THE FUNDAMENTAL OF

PRINCIPLES OF ETHICS

“ EXCELLENCE IS NOT AN ACT, BUT A

HABIT.”
 Introduction

Ethics is a science that investigates the nature of

the human conduct in the process of
investigating the nature of the human conduct, it
is important that we differentiate between the
human act and act of man.
 Objectives:
1. Understand the nature of the human acts.
2. Differentiate human acts from acts of man
3. Explain the different components of the
human acts
4. Investigate critically the concept of
voluntariness of the human act in relation to
the agent’s culpability.
 1. The Nature of the Human Act

Human acts are actions that proceed from the

deliberate free will of man.

These actions are therefore done with knowledge

and consent and wilfully carried out by the
person.
 1. The Nature of the Human Act

Human acts are characterized as:

1. The free voluntary acts of man;

2. Acts done with knowledge and consent;
3. Acts which are proper to man as a rational
being since man has been gifted with
rationality and freedom of will; and
4. Acts which are conscious and under our
control and for which we are responsible.
 1. The Nature of the Human Act

Acts of Man refer to the certain types of actions

that are naturally exhibited by man and as such
they are morally indifferent because we cannot
judge them to be either ethical or unethical
 Two categories of acts of man

1. Natural involuntary actions

these are actions of man that are performed
intuitively or involuntarily ( blinking o the eyes,
metabolism, perspiration, beating of the heart)

2. Natural voluntary status actions

these are actions that are within the control of
man’s will but only for some period of time
( breathing, sleeping, eating, walking)
 1. The Nature of the Human Act

It is important to note, however, that there are

special circumstances where some acts of man,
particularly the natural voluntary actions, may
become human acts and therefore, may be
judged to be either moral or immoral.
 1. The Nature of the Human Act

An example of these act is reading. Reading is a

neutral activity, however, if one reads a smut
magazine, reading in this case becomes an
immoral action.
 Human Acts in Relation to Reason

Good acts – are those done by man in harmony

with the dictates of right reason

Evil acts – are those actions done by man in

contradiction to the dictates of right reason

Indifferent acts - are those acts that are neither

good nor evil.
 The Voluntariness of the Human Acts

The concept of voluntariness is important in

ethics because only voluntary acts have moral
bearing. This means that because human acts are
performed by man with knowledge and consent,
he is therefore responsible for his actions.
 Categories of Voluntary actions

1. Perfect voluntariness- actions performed with

full knowledge and with full consent
2. Imperfect voluntariness – actions that occur
when there is no perfect knowledge or
consent, or when either or both of the
knowledge or consent is partial.
3. Direct voluntary- actions that are intended for
its own sake, either as a means or as an end
(murder, stealing)
 Categories of Voluntary actions

4. Indirect voluntary- actions that are not

intended for its own sake but which merely
follows as a regrettable consequence of action.
 having two Effects
(the Indirect Voluntary Act

A difficult question sometimes arises whether it

would be morally right to do certain actions
from which good as well as bad effects follow;
meaning is it morally right to do an act which
entails good as well as bad consequences?
 The answer to this question is “YES”
provided one follows the following
conditions (Panizo, 1964)

1. The action must be morally good in itself, or

at least morally indifferent.
2. The good effect of the act must precede the
evil effect. The evil effect is morally allowed
to happen as a regrettable consequence
3. There must be a grave of sufficient reason in
doing the act.
 provided one follows the following
conditions (Panizo, 1964)

4. The evil effect should not outweigh the good

effect or, at least, the good effect should be
equivalent in importance to the evil effect
 The Determinants of morality

The factors that link the human acts with their

norms are called the determinants or morality.
As the link, the determinants of morality serve as
the measure of the goodness and the badness of
the human act.
There are three determinants of morality- the
end of the action, the end of the agent, and the
circumstances of the act.
 Determinants of Morality

1. The End of the Action- this refers to the

natural purpose of the act or that in which the
act in its very nature terminates or results,
thus, the end of the action of studying is
learning.

(the end of the act is the primary determinant of

morality)
 Determinants of Morality

2. The end of the actor – this refers to the

intention of the motive of the doer of the act.
This is to be distinguished from the end of the
action. The motive of the agent varies with
different individuals, while the end of the act is
always the same.
 Determinants of Morality

3. Circumstances of the Act- refer to the

conditions that affect the human act by
increasing or decreasing the responsibility of
the actor. These circumstances of the act are
not considered part of the action itself which
means acts per se can exist even without the
circumstances.
 Determinants of Morality

However, when acts are performed,

circumstances affect the morality of the act.
The following are considered the circumstances
of the act because they can either aggravate or
mitigate the culpability of the actor:
 Determinants of Morality- Circumstances of the Act

WHO- refers to the person or the one to whom

the acts is ascribed
WHAT- refers to the quality or the quantity of
the object of the act
WHERE- refers to the place where the act is
performed.
HOW- refers to the manner or mode by which
the act is performed
 Determinants of Morality- Circumstances of the Act

By what means- refers to the means employed by

the actor
WHEN- refers to the circumstance of time
WHY- refers to the circumstances of end or
intention of the act.
Five Principles involving the implications of the circumstances of the
Act

Paul Glenn (1968)

Wrote five principles involving the implications
of the circumstances of the act:

1. An indifferent act can become good or evil

circumstances ( Eating meat is indifferent.
However, eating meat on Good Friday
intentionally is evil.)
Five Principles involving the implications of the circumstances of the
Act

2. A good act can become evil through

circumstances ( Giving money to poor is a good
action. However, giving money to the same poor
people to buy votes during elections is evil.)
3. An intrinsically good act can become better or an
intrinsically evil can become worse through
circumstances ( Visiting a sick person to comfort him
is a good action. However, not visiting a mother who
is sick in the hospital out of hatred is worse
4. An evil act can never become good through
circumstances. (stealing money to buy food
cannot make the action of stealing good.)
5. A good act done with the evil means destroys the
entire objective of goodness of the act (Giving food to
hungry is a good action. However, giving money to
the hungry through robbery is evil.