GE 8 FINAL REVIEWER experience, rather, the other way
around.
Duty Ethics
Consequentialist approach to morality
- takes into account how an act affects
something or someone
- usually a beneficial action is
considered good, otherwise bad, thus,
not worth pursuing.
Kant
- contemplated on several philosophical
problems that ensued from the
common practice of basing morality
from common life-experience.
- he noticed how natural human
inclinations, apathy, anger, or love,
could cloud the mind to arrive at a
disinterested or objective moral
judgement.
- he also criticized our tendency to
pursue good plans or actions thought to
yield positive results. The problem with
this is whether anyone could ever
foretell what goodness such action
would result to - in the future.
- he revolutionized moral philosophy-a
sort of Copernican revolution.
He proposed a radical shift in the
ultimate source of morality.
- Kant disagrees that an act becomes
good because experience tells us that it
result to positive consequences, or that
was performed out of positive psychic
response of man.
 The uniqueness of the duty ethics is
in Kant’s insistence that human
experiences or deeds should fit into
the mind in the determination of
morality; instead of the common
understanding that the mind of the
moral principles should be based on
the lived experience of the ,man.
- Kant’s proposal is centered upon the
idea that it should not be the will or the
motive that should abide by the
Therefore: An act is good because it is
done out of good will and duty, rather
than its perceived good effects or the
positive emotions of the moral agent.
 For a particular act to be construed
as either good or otherwise, it
should conform to the good will
which according to Kant a mental
state of every rational being-man.
Rational Nature of Man
 Morality flows from, or it is a
necessary consequence of man’s
possession of reason.
 Man is endowed with reason which
is concerned with two things:
Theory about things and Practical
behavior (Ibana and Tugado,1998)
 The interest of the mind in either
concerns is the universal principles
on which phenomena or behavior
fit in.
 When reason is specifically aimed
at the discovery of moral principles,
it is called practical reason (Stumpf
and Fieser, 2008).
 Thus, be reason for practical
behavior, the mind is primarily
concerned with discovering
principles of moral behavior that
are binding upon all people.
 It is the nature of the mind to seek
moral principles on which every
rational being should base his
existence.
 Kant could offer no other
explanation why every human
being could not possibly live a life
without having to pass on moral
judgement whether upon himself
or others. In other words, having
been endowed with reason, it is
inherent in man to seek for ways to
exist morally.
 To be human, then is to be rational.
 Kant emphasized ration, being the
chief requirement for man to lead a
moral life.
 Reason only makes man potentially
good in his action.
What makes a good act in duty ethics?
 Kant proposes that nay act to be
worth of a moral status has to pass
the scrutiny of reason under the
key concept of duty ethics, namely,
man’s intrinsic value, good will,
duty, and the universal moral
maxim.
Man’s Intrinsic value
 Rational nature exists as an end-in-
itself. This is the way in which man
necessarily conceives his own
existence: it is therefore so far a
subjective principle of human
actions.
 Act in such a way that you always
treat humanity, whether in your
own person or in the person of any
other, never simply as a means, but
always at the same time as an end.
(Kant, 1785)
Excerpt from The groundwork of the
Metaphysics of Morals.
 It encapsulates the central tenet of
the deontological ethics. Through
it, Kant explains that the practical
reason or the moral principles on
which any treatment of man be
based on should only be under the
overarching umbrella of the highest
principle of the rationality of man.
 From such, ensues vital points with
regards to lived-experience of
himself and with other rational
beings around him.
 It entails for example that it is
morally objectionable for any
person to make use of himself or of
others as a mere tool to achieve a
particular purpose. When this
happens, anybody who receives
such a treatment, ceases to be a
person but is reduced to a mere
object. This exemplified for
example in the lamentable
experience of the farmers who do
all the hard labor yet end up empty
handed after they have sold all
their produce. In such a condition,
farmers are treated as mere tool of
some individuals who prey on loose
politico-economic system against
the former’s advantage.
 Kant recognize that it is quite ideal
that no person is ever treated as a
means for someone else’s end.
When this is inevitable, he
proposes that that at least the
individual who is tasked to carry
out the other’s interest must also
be served concomitantly.
 being rational, man is ought to be
treated as a sole end for an action,
or an end at the same time as a
means, but never as a means only.
 Kant’s practical imperative is
dissected into three minor moral
principles:
1. man is ought to be treated as an
end;
2. man is never to be treated as a
means only;
3. when it is inevitable that man is to
be treated as a means, his ends should
at least be served at the same time.
THE GOOD WILL
 Duty ethics relies solely on the good
will as the basis of the good act. In
fact, the good is tantamount to the
good will.
 Kant reason out that we have no
control over what good act result to
would.
 Kant puts it succinctly “The good
will is good not because of what it
causes or accomplishes, not
because of its usefulness in the
attainment of some set of purpose,
but alone because of willing, that is
to say, it is good of itself.”
 Another unique feature of a good
act in the deontological ethics is
that It is done out of one’s sense of
duty.
 The essence of Kantian ethics is
captured in the term moral
imperative.
 Willing and thus, performing a good
act out of duty “is instantly applies
to all rational beings, and it is
imperative because it is the
principle on which we ought to
act.” (Stumpf and Fiezer, 2008)
DUTY
 Kant proposes that morality should
be willed and done out of duty, for
it entails the exclusion of one’s
inclinations or personal interest.
 When something good is done out
of duty, it is pursued regardless of
what the moral agent feels or
thinks about it.
 Kant’s declaration that “Nothing
can possibly be conceived in the
world, or even out of it, which can
be called ‘good’ without
qualification, except the good will”
captures the core of his moral
philosophy.
 Good will is good with or without
those qualifications from effects or
positive emotions.
 When a good is intended or
executed out of duty, questions
such as who benefit from it or why
should that person enjoy becomes
immaterial. Thus, the moral agent is
undeterred in his action according
to the categorical imperative.
 The only way for anyone of us to
remain steadfast in doing good is to
rely solely on the good will within.
THE FORMULA OF THE CATEGORICAL
IMPERATIVE
 For duty ethics, it is stated in “Act
only on that maxim through which
you can at the same time will that
it should become a universal law
(Kant, 1785).
 The basic elements of duty ethics:
reason, good will, and human
intrinsic value
BIO-ETHICS
 According to Plato, the body is a
coffin to the soul or it constraints
the soul from what it can know.
(Pavo, 2010)
 Man is a rational animal.(Aristotle)
 St. Augustin treats the body as the
locus of lust and sin.
 “Cogito, ergo sum (I think,
therefore I am).” (Descartes)
 Aldo Leopold emphasizes that
humans do not hold a special place
in this planet, Biology and
Psychology are in unison telling us
that the brain, although it regulates
most of what takes place in the
body, is as vital as other organs.
 American socio-biologist, Edwar O.
Wilson (1978) was prompted to say
that “…the brain is a device for
survival and reproduction, and
reason is just one of its
techniques.”
THE BIOMEDICAL ETHICS
Respect for Autonomy
 An acknowledgement that every
individual human being is entitled
to hold his own valuation of things.
It means that he is free to have his
own understanding of anything.
 It is in this principle that in the
context of biomedicine, a patient
must be informed of his medical
condition.
Non-Maleficence
 This principle states that medical
practitioner has a duty to do no
harm or allow harm to be caused to
a patient through neglect.
 The pain or in some cases
dismemberment that a patient
necessarily undergo in some
medical procedure does not count
as harm, thus, does not violate the
principle of non-maleficence.
 The principle of non-maleficence is
usually coupled with and by the
principles of double effects where
the ‘harm’ done to a patient is seen
as a necessary means of the
procedure or the unintended effect
of the same.
Beneficence
 This principle refers to the
obligation of medical practitioners
to act for the benefit of those who
seek medical attention. This
includes, though indirectly, the
medical practitioners’ effort to keep
up with the best practices in their
field of specialization for the
benefit of their patients.
 It is also with the principle of
beneficence that physician strictly
follow clinical guidelines.
 This principle encourages for the
holistic assessment of the patient’s
circumstances as one effective
treatment may not work for other
patients.
Justice
 The principle of justice in medical
decisions is involved in providing
patients with advanced medical
attention regardless of their
situation.
 It also serves as the basic guiding
principle in the distribution of
scarce medical resources.
Abortion
 The expulsion of the developing
zygote, embryo, or fetus from the
womb of the pregnant woman.
 When abortion happens with
human intervention, it is called
induced (abortion). Whereas when
it takes place unintentionally or due
to natural causes, it is called
spontaneous - commonly referred
to as miscarriage.
 Life begins at the moment of
fertilization, thus, to terminate it
deliberately is tantamount the
violation of the fifth Mosaic law:
Though shall not kill. Maboloc
(2010) re-echoes this point: ‘Thus,
for pope John Paul II and the
Catholic, abortion is a direct killing
or murder.’
 Mappes (1997) pointed out that
discussion of the ethical
acceptability of abortion often take
for granted important things that
would hopefully result to
resolution, such as what has been
discussed. He drew his concern out
of observation of the common
practice in the dissenting camps
between pro and against abortion
where debaters plunge in armed
with their own moral perspectives.
 The author things that before
anything else is said of the morality
of abortion, the following should be
considered:
1. An awareness of the various kinds of
reasons that may be given for having an
abortion.
2. An acquaintance with the biological
development of human fetus.
 In the case of the first point for
example, before a christian
authority would hand down the
 moral verdict that abortion is evil,
as an extension of the 5 th Mosaic
law, he or she should ask the
mother why she decides on
terminating the developing life in
her womb.
The following reason for abortion is an
excerpt from Mappes and Zembaty
(1997)
Why would a woman have abortion?
a. In certain extreme case, if the fetus is
allowed to develop normally and come
to term, the pregnant woman herself
will die.
b. In other cases it is not the woman’s
life but her health, physical or mental,
that will be severely endangered if the
pregnancy is allowed to continue.
c. There also cases in which the
pregnancy, or surely, produce a severe
impaired child.
d. There are instances in which
pregnancy is the result of rape or incest.
e. There are instances in which the
pregnant woman is unmarried, and
there will be a social stigma of
illegitimacy.
f. There are other instances in which
having a child. Or having another child,
will be an unbearable financial burden.
g. Certainly common, and perhaps most
common of all, are those instances in
which having a child will interfere with
the happiness of the woman, the joint
happiness of the parents, or even the
joint happiness of the family unit that
already includes children.
THE BILOGICAL DEVELOPMENT OF A
HUMAN FETUS
 Human life, between conception,
that is, when a spermatozoon
fertilizes an ovum and birth
undergoes the following stages:
1) Implantation - it happens within
two weeks when the zygote or
fertilized egg cell moves from the
Fallopian tube to implant itself in
the uterine wall.
2) Embryonic stage - on the second
second week of pregnancy the
zygote becomes an embryo. At this
stage, the process of organogenesis
occurs when vital human organs
begin to take shape.
3) Fetal stage - after the embryonic
stage which lasts up to the end of
eight week, the embryo is called
fetus.
4) Quickening - this is the final phase
of the development before birth.
The mother feels the movement of
the fetus. At this stage the fetus is
said to be capable of living outside
the mother’s womb.
 It contends that the fetus remains
nonhuman even in its most
advanced stages of development
(Mappes and Zembaty, 1997)
 Human life begins at organogenesis
(from eight week) where most vital
human organs develop, implies that
abortion before the eight week is
tantamount to killing or murder.
Excerpt by Mappes and Zembaty
Some abortions are justifiable; some are
morally objectionable. In some
moderate views, the stage of fetal
development is a relevant factor in
assessing the moral acceptability of
abortion.
THE INNER SELF
 In Rene Descartes’ Cogito Ergo
Sum, the self is understood as one’s
 consciousness or awareness of of
one’s existence.
 The concept of self from both
Descartes and Buddha is this: there
is someone in me that knows
about my body and the world
outside it. And this someone id
self.
 It is the self that tries to understand
what you’re reading right at this
moment.
THE ORIGIN OF SELVES
Dennett (1989)- The original distinction
between self and other is a deep
biological principle; one might say it is
the deepest principle, for biology begins
in self-preservation -- in the emergence
of entities (the simplest replicators)
who resisted destruction and decay,
who combated, at least for a short time
the second law of thermodynamics, and
passed on their capacity to do this to
their descendants.
 Everything in any biological entity
including man, revolves around the
business of self-preservation.
 Any self-preserving endeavor by life
forms takes place in a territory
which generally serves as a
resource that both sustains and
supports life.
 Dennett moves on saying that ‘As
soon as something gets into the
business of self-preservation,
boundaries become important, for
if you are setting out to preserve
yourself, you do not want to
squander effort trying to preserve
the whole world; you draw the
line.’
 The territory as a concept is
logically related to the animal’s
selfish nature. It should be stressed
out that in the territory, not only
food, shelter, mates, and foraging
ground are found but also other
‘survival machines’ who also do
their own thing for survival.
 The frequent experience of trying
to preserve oneself and protect
those that are vital for self-
preservation results to the
consciousness of ‘me against the
world--this distinction between
everything on the inside of a
closed boundary and everything in
the external world…’
 Although the se;f is not a ‘node or
module’ in the brain; rather, ‘it is
something abstract which amounts
just to the existence of an
organization which tends to
distinguish, control, and preserve
portion of the world, an
organization that thereby creates
and maintains boundaries.’
 A dead person does not have a self
because to have one requires the
operation of the brain.
The Brain: Survival machine’s greatest
tool
Dawkins (2006) - describes life in
general this way: ‘We are survival
machines, but ‘we’ does not mean just
people. It embraces all animals, plants,
bacteria, and viruses.’
 In such an image of life forms,
Dawkins has the following in mind:
that life forms are designed; and
are designed to survive.
 Dawkins says, ‘A survival machine
is a vehicle containing not just one
genes but many thousands.’
 Biologically speaking, humans (our
body) and other life forms are
capsules or shells designed to carry,
protect, and pass on the essential
substance in us, our creator--the
genes.
 In The Selfish Genes (2006),
Dawkins’ explains that, ‘The main
 way in which brains actually
contribute to the success of the
survival machines is by controlling
and coordinating the contractions
of muscle.’
 Konrad Lorenz (1963) speculation
on instinct - the survival machines’
behaviors can be categorized
according to their instinct or origin:
namely, those that are under the
instinct for feeding; instinct for
reproduction; instinct for flight;
and, instinct for aggression.
 The reason why the genes have to
build their vehicle a brain -- to take
the day to day decisions (Dawkins,
The Selfish Genes, 2006, p. 58).
The Nature of the Mind
1. Capacity to store memories, recall,
and anticipate
- Capacity to store memories. In relation
to survival, the brain stores memories
of what facilitated and what did not.
- Anticipation is an imagination on what
things or event might be when they
occur.
2. Controlling
- it pays off for the body to have a brain
which is keen on exercising control over
its environment.
3. Watchful
- the brain is the greatest tool for
survival.
- it is designed or developed for this
sole purpose: problem solving.
- a discontented person is better than
he who is contented with what he has.
THE GREAT DILEMMA
Seneca - “Thus, it is that foresight, the
greatest blessing humanity has been
given, is transformed in to a curse.”
 To be good therefore in the inner
environment, is to be good to
oneself.
 It is challenging with as with the
previous environments, or even
more because in here we come
face-to-face with the ultimate
cause and problem of morality --
the self.
 Buddha - Self is the lord of self,
who else could be the lord? With
self well subdued, a man finds a
lord such a few can find.
Images of the Mind
The Garden
I cultivate a garden in my mind. There
are flowers in it. There are weeds too. If
I do not tend to this garden, weeds will
grow taller and compete with flowers
for both soil nutrients and sun light.
The weeds will flourish but the flowers
eventually die out.
BUDDHISM
- built upon the grand project of
alleviating the entire human race from
the clout of suffering.
 This according to Buddha could be
done by setting up the goal (of
being freed from suffering) and to
work this plan out.
 The details of this spiritual direction
can be gleaned from the four noble
truth and from the eight-fold paths.
 Before Buddha embarked into the
world on unknown of human
existence, he grappled with the
problem of human suffering which
according to tradition he observed
in the aged, the sick, and in the
deceased or dying.
 The Four Noble Truth
1. DUKKHA
- the first thing that draws our attention
about life is that it is about suffering.
- what was common among the aged,
the sick and the dying that Buddha
himself saw with his own eyes, was
suffering.
2. SAMUDAYA
- the ultimate cause of human suffering
- internal suffering that we inflict upon
ourselves with a reaction to the
external things that happen out of our
control.
- a Pali term which has no exact
translation in English or in Pilipino.
- Samudaya then, or the origin of
human suffering is our desire -- for
things to fit exactly into our
expectations.
 TANHA
- Buddhist concept referring to desire or
craving.
 CHANDA
- Buddhism does not rule out that all
desires lead to suffering.
- Chanda is the desire for noble things
such as wisdom, knowledge, or making
others happy by any noble means
possible.
- In relation to suffering, Buddha named
specifically three negative qualities
borne out of Tanha: greed, ignorance,
and hatred.
- Greed is a negative desire because it is
about the insatiable accumulation of
wealth. Hatred can be about one’s
obsession to get even with someone
whom he harbors ill-feeling against, or
about hate for oneself being lagged
behind others’ success.
 One suffers because his desires is
much bigger than the object of its
satisfaction.
3. NIRODHA
- The cessation of suffering.
4. MAGGA
- The path to the cessation of suffering.
- consist of eight interrelated practices
known as the noble eight paths, that
adherents must submit themselves to.
 The ultimate end of of the paths is
Nirvana or the extinguishment of
desire (negative) being the root-
cause of suffering.
 According to Buddhism, Nirvana is
not an abode or eternal bliss for the
soul of the departed., rather it is a
state of being free from the clout of
negative desires.
 The person whp has attained
nirvana no longer experiences
things such as anger, envy, or lust.
He still does but he is able to make
himself composed or untethered by
any of those.
The Eight Fold Path
1. Samma Ditthi or right
understanding
-refers to understanding Buddha’s
teaching.
2. Right intention
- includes a positive outlook in life.
- involve noble motives towards others
such as love and compassion.
3. Right speech
- adherent to speak only the truth
- one has to make sure what he utters
does not malign others.
 Meditation
- state of being alone with oneself that
adherents find the moment to deepen
his understanding of life as taught by
Buddha.
- it is such a vital part of monastic life as
it leads to inner peace and wisdom.
 It is a misconception to brand
Buddhism as a contemplative
religion or philosophy.
 Nirvana is never arrived without
effort.
4. Right Action
5. Right Livelihood
6. Right Effort
7. Right Mindfulness
8. Right Concentration
STOICISM
 Founded by Zeno of Cyprus in
Athens at around 300BCE.
 Coined form Stoa or a public
colonnade in Athens where Zeno
and his students met and discussed
the new philosophy.
 Once a famous philosophy not only
in Greece but its influence reached
even as far as the city Rome.
 Stoic- to mean someone who is
indifferent or does not care about
the world around him.
 Tradition has it that on his voyage
to from Phonicia to Piraeus, zeno’s
boat sank along his wealth. Instead
of crying over it, Zeno developed
the attiturde of not being perturbed
by things that happened his
control. And so, technically,
stoicism was the first applied to
Zeno for he did not allow grief to
take over his life.
 Ataraxia - a greek word for
tranquility of the mind.
 The first thing about Stoicism is the
recognition that things happen as
they do.
 According to Epictetus, “we suffer
not from the events of our lives,
but from our judgement of them.”
 The stoics believed god is the
ultimate law that designs
everything else in the universe.
 The stoics thought of the universe
as a kind of ‘an orderly
arrangement where people and
things behave according to
principles of purpose.’ and the
master designer or the grand
reason for all of these is god-- the
ultimate reason of all in the
universe.
 Stoics used the term permeability
of nature (by god), to mean his
presence in all things.
 In man, god manifests himself in
our rationality or the logos
spermatikos.
 The presence of logos spermatikos
or divine spark in us implies three
important things:
1. The understanding of how and why
the entire cosmos behaves the way
it does.
2. The realization that to live morally
is to abide by the god’s will.
3. By contemplating on the universe
being ordained by god, we realize,
there is not much that man can do
when things begin to behave
against our expectations.
 For stoics, the only sensible thing to
do is to accept that that is just the
way things are.
 Seneca - ‘We suffer more often in
imagination that in reality.’
THE CARDINAL VIRTUES OF THE STOICS
 A true stoic is described as
someone who does not seem to
care about what is going on around.
 Of the preponderant, virtuous they
especially cultivate are Wisdom,
Justice, Courage, and Temperance.
 Seneca once said, ‘no one can lead
a happy life, or even one that is
bearable, without the pursuit of
wisdom, and that the perfection of
 wisdom is what makes the happy
life, although even the beginnings
of wisdom make life bearable.’
 Wisdom is manifested in one’s skill
in being able to distinguish right
from wrong.
 Justice is another important stoic
virtue. It consists in doing what is
right as our duty to others.
 A just person shows fairness,
kindness, benevolence, and good
will in dealing with others.
 Seneca conclude that ‘ sometimes
even to live is an act of courage.’
 The stoics considered courage a
vital virtue of life.
 Akin to the virtue of courage is
temperance.
 In relation to the virtue of
temperance, Seneca says, ‘one’s life
should be a compromise between
the ideal and the popular morality.’

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