THE SCIENCE OF ETHICS

1.The Problem- the science of Ethics is the answer to the

questions pertaining to the last and of man and the meaning of
his life. In our social organization each man has a special mission
to fulfill for which he must be prepared by technical education or
by special vocation.
-Now, the attainment of this end is closely bound to man’s
actions, and it is through Ethics that we learn when and why our
actions are good or bad, right or wrong with regard to the
ultimate end.
2. Etymological Meaning of “Ethics” and “ Morality”
 “Ethics” derived from the Greek word Ethos which means
custom or particular behavior.
 “Moral” comes from the latin word “mos”,”mons” which
means custom.
 In traditional Ethics the word “custom” means a mone or less
permanent moral behavior in accordance with the precepts of
the natural moral law which is universally known and
common to all men.
3. Definition and Purpose of Ethics
 Ethics is the study of the moral behavior or conduct of man as
viewed from ultimate principles in so far as these principles
are known by human reason.
 Ethics is philosophical science dealing with the morality of
human acts.
4. Material and Formal Object of Ethics
 Human acts are the material object i.e., the subject-matter of
the science of Ethics’ investigation.
 Ethics point of view is to consider all human acts in reference
to right reason which is the immediate norm of morality.
5. Ethics and Other Sciences Dealing with a Man
A. Biological Sciences- treat man as a living organism.
 Ethics considers man as moral being, subject to moral duties,
and possessor of moral rights.
B. Anthropology-investigates the origin of human body and
behavior of the primitive man.
 Ethics deals with the principles of right conduct as applied to
men of all times.
C. Sociology- describes the general structure and attitude of social
group.
 Ethics studies the social groups with reference to the moral
social order.
D. Psychology- discusses man’s intellect and free will.
 Ethics directs the intellect to know, and the will to practice the
moral truths.
E. Logic- is the science of correct thinking.
 Ethics is the science of correct doing.
F. Jurisprudence- the knowledge of the origin and interpretation
of laws.
 Ethics is the knowledge of the natural or moral law, common
to all men.
G. Christians Moral Theology- studies human conduct out puts
particular emphasis on the supernatural means given to man for
the attainment of his supernatural end, the union with God.
 This influence, however, does not affect the intrinsic
character of Ethics and its natural mode of reasoning.
 Ethics should not be confused with the religion. Ethics is an
independent philosophical science.
6. Truths Pre supposed in Ethics
A. Existence of God
B. The Dignity of the Human Person
C. The Immortality of the soul
7. Historical Introduction
 Philosophical discussions on moral problems began in
Athens during the period of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.
 Plato discussed extensively and profoundly the nature of good
and evil, happiness, virtue, etc.
 Aristotle wrote the first treatise on Ethics, the Nicomacheon
Ethics.
 The Eudemian Ethics is a compilation of the lectures of
Aristotle by a disciple called Eu demus of Rhodes.
 St. Thomas Aquinas- corrected some errors of Aristotle and
clarified many of his principles.
8. Importance of Ethics
 Ethics importance is derived from the significance of its
material and formal objects.
 There is nothing more important to the individual person than
the acquisition of the ultimate to purpose of life, and the way
to it is own by Ethics.
 Life in society is only possible by practicing the moral
principles regulating human relations.
 The study of Ethics deserves a careful consideration by
individuals who are not familiar with the teachings of Jesus
Christ.
9. Division of Ethics
Two Major Parts:
 General Ethics discusses the nature of human acts and their
relation to morality.
 Special Ethics deals with the application if the general
principles of morality to the particular actions of man as an
individual and as member of society.
I. General Ethics: Special Ethics
a. The ultimate end of man a. Rights and Duties
b. Human Acts b. Individual Ethics
c. Morality of human acts c. Social Ethics
d. Law and conscience d. Political Ethics
e. Virtue in general e. Professional Ethics
The Ultimate End of Man
1.The Problem- what is the purpose of human life? Where we
are going? What is our destiny? And what is the way to attain
it?
 Anaxagoras said that man was created “to contemplate the
sun”
 Socrates thought that the purpose of man in this world is to
learn how to die.
 Epicurus sensual and intellectual pleasures were the real
purpose of life.
 Plato the goal of man is the right cultivation of the human
soul.
 Human life falls out of itself and into the bottomless abyss
and nothing ness if the authentic and the common place.
2. The End and the Good- any act with the knowledge of the
mind and consent of the will, pursues and end which is good for
the sensitive or for the rational appetite or for the whole
human being.
Different Kinds of Ends
 Proximate- an immediate end on account of which an action is
immediately performed.
 Intermediate- a subordinate and sought for the attainment
another end.
 Ultimate- on account of which other ends or means are sought.
 Absolutely last end- defined by St. Thomas as “the end for the
sake of which all other things are desired, and which is not itself
destined for the sake of anything else”
Further distinguished:
 The end of the action- which is the Intrinsic purpose.
 The end of the agent- which is good or purpose that an agent has
in mind.
In connection with the end of human actions we can now formulate
three principles:
First Principles: Every agent that performs an action of the end or
purpose to be attained.
Second Principle: Every agent acts for an ultimate end.
Third Principle: Every agent has the power of moving for an end
which is suitable or good for him.
Following goods:
 Real goods- something truly good in itself.
 Apparent good- in itself, is real civil but appends under the
reality of good, as theft, revenge, suicide.
 Conditional Good- is a good under certain aspect.
 Simple good- is something perfect according to its own nature.
 Imperfect good- is anything treat satisfies either the inferior
appetites of man, or the superior powers, the intellect and the
will.
 Perfect good- can satisfy human nature completely and perfectly
to the highest degree and leaves nothings to be desired.
3. The Last End and Happiness- what is that reality under the name
”good” or “end” contained in all human desires and behind all
human experiences.
We call it happiness.
 From the first to the last moment of our existence, life,
revolves around one desire to be happy is a natural
inclination of the will, or a necessary tendency common to
all men, the activation of this position by particular human
acts is within the power of our personal freedom.
4. Imperfect Happiness
 A man may think he is happy if he can avail himself of the
goods and pleasures that money can buy.
 A man may think that happiness is his because he is
physical strong.
 Happiness is generally identified with bodily pleasure and
luxuries life.
 Glory, prestige, honor, and social glamor cannot offer man a
complete and lasting happiness for these things are
established upon the whims and caprices of fickle public
opinion that fluctuates like weather vane.
 Not even science and virtue are perfect happiness. Because
of the difficulties and hardships they imply, although virtue
is the best way to attain happiness.
5. Perfect Happiness- St. Thomas defines happiness as “The
Ultimate achievement of an intellectual nature”
Boethius: “Happiness is a state made perfect by the
aggregation of all good things”
6. St. Thomas Aquina’s Philosophy of Happiness
“Happiness is two-fold; the one is perfect, consisting in the
vision of God”
 Imperfect Happiness such as can be had in this ;life.
 Perfect Happiness cannot consist essentially in the
consideration of speculative sciences.
7. The Natural and the Supernatural Purpose of Human Life
 Aristotle, the Greek philosopher who lined three centuries
before Christ, believed that the natural purpose of man “is
to live in a way be fitting his human nature”
 This development implies the acquisition of as much truth as
possible by the human mind and the possession of much
moral virtue as possible in the human will.
 Utilitarianism and Pragmatism- two systems of Ethics
different from our scholastic philosophy should be mentioned
here in connection with the happiness.
 According to the English Philosopher Jeremy Bentham (1748-
1832) pleasure and pain are the only motives of human
actions.
 John Stuart Mill (1606-73) was another advocate of the
utilitarian and altruistic system.
Criticism- any ethical system in which the common good prevails
over the private good is acceptable.
“No reason can be given why the general happiness is desirable
except that each person so far as he believes is to be attainable
desires his own happiness.”
 Anything that “works” anything that gives satisfactory results
is morally good.
Other ethical theories are:
 Ethical materialism or hedonism
 Stoicism
 Progressivism
The Human Act
Three Constituents of the Human Acts- knowledge, freedom and
voluntariness are the necessary conditions of man’s moral actions.
a. A human act must be a knowing and deliberate act- knowledge
is advertence of what the moral agent is doing, thinking, or
willing it means deliberation about the means to perform an
action and about the end to be achieved.
b. A human act must be free- Freedom is the power to choose
between two or more courses of action without being forced to
take one or the other by anything except our own will.
c. A human act is a voluntary act- voluntariness is a formal
quality of human acts where by any action or omission results
from a principle within the agent, and from some knowledge
which the agent possess of the end.
2. Human Acts and acts of man- acts which proceed from man as a
rational being. Man is man by his intellect and by his rational will.
3. Division of Human Acts- there are different kinds of human acts,
1. Elicited and Commanded Acts- are those produced directly
by the will; they begin and end in this faculty without
transcending to other faculties, as the act of love, hate or
desire.
2. Internal and External Acts- the first are performed by the
internal faculties of the soul, as the acts of thinking and
loving.
3. Good, Bad and Indifferent Acts- are those acts which agree,
disagree or stand in no positive relation respectively, with
the dictates of right reason or the rules of morality.
4. Natural and Supernatural Acts- are those which proceed
from the natural powers of human nature alone or from the
supernatural aids given to man such as the sacraments, grace
and faith.
5. Valid and Invalid Act- the valid acts possess all the moral
requirements to produce proper effect. The invalid acts lack
one or several of the required moral conditions.
4. Analysis of the Human Act- the psychological process involved
in the different steps towards the completion of the moral or
human act was carefully analyzed by St. Thomas Aquinas.
Different Steps or elements integrating the human or moral act
The seven most important steps among the twelve which
complete the human act
a. Volition- is a mere desire or inclination of the will towards
any good object known by the intellect.
b. Intention- is the active desire for a particular good.
c. Deliberation or counsel- sets in motion a series of thoughts
and judgments.
d. Consent- is a definite decision as to what means should be
used.
e. Choice or election- which the agents actively commits
himself to follow the last particular judgment of the intellect.
f. Command- the intellect points out and the will moves others
executive powers of man, internal and external, to act and
get the intended object.
g. Enjoyment or fruition- consists in the actual attainment of
the desired good.
5. Freedom and Morality- some philosophers teach the man is
not free but determined by heredity, economic factors,
environment, character temperaments, etc.
b. Perfect voluntary act – is the act performed with complete
knowledge and full consent. It is an imperfect voluntary act.
c. Directly Voluntary or voluntary in itself- is an act which is
willed as an end in itself.
d. Indirect voluntary or voluntary in its cause- is an act which is
desired not as an end in itself but a foreseen effect or sequence of
the act.
e. The explicit or expressed- voluntary act happens when the
consent to an action is externally manifested by words or by
signs.
g. The pure or simple voluntary act- is that which is willed with
full consent and without dislike.
h. Actual, virtual, habitual and interpretative voluntariness or
intention.
1. Actual intention- is that which is present “here and now”
before the mind while performing an action.
2. A virtual intention- is that which was made at some former
time and still influences the act which is now being
performed.
3. Habitual intention- is the retention in the unconscious mind
of an intention made at some former time and which,
although actually forgotten, has never been retracted.
4. Interpretative intention- is the result of interpreting the
intention of one who does not have the power of judgment to
make a decision by himself.
SINCE KNOWLEDGE AND FREEDOM CONDITIONS FOR
Voluntary Act, it follows that human actions performed without
perfect knowledge and full freedom are not perfect voluntary, and
no person can be held wholly responsible for such actions.
VARIOUS DEGRESS OF IGNORANCE:
Ignorance
- in ethics Ignorance is lack of the knowledge which man
should leave his moral duties.
-A child’s ignorance of the lawyer’s duties is only negative
ignorance for it is absolutely involuntary.
- A doctors' ignorance of the immorality of abortion is a
positive ignorance since a doctor should know his professional
duties.
This various kind of ignorance has various degrees namely:
Invincible Ignorance
-is that which cannot be overcome either because a person does
not realize his own state of ignorance, or because it is almost
impossible for him to acquire the proper knowledge of the matter.
- if by no human effort can ignorance dispelled, it is called
physical invincible.
-if ignorance also cannot be overcome by ordinary diligence and
reasonable efforts, it is called morally invincible ignorance.
B. Vincible Ignorance
- is that which can be removed by ordinary efforts. When handily
any effort has been used to dispel ignorance, it is called crassor
supine ignorance.
Second Principle ‘ Vincible Ignorance does not destroy , but it does
lessen the voluntariness and responsibility of an act.
B. Perfect Voluntary Act
- is the act performed with complete knowledge and full consent,
otherwise, it is an imperfect voluntary act.
C. Directly Voluntary or Voluntary Itself
- is an act which is willed as an end in itself.
D. Indirect Voluntary or Voluntary in its Cause
- is an act which is desired not as an and itself but a foreseen effect
or sequence of the act.
E. The Explicit or Expressed Voluntary Act
- happens when the consent to an action is externally manifested
by words or by signs. The consent in a tacit voluntary act is given by
silence. “Silence means consent”
G. The Pure or Simple Voluntary Act
-is that which is willed with full consent and without dislike.
Mixed or conditional voluntary act results when the act to be
performed is willed under certain conditions but at the same time is
not likeable under other conditions.
H. Actual, Virtual and Interpretative Voluntariness or Intention.
Actual Intention
Is that which is present “here and now” before the mind while
performing an action.
2. A virtual intention
-is that which was mode at some former time ones still
influences the act which is now being performed.
3. Habitual Intention
- is the retention in the unconsciousness mind of an
intention mode at some former time and which , although
actually forgotten, has never been retracted.
4. Interpretative Intention
-is the result of interpreting the intention of one who is not
present or of me who do not have the power of judgment to
make a decision by himself.
Indirect Act or Voluntary Act in Cause- the act from which
several effects may result is known in Ethics.
2 Cases of Indirect or Voluntary Act
 When from a good or indifferent action, one evil effect
directly and necessary results
 When from a good or indifferent action, two effects results
one good and one evil. This is known as the case of the double
effect.
The first Indirect Voluntary
Principle: A person is held morally responsible for any evil effect
which flows from the action itself directly and necessarily as a
natural consequences though the evil effect is not directly willed
intended.
The Second Indirect Voluntary
Principle: A human act from which two effects may result, one
good and one evil, is morally permissible under four conditions:
Indirect Act or Voluntary Act in Cause- the act from which
several effects may result is known in Ethics.
2 Cases of Indirect or Voluntary Act
 When from a good or indifferent action, one evil effect
directly and necessary results
 When from a good or indifferent action, two effects results
one good and one evil. This is known as the case of the
double effect.
The first Indirect Voluntary
Principle: A person is held morally responsible for any evil effect
which flows from the action itself directly and necessarily as a
natural consequences though the evil effect is not directly willed
intended.
The Second Indirect Voluntary
Principle: A human act from which two effects may result, one
good and one evil, is morally permissible under four conditions:
3. Practical Cases
a. Action must be morally good in itself.
b. Good effect of the must come before the evil effect or at least be
simultaneous with it.
c. Motivate or intention- prompting the action must be directed
towards the attainment of the good effect. The evil effect is only
permitted as an incidental result.
d. Good effect must be more important or at least equally
important as the evil effect.

4. Violence or compulsion is the application of the external force on

a person by another free agent for the purpose by another free
agent for the purpose of compelling him to do something against
his will.
Principle: Physical actions resulting from violence are involuntary
by themselves.
5. Habits- a constant and easy way of doing things acquired by the
repetition of the same act.
First Principle: Habits do not destroy voluntariness and actions
performed by the “force of habit” are imputable to man.
Second Principle: If a habit has been constructed absolutely
involuntarily and unintentionally as for instance.
Third Principle: If an evil habit has been contracted voluntarily,
but a positive and constant effort is being made to counteract it,
the acts inadvertently proceeding from the habit are constructed
involuntary and not imputable to man.