LEARNING MODULES: GEC09-ETHICS

TOPIC: The Ultimate End of Man

The Ultimate End of Man

Ancient pagan philosophers have given an answered to these questions but
they were vague and imperfect. Such as:
 Anaxagoras- man was created “to contemplate the sun”
 Socrates - the purpose of man in this world is to learn to die.
 Epicurus -“sensual and intellectual pleasures were the real purpose of human
life”;
 Zeno - the mission of man in this world is to be superior to sufferings.
 Plato - “the goal of man is the right cultivation of the human soul”.
 Contemporary existentialist writers and philosophers who look with
contempt upon the Christian vision of life only offer pessimistic and wrong
solutions to the quest of human existence. One of them said: “human life falls out
of itself and into itself into bottomless abyss and nothingness of the inauthentic
and the commonplace”.

The End and the Good

Panizo - defined END as: “an end is that towards which an action tends”. He
said that, every human activity tends towards the direction of an end which in the last
result is the good that perfects some faculties.
He distinguishes different ends:
1). PROXIMATE: it is an immediate end on account of which an action is immediately
performed.
2). INTERMEDIATE: it is a subordinate end south for the attainment of another end.
3). ULTIMATE: is that which on account of which other ends or means are sought.
4). ABSOLUTE LAST END: as defined by St. Thomas; “the end for the sake of
which all other things are desired, and which is not itself desired for the sake of
anything else”. As a consequence, all that man wills and desires will indirectly or
directly be on account of the last absolute end.

Example: A student may study his lessons hard because he wants to have good
grades (proximate end), so he can please his parents (intermediate end). He
knows that upon seeing his grades his parents will continue to pay for his studies
until graduation, (ultimate end). But the bachelor’s degree is not in itself an ultimate
end for this student, but only a means to get a job
and make money which are means for making a decent living and attaining the
eternal happiness (absolute last end).

Further distinction:
1) The end of the action: is the intrinsic purpose of the action and,
2) The end of the agent: is the good or purpose that the agent has in mind.
Example: The end of the action, of manufacturing cars is to assemble the different
parts that enter in the composition of automobiles. The end of the manufacturer
(agent) is to earn money.
The end of a farmer planting rice is to have harvest of rice.

Principles in relation with the end of human actions:

1. Every agent that performs an action acts for the sake of the end or purpose to be
attained.
2. Every agent acts for an ultimate end.
3. Every agent has the power of moving for an end which is suitable or good for him.
St. Thomas said: “Every agent acts for a good”.
GOOD: is that which satisfies the appetite, the object of our striving, the thing which
can confer perfection and satisfaction to our powers or faculties.

Distinction of good:
1. REAL good: this is something truly good in itself.
2. APPARENT good: which, in itself, is real evil but appears under the reality of
good, as theft, revenge, suicide. Every moral evil is an apparent good.
3. CONDITIONAL good: this is good under a certain aspect.
4. SIMPLE good: is something perfect according to its own nature.
5. IMPERFECT good: is anything that satisfies either the inferior appetites of man.
6. PERFECT good: this can satisfy human nature completely and perfectly to the
highest degree and leaves nothing to be desired.

The Last End and Happiness

Happiness, is what that is behind reality contained under the name “good”
and “end” in all human desires. From the first to the last moment of human existence,
our life revolves around one desire – the desire to be happy.
 Blaise Pascal - expressed it, “ All men have happiness as their object”.
 St. Thomas -“The love of the good which man naturally desires as an end is a
natural love; but the love derived from this, of a good love for the sake of the end
(that is, the love of a means to the end) is an elective (or free) love”.
 Spinoza - wrote: “The way to happiness must indeed be difficult since it is
seldom discovered”.

Human as we are, we have a vacuum in our hearts. Each individual

constantly tries to fill up this vacuum with different things, actions, and attitudes. But
the real search for the happiness is the search for the ultimate good and the
complete beatitude which the finite pleasures and imperfect
goods of this world cannot give.

Imperfect Happiness
Persons may think he/she is happy if he/she can avail himself/herself of the
goods and pleasures that money can buy.
 Famous Beatles singing group - wrote a song: “Money can’t buy me love”.
 Happiness - generally identified with bodily pleasures and the luxuries of life.
 Aristotle opinion about this: “only vulgar persons would identify happiness with
pleasures”. Glory, prestige, honor, and social glamor cannot offer man a
complete and lasting happiness. Science and virtue are not even perfect
happiness because of the difficulties and hardships they imply, although virtue is
the best way to attain happiness.
 St. Thomas - “the present life is subject to many unavoidable evils; to ignorance
on the part of the intellect; and to many penalties on the part of the body”.

Perfect Happiness
 St. Thomas Aquinas - the great saint of the Church defined happiness as: “The
ultimate achievement of an intellectual nature”.
 Philosopher Boethius - “Happiness is a state made perfect by the aggregation
of all good things.”
 God is the Ultimate End of man.
 St. Augustine - summed up this: “Following after God is the desire of
happiness; to reach God is happiness itself….For whoever possesses God is
happy.”
 St. Thomas Aquinas’ Philosophy of Happiness
“Happiness is two- fold; the one is imperfect and it is possible in this life; and the
other is perfect, consisting in the vision of God.”
“For imperfect happiness such as can be had in this life, external goods are
necessary, and not as belonging to the essence of happiness, but by serving as
instruments to happiness with consists in an operation of virtue.”
“The apprehension of the senses does not attain to the universal good, but some
particular good which is delightful.”
“Perfect happiness cannot consist essentially in the consideration of speculative
sciences.”
“For perfect happiness, the intellect needs to reach the very essence of the First
Cause.”
“The final perfection of the human intellect is by union with God, who is the first
principle both of the creation of the soul and its enlightenment.”
“Three things must concur in happiness;
 to wit, vision - which is perfect knowledge of the intelligible end.
 comprehension - which implies presence of the end;
 delight or enjoyment which implies repose of the lover in the object beloved.”

The Natural and Supernatural Purpose of Human Life

The Greek philosopher

 Aristotle, who lived three centuries before Christ, believed that the natural
purpose of man is to live in a way befitting his human nature. The rational and
moral nature of man imposes upon him a final destination: “Man is made for
virtue, for perfection,”
 From the Christian point of view, man’s destiny in the world is not only to
achieve a cultural and moral perfection, but to attain the eternal happiness of the
soul after the death of the body. To know, to love, and to serve God is our
present duty. To see God Himself, Uncreated Splendor, face to face, to be
united to Him by an unbroken and everlasting operation of the mind, shall be our
eternal destiny. The transcendental and supernatural end of man, therefore, is
not discovered by human reason but by faith.

TOPIC: The Natural Law GEC09-Ethics Midterm

 Human acts are directed to the last end by law as applied by conscience.
 Law and conscience are the directives, the norms of morality, and man has an
obligation not only to obey them but also to know them.
1. St. Thomas’ Definition of Law.
“A law is an ordinance of reason directed towards the common good and
promulgated by one who has the care of the community.”
a). A law is an ordinance or mandate because it contains a decisive
command to perform or to avoid the performance of something.
A law differs from a plea or advice, for these do not demand obedience.
Regulations are local ordinances given to a group of individuals according to
the demands of particular circumstances. But the law is more or less
permanent and universal.
b). Reason should dictate the law. The despotic desire or momentary
whim of an authority cannot become a true law.
c). A just law takes into consideration the common good of all citizens and
not the exclusive benefit of some favored groups. The common good is
sometimes identified with the welfare participated in by each member of the
community.
d). A law should be promulgated, i.e. officially published.
e) Laws are enacted by the competent authority of the legislative body of
the nation and are finally approved by the President or by anyone who has the care
of the community.
2. The Eternal Law
 St. Augustine defined the eternal law as “The divine reason or the will of God
commanding that the natural order of things be preserved and forbidding that it
be disturbed”.
 St. Thomas as, “The exemplar of divine wisdom as directing all actions and
movements”. “The whole universe is governed by Divine Reason. God is the
Prince of the Universe. The plan of government He has in His mind bears the
character of a law, and because it is conceived in eternity and not in time it is
called the Eternal Law.
Eternal Law has all the elements of a true law as contained in the definition of
law by St. Thomas.
1. Eternal law is eternal and unchangeable as the author himself, God. As part of
the divine plan, eternal law existed from eternity in the mind of God even before the
creation of the universe. But it was known in time by man.
2. Eternal law is absolutely universal for it rules all things and actions, free,
contingent, or necessary. There is no limit to the breadth of its application to
corporeal and spiritual, to rational and irrational creatures.
3. The Natural Law
Our universe is composed of an infinite variety of beautifully arranged things.
Indeed, nature shows a constant order which is the result of a universal plan and
immutable laws. To these natural laws are subject all the movements and energies of
the world, the behavior of atoms and molecules, the majestic course of planets and
stars, the birth, growth and death of plants and animals, the interaction of solids,
liquids and gases, the transformation of non-living elements into living bodies and
vice-versa, the continuous change of energies and forces, and other natural
phenomena studied in the natural sciences - Physics, Chemistry, Biology,
Mechanics, etc.
4. Meaning of Natural Law
Man’s share in the Eternal Law of God is called Natural Law. Such participation is
obviously manifested in man through his reason.
St. Thomas - “It is evident that all things partake in some way in the eternal law, in
so far as, namely, from its being imprinted on them, they derive their respective
inclinations to their proper acts and ends. Now among all others, the rational
creature is subject to divine providence in a more excellent way, in so far as it itself
partakes of a share of providence, by being provident both for itself and for others.
Natural law is nothing else than the rational creature’s participation of the eternal
law.”
 natural law is a corollary of the eternal law. It is an extension of the divine
order of things as apprehended by human reason. Man is born with a natural
disposition to follow the natural law, for he uses the necessity means to preserve
his life, he lives in society. Man is also born with natural facility to know the basic
truths or principles of the moral order as “the good is to be done and promoted
and the evil is to be avoided.” But man is not born with a full knowledge of these
principles.
 The practical judgments by which man is aware of his moral obligations are the
actual instruments by which God promulgates his eternal law in men. But can be
described as a disposition of the human mind to discover the moral
meaning of our actions in relation to the final end.
5. The existence of the Natural Moral Law.
All persons inevitably recognize the existence of a moral order and by nature
they are inclined to do what they recognize as good and to avoid what they recognize
as evil. All men naturally tell the truth, respect the life and property of others, defend
their lives, etc. These natural inclinations cannot be classified as “illusions” for they
are truly directions of human nature with man upholds even against his wishes and
opposing desires. would not be efficacious. A moral law, for a physical law would
destroy man’s free will. A natural law, for all things are directed to their end by their
internal principle of action, which is their nature.”

6. Properties of the Natural Law

1. It is universal.
The natural law is the reflection or promulgation of the eternal law of
God in human nature, which is common to all persons of all times and
places. Men of all ages are subject to the precepts of the natural law.
2. It is obligatory, for it imposes upon men the moral obligation to follow it as
a necessary condition to attain the last end or happiness. It declares to man
his duty; it speaks with the voice of authority.
3. It is recognizable, for it cannot be fail to be known and cannot be
forgotten by man; it is impressed in his reason.
4. It is immutable or unchangeable, for it shares the immutability of the
eternal law; human nature remains essentially the same, and God, the author
of both human nature and natural law, wills that we live according to our human
nature. The natural law cannot be abrogated, dispensed, or given emendatory
interpretation. But there are cases of physical or moral impossibility in which
non-observance of the law excuses from guilt.
7. Contents of the Natural Law.
a. Fundamental moral principles in their general application. - “Good is
to be done and evil is to be avoided.” “Never do unto another what you would
not want him to do unto you” etc.
b. General moral principles which sustain and preserve the basic
relations of man to God, to himself and to neighbors. - “Adore God.”
“Honor your father and your mother”. “Preserve your
own life.” “Do not murder.” “Take care of your offspring,” and other
principles contained in the Ten Commandments and codes of peoples.
c. Applications of the general principles of morality to specific situations
in life and society. For thousands of years, experts of the law have worked on
the formulation of codes to produce the civil, ecclesiastical, and international
law.
d. Remote conclusions derived by a process of reasoning. These
conclusions are not easily drawn by ordinary people, for they involve
education in theology and philosophy, and deep reflection. Moral problems
such as mercy killing, indissolubility of marriage, contraceptive practices, dueling,
etc. fall into this category of remote conclusions.
8. Knowledge of the Natural Law
No man, unless he has lost his reason, would ever think that evil should be
done and good should be forbidden. That seems unthinkable and against human
nature. It is therefore admitted that with regard to the fundamental and general moral
principles of the natural law, knowledge is common to all men. No person after the
use of reason can be invincibly ignorant as to the substance of the Ten
Commandments, although there can be involuntary impediments which, in particular
cases, hinder the clear knowledge of these precepts.
Under normal circumstances the general principles of the natural law can
either be forgotten nor banished from the mind of men although in particular
cases, passions may prevent clear thinking and the understanding of them.
With respect to the application of the general principles to each situation of
life, man’s ignorance is possible and is a common experience. Many factors
contribute to this ignorance: - corruption of the mind, conflict of customs, depravation
of the human heart, blameful traditions,
etc. Ancient and modern nations have permitted or commanded actions contrary to
the correct application of the moral principles, such as murder of infants, aged
people, the sick, slaves, etc.
GEC09- Ethics. Learning Modules. Midterm
TOPIC: CONSCIENCE
1. Description of Conscience
Conscience is metaphorically known as the “inner or little voice of God” carrying out
man’s moral obligations and telling him what to do and what to avoid in the moral
order. Conscience has been compared to a government exercising within the limits
of man’s inner self the three powers - legislative, judicial, and executive. Indeed,
the role of conscience is to investigate, to judge, and to pass sentence on our moral
actions.
2. Definition of Conscience
Conscience consists in a practical judgment of the mind when applying the moral law
to individual human actions. How should the principles of morality and the positive
laws be applied to the individual acts considering the actual circumstances of the
acts? Conscience prompts the answer.
Conscience is defined as an act of the practical judgment of reason deciding upon
an individual action as good and to be performed or as evil and to be avoided.

Conscience differs from:

a. Moral science, which is a systematized and formulated knowledge of the
conclusions drawn from the moral principles and positive laws, while conscience is
the act of the practical judgment deciding the moral quality of our actions and
thoughts.
b. Law, which consists in the objective rules of conduct formulated by an authority
and enforced by sanctions. Conscience is a subjective guide, an internal law.
c. Consciousness, which is a psychological awareness by which we perceive our
states and acts and are mentally awakened to the things around us. Conscience is
concerned with the moral judgment of our individual actions, the goodness and
blameworthiness of man’s conduct.
d..Prudence, which is a virtue timing the use of conscience, and regulating the
application of the universal principle of morality to particular actions.
e. Council, which is concerned with the right means and ways to carry on our moral
decisions.
f. Synderesis, which is the understanding of the principles and axioms of morality.
These principles are con-natural to man’s rational nature; they only need to be
developed through education and experience. Some of these moral axioms are: “Do
good and avoid evil”,”Live modesty”, “Honor your parents,””Murder is a crime”,
“Respect the rights of others.”
.
3. Different Kinds of Conscience
a. Antecedent or consequent, according as the judgment is passed before an
action is performed or only after the action is done. The main functions of the
antecedent conscience are to command, to forbid, to advise and to permit. The two
opposite effects of the consequent conscience are internal peace or remorse.
b. Right or true conscience, judges what is really good as good and what is really
evil as evil according to the true principles of morality.
An erroneous or false conscience judges what is really bad as good and
vice versa according to a false interpretation of the moral principles; an erroneous
conscience is culpable or inculpable, vincible or invincible.
c. Certain conscience, is a subjective assurance of the lawfulness or unlawfulness
of certain actions to be done or to be omitted. .
d. Doubtful conscience suspends judgment on the lawfulness of an action and
therefore, if possible, the action should be omitted.
e. Scrupulous conscience, is that which is extremely rigorous, constantly afraid of
committing evil. A scrupulous conscience is frequently the result of a stubborn
character. Conscience merely means a serious concern about moral perfection.
f. Lax conscience tends to follow the easy way and to find excuses for omission and
mistakes. This kind of conscience is dangerous.