Final Handouts in GEC 8 - Ethics

Prepared by: Ms. Rochelle S. Bobes, Instructor

CHAPTER III - HUMAN ACT

Lesson 1 - The Meaning of Human Act

Human act is an action that is considered to be carried out voluntarily, whereas an act of man is an involuntary action.

A human act is an act on which an individual can make a conscious decision whether or not to carry out an act. An act of
man is a natural act of vegetative and sense faculties such as digestion, the beating of the heart, growing, bodily
reactions and visual or auditory perceptions.

Determinants of Morality of human act:

1. The Object of an Act – it refers to the things done or the act itself. But for individual human act to be god, its
object, whether considered in itself or as further specified, must be free from all defect; it must be good, or at
least indifferent.
2. The End or Purpose – It refers to the intention of the acting subject, or what inspires the acting subject. “The end
does not justify the means”, no matter how good the object of an act may be, if the end intended is bad, the act
is thereby vitiated, spoiled or impaired.
3. The Circumstances – the circumstance of time, place and persons have their part in determining the morality of
an individual act. The moral character of an act may be so affected by attendant circumstances, that an act good
in itself may be evil when accompanied by certain circumstances. Circumstances either increase or diminish the
moral goodness or evil of human acts.

A morally good act requires the goodness of the object, of the end, and of the circumstances together. An evil end
corrupts the actions, even if the object is good in itself.

Lesson 2 – Accountability of Moral Act

Every human act is a free act so is imputable to him/her who performs it. There are three bases for moral accountability:
Knowledge, Freedom and Voluntariness.

1. Knowledge – human act must be done knowingly. For you to be morally responsible for your actions, you must
first have knowledge, that is, you are in the possession of a normal mind; you are not insane or totally ignorant,
sleep walking, etc.

Knowledge is the awareness of/or familiarity with a fact, situation, or truth, unveiled through experience or
disclosed in dialogue or encounter with persons or things.

2. Freedom – It must be done freely. This happens when you can exercise your power of choice. Your freedom
must not be impaired by an irresistible force or uncontrollable fear.

3. Voluntariness – it must be done voluntarily (intentional/negligent). An act is voluntary intended when it is done
with the aim, purpose or goal of attaining a result. An act is negligent when it is done voluntarily, but without
care or precautions in avoiding the happening of a foreseeable event.

Modifier of Human Act

There are various factors that either increase or decrease accountability. 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. They are as
follows:
1. Ignorance – Is the “absence of knowledge”. There are various degrees of ignorance:
Vincible (when it can be overcome by the due amount of diligence)
1
Final Handouts in GEC 8 - Ethics
Prepared by: Ms. Rochelle S. Bobes, Instructor

Invincible (when it cannot be overcome by the due amount of diligence)

Supine or Gross ignorance (when scarcely an effort has been made to remove it, and if a person deliberately
avoids enlightenment in order to sin more freely, his ignorance is affected).

2. Passion – refer to positive emotions like love, desire, delight, hope, and bravery; and negative emotions like
hatred, horror, sadness, despair, fears and anger.

Antecedent passion –those that precede the act, do not always destroy voluntariness, but they diminish
accountability for the resultant act.
Consequent Passion – are those that are intentionally aroused and kept. They do not lessen voluntariness but
may increase accountability.

3. Fear – is the disturbance of the mind of a person due to an impending danger or harm to himself or loved ones.
Act done with fear is voluntary but acts done because of intense or uncontrollable fear or panic is 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. Actions performed by person subjected to violence or irresistible forces are
involuntary and not accountable.

Lesson 3 – Feelings as Modifier of Moral Decision-Making

Feeling in general, is an emotional state or reaction, experience of physical sensations, like feeling of joy, feeling
or warmth, love, affection, tenderness, etc. Feelings are instinctive and trained response to moral dilemma. They can be
obstacles to making right decisions but they can also help in making the right decision.

Advantages of emotional decision making:

1. A totally emotional decision is very fast in comparison to a rational decision.
2. Emotions may provide a way for coding and compacting experience, enabling fast response selection.
3. Decision that starts with logic may need emotions to enable the final selection, particularly when confronted
with near equal options.
4. Emotions often drive us in directions conflicting with self-interest.

Disadvantages of emotional decision making:

1. We make quick decisions without knowing why, and then create rational reasons to justify a poor emotional
decision.
2. Intensity of emotion can override rational decision-making in cases where it is clearly needed.
3. Immediate and unrelated emotions can create mistakes by distorting and creating bias in judgement.
4. Projected emotions can lead to errors because people are subject to systemic inaccuracy about how they will
feel in the future.

Moral statements as expressions of feelings

An emotional statement is not verifiable like factual statements.

Emotivism – is the view that moral judgement do not function as statement of fact but rather as expressions of the
speaker’s or writer’s feelings.

2
Final Handouts in GEC 8 - Ethics
Prepared by: Ms. Rochelle S. Bobes, Instructor

Acting on one’s convictions implies involvement of both reason and feelings. One teaches effectively when he/she
touches the heart. This is the main feature of values education that works. To be an ethical person, one must manage
his/her feelings well.

Lesson 4 – Reason and Impartiality as Minimum Requirements for Morality

Moral judgement must be backed up by good reason and impartiality. Morality requires the impartial
consideration of each individual’s interests.

Reason and Impartiality refer to a mental activity following the basic principle of consistency, the lack of contradiction
between one idea and another.

Scott Rae’s 7 steps of Moral reasoning:

The following is another sample method of arriving at an ethical or moral decision:
1. Gather the facts/information.
2. Determine the ethical issue/statement of the problem
3. Determine the principles that have a learning in the case
4. List the alternatives or develop a list of options
5. Compare the alternatives with the virtues/principles
6. Consider the consequences or test options
- Harm test
- Publicity test
- Defensibility test
- Reversibility test
- Colleague test
- Professional test
- Organization test
7. Make a decision

Values Clarification
Moral reasoning either arrive at what is right or wrong, good or bad. Values clarification method as a part of the
moral reasoning model consists of a series of questions which one may ask himself or others in order to arrive at one’s
true vales that he possesses and acts upon.

The following consist of the steps of the values clarification model:

1. Choosing freely
2. Choosing from alternatives
3. Choosing after thoughtful consideration
4. Prizing and being happy with the choice
5. Prizing and willing to affirm the choice publicly
6. Acting on the choice
7. Acting repeatedly in some pattern of life

Critique: Creative Responsibility

One significant guide to oral reasoning process is what ethicist like Fr. Gorospe termed as “creative
responsibility”. A creative response:
1. Involves positive human action
2. Creates a response
3
Final Handouts in GEC 8 - Ethics
Prepared by: Ms. Rochelle S. Bobes, Instructor

3. Means to choose from among many possible fitting responses

4. Individual must be in constant dialogue with the community

Creative responsibility is responding silently or verbally to a call and address an ethical problem creatively by
considering all possible points of view, thinking outside the box, using relevant frameworks.

Lesson 5 – The Difference Between Reason and Will

The moral person is endowed with an intellect and will. The will is “what disposes” what the intellect “disposes”.
Reason conducts the study, research, investigation, fact-finding. It uses logic, the principle of consistency, avoids
fallacious reasoning to come up with a truthful and accurate propositions.

The Will is the faculty of the mind that is associated with decision making. It’s the one that says yes or no.
Free Will is the ability to choose between different possible courses of action unimpeded, the power or right to act,
speak, or think as one wants.

To say that one is free when there is an absence of obstacle is to give a picture of a weak person who cannot walk to get
out of his room despite an open door. Freedom must not be only understood as the absence of obstacle; it must be an
autonomous energy.

The Courage to Be
“Purity of the heart is to will one thing. But to will one thing, needs courage” (Kierkegaard). Courage is the
affirmation of being in spite of non-being. “Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time we fall”.
Courage is not giving up because of seatbacks and failures; It is keeping right on keeping on.

CHAPTER IV – FRAMEWORKS AND PRINCIPLE BEHIND MORAL FRAMEWORKS

Lesson 1 – The Meaning of Ethical Frameworks

An Ethical Framework is a set of codes that an individual uses to guide his/her behavior. It is just another term
for “moral standards”. It is used to determine the moral object of an action. The various dominant metal frames may be
classified as follows:

For Virtue Ethics, what is moral is what a virtuous person does.

For St. Thomas, what is right is what follows the natural law which is “do good and avoid evil”.
For the Deontological and Duty Framework, what is right is based on the categorical, imperative, that is, one
must act such act as such that his/her maxim will be the maxim of all.
For the Utilitarianist, teleological and consequential ethical framework, what is ethical is what has good consequences.
For the Love and Justice Framework, what is ethical is what are just and loving.

Lesson 2 – Aristotle’s Virtue of Ethics

An ethical act is the action that a virtuous person would do in the same circumstances. Virtue ethics is person-
based rather that action-based. It looks at the virtue or moral character of the person carrying out an action, rather than
at ethical duties and rules or the consequences of particular actions.

The rightness or wrongness of one’s action, or the goodness or badness of one’s personality depends on his character,
motivations and intentions. It is an ethics whose goal is to determine what is essential to being a well-functioning or
flourishing human person.

4
Final Handouts in GEC 8 - Ethics
Prepared by: Ms. Rochelle S. Bobes, Instructor

Basic Types of Virtues:

1. Intellectual Virtue – refer to excellence of the mind that includes ability to understand, reason and judge well.
2. Moral Virtue – refer to person’s dispositions to act well.

Virtue as a Mean
For Aristotle, virtue is the Golden Mean between two extremes. The virtue of courage is a mean between two
extremes of deficiency and extreme, namely, cowardice and foolhardiness. Too little courage is cowardice and too much
courage is foolhardiness (Mackinnon, et al 2015)

Virtue Ethics in Other Traditions

A. Confucius emphasized two virtues:
1. jen (ren) – means humaneness, human heartedness and compassion
2. li – means propriety, manners or culture
B. Hinduism emphasizes
Basic moral virtues: Mental Virtues:
1. Non-violence 1. Calmness
2. Truthfulness 2. Self-control
3. Honesty 3. Self-settledness
4. Chastity 4. Forbearance
5. Freedom from greed 5. Faith and complete concentration
6. Hunger for spiritual liberation
C. Buddhism also has its
1. Intellectual virtues: Right understanding and right mindfulness
2. Moral virtues: right speech, right action and right livelihood
D. Jesus Christ preachers the virtues:
1. Love
2. Mercy and Compassion
3. Hunger for justice
4. Patience
5. Kindness
6. Gentleness
7. Self-control
E. St. Thomas Aquinas taught that theological virtues:
1. Faith
2. Hope
3. Love
F. Christian tradition teachers four cardinal moral virtues:
1. Prudence
2. Justice
3. Temperance
4. Fortitude

The virtuous person did not inherit his/her virtues. Neither was these virtues simply passed on to him
automatically. His being a person of virtues a product of deliberate, consistent, continuous choice and practice of living
the virtue of virtues. Virtue diffuses itself in the right action.

5
Final Handouts in GEC 8 - Ethics
Prepared by: Ms. Rochelle S. Bobes, Instructor

Lesson 3 – St. Thomas’ Natural Law Ethics

Natural Law is the ordinance of Divine Wisdom, which is made known to us by reason and which requires the
observance of the moral order. It may also be defined as the Eternal Law as far as it is made known by human reason.
Eternal Law is what God will for creation. We are part of God’s creation and so we are part of God’s eternal laws.

A Law is an ordinance of reason promulgated for the common good by one. There are many types of laws:
1. Eternal Law – id Divine Wisdom that directs all beings towards their end, God Himself.
2. Natural Law – is the law written in the hearts of men. It has several characteristics:
- Flows from the intrinsic difference between right and wrong, which is determined by the very essences of
things
- The same at all times, in all places and in all person
- Emanates from God alone
- Promulgated through the light of reason
3. Positive Laws – are those enacted by God or men and characterized by:
- Depends on the free will of God
- Not the same at all times, places and for all persons
- May be changed with changing circumstances, or, if the law-givers so wills it, even w/o change in
crcumstances
- Requires for their promulgation a sin external to person
4. Divine Law – is decreed by God in the ten Commandments and in the new commandment of love taught and
exemplified by Jesus Christ
5. Human Law – laws promulgated by persons

Lesson 4 – Kant’s Deontological Ethics: The Duty Framework

The term deontological has its roots from the Greek “Deon” which means “duty”. Hence deontological ethics
focuses on duty, obligation, and rights instead of consequences or ends. Kant’s famous formula for discovering our
ethical duty is known as the “categorical imperative”. The most basic form of the imperative is: “Act only according to
that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law”.

Ethical conduct is defined by doing one’s duties and doing the right thing, and the goal is performing the correct
action. An action I right if it can coexist with everyone’s freedom in accordance with a universal law, or if on its maxim
the freedom of choice of each can coexist with everyone’s freedom in accordance with a universal law.

What is legal must be at the same time moral. An action is legally right if it is at the same time in accordance
with universal laws, that is, in accordance with the categorical imperative.

An act is said to be right or wrong depending on whether it is done with or without good will. The rightness or
wrongness of the action depends on one’s good will or intentions.

Ought implies I can: One is obliged only to do what he/she can where he/she is. Your ability to perform an
obligation is determined by your degree of freedom. One can no more be responsible than what he can knowingly,
freely, and voluntarily do.

Lesson 5 – Utilitarianism: The Consequentialist Ethical Framework

6
Final Handouts in GEC 8 - Ethics
Prepared by: Ms. Rochelle S. Bobes, Instructor

Utilitarianisms as a moral principle is “the principle of utility or the greatest happiness principle”. It is also
phrased as “the principle of the greatest good of the greatest number”. This is the quality and quantity criteria.
Utilitarianism is a form of Consequentialism focusing on the consequences of action, in contrast with deontology. There
are two versions, namely:
Act Utilitarianism – consider the consequences of some articular act such as keeping or breaking one’s promise.
Rule Utilitarianism – consider the consequences of some practice or rule of behavior (eg. the practice of
promise-keeping and promise braking)

Lesson 6 – The Love and Justice Framework

The Principle of Love

There are three well-known concepts of love originating from the Greeks, namely: Agape or Charity; Erotic or
passionate sexual encounter and Philia or the affection between friends. Agape is the love principle preached by Jesus
Christ. St. Thomas defined it as “willing the good of another”. In the language of contemporary thinkers, this is love as
“affirmation of the other’s being; being with other; being conscious of the other’s presence”.

Justice and Fairness: Promoting the common good as a moral framework

A. Social Justice – is equal access to wealth, opportunities, and privileges within the society. Hence, promotion of
social justice is equivalent to promotion of common good. According to Plato, justice means giving what is due
by doing one’s own function.
B. Justice as the minimum demand of love – to do justice is already an act of love, which means that love is more,
gives more than what is just.
C. Distributive Justice – justice that is concerned with the distribution or allotment of goods, duties, and privileges
in concert with the merit of individuals and the best interests of society. The following have features of
distributive justice:
1. Egalitarianism – everyone is entitled to due process of law and equal protection of law.
2. Capitalist and Free-market system – let the law of demand and supply follows its course. It means no control
or regulation on the supply and demand.
3. Socialism – This requires collective ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange with
the aim of operating for use rather than for profit.
4. Taxation – It is government’s getting a part of what its people earn in order to have money to spend for
public services.
5. Protection and Preservation of Public Welfare – The government has power granted by the constitution to
govern, to make, to adopt, and enforce laws for the protection and preservation of public health, justice,
morals, order, safety, and security and welfare.
6. Property for public use – The government has a constitution-granted power to take private property for
public use with just compensation.

CHAPTER V – GLOBALIZATION AND ITS CRITICAL CHALLENGES

Lesson 1 – Globalization and Pluralism: New Challenges Ethics

Globalization means the erosion of national boundaries and the reduced significance of national governments. It
is moving from a world with boarders to a world without. Nation states will remain in existence but they have to

7
Final Handouts in GEC 8 - Ethics
Prepared by: Ms. Rochelle S. Bobes, Instructor

work together with other centers of power such as 1. Transnational corporations, 2. Inter-governmental
organizations and 3. Non-governmental organizations.

Jan Scholte (2005), an expert in globalization, gave five different interpretations of globalization, namely:
1. Internationalization – refers to cross-border relations between countries.
2. Liberalization – focuses on open, borderless world economy.
3. Universalization – refers to the various ways in which a synthesis of cultures has taken place
4. Modernization/Westernization – refers to the ways that social structures of modernity have spread
throughout the world
5. Deterritorialization – means that in a highly globalized world, social space is no longer wholly mapped in
terms of territorial places and borders.

Moral challenges of Globalization

Along with globalization come ethical and moral issues. If the values of people are influenced by culture, then
globalization where people are exposed to new ways of doing things further enhances moral development, particularly
global moral consciousness. The challenges lie in the willingness of people used to thinking and assessing things within
the smaller context to adjust to a wider worldview. The greatest good of the greatest number is no longer the greatest
good of the greatest number within the localities but the greatest good of the greatest number of the citizens in the
world.
The moral challenges of globalization are:
1. To expand moral and ethical consciousness
2. To observe global ethics
3. To find common grounds among pluralistic societies and build on what is orally best for all parties and not
what is legal or lawful
4. To engage in genuine dialogue with fundamentalists toward mutual understanding and affirmation.

Global problems or issues that require corresponding ethical considerations:

1. Global Poverty
2. Migration
3. Environmental Ethics
4. Pluralism and Fundamentalism
Pluralism – is the recognition and affirmation of diversity within a political body, which permits the peaceful
coexistence of different interest, convictions and lifestyles.
Fundamentalism – refer to any set or movement within a religion that emphasizes a rigid adherence to what it
conceives of as the fundamental principles of its faith, usually resulting in a denouncement of alternative
practices and interpretations.

Lesson 2 – Millenials and Fillenials: Ethical Challenges and Responses

Who are Millenials? Those who were born from 1981 to 1996. They are also known as Generation Y. They were
preceded by Generation X (1965 to1980) and were followed by Generation Z who was born from 1997 to 2012
(Dimock, M.)

8
Final Handouts in GEC 8 - Ethics
Prepared by: Ms. Rochelle S. Bobes, Instructor

Based on research, Millenials are:

1. Confident
2. Have high self-esteem
3. Assertive
4. Achievement-focused
5. More willing to put forth extra effort to help an organization succeed
6. Feel accountable for their actions
7. Enjoy working in teams
8. Tolerant of diversity
9. Family-focused and have a better work/life balance
10. Utilize technology a lot
11. Socially responsible
Common complaints against Millenials are:
1. Lacking in social skills
2. Overly service-focused
3. Impatient for change
4. Demanding; “want-it-all, want-it-now” generation
5. To confident
6. Lacking in work ethics
7. Overambitious
8. Lower level of cognitive reasoning

Millenials in the Philippines are called “Fillenials”. They are characterized by the following:
1. Fillenials are very passionate because they want to be better than their parents.
2. They are describes as social media dependent and also “selfie-generation”.
3. They are spendthrifts who usually spend for luxury goods and so are also described as “broke”
4. They are also described as “narcissist”, the Me-Me-Me Generation.
5. Fun loving, self-expressive and liberal
6. Politically and socially engaged
7. Have short attention span

The YOLO (You Only Live Once) Mindset/Carpe Diem by Horace

Fillenials are generally considered as the type who has a YOLO mindset who live at the moment and are
adventurous. YOLO is a catchphrase among Millenials and Fillenials that strengthens them to live life to the fullest.
However, it makes them more daring and reckless with life itself.

Lesson 3 – The Religious Response: The Role of Religion in Ethics

Ethics is concerned with what is good and moral based on reason. This is what religion is also concerned about,
what is moral based on God’s revelation. So religion is not contrary to ethics, instead a support to ethics. One should
not feel so much sorry for people whom we think live a religionless or aetheistic life. The ultimate assessment of
one’s life should be based on what one does, his/her love for their fellowmen. Both ethics and religion are
concerned with the most fundamental questions of human existence.

End of Final Coverage!

9
Final Handouts in GEC 8 - Ethics
Prepared by: Ms. Rochelle S. Bobes, Instructor

10