MAN:

The Moral Agent

( On Vice and Virtue)
Lesson Objectives:
• Distinguish the nature of virtue from vice

• Explain the relation of Moral Choices to Man as

a Virtuous Being

• Establish the relation of individual acts to moral

character
• Character is “the mental and moral qualities
distinctive to an individual” (Oxford English
Dictionary, 11th edition). Disposition is “a
person’s inherent qualities of mind and
character” (Ibid). Habit is “the regular tendency
or practice” (Ibid).
• Moral Character on the other hand, refers to
the total qualities of a human person which
contain the nature of his/her choices (whether
these choices are good or evil) observed in
his/her actions. This is also seen in his/her
disposition toward things.
The Distinction of Virtue from Vice

• ‘Individual Acts Make Character ’

• “It is by harping that good harpers and bad harpers alike are
produced: and so with builders and the rest; by building well they
will become good builders, and bad builders by building
badly…And it is just the same with the virtues also. It is by our
conduct in our intercourse with other men that we become just or
unjust, and by acting in circumstances of danger, and training
ourselves to feel fear or confidence, that we become courageous
or cowardly…acts of any kind produce habits or
characters of the same kind. Hence, we ought to make
sure that our acts be of a certain kind; for the resulting
character varies as they vary.” (Aristotle, Nicomachean
Ethics, 35-36).
• Activity 1

• From the notes given on Individual Acts makes

Character, elaborate your understanding on
how does a virtuous act differ from vice.

• B) Observe and discuss what conditions are

involved, ex., will, choice, freedom, etc.
On Virtue, Vice, and, Habit

• Now, since a man does more easily that which he

has done before and the more often the
repetition of an act, the easier becomes its
performance. Moreover, human acts tend to
form habits. Since humans are moral agents, the
habit of performing any human act will be a
moral habit. If it is a good moral habit, it is a
virtue otherwise if it is an evil habit, it is called a
vice.
(“On Virtue, Vice, and Habit”)

Hence, “vice and virtue are not matters of a

single human act, nor of an act once or twice
repeated, but of an act frequently repeated (Glenn,
Ethics, 1968)
Self Assessment Questions (for forum purposes)

• How are the quotes below related to the

claim on Man as the Moral Agent?
Assessment on Man as the Moral Agent (Vice and
Virtue)

1. What do you think is the reason of not doing

what we know to be right and not avoiding what
we know to be evil? Discuss briefly.

2. Under what condition/s can man possess what

we call morally vicious character or morally
virtuous character?
RELATED READINGS/SOURCES:

• Babor, Eddie. Bioethics. C & E Publication, Quezon City, 2010.

•
• Glenn, Paul. Ethics, National Bookstore, Quezon City, 1930.
•
• Palma-Angeles, Antonette. "Cultural Drivers of Corruption in Business and Governance." In Business
Ethics in Asia: Issues and Cases, edited by Oscar G. Bulaong Jr., Ike Danita Dewi, and J. Sedfrey
Santiago, Quezon City, PH: Ateneo de Manila University Press, 2014.
•
• Martin, Mike. Everyday Morality, Wadsworth Thomson Learning Inc., Canada, 2001.
•
• Que, Nemesio S., S.J, "Notes on Moral Deliberation." Introduction to course notes for PH104:
Foundations of Moral Value. Ateneo de Manila University
•
• Rachels, James .The Elements of Moral Philosophy. 4th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill College, 2004
•
• Rae, Scott, "A Model for Moral Decision Making" Chapter 1, Beyond Integrity.
•
• Reyes, Ramon Castillo. "Relation between Ethics and Religious Belief." In Moral Dimension: Essays
in Honor of Ramon Castillo Reyes, edited by Nemesio S. Que, S.J., Oscar G. Bulaong Jr., and Michael
Ner E. Mariano, 107-12. Quezon City, PH: Office of Research
•
• Werhane, Patricia H. Moral Imagination and Management Decision Making. New York: Oxford
University Press, 1999.