Opening Prayer

Lord Jesus, give us the child-like simplicity &

purity of faith to gaze upon your face with joy
& confidence in your all merciful love. Remove
every doubt, fear,, & proud thought which
would hinder us from receiving your word with
trust & humble submission. Amen!
 Key Takeaways
 Good Life was not an issue among the
primitive people in the ancient times. In the
civilization era, it became a point of inquiry
when people began to compare their ideas,
beliefs, customs, and traditions with others.
 Key Takeaways
 Civilization has led man to think in a spatiotemporal
dimension (time and space). Human beings now see
the connection between his present actions and the
consequences thereof. Goodness and beauty are
considered always to be connected with their daily
activities – thus becomes causal and material.
 Key Takeaways
 Ethics involves systematizing, defending, and
recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior.
It is both a practical and normative science. It is based
on reason, different from religion or theology and it
studies human acts. The three approaches to ethics are
meta-ethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics.
 Key Takeaways
 Thepresent era, influence by a
hedonistic mentality, created a situation
where Ethics has to be redefined and
echoed to every individual!
Fundamental Concepts
in Ethics (Part 2)
Daren Dawn C. Avila, EdD
Instructor
I. Defining Human Acts
II. Modifiers of Human Acts
III. Ends of Human Acts
 Lesson Objectives
01 02 03
- DIFFERENTIATE - STATE THE ETHICAL - EXPLAIN THE
BETWEEN HUMAN PRINCIPLES ON MODIFIERS DIFFERENT KINDS OF
ACTS & ACTS OF MAN OF HUMAN ACTS ENDS IN HUMAN ACTS.
APPLICABLE TO A MORAL
- WEIGH THE EXPERIENCE - IDENTIFY THE
IMPORTANCE OF - DETERMINE THE PROXIMATE, REMOTE,
FREEDOM AS THE MODIFIER/S PRESENT IN A INTERMEDIATE &
FOUNDATION OF MORAL EXPERIENCE. FINAL END OF YOUR
MORALITY. CHOSEN CAREER PATH.
I. Defining Human
Acts
 Acts of Man vs Human Acts
 Thereare two general forms
of acts: ACTS OF MAN and
HUMAN ACTS.
 Acts of Man
 Involuntary Natural Acts. These include the
involuntary, intuitive or reflex acts
exhibited by man, such as the blinking of
the eye, the beating of the heart, sneezing,
yawning, breathing, scratching, and other
 Try! Confirm for yourself if they are indeed
involuntary!
 Stop blinking for five to ten minutes
 Stop breathing for five to ten minutes
 Stop your heart from beating
 Stop your stomach from digesting the food you
have taken during breakfast
 Voluntary Natural Acts. They include
parts of our daily activities, socially
learned activities such as brushing our
teeth, combing our hair, cutting our
nails, taking a bath, etc.
 Human Acts
 A HUMAN ACT is an act that is
deliberately performed by one
possessed of the use of reason.
Deliberately performed means that it is
done freely and knowingly.
 The Relation of Human Acts to Reason:

1) Good – when they are in harmony with the

dictates of right reason.
2) Evil – when they are in opposition to these dictates
3) Indifferent – when they stand in no positive
relation to the dictates of reason.
 Three Constituents of Human Acts
1. Knowledge. A human act proceeds from the
deliberate will. Napag-isipan. Napagnilayan.
As an agent, you must know both the nature of
the act you are about to perform and the
possible consequences that may come after
2. Freedom. A human act is an act
determined by the will and nothing
else. This means that you are not
forced nor coerced to perform an
act.
3. Voluntariness. It is the formal
essential quality of the human
act. Both knowledge and
freedom are present. Ginusto
mo.
 A human act is a conscious, voluntary and
free act (alam mo, gusto mo, at malaya
mong ginawa). Thus, you hold
responsibility for your actions. If your act
turns out to be good then you deserve the
good consequences that come after. If your
act turns out to be evil, you are held
accountable for the negative impacts.
FREEDOM AS A FOUNDATION
OF MORALITY
 Freedom is referred to here as
internal or psychological (the
freedom to decide), and not to
external freedom (the freedom to
carry out one’s decision).
 Freedom implies knowledge
 A free act is always voluntary
 Freedom makes you responsible for
your actions to the extent that they are
voluntary.
II. Modifiers of
Human Acts
 As moral agents, are we always fully responsible
for our actions?
 Are the impacts of all our actions, be it positive
or negative, always imputable (ascribable,
attributable, chargeable) to us?
 What happens when one or all of the three
constituents of human acts are absent?
 Thereare certain factors or
modifiers that affect human acts.
 They as well determine the degree
of our moral responsibility over the
results of our actions.
1. Ignorance
 Ingeneral, it is the lack of
knowledge regarding a
certain thing.
 The two types of ignorance are invincible ignorance and vincible
ignorance.
 Invincible ignorance is a type of ignorance which cannot be
dispelled, or knowledge that is lacking and cannot be
acquired. The inability to dispel the ignorance or acquire the
knowledge that is lacking may arise from various causes.
Example: When you are in a foreign country and the speed
limit is written in another alien language. Since, the
ignorance cannot be expelled or dispelled by due diligence
and reasonable effort then the person is not responsible.
 On the other hand, vincible ignorance is a type of
ignorance which can and should be dispelled. It
implies culpable negligence. The person could know
and ought to know. Vincible ignorance can be cleared
up if one is diligent enough. For instance, a person
who knowingly violates safety and health protocols
in a time of pandemic would be responsible for
his/her actions.
 Thereare three kinds of vincible
ignorance: simple vincible
ignorance, crass or supine
ignorance, and affected vincible
ignorance.
 Simple vincible ignorance exists when one uses some, but
not enough diligence, in an effort to remove the ignorance.
It does not free us from responsibility. Suppose a nurse is
unsure of dosage. She refers to the doctor’s order sheet and
finds that she is unable to read the doctor’s handwriting.
She knows that the doctor is at the office but does not
bother to talk to the doctor. As she administers the
medication, guessing at the dosage, she is guilty of simple
vincible ignorance.
 Crass or supine ignorance is that which results
from mere lack of effort. For instance, a doctor
discovers in his patient certain symptoms which
he does not recognize. On the shelf over his desk
is a good medical book that could assist him to
diagnose the symptoms. However, he does not
bother due to laziness to read the medical book.
 Affected vincible ignorance is that which is deliberately fostered
in order to avoid and obligation that knowledge might bring to
light. For instance, a nurse who accepts employment with a
doctor who frequently practices artificial insemination. The nurse
may suspect that this is immoral or something which is contrary
to the teaching of the Church but carefully avoids inquiring or
even discussing the matter with anybody, lest the nurse discovers
that he/she is cooperating in immorality and be obliged to leave
his/her well-paying job. It is affected because she wants to be
ignorant, and it is vincible because the nurse could dispel the
ignorance easily.
2. Passion or Concupiscence
 is
a feeling, such as anger, of fear,
of joy, or of despair. It refers more
specially to those bodily appetites
or tendencies as experienced.
 When passions are not controlled by
reason, passions may become destructive
and evil. They are considered bad when
used by the rational will to accomplish
morally evil acts, like using courage to rob
a bank.
 There are two types of concupiscence; antecedent
concupiscence and consequent concupiscence.
 Antecedent concupiscence precedes an act of the will
and is not willfully stimulated, such as sudden anger
as reaction to news and objects presented to the
senses.
 On the other hand, consequent concupiscence is that
which is deliberate and stimulated by the will, such as
anger deliberately fostered.
 a. Antecedent Passions do not always destroy
voluntariness, but they diminish accountability
for the resultant act. Example: Sa sobrang saya
mo (passion) na nakita yung pangalan mo sa
official list ng honor students, naitulak mo yung
bestfriend mo at siya ay nagalusan. Accountable
ka, though hindi fully, sa nangyari sa bestfriend
dahil hindi naman siya intentional.
 b.Consequent passions do not
lessen voluntariness, but may even
increase accountability. Ito ay dahil
intentional na inarouse mo yung
passions mo.
3. Fear
 is a mental agitation brought on by the
apprehension of some present or imminent
danger. It is the disturbance of the mind of a
person who is confronted by an impending
harm to himself or loved ones (Agapay
1991:24) Fear maybe slight or grave.
 a. Actsdone “with” fear are
voluntary. The person concerned
remains morally responsible of
his/her action, whether good or
bad, right or wrong.
 Examples
 Nagcheat ka dahil “may takot” kang bumagsak. The fear does not justify
your act of cheating.
 Tinolerate mo nalang yung pangangaliwa ng kasintahan mo dahil “may
takot” ka na hiwalayan ka niya. The fear does not justify your act of
toleration.
 Itinago mo ang iyong asawa na pinaghahanap ng batas dahil sa crime of
murder dahil “may takot” mo na lumaki ang mga anak mo na walang ang
ama nila sa kanilang tabi,. The fear does not justify your act of obstructing
justice.
 b. Acts done “because of” intense
fear or panic are simply involuntary.
A person when acting out of extreme
fear is not morally accountable of
his/her action or conduct.
 Examples
 You were having classes in the fifth floor when suddenly fire razed so
quickly in the storage room near the classrooms. The fire alarm rang.
Everybody is in panic. As you rushed going down through the fire exit,
you accidentally pushed one of your classmates which resulted to a
serious physical injury. Here, the panic justifies your act of pushing your
classmate.
 You are in a money heist situation. Nakatutok yung baril sayo, you were
asked to open the vault of the bank (of which you are not allowed) and
you did exactly what was asked. Your act of opening the bank vault will
be morally justified by the existence of intense fear of getting shot.
4. Violence
 isan external force applied by a
free cause for the purpose of
compelling a person to perform an
act which is against his will.
 a. Any action resulting from
violence is simply involuntary.
Let it be clear, however, that
this does not justify violence.
5. Habits
 is
a lasting readiness and facility,
born of frequently repeated acts,
for acting in a certain manner.
 Habits may be good or evil as to
whether they influence one to do good
or evil. If a habit disposes a person to
do good, it is called a virtue. However,
if a habit disposes a person to de evil, it
is called a vice.
 a.
Evil habits do not lessen the
imputability of evil actions
performed by force of habit, if the
habit has been recognized as evil
and is freely permitted to continue.
 b.Evil habits lessen the
imputability of evil actions
performed by force of habit if
one is sincerely trying to
correct the habit.
III. Ends of Human
Acts
 Every human act is done for an end.
 An end is a purpose or goal. It is that for which
an act is performed. It is the final cause of an
act.
 For instance, some may read a certain book for
pleasure; others for instruction, others again to
practice obedience: the act is the same, the ends
are various.
 A human act is a voluntary act. It is an act of the
will and the will cannot act unless the intellect
proposes to it something to which it may tend.
 The will is only another name for the rational
appetite -- that is, the power of tending to a good
which the intellect proposes to it. The good
intended is the end of the act.
 End of Act - The natural termination of an
activity.
 End of Doer (Agent) - It is a personal purpose
intended by the person performing the act. It is
called “motive”, the reason why a person
performs an act.
 Kinds of END
1. Proximate End - is the purpose which
doer wishes to accomplish immediately
by his action. (eg. The proximate end of
eating is the satisfaction of hunger).
2. Remote End – is the purpose
which a doer wishes to accomplish
in series of acts. (eg. The remote end
of the proximate end of eating is the
promotion of health.)
3. Intermediate End - Is the
purpose which is desired as a
means for obtaining another
thing. (eg. All of those activities
leading towards graduation.)
4. Ultimate End - Is the purpose
which is desired for its own sake
and not because of something else.
(eg. A student may assign his
graduation as an ultimate end.)
 All human ends are directed, in last
analysis, to an all-sufficing absolutely
ultimate end. This is the completely
satisfying end or good; it is the Supreme
and Infinite Good; it is the Summum
Bonum; and for theists, it is God.
 The concept of end coincides of that of good.
According to Aristotle, good means either: good as an
end itself or good as a means to another end. Apparent
good – it is evil viewed or disguised as good. When
someone desires evil as an end, it is only because he
views it, subjectively, as something good. Every
human activity is intended for the attainment of
something good.
 Closing Prayer
Bless us, O Lord, as we take our leave
from this gathering in your name, that
we may be strengthened by your Spirit
and be filled with love for one another.
Amen.