Ethics

• According to St. Thomas, Aquinas, is an ordinance of reason, promulgated for the common good by one who has charge of society
• • Laws are “ordinance of reason.”
  • Laws are “promulgated.”
  • Law are passed by “one who has charge of society.”
  • Laws are necessary to man.
  • Laws are comparable to the signs in the street which guide the traveler towards his destination.
• Divine Positive Laws are those promulgated, or made known to us by special command of God.

  Human Positive Laws are those promulgated by a legitimate human authority. This authority resides either in the State or in the Church.
• Human positive laws are intended to preserve peace and harmony within a society and to direct each member of that society to work towards the common good.
• Laws of the State- CONTITUTION and the CODE OF CIVIL LAWS

  Laws of the Church– CANON LAW
• Positive laws are those that require the performance of an act. These laws permit and expect actions to be done.

  Negative laws are those that require the omission of an act. These laws prohibit the performance of an act.
• Moral laws are those derived from the natural law. These are universal laws binding all men alike.

  Political laws (civil and criminal laws) are those enacted by men to guide their actuation in society to one another. The objective of these laws is peace and order and material prosperity. – Human positive laws.
• Properties of Human Laws

  Human laws must conform with divine laws.

  Human laws must promote the common good.

  Human laws must be just and not discriminatory of certain individuals or groups.

  Human laws must be practicable.

  Human laws regulate external actions only.

  Human laws are fallible, because human legislators are liable to commit errors.
• The norms of morality are the standards that indicate the rightfulness and wrongfulness, the goodness or evilness, the value or disvalue of a thing. A norm, in general, is a standard of measurement

  Richard M. Gula defines norms of morality as “the criteria of judgment about the sorts of person we ought to be and the sorts of actions we ought to perform.
• The remote norm of morality is the Natural Law. The proximate norm of morality is Conscience. They are both rooted in Eternal Law, the ultimate norm.
• Eternal Law- is the plan of God in creating the universe and in assigning to each creature therein the specific nature. It provides for the cosmic order where every creature stands different and independent but not apart from the unified purpose of creation.

  Cosmos means “beautiful.”
• Natural Law is recognized by all men regardless of creed, race, culture or historical circumstances. Philosophers agree that an inner force compels man towards good and away from evil. “Being written in the hearts of men.”
• Properties of the Natural Law:

  It is universal

  It is obligatory

  It is recognizable

  It is immutable or unchangeable
• The human acts are those actions which man performs knowingly, freely, and voluntarily.
• The acts of man are those actions which happen in man. They are instinctive and are not within the control of the will.
• Kinds of Human Acts

  Elicited acts- acts performed by the will and are not bodily externalized.

  Commanded acts-acts done either by man’s mental or bodily powers under the command of the will.
• • Wish – it is the tendency of will towards something, whether this be realizable or not. The object of wishing may include the impossible or remotely possible.
• • Intention- it is the tendency of the will towards something attainable but without necessarily committing oneself to attain it.
• • Consent- it is the acceptance of the will of those needed to carry out the intention.
• Election- it is the selection of the will of those means effective enough to carry out the intention.
• 5. Use- it is the command of the will to make use of those means elected to carry out intention.
• 6. Fruition- it is the enjoyment of the will derived from the attainment of the thing he had desired earlier.
• Internal – Conscious reasoning, recalling something, encouraging oneself, controlling aroused emotions, and others.

  External – Walking, eating, dancing, laughing, listening, reading, and others.

  Internal and External – Listening, studying, reading, driving a car, writing a letter, or playing chess.
• Moral Actions - actions which are inconformity with the norm of morality.
• Immoral Actions – actions which are not in conformity with the norm of morality.
• Amoral Actions – actions which stand neutral in relation to the norm of morality.
• Types of Voluntariness

  Direct voluntariness accompanies an act which is primarily intended by the doer, either as an end in itself or as a means to achieve something else.

  Indirect voluntariness accompanies an act or situation which is the mere result of a directly willed act.
• Factors that influence man’s inner disposition towards certain actions are called modifiers of human acts.
• • IGNORANCE - It is the absence of knowledge which a person ought to possess.
• VINCIBLE- It can easily be reminded through ordinary diligence and reasonable effort.

  INVINCIBLE- This is the type which a person possess without being aware of it, or, having awareness of it, lacks the means to rectify it.
• Under the category of vincible ignorance is the affected ignorance. This is the type which a person keeps by positive efforts in order to escape responsibility or blame.
• Passions are psychic response.
• ANTECEDENT- are those that precede an act. It may happen that a person is emotionally aroused to perform an act. It predisposes a person to act.

  CONSEQUENT- are those that are intentionally aroused and kept. They are said to be voluntary in cause, the result of the will playing the strings of emotions.
• Fear It is the disturbance of the mind of a person who is confronted by impending danger of harm to himself or loved one.
• • VIOLENCE - Refers to any physical force exerted on a person by another free agent for the purpose of compelling said person to act against his will.
• • HABITS - It is a lasting readiness and facility, born of frequently repeated acts, for acting in a certain manner.
• One attains virtues when he/she actualizes his/her potentials or possibilities , the highest of which is happiness.
• The ethical person is virtuous, one who has developed good character or has developed virtues.
• Basic Types of Virtue

  Intellectual virtues- refers to excellence of the mind ( to understand, reason, and judge well)

  Moral virtues- refers to a person’s disposition to act well
• Too little courage is cowardice and too much courage is foolhardiness.