THEOLOGY
• According to Teilhard de Chardin, the human
Cassandra A. | MIDTERMS
TOPIC:
 MODULE 5 : Eight Dimensions of the Human
Person according to Gaudium et Spes
 MODULE 6 : MORAL DECISION MAKING
MODULE 5
Eight Dimensions of the Human Person according to
Gaudium et Spes
MADALING MAGING TAO, MAHIRAP MAGPAKATAO
Hindi tayo “tao lang!” Tao na may “angking
kagandahan!” (We are not “only human!” We are
“beautiful human beings!”). Therefore, there is a need
to look for the beautiful in a human person to be
totoong tao (authentically human).
MORALITY
Morality as the practice of morally good and
appropriate actions; the daily activity that embodies our
efforts to live as full and authentic human beings.
While ethics is the reflective investigation into what is
morally proper thing to do; how we ought to act in a
given situation or what is the right thing to do under the
present circumstances. Therefore, technically speaking,
morality refers to the practice of morally good while
ethics refers to the study of morality (Genovesi, 2003)
Morality as PAGPAPAKATAO
Fr. Carlos Ronquillo, one of the Filipino experts in moral
Theology, proposes “Pagpapakatao” to refer to morality
because this term is close to the experience of the
Filipino
But why is it important for us to know who the human
person is?
• The source of morality is the human person
(CFC no. 682). He is the object and the subject
of morality.
• God enters the talk of morality only when the
person believes in God. “For Christians, moral
living is simply following Christ” (CFC no. 674). It
is a call to become loving persons, in the
fullness of life-with others-in the-community
before God, in imitation of Jesus Christ.
Therefore, the human person is called to:
 be authentically human; and
 reach his final destiny – God!
being is the only animal who knows that s/he
knows.
• Therefore, human being has the capacity to
know and study who the human person is.
Human can know who the authentic human
person in the light of faith and reason.
Human Person Adequately Considered (HPAC)
 Precondition: A Morally good disposition -
one is truly seeking for the good
 Discernment of a Morally Good Act consists
in considering eight dimensions of the
human person in any moral issue one faces
 Synthesized by Belgian theologian Louis
Janssen from the Vatican II document
Gaudium et Spes (Joys and Hopes): Pastoral
Constitution of the Church in the Modern
World
DIMENSIONS OF THE HUMAN PERSON
1. POSSESSES (GS17) [kusang-loob]
Authentic Freedom is not just doing and saying what I
want, but doing what is good.
Basic Freedom according to Gula (1998) is directed
towards a loving relationship with God
Sin on the other hand is an abuse of freedom
2. CONSCIENCE (GS16) [makataong-loob]
It is the conscience that judges the morality of the act
considering the object (nature of the act), the Intention
and the circumstances according to CFC. Furthermore, it
is the conscience that guides our freedom in making
good moral decisions.
Gula (1998) added that moral conscience is the key to
responsible freedom of desiring to do what what we do
because we value what we are seeking (p. 126). These
(Freedom & Conscience) are to be used in a responsible
manner (matuwid na pamamaraan) (GS 31).
3. CORPOREAL BEING (sumasa-katawan)
“[One] is not allowed to despise his bodily life. Rather,
he [she] is obliged to regard his [her] body as good and
honorable since God has created it…” (GS 14).
Self-care/self-esteem is a virtue
4. Material Being (Sumasakalikasan)
We are “beings-in-the world”; an integral part of the
environment. This implies that we need to consider the
effect of action on the environment. Through science
and technology, we are co-creators of God in renewing
the world (GS 53-62).
5. RELATIONAL - I-Thou (Nakikipag-kapwa)
Significant relationships are important in our growth as
moral subjects
Martin Buber - Only in relation to a “thou” can one
became an “I”.
Who are the significant others in your life? How will
they be affected by your actions?
6. RELATIONAL – SOCIAL BEING (Sumasa-lipunan)
Social structures and institutions – created for the
common good (buting-tanan)
Implications:
• Individualist ethic is not enough (GS 30)
• Need to stress respect for these institutions (GS 26)
• But social structures and institutions are also limited
and imperfect; need to revise them to adapt to
changing contexts (GS 26, 29, 30).
7. HISTORICAL BEING (Sumasa-kasaysayan)
Personal History/Story. It is important to know our
developmental stage
Culture is dynamic (GS 55). “In every group or nation
there are an ever-increasing number of men and
women who are conscious that they themselves are the
artisans and authors of the culture of their community.”
8. FUNDAMENTALLY EQUAL BUT UNIQUE (Pantay-
pantay subalit may pagkakatangi)
According to GS 29, fundamental equality is grounded in
our sharing of the same human nature: we have a
common body with common needs; therefore moral
demands are universalizeable
Human Person Adequately Considered
(8 dimensions of a human person)
HPAC is not an individualist ethic; person is not the
same as the individual [person here is “in relation”];
discernment is done by an individual/community in
relation to other communities and the church.
These dimensions should always be considered in
making a moral decision.
MODULE 6
MORAL DECISION MAKING
INTRODUCTION
Every day we make decisions.
From the moment we wake up until going to bed:
◦ get up or staying on bed?;
◦ to brush or not to brush teeth?;
◦ take a shower or not?;
◦ go to class or not? And so on.
If in these ordinary things making decision is a little
difficult, what more if the things at stake is something
valuable like relationship matters? Then, making
decision becomes ardous. As they say “Isipin mo muna
ng sampung beses bago ka gumawa ng isang desisyon.”
This means that we need to think carefully about it first.
But why?! Why do I need to think deliberately about the
choices I make?
Gaudium et Spes no.16
“In the depths of his conscience, man detects a law
which he does not impose upon himself, but which
holds him to obedience. Always summoning him to love
good and avoid evil, the voice of conscience can when
necessary speak to his heart more specifically: do this,
shun that. For man has in his heart a law written by
God. To obey it is the very dignity of man; according to
it, he will be judged.”
That statement declared that the human person has an
innate capacity to know what is good and bad. So we
become anxious when we do something wrong and try
our best to correct what we know is wrong. Hence,
when we are face with conflicting situation we feel
morally obliged to come up with moral decision.
o Moral decision-making refers to the process of
evaluating and choosing from alternatives in a
manner consistent to ethical principles.
o The process of making decisions requires not a
mere reading of the Sacred Scripture but
commitment, consciousness, and competency.
o Ethical decisions and effective decisions
constitute a good moral decision.
We grow into our full selves as person only in relating to
others because we are a person-in community. Hence,
we need to be loving and responsible in our
relationships; being loving and responsible in our
relationships requires being mindful of our actions.
Unlike animals we do not simply act out of our instinct.
We are endowed with ratio and we are aware of
ourselves and outgoing actions. We should think,
discern, and decide before we act so that we could be
fully responsible for our actions.
We go through a process of making moral decisions so
as to be responsible of our actions. We may not always
come up with the best moral decision. But when we are
responsible for our decision, we are open to change and
personal growth.
METHODS FOR MORAL DECISION MAKING
I. The Deontological Method
1. In this method, law, duty and
obligation are the points of reference in
deciding what to do.
2. This answers the questions: (1) what is
my duty? and (2) What ought I to do?
3. This method holds too that we make
decisions by determining what duty or
positive law applies to the situation or
by referring to whatever the authority
(secular, ecclesial, divine) demands of
the person
4. However, this method does not
adequately account for the temporality
and contextuality of moral living. In
other words, this method is not flexible
in dealing with conflict moral
situations.
II. Teleological Method
1. This method answers the question:
what is my goal?
2. Their points of reference in making
moral decision are the consequences.
3. In making moral decisions, this method
first determines the possible
alternatives for action and the
consequences which each produces.
Then, the alternatives are weighed
against each other to determine which
produces the greatest possible value in
its consequences
4. It takes seriously the future
implications of an action and regards
them as part of the action’s moral
meaning. On the other hand, this
method substitutes a part of morality
(consequences) for the whole.
III. Relational-Responsibility Method
What is happening?
What action is most harmonious to the meaning of the
whole relational context.
It sees moral life as primarily comprised of relationships
held together by on-going interaction with God,
neighbor, world and self.
This method tries to include all the factors in the
relevant situation within a proper relationship.
Gustafson (1971) shown that an adequate method of
helping us love well and do what one ought to do
should take into consideration the agent, the beliefs,
the situation and the appropriate norms.
◦ The Agent is where the practical moral question
begins and ends: “what ought I to do?”
◦ Is what I want to do find alignment to
the teachings of Jesus?
◦ If yes, no matter how difficult it may be
I ought to pursue it.
◦ But if it is not aligned to the teachings
of Christ, then, I need to drop it.
◦ This simply means that not everything
we want and we can we must do. We
need to consider and observe the spirit
of the faith we professed.
◦ As we often say, “Hindi lahat ng gusto
at kaya mong gawin dapat mong
gawin. Pero dapat mong magustuhan
lahat ng dapat mong gawin.” (Not
everything you want and you can do
should be done. But you ought to love
what you ought to do).
◦ Beliefs or stable convictions shape the
agent’s self-understanding and the
ability to consider what is possible to
do.
◦ This suggests proper education of
conscience. We are responsible to form
and educate a moral conscience. We
need to grow mature in our faith for it
is not enough to be baptized in a certain
Christian religious denomination.
◦ Analyzing the situation by exploring as
thoroughly as possible the reality
revealing questions, like the ones we
asked in forming conscience for
decision making.
◦ Appropriate norms or the various
sources of moral wisdom should be
consulted as criteria of judgment.
DISCERNMENT
◦ It refers to the quality of perception and the
capacity to discriminate degrees of importance
among various features before making a
judgment.
 ◦ It is a matter of the heart. It helps us see things
in their relation to God and to integrate all
things into our love of God.
◦ Discernment is possible if we take into
consideration faith, the will of God, Jesus and
the human person.
◦ The process includes prayer, gathering of
information and seeking confirmation.
The S.T.O.P. Sign Method for Making Moral Decisions
in making things right regarding the negative
effects of the changes he has caused.
Hence, the Church still believes that man will do the
right thing with the guidance of Christ through his spirit
making humanity worthy of salvation. That humanity
can still make the world a better place despite the
changes he caused in it because there are many realities
which do not change and which have their ultimate
foundation in Christ, Who is the same yesterday and
today, yes and forever (Paul VI, no. 4).

SEARCH out the facts

What? Why? Who? When? Where?

To make Moral decisions you need to make INFORMED

decisions!

Remember these principles: (a) A good intention does

not justify evil means to attain it; (2) If any part of the
act is wrong (action, motive, circumstances),

THINK about the alternatives and the Consequences.

OTHERS

Consult and Consider others by

◦ Talking to them about your dilemma;

◦ How your actions will affect them

PRAY

◦ Talk- let God know what’s in your mind;

◦ Listen- pay attention and God will answer in

some way; and

◦ Be ready.

SYNTHESIS

◦ As stated by Paul VI “The human race is

involved in a new stage of history. Profound and
rapid changes are spreading by degrees around
the whole world. Triggered by the intelligence
and creative energies of man, these changes
recoil upon him, upon his decisions and desires,
both individual and collective, and upon his
manner of thinking and acting with respect to
things and to people” (no. 4). These changes do
not only affect the things happening in the
society but also affects the relationships of
humanity to one another.

◦ He further claimed that because of these

changes humanity is enjoying the abundance
of wealth, power and comfort; nevertheless,
many of the people are still suffering from
poverty, starvation, illiteracy, abuses and what
not. In this case, man has to take responsibility