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Know your Instructor:

Mr. Romarico “Omar” A. Lubuguin
Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy (Classical)
St. Peter’s College Seminary

Theology
Divine Word School of Theology (SVD)

Welcome to:
Religion 11
Introduction to Ethics
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The Dignity of
the Human
Person
(The Human Virtues and the Ideal Society)
 Virtue ( Moral excellence)
• comes from the Latin root vir, for
man.
• trait or quality that is deemed to be
morally good.
Ideal Society
• a collectivity composed of
members of all ages hailing from
various nationalities, cultures,
religions and backgrounds.
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• Human person aspires for excellence and for

this end , he/she forms virtues- the good
habits.
• One of the essentials of living a good life or a
virtuous life, is to develop a good character
based on developing virtues.
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Intimate Relationship between Virtue

and Ideal Society

• If there is an ideal character of the

person, there must also be an ideal
society.
• If the person strive for excellence,
the society must also strive for
excellence
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VIRTUE
AS HUMAN
EXCELLENCE
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HABITS
• Actions that are often repeated because they
have become fixed or permanent
characteristics or tendencies

Examples:
• Mannerism
• Vices
• Virtues
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Mannerism Vices and Virtues

- habitual or -certain actions that have
characteristic way or the quality of being
manner of doing morally bad and good
something, usually
bodily movements

Virtues
-good habits
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Aristotle
Two types of virtues:
“Habits are good
1.Intellectual Virtues- intellectual excellences; virtues, the
proper or right
they are excellences of one’s rational
way of doing
faculty. something.”
a. Philosophic wisdom- purely theoretical and
achieved by understanding unchanging
structure of reality.
b. Practical wisdom- the rational
understanding of how to conduct one’s
daily life.
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Moral Virtues

- Concern the habitual choice of actions

in accordance with rational principle.
- Right disposition to make the right
decisions take prudent action.
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“ A wise or intelligent individual

personifies the intellectual virtues
whereas a continent or moral individual
personifies moral virtues.”
VIRTUE AS A 12

STATE OF
CHARACTER
AND THE MEAN
ARISTOLE 13

THREE ELEMENTS OF HUMAN PERSONALITY

1.Passion- anger and fear

2.Faculty- ability to feel anger and fear, are not in and

of themselves good or bad but can be excessive and out
of control

3.State of Character-
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Virtue as a state of character, means that

being a morally good person is not just
being one who performs morally right
actions but one who has developed a habit
or disposition to do what is right.
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• A well-formed character readily, happily, and
easily tells the truth.
Such as character is manifested in one’s motives,
desires, and intentions.

Mean - the state of character that enables the

person to fulfill his proper function aims at an
intermediary point between the opposite extremes
of excess and deficiency
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Aristotle said in the “Nicomachean

Ethics,” from Man in the Universe

“Virtue is a state of character concerned

with choice lying in a mean, that is
mean relative to us, this being
determined by a rational principle and
by that principle by which the man of
practical wisdom would determine it.”
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Ethical value- condition intermediate

between two extreme states; excess
and deficiency.
• The right kind of action always lies in
the mean.
• A virtuous person is able to avoid
these extremes and is always in a
situation or condition intermediate
between the two.
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Aristotle
“The virtuous habit of action is always an
intermediate state between opposed vices of excess
and deficiency.”

How does one know what is right in a particular

case?
“It is determined by a rational principle, and by that, a
principle that is determined by the man of practical
wisdom.”
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Aristotle
“As human beings, we must aim for and
live a life that is in conformity with our
rational nature.”

True happiness can be attained only

through the cultivation of the virtues that
make human life complete
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THE IDEAL SOCIETY OR STATE

Plato
“The society or state is like an organism or a
human individual; it is composed of parts that
must be in harmony with one another.”
-An ideal society or state in one where unity,
cohesion, and order exist among the different
sectors of that society.
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The Republic ( Plato’s famous work)

“The greatest good is attained by the

city when the citizens share one
another’s joys and sorrows in unity,
similar to the unity among the
different parts of human body.”
FREEDOM
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FREEDOM (in tagalog: kalayaan)- it is the power of

inherent right of the person to act, speak or think what
one pleases as long as it is right.

We can and must think more deeply about the contents

of a fully human life, as knowing who we are is an
indispensable prelude to figuring out what to do to
sustain the future of personal and political liberty.
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TWO KINDS OF FREEDOM

Absolute freedom – only applicable to God. God
can do everything he wants and everything he
does is always good. How do we know it?
Because his nature is goodness. If there is an
element of evil in His nature, then he is not
good. Therefore, not God anymore. Eveyrthing
he does is right, everything he speaks is right

Limited freedom – applicable only to man. From

the word itself, man’s freedom is limited. He
cannot exhibit freedom at all times and in all
situation.
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How Are We Free?

Freedom consists of three main principles:
1) The absence of human coercion or restraint
preventing one from choosing the alternatives
one would wish.
2) The absence of physical constraints in natural
conditions which prevent one from achieving one’s
chosen objectives.
3) The possession of the means or the power to
achieve the objective one chooses of one’s
own volition.
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To be completely free, or to do something of

your own free will, it is essential that you
could have acted otherwise. If you cannot
avoid acting in a particular way, then your
action is not free. While it is generally
understood that human beings have the
ability to think and act freely as rational and
moral agents, the common causal laws by
which all human activities and responses are
governed are incontestable. It is this conflict
that provides the real problem of how we
are free.
 RIGHT
1. The right to life.
2. The right to nationality
3. The right to democracy
4. The right to affordable housing, medicine.
5. The right to protection of the law
6. The right to form a family
7. The right to own a private property
8. The right of workers
9. The right to speech
10. The right to education
11. The right to travel long distance trips
12. The right to practice freedom
13. The right to ride a jeepney
14 The right to religious affiliations
15. The right to honor good name and reputation
16. The right to protection against the bad elements in our
society
17. The right to a good government
DUTIES 26
1. The duty to take care of your body
2. The duty to be a good citizen of your own country
3. The duty to take part in government affairs and help in its
projects for dev.
4. The duties to pay what is due
5. The duty to obey the law
6. The duty to pay your own town
7. The duty to protect your family, love them and have them
registered.
8. The duty to become good employees
9. The duty to become responsible about the things you said
10. The duty to study
11. The duty to follow the rules and regulations related to your
travel
12. The duty to become responsible on the outcome.
13. The duty to pay your fare
14. The duty to follow the precepts of the church
15. The duty to protect your honor, good name and reputation.
16. The duty to report to the authorities their bad activities
17. The duty to vote good and awaited candidates to run the
government.
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Basic Ideas about human rights

• The right is due to man because he
possesses worth and dignity.
• His dignity is rooted on the belief
that human person is a son of God
• Human person has the right to live
and work on his dignity
• Human right is a moral power
residing in a person.
FREEDOM 28

• Horizontal freedom - refers to

man's ability to choose.
• Vertical freedom - refers to the
mans preferential option based on
values. values form a hierarchy.
higher is love and lower is hatred
and egoism.
• Self ownership - no other persons
owns me and decides for me or do
I own and decide for others.
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ST. Thomas Aquinas - the one who

calls " the correct use of the free
will"
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Why is freedom important to human beings?

• people have the opportunity to speak, act and

pursue happiness without unnecessary external
restrictions. Freedom is important because it leads
to enhanced expressions of creativity and original
thought, increased productivity, and an overall
high quality of life.
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Why are human rights important?

• so they can take full
advantage of all
opportunities. Finally, by
guaranteeing life, liberty,
equality, and security, human
rights protect people against
abuse by those who are more
powerful. Enjoy learning! - Sir Omar