Prayer to the Apostle Paul

O Glorious St. Paul,

Most zealous Apostle, Martyr for the love of Christ,
Give us a deep faith, a steadfast hope,
a burning love for our Lord,
so that we can proclaim with you,
"It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me."
Help us to become apostles,
serving the Church with a pure heart,
witnesses to her truth and beauty
amidst the darkness of our days.
With you we praise God our Father:
"To Him be the glory, in the Church and in Christ,
Now and for ever." Amen.
1
 GEC 106
ETHICS

ALLAN PEEJAY MAQUIRAYA LAPPAY, PhD

A
What is
Ethics and Morality: Etymological Meaning

“Ethics”- derived from the Greek word

ethos which means custom or
particular behavior (character).

“Moral”- comes from the Latin word mos,

moris, which means custom.
 Ethics and Morality: Considerations

1. Right Action (Manners)

2. Right Conduct (Living)
3. Good Life (Happiness)
“Seeking the good through the aid of
reason.”
Are they the same?
 ETHICS MORALITY
THEORY APPLICATION
Right Action and Rightness or Wrongness
Greater Good of Human Action

Systematic study of Prescribes what ought to

the principles of be done and to follow the
morality right way

SCIENCE of MORALS PRACTICE of ETHICS

“Peaceful and collectively satisfying coexistence”
 Types of ETHICS:

It is prescriptive in
nature setting the It is the description of
norms or standards the understanding of
NORMATIVE METAETHICS the nature and
to regulate right and
wrong or good and dynamics of ethical
bad conduct. principles.

APPLIED
ETHICS
It is the application or
praxis of ethical or
moral theories as
appropriate in a given
situation.
Are all (human)
customs subject of
ethical studies?
The definition of Ethics is based on
time and context.
But the human customs
studied in Ethics are NOT
the social manners
(etiquettes), conventions,
and fashions which differ
according to nations and
which change from time to
time.
In Ethics, “custom”
means a more or
less permanent
moral behavior in
accordance with the
precepts of the
natural moral law
which is universally
known and common
to all men.
What is
Natural Law
All persons inevitably recognize
the existence of a moral order
and by nature they are inclined
to DO what they recognize as
GOOD/RIGHT and to AVOID
what they recognize as
EVIL/WRONG.
All men naturally respect the
life and property of others,
defend their lives, etc.
What is
Good enables a being
or a thing to serve its
GOAL (doing what is
Right enables a being
good).
or a thing to conform
to a RULE (doing what
is right).

PURPOSE/
END
Good that DUTY
benefits all. Rules that are acted
upon accordingly.
 “Right” and “good” are the two
basic terms of moral evaluation.
In general, something is ‘right’ if
it is morally obligatory, whereas
it is morally ‘good’ if it is worth
having or doing and enhances the
life of those who possess it.

Acts are often held to be morally right or wrong in respect of

the action performed, but morally good or bad in virtue of their
motive: it is right to help a person in distress, but good to do
so from a sense of duty or sympathy, since no one can
supposedly be obliged to do something (such as acting with a
certain motive) which cannot be done at will.
GOODNESS constitutes human act.

“The more one does what

is good, the freer one
becomes. There is no true
freedom except in the service
of what is good and right.
The choice to disobey and do
evil is an abuse of freedom
and leads to the slavery of
sin.” (CCC, 1733)
If Ethics speaks of END/PURPOSE, what is
the end of Man?
An end is that towards which an
action tends. Every human activity
tends towards the direction of an
end, which in the last result, is the
good that perfects some faculties.
Therefore, any act, with knowledge
of the mind and consent of the will,
pursues an end which is good for the
sensitive or for the rational appetite,
or for the whole human being.
“God, why am I rich?”
Dylan Wilk
Dylan Wilk was born to a poor family. But at the young
age of 20, he started a computer games company that
made him a millionaire. Soon, Dylan operated in nine
countries and ran his own TV channel. Then at the
age of 25, Dylan sold his company for multi-million
British pounds. He became the ninth richest person in
Great Britain under the age of 30.

But one night, while lying in bed, he was distressed by

a nagging question that wouldn't let him sleep.
"God, why am I rich?"
He asked if there was a reason
for his immense wealth.
Ironically, he also felt terribly
empty inside. This, despite his
ability to have any kind of
pleasure he wanted. He had
just bought himself a brand-new
Ferrari and took one holiday
after another. But he was
discovering that pleasure was
like fire... it constantly needed
more fuel to keep it going.

And he realized he would never

be happy in the path he was
taking.
One day, a Filipina friend visited him.
She said she felt guilty going there
because her plane fare could have
built two homes for the poor. That
made Dylan pause. How can you build
two houses for that measly amount?
He decided to investigate.

In January 2003, he visited the

Philippines. And for three hours,
Gawad Kalinga (GK) Director Tony
Meloto brought Dylan to different GK
villages for the poor. With his own
eyes, he saw something that would
change his life forever...
Bo: What did you see on that
day?

Dylan: I saw hope. More than

newly built houses, I saw
transformed lives. We were
entering rather dangerous slums,
breeding ground for thieves and
kidnappers... yet in the middle of
that was an oasis...the Gawad
Kalinga village. I saw people
smiling, men working, children
laughing... I've seen many other
projects in South East Asia and
across the world. And I've never
seen anything like GK. This was
different. This really worked
Bo: So what did you do after
your trip?

Dylan: I went back to England. I

saw my BMW parked in the
garage and realized I could build
80 homes with it... and affect the
lives of 600 people. I saw the
faces of the children I could
help. I called up Tony Meloto
and told him I was thinking of
donating $100,000 to Gawad
Kalinga and asked him if that
was okay...
Bo: What did Tony say?
Dylan: He said, "No, I don't want your
money.“
Bo: Only Tony can say something like
that. (Laughs.)
Dylan: He said if I was really serious
in working for the poor, I should go
back to the Philippines. So two
months later, I sold my BMW and
flew back to Manila. And in June of
that year, I made a decision to stay in
the Philippines and work for GK for
seven more years.
Bo: Wow.
Dylan: I've decided to invest in the poor
of the Philippines. Not in stocks or bonds.
If I can help in uplifting the poor of this
country, I can say that I spent my life
well.
Bo: I presume your family wasn't too crazy
about that decision.
Dylan: No! They thought I was
brainwashed by a religious cult!
(Laughs.) So my mother came and spied
on me. But she was soon convinced of
the beautiful work we were doing and
went back home and told my sister about
it. And my sister said, "Oh no, they
brainwashed you too!“ (Laughs.) But
today, all of them support what I do.
Bo: You've made a decision to give up your
wealth for the Filipino poor.

Dylan: I don't see it as a sacrifice. When

you give charity out of pity, you feel pain
parting with your money. But when you
give charity because you love, you don't
feel that pain. You only feel the joy of
giving to someone you love. That's what
I feel.
Bo: I hear you built an entire village for GK in
Bulacan.

Dylan: I don't see it as my village. I just

provided the materials. Architects,
engineers, volunteers gave their labor.
Together, we built 63 houses for the
poor.
Bo: Amazing. What else do you do?

Dylan: I go around the world telling

everyone that Filipinos are heroic.
Because I work with them every day... the
volunteers of GK.
Bo: What do you see in the Filipino that we
take for granted?

Dylan: You're hardworking. You're always

laughing, always eating, always singing.
Even in your problems. You're loyal. And
honest. Sure, there are exceptions, but
generally, that's been my experience. And
you have the bayanihan spirit. The
pyramids of Egypt are beautiful but they
were built by slavery. GK villages are
more beautiful because they're made
through the bayanihan spirit of the
Filipino.
Dylan: It's especially this bayanihan and
love of family and community that makes
the Filipino more valuable than gold. If
you take a golden nugget and kick it on
the floor for 400 years, afterwards you
won't be able to see much gold, just mud.
This was what happened to the Filipino...
for 400 years you were slaves and then
you suffered under dictatorship and
corruption. This is where the crab
mentality came from. Yes, I don't think it's
a natural Filipino quality because every
day I see the gold under the surface of
ordinary Filipinos. If we wipe away the
mud by bringing hope and being brothers
to one another in bayanihan, the gold will
shine through and the world will see it.
 Bo: Let me get personal here. I hear that you don't only love
the Filipinos, but you've fallen for a particular Filipina.

Dylan: (Smiles.) Two months ago, I

married Anna Meloto, the eldest
daughter of Tony Meloto. She grew
up with the GK work, so we're totally
one in our mission. And yes, I'll be
having Filipino children. The best way
I can secure a future for my kids is to
continue to help raise this country
from poverty. Instead of building high
walls in an exclusive subdivision to
protect us from thieves and
kidnappers, I will go to the breeding
ground of thieves and kidnappers and
help transform their lives.
A man may think he is happy if he
can avail himself of the goods and
pleasures that money can buy.
But riches cannot confer full
happiness in spite of the fact they
give man.
A man may think that happiness
is his because he is physically
strong. But human happiness
cannot consist in the health of a
body that will disintegrate and
return to the inorganic world of
matter.
Happiness is generally
identified with bodily pleasures
and the luxuries of life. But
pleasures cannot offer a real
and perfect happiness for they
carry a sense of limitation and
discomfort.
Glory, prestige, honor, and
social glamour cannot offer
man a complete and lasting
happiness, for these things are
established upon the whims
and caprices of fickle public
opinion.
What is the real
end of man?
 Eudaimonia Beatitudo
“Good + Spirit” “Blessedness”
happiness or welfare happiness
(Gk.) (Lat.)

GOOD LIFE
Beatitude responds to the natural
desire for happiness. This desire is of
divine origin: God has placed it in
the human heart in order to draw
man to the One who alone can fulfill
it. (CCC 1718)
Beatitude is the goal of human existence, the
ultimate end of human acts: God calls us to his
own beatitude. This vocation is addressed to
each individual personally, but also to the Church
as a whole, the new people made up of those
who have accepted the promise and live from it
in faith. (CCC 1719)
 PURSUIT TO HAPPINESS:
AN UNALIENABLE RIGHT
“We hold these truths to be self-evident,
that all men are created equal, that they
are endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable Rights, that among these are
Life, Liberty and the pursuit of
Happiness.”(USA Constitution)
The “best definition of ‘the pursuit of happiness’
means we must think about facilitating the
achievement of others’ happiness, and not be
inordinately or exclusively self-obsessed with our
own.” (Strawn, 2020)
HAPPINESS IS GENERAL WELFARE.

“The maintenance of peace and

order, the protection of life, liberty,
and property, and promotion of the
general welfare are essential for
the enjoyment by all the people of
the blessings of democracy.”
(Article 2, Sec. 5, Philippines 1987 Constitution)
 HAPPINESS AS A GOAL OF
GOVERNANCE.
BHUTAN’s GROSS NATIONAL HAPPINESS
“The concept implies that sustainable
development should take a holistic approach
towards notions of progress and give equal
importance to non-economic aspects of
wellbeing.”
The nine domains of GNH are psychological
well-being, health, time use, education,
cultural diversity and resilience, good
governance, community vitality, ecological
diversity and resilience, and living
standards.
 HAPPINESS IS A FUNDAMENTAL
HUMAN GOAL.

In 2011, The United Nations General

Assembly passed Resolution
"Happiness: towards a holistic
approach to development" urging
member nations to follow the
example of Bhutan and measure
happiness and well-being.
 HAPPINESS IS A CRITICALLY
IMPORTANT CONSTITUENT OF THE
GOOD LIFE.
“Happiness consists primarily not in
pleasure, but in ethical pleasure; the
good life is not a life in which all or most
of one’s desires are fulfilled, but a life in
which the satisfaction of prudential
desires is subject to the constraint of
ethical desire; the source of the greatest
happiness lies not in the attainment of
Confucius the greatest political power, but rather in
the cognizance of one’s moral
innocence.”
 HAPPINESS IS PEACE OF
MIND.
The pursuit to happiness is by
using knowledge and practice to
achieve mental equanimity.
In Buddhism, equanimity, or
peace of mind, is achieved by
detaching oneself from the cycle
of craving that produces dukkha
Buddha
(suffering).
BLAISE PASCHAL

“All men have

happiness as their
object. There is no
exception. However
different the means
they employ; they all
aim at the same
end.”
ST. AUGUSTINE

“Following after God

is the desire of
happiness; to reach
God is happiness
itself…For whoever
possesses God is
happy.”
ST. THOMAS AQUINAS
“Happiness is two-
fold; the one is
imperfect and it is
possible in this life;
the other is
perfect, consisting
in the vision of
God.
What can St. Paul say
about Happiness?
ST. PAUL

Philippians 4:8
 St. Paul’s Matrix of Happiness
Whatever is To live and seek the Truth, which is found
TRUE in Christ (the Way, the Truth and the Life).
Whatever is To live a life of humility, decency, and
NOBLE worthy of respect (Christian decorum).
Whatever is To live an upright life in thoughts, words
RIGHT and deeds (Holiness of heart and life).
Whatever is To live amiably with others and to cultivate
LOVELY and increase love, friendship, and amity
among men (Christian leadership and
service) .
 St. Paul’s Matrix of Happiness
Whatever is To live having a good name and a
ADMIRABLE reputation (Paragon of virtue).
Anything that is To live up in highest standards and
EXCELLENT and optimism (Good living and positive
PRAISEWORTHY thinking).
Think about these Think of what they are; practice
things them in life; and influence the
world through them.
What makes YOU
happy?
 Happiness consists in achieving,
through the course of a whole
lifetime, all the goods — health,
wealth, knowledge, friends, etc. —
that lead to the perfection of
human nature and to the
enrichment of human life. This
requires us to make CHOICES,
some of which may be very difficult.
Often the lesser good promises
immediate pleasure and is more
tempting, while the greater good is
painful and requires some sort of
sacrifice.
ARISTOTLE
•Example 1:
It may be easier and more enjoyable to spend the
night watching television, but you know that you
will be better off if you spend it researching for
your term paper.

Developing a good character requires a strong effort of will to do the

right thing, even in difficult situations.
•Example 2:
It maybe better if you purchase things which
are necessary and sufficient to sustain your
lifestyle; than instantaneous and excessive
buying of many things that are not needed.
 The Last Wishes
of Alexander the Great
Alexander, after conquering many kingdoms, was
returning home. On the way, he fell ill and it took him to
his death bed. With death staring him in his face,
Alexander realized how his conquests, his great army, his
sharp sword and all his wealth were of no consequence.
He now longed to reach home to see his mother's face
and bid her his last adieu. But, he had to accept the fact
that his sinking health would not permit him to reach his
distant homeland. So, the mighty conqueror lay prostrate
and pale, helplessly waiting to breathe his last.

He called his generals and said, "I will depart from

this world soon, I have three wishes, please carry
them out without fail."
1)"My first desire is that", said Alexander, "My physicians
alone must carry my coffin.”
2)After a pause, he continued, "Secondly, I desire that
when my coffin is being carried to the grave, the path
leading to the graveyard be strewn with gold, silver and
precious stones which I have collected in my treasury".
3)The king felt exhausted after saying this. He took a minute's
rest and continued. "My third and last wish is that both my
hands be kept dangling out of my coffin".
 Alexander's favorite general kissed his hand and
pressed them to his heart. "O king, we assure you
that all your wishes will be fulfilled. But tell us why
do you make such strange wishes?"

Alexander replied:“ I want my physicians to carry my

coffin because people should realize that no doctor on
this earth can really cure any body. They are powerless
and cannot save a person from the clutches of death.
So let not people take life for granted.”
“The second wish of strewing gold, silver and other
riches on the path to the graveyard is to tell People
that not even a fraction of gold will come with me. I
spent all my life Greed of Power, earning riches but
cannot take anything with me. Let people realize that it
is a sheer waste of time to chase wealth.”
 “About my third wish of
having my hands
dangling out of the
coffin, I wish people to
know that I came empty
handed into this world
and empty handed I go
out of this world".

With these words, the king closed his eyes. Soon he let death
conquer him and breathed his last. . . .
 In order to achieve the life of
complete virtue, we need to
make the right choices, and
this involves keeping our eye
on the future, on the ultimate
result we want for our lives
as a whole. We will not
achieve happiness simply by
enjoying the pleasures of the
moment.

ARISTOTLE
Operating Principle:

Action follows being.

Operating Principle:

Nothing (worth having) comes easy.

 Prayer to St. Paul
O Glorious St. Paul, after persecuting the Church you became
by God's grace its most zealous Apostle. To carry the
knowledge of Jesus, our divine Savior, to the uttermost parts
of the earth you joyfully endured prison, scourging, stoning,
and shipwreck, as well as all manner of persecutions
culminating in the shedding of the last drop of your blood for
our Lord Jesus Christ.
Obtain for us the grace to labor strenuously to bring the faith to
others and to accept any trials and tribulations that may come
our way. Help us to be inspired by your Epistles and to partake
of your indomitable love for Jesus, so that after we have
finished our course we may join you in praising him in heaven
71
for all eternity. Amen.