer of
the act. The motive of the agent varies
with different individuals, while the end
of act is always the same
3. Circumstances of the Act- refer to
the conditions that affect the human
act by increasing or decreasing the
responsibility of the actor. These
circumstances of the act are not
considered part of the action itself
which means that act per se can exist
even without the circumstances
CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE ACT BECAUSE THEY CAN
EITHER AGGRAVATE OR MITIGATE THE CULPABILITY
OF THE ACTOR

• Who- refers to the person or the

one to whom the act is ascribed’
• What- refers to the quality or the
quantity of the object of the act
• Where- refers to the place where the
act is performed
• How- refers to the manner or
mode by which the act is performed
• By what means- refers to the
means employed by the actor
• When- refers to the
circumstances of time
• Why- refers to the
circumstances of end or intention of the
act