Types of Conscience

A. Correct Conscience sees the good as good, the evil as evil. It comes from
enlightenment; from refined moral sensibility, or from the habit of doing good.
The correct conscience is the result of sound upbringing, education, good habits,
and intelligent laws.

B. Erroneous Conscience sees evil as something good. Erroneous conscience comes

from malice, ignorance, bad habits, and bad influence.

C. Doubtful Conscience is a vacillating conscience, unsure of itself.

D. Scrupulous Conscience is overly cautious, meticulous, and fearful of committing a

mistake.

E. Lax Conscience is indifferent, unmindful of right or wrong.

Compulsory Conscience

“Our bond with the natural moral law” writeBernanrd Haring, “is an exalted participation
in the eternal law of God manifested by our conscience whose natural function it is to
reveal our likeness to God”.

When conscience operates in the realm of truth and sound reason, it is compulsory to
listen to it. It is only when conscience urges us to act according to our rational insights
that it is aptly the “voice of God”. But when conscience deviates from the norm and urges
us to do what is unreasonable, it is “our own evil work”.

Conformity and Non-conformity

The conformity or non-conformity of a human act with the norms constitutes morality.
We recall the definition of Aristotle of the good as that which fits the function. For
example, it fits the function of a talented singer to sing well. Similarly, it fits the function
of a decent and honorable person to do what is honorable.

The same may be said of evil actions. Some actions do not fit the dignity and nobility of
man as man. Like the junk food does not fit the health of a person, immoral acts do not fit
the human soul.
Formal and Material Norms

Formal norms relate to formation of character, what kind of person we ought to be. These
consist of such directives towards character development, such as “be honest”, “be
direct”, “be respectful”, etc. (Example: Being respectful to parent is explicit at all times)
The directives of formal norms are permanent and unchangeable because they are the
requirements of natural law.

Material norms relate to actions, what actions we ought to do. Material norms are
determined whether an act on account of its nature conforms or does not conform with
the formal norms. The directives of material norms are temporary and changeable
because they are the result of rational evaluation.

Moral Relativism

Moral relativism is possible because the human mind, being finite and limited, does not
always grasp the moral significance of certain acts or event. Thus, debates would
continue on whether death penalty, divorce, abortion, gay marriage, or euthanasia is
morally permissible. Moral relativism is also descriptive of cultural difference.

However, there are absolute truths and principles of morals. Man seeks the good that fits
his nature is a universally accepted truth. That“do to others what you want others do to
you” and do not do unto others what you don’t want others do to you” is a universally
accepted truth. That man deserves to be punished for his evil deeds is yet another
universally accepted truth. The trouble is that people may not agree how these truths
apply.

Physicalism vs. Personalism

Physicalism suggest that the physical and biological nature of man determines morality.
Morality is in accordance with the natural order in the universe. Anything opposed to
man’s physical, physiological, or biological tendencies is wrong and immoral.

Personalism suggests that reason is the standard for moral judgment. Right reason, or
“recta ratio”, is the dynamic tendency in the human person to know the truth, to grasp the
whole reality as it is. Morality is in accordance with the order of reason, or the dictate of
reason.
 CHAPTER 8

HUMAN VALUES

The Meaning of Values

A value is anything which satisfies a human need. Value is identical to that which is good
defined by Aristotle as “fitting a function”.

Anything which enriches our experience of life is a value, such as a person, a

relationship, a feeling, an object, a place, an event, an opportunity, a profession, a work, a
travel, or a state of being. Thus, parents regard their children as their “treasure”;
individuals care about their friendship, and a community values peace and cooperation.
One’s life and beliefs are values.

The Significance of Values

Our ultimate happiness in this in life, says Aristotle, consists in the sum of earthly goods
essential to us. Accordingly, values relate to our ultimate purpose, to that which would
make us completely happy. In this respect, our actions are significant because they are the
means by which we attain happiness. Good actions are those that bring happiness. Evil
actions are those that bring unhappiness.

Morally good actions are authentic values, while immoral actions are “apparent values”,
that is, evil disguised as good. While these evil acts often promise pleasure or profit, they
lead to pain and misery. Immoral actions do not fit human nature and, thus, w say they
are contrary to natural law.

Kinds of Values

1. Biological Values are necessary to the physical survival and growth of man such
as food, shelter, work, pleasure, sex, sports, career, health, and medicines.

2. Psychological Values are necessary to the psychological maturation of man such

as companionship, friendship, marriage, family life, and social interaction.
 3. Intellectual Values are necessary to the mental fulfillment of man, such as truth,
science, art, and religion.

4. Moral Values are necessary for the development of character.

5. Cultural Values are shared in the community such as ideals, laws, customs,
beliefs, rituals, and ceremonies.

The Hierarchy of Values

1. The Biological Values which correspond to our survival and procreation, are the
lowest. The most fundamental value in this category is self-preservation, or health.
The other values, such as food, exercise, work, pleasure, and sex, are the means of
sustaining and promoting the physical life.

2. The Social Values corresponding to our psychological growth and the lower
middle values. The fundamental value in this category is love which is the
foundation of friendship, marriage, family, or community.

3. The Intellectual Values corresponding to our mental growth. Are the higher
middle values. In this category, the most fundamental value is Truth. The value of
science, arts, technology and experience are means of acquiring knowledge.

4. The Moral Values corresponding to spiritual development rank the highest in the
hierarchy. These values constitute moral integrity.

Social Dimension of Values

The authenticity of values consists in their being shared with others. The higher a value
goes up the ranking the more it becomes altruistic.

The lower values are seen as competitive and egoistic because they tend towards the
accumulation of material possession which man finds difficult to share with others. Thus,
man would not easily share food and would wage war to defend or acquire the source of
food. On the other hand, the psychological value of love lends itself to sharing with
others. Friendship, for instance, is possible only with mutual respect and care.

The nature of intellectual value is also altruistic. People find it easy to talk, to
communicate, and to share news with one another. Knowledge lends itself to sharing.
Thus, thinkers share their thoughts, inventors share their inventions, teachers share their
skill, and artists share their artworks.

The moral values are even more meaningful because it allows man to live with others in
peace and harmony. The virtues of charity and justice are the foundation of society. No
society would be possible where men do not have goodwill towards one another.

Just as a child grows up with the parents, a human being grows and becomes an authentic
person only in the community with others. This is what God means when he said: “It is
not good for man to be alone; I will give him a helper who will be like him”.

Moral Values

Moral values are those pertaining to the functions of the intellect and the will – our
choices, decisions, actions, and habits. Moral values relate to our spiritual growth.

Strictly speaking, only those related to the spiritual growth are moral values. But in the
context of integral perfection, all values whether biological or social, acquire moral
significance. For example, eating becomes the object of temperance, so that over
indulgence to food is gluttony. Again while eating is necessity, the act of fasting is also
required for medical, political, religious, or moral purpose. In this sense, every human
activity has a moral dimension and, depending on one’s motive, an innocent act like
working or playing may be moral or immoral.

Characteristics of Moral Values

1. They have intrinsic worth. This means that moral values are in themselves good
and independent of our opinion of them. The act of feeding the hungry, for
example, is a good act regardless of the motive of it.

2. They are universally accepted by all people. None would find fault with helping
the needy, or testifying on the truth of something, or working honestly for a living.
The Bill of Rights is accepted by the community of nations.

3. They are obligatory. This means that a person, when so capacitated, is duty bound
to do what is good when the situation demands it. Thus, one is duty bound to
return to its rightful owner a lost-and-found property. Likewise, one is duty bound
to help accident victims. This also means that every person is obliged to be honest,
to be respectful of others, to be diligent, and to avoid doing what harm others.

Choosing Values
Since values have relative worth, a person has to choose those which are relevant to him:

1. Permanent or Lasting Values must be preferred over temporary or perishable ones.

For example, education is objectively better than leisure; moral habit better than
physical strength.

2. Values favored by the majority must be preferred over those appealing only to a
few. For example, marriage is better than remaining single; wealth better than
staying poor.

3. Essential values must be preferred over the accidental values. For example, good
reputation is better than being pretty; attending to parental duties better than
involvement in social gatherings or parties.

4. Moral values must be preferred over the physical values. For example, the practice
of religion is better than sports; feeding the orphans is better than spending money
for luxuries.

Moral Habits

Moral character is the sum of man’s good habits. Habit comes from the Latin word
“habere”, meaning – to have or to possess. Habits are either entitative or operative.

Entitative Habits predispose man to acquire certain nature or quality, like being healthy,
being beautiful, being intelligent, or being rich.

Operative Habits predispose man to act readily towards a purpose, like singing, dancing,
playing basketball, or helping others. The operative habit of doing well is called “virtue”;
that of doing evil is “vice”.

Virtues pertaining to mental or intellectual operation is called intellectual virtues; those

pertaining to the will are moral virtues.
Moral Virtues

A. Prudenceenables a person to know the best means to employ in attainting a

purpose. A prudent person weights the pros and cons of a situation and acts with
reasonable caution.

B. Justice inclines a person to give to everyone what is due. A just person pays his
legal debts, honors his elders, observes the laws of society, and worships God.

C. Fortitudegives a person the strength of the will to face dangers and the problems
in life. A person of fortitude is not easily discouraged and is ready to stand by
what is right.

D. Temperancemoderates a person’s instincts and emotions. A temperate person is

not given to inordinate anger, jealousy, desire, or love.

Intellectual Virtues

A. Understanding is the habit or intuition of the first principles, such as “the whole is
greater than the sum of any of its parts”, or that “doing well is better than doing
bad”. This is also called “common sense”.

B. Science is the habit of proximate causes, why things are such because of their
nature or natural properties. Thus, we have the different sciences on different field
of studies.

C. Art is the habit of making beautiful things, such as in literature, in architecture,

and in fine arts.

D. Wisdom is the habit of the ultimate causes, such as the inter-dependence of created
things in the eco-system; or how the negative emotions of man - like hatred, anger,
or sadness – are not signs of weakness but the natural instincts for self-
preservation and growth.

Vices and Character

A Vice is the opposite of virtue. Vice is the habit of doing evil acquired through the
repetition of an evil act. One immoral act does not constitute a habit or a vice for that
matter. But it is no less unfortunate. The fact is every single evil act speaks of an evil
character.

A vice is evil either because of Excess or of Defect:

A. Vices opposed to prudence by excess are – cautiousness, fraud, flattery, trickery.

By defect – imprudence, impulsiveness, carelessness or stubbornness.

B. Vices opposed to justice by excess are – profligacy, idolatry, fanaticism, and

superstition. By defect – disrespect to elders, irreligion, and non-payment of debts.

C. Vices opposed to fortitude by excess – rashness, boldness, recklessness. By defect

– cowardice, timidity, sensitivity and depression.

D. Vices opposed to temperance by excess – rigorousness, lack of self-confidence,

moroseness. By defect – pride, lust, hatred, gluttony, and vanity.

Moral integrity is man’s true worth. With it, a person is distinguished as “mabutingtao”.
Without it, a person is “masamang tao”.