THEORIES IN

ETHICS Natural Law, Moral Determinants and the Principle

of Double Effects
 Deontology: Kant’s Categorical Imperative

 Utilitarianism

GROUP 2
Tomol, Arnold Jr.
Bohol, Jemaima
Cruzada, Crissile Joy
Mahinay, Aljie
Tagnipez, Melisa
Tarac, Patricia Mae
NATURAL LAW,

MORAL DETERMINANTS AND

THE

PRINCIPLES OF DOUBLE
EFFECTS
Natural Law
• Thomistic Ethic (St. Thomas Aquinas)

• Universal law

• Theory in ethics that human beings possess intrinsic values that govern their reasoning
and behavior

• Rules of right and wrong are inherited in people and are not created by society or court
judges.

Example:
 It is wrong for one person to kill another person.
 Abortion
 Any acts that does not promote preservation of human life or kills life is morally not
acceptable.
Moral Determinants
• Condition that needs to fulfill to determine the morality of human conduct.

• Judge the goodness or badness of any particular act.

Three elements:

1. Object of the act

2. Circumstances
3. The End/Purpose
Moral Determinants
OBJECTIVE OF THE ACT

- act of the will

- the one acting sets out to do
- nature of the action

Example: Suicide

CIRCUMSTANCES

- individual conditions of specific acts in time and place

- that are not of themselves part of the nature of the action
- an ordinary indifferent act into a sinful one

Example: taking a small amount of money, stealing

Moral Determinants
THE END/PURPOSE

- the intention that prompts one to perform such an act.

- the natural purpose of the act

Example:
- when a person reveals some hidden secrets of another to injure that
persons reputation.

- lying to your friend because you want to confuse him/her and get
revenge.
Principles of Double Effects
• Morally permitted to do an act which has good and bad effect

• Direct is morally evil and Indirect may be morally permitted if all of the conditions of
the principle of double effects are met

• The act itself is good and neutral

Example:
 A pregnant woman with uterine cancer

 Spanking a child

 Self-defense
DEONTOLOGY:

KANT’S CATEGORICAL
IMPERATIVE
What is Deontology?

• Greek word deon, meaning duty (obligation).

• A theory that suggest actions good or bad according to a clear set of rules.

• Actions that obey rules are ethical, while actions that do not are not.

• Kant’s theory is an example of deontological moral theory

- the rightness or wrongness of action does not
depend on consequences but on fulfilling the duty

- believed that there was a supreme principle of morality, and

he referred to it as The Categorical Imperative.
1. “Can I rationally will that everyone act as I propose to act?”

2. “Does my action respect the goals of human being rather than merely
using them for my one purpose

- If the answer both of this answer is no, then we must not perform the
action.

Example:
A man borrows money knowing he cannot pay it back despite
promising to do so.

A talented man ignore his talent and does nothing because he is lazy.
Categorical Imperative

• Provide a way for us to evaluate moral actions and to make moral

judgements.

• Central Construct of Moral Law

Difference between Deontological from Teleological

Deontology is the study of ethics or duty, on the other hand, Teleology is

the study of finality or end goals
 Deontology
• lays more emphasis on moral values and what is right.

• It defines what is permitted or forbidden based on its consequences

• Focus on the means and more duty-oriented

• Focuses on teaching fair means to achieve result and practicing actions that do not
cause harm to other.

Teleology

• Lets end justifies means it is the study of finality

• Focus more on result-oriented

• Focus on receiving the desired result through any means

The good will and duty
• The only good was goodwill unlike Utilitarianism.

• Kant did not agree that good was dependent on an outcome

• Goodwill to Kant was for rational being to follow their Duty and act in
accordance with moral law.

• Human beings to be acting through goodwill means they are following

their duty of the categorical imperative.