MARK JAY D.

VIRAY IETHICS
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Option A:
Explain the three determinants of morality (act, intention, and circumstances) under the Natural Law
ethical system by illustrating in a case or a scenario.

The three moral standards for human behavior are the act, the intention, and the circumstances.
An activity must meet all three requirements in order to be morally acceptable. For an action to be
morally right, at least one of these conditions must be met, if not in full. The goal of a human act is what
is really accomplished. This leads us to infer the characteristics of objective morality. Deeds that are in
conformity with or against them are unmistakably excellent or terrible as such. There are actions that are
objectively in conformity with the constituted human being or not.
However, if we do not know that the conduct, we are taking is morally wrong, our subjectivity as
human beings may lessen our responsibility for it. While the objective nature of the act cannot be altered,
one may be morally more or less accountable for the good or evil of the action depending on one's
understanding of the objective nature of the act. The second moral criterion is intention, which is the
reason or drive behind an action. A good purpose can never turn an objectively evil act into a bad one, but
a bad intention can render a morally excellent act subjectively wrong and make the agent culpable. The
means do not always justify the ends.
All intentions should be in accordance with the objective reality, which is again contained in the
everlasting rule. This participation of the logical creature in the eternal law is known as the natural law,
and humans first discover this "written in their souls." As a judgment of reason, conscience is directly tied
to this. Therefore, our intentions must be in line with our conscience. We are required to mold our
conscience in conformity with both the natural law and the truths that God has revealed to us. Only God
has complete knowledge of our involvement in this.
An action's circumstances are unique conditions that apply to a particular act at a certain time and
place, but they do not constitute an essential component of the action's essence. They do, however, alter
the behavior's moral standing. The who, what, when, and where of an activity have an impact on its
goodness or lack thereof. These factors, of course, cannot transform an objectively wicked action into a
good one, but they can alter the moral culpability and level of goodness or evil in the deed.
Prudence is crucial in this situation since it enables us to act appropriately in a given situation.
Conscience also entails a judgmental act; as a result, it is strongly related to the specifics of the acts in a
certain scenario or circumstance and pertains to more than just the morality of the act's intents and object.
In a nutshell, law is the yardstick by which all objective truth is measured, and every law has its roots in
the everlasting law. A similar relationship exists between conscience and our participation in the eternal
law, first through the natural law and then through our comprehension of revealed truth.
Therefore, while conscience's goal is to motivate man to act in accordance with objective reality,
it may also be claimed that conscience is on the side of man's subjective guilt. Men can be said to be
judged by their intents as God sees into men's hearts.
 This has a limitation, though. Men have purposes, and one of those intentions must be to instill
objective truth in their consciences. As a result, we will be held accountable for seeking the truth. Man,
being rational, must seek the truth; therefore, a willful lack of doing so is itself bad. A creature must act in
accordance with its nature, and a rational being must act in a rational manner.
While we are always required to follow our conscience, we also have a duty to shape it in
accordance with the law. "Conscience has obligations, so it has rights,"