ethics definition Flashcards
semis
The moral end of man is the Good
in which a person, in his innermost
being, yearns for and made
manifest to him in
synderesis and
conscience.
is the
concrete particular
judgment by which, in a
given situation, a person
knows what he ought to do
Conscience
generally,
the intellectual habit or
disposition. A possession of
the fundamental principles
of morality– do good and
avoid evil.
Synderesis
Moral law is the dictation of the
voice of reason:
the good must
be done and the evil must be
avoided.”
If act is suitable to human nature =
action is good or moral
Ultimate happiness consists in
contemplating God and not in the
goods of the body.
Maninhis contemplation of God,
must find way to obtain that
ultimate happiness.
Man’saction is always geared
toward God.
The Happiness of the Human Person:
The Three Determinants of Moral
Action:
Object or the end of an action
(finis operas)
Circumstances (circumstantiae)
Intention of the agent (finis
operantis)
that to which the
act naturally tends before all else.
❖ Purpose of the ac
Object or the end of an action
(finis operas)
– when added to the natural of the
moral act will certainly affect its
morality.
❖ Maya aggravate the
goodness or badness of a
particular action
Circumstances (circumstantiae)
Intention of the agent (finis
operantis)
the reason why the
agent acts.
❖ Humanactsare good if
they promote the purpose
of God and his honor
The Threefold Natural Inclination of the
Human Person:
Self-preservation
Justdealing with others
Propagation of species
protect his or
her life and health. Putting one’s
life in danger considered immoral.
Self-preservation
all
forms of inhumanity to human
beings are by nature evil.
Justdealing with others
man
and woman is created for
pro-creation. Any forms of
contraceptive that will defeat the
purpose of reproduction and
destroys reproductive organs is
immoral.
Propagation of species
The Rights of a Human Person
Theright to Life
● Right to Private Property
● Right to Marry
● Right to Physical Freedom or
Personal Liberty
● Right to Worship
Right to Work
The Duties of a Human Person
Dutyto Keep Healthy and Take
Care of Oneself
● Dutyto Take Care of One’s
Property and Respect the Property
of Others.
● Dutyto Support One’s Family
● Dutyto Respect Private
Boundaries
● Dutyfor Religious Tolerance
● Dutyto Perform at One’s Best
That is why duty is also known
as obligation
hence, doing one’s
duty is doing what one is obliged to
do
Kant’s ethical view is
sometimes
called deontologism
believed that morality is
exclusively within the human
personality, i.e., what is morally
right or wrong is solely a matter of
intent, motive, and will.
kant
Kantconsiders a human person as
an autonomous, self-regulating
will
● Kantdistinguished between two
types of duties: the perfect duty
and the imperfect duty.
The Kantian Person
is that which
a person must always
observe irrespective of
time, place, or
circumstances
Perfect duty
is that
which a person must
observe only on some
occasions.
Imperfect duty
that every person is
capable of doing an action based
on his will and decision
kant held
sets the general
thesis that pleasure and happiness
are what everyone desires
Utilitarianism
Itupheld the idea that the morally
best act is the one that produces
the greatest amount of happiness
with everyone considered.
Utilitarianism
They followed the
principle of Thomas Hobbes who
put an emphasis on the people’s
selfish concern for their own
pleasure
Utilitarianism
who
believed that the whole of morality
is focused on the people’s capacity
for sympathy, the tendency to
The utilitarians also became aware
of the idea of David Hume
said that the aptness in us to
produce pleasure is what we
should consider as good; and
consequently, the desire to
produce pain is to be considered
evil
John Locke
Utilitarianism claims that there is
one and only one moral principle
the principle of utility.
This principle states that
actions are good insofar as
they tend to promote
happiness, bad as they
tend to produce
unhappiness
is basically an
approach to morality, which treats
pleasure as the sole element in
human good.
Utilitarianism
Inorder to analyse the value of an
action, Bentham devised a
pleasure-pain calculus or the
Hedonistic Calculus
The Hedonistic Calculus:
Amethodofdetermining
which of alternative actions
would be preferable
because of the amount of
pleasure to be anticipated.
The Hedonistic Calculus:
Thisconsists of the intensity,
duration, certainty, propinquity,
fecundity, purity, and extent of an
action. An action is to be
considered good or moral if it is
more intense
The Hedonistic Calculus:
Held that the rightness of
an act is determined by its
effect on the general
happiness. It should be
applied to particular acts in
particular situations or
circumstances on a case by
case basis.
Act Utilitarianism
People must evaluate the
moral correctness of an
action not with reference to
its impact on the general
happiness but, rather, with
respect to the impact on the
general happiness of the
rule that the action
embodies. Therefore, this
considers the possible
results in the light of a rule.
Rule Utilitarianism
The term pragmatism is derived
from the Greek word
pragma,
which means “act” or “deed.”
is more of a theory of
knowledge, truth, and meaning
than of morality.
Pragmatism
Meanings are derived not by
intuition but by experience. Thus,
reasons are not individual but
social.
Pragmatism as Basis for Doing Good
is the event in
which mind and object hold
together, so that there is no duality
between them.
EXPERIENCE
The true and valid form of
knowledge is one which is
practical, workable, beneficial
and useful.
the act that will
produce good results.
Practical
the act be put
to work.
Workable
the act
benefits both sides
Beneficial
it can be used to
attain good results
Useful
Because of its claim that truth must
always be verified and tested by
experiment, pragmatism is also
called
EXPERIMENTALISM.
It is also called
RECONSTRUCTIONISM insofar
as ideas are instruments in
reconstructing experiences
RECONSTRUCTIONISM
pragmatism is also known
as
PROGRESSIVISM.
3 natura inclinations
self perservation just dealing with others propagation of human species
can be discovered in human nature
moral law
