Determinants of Morality and Virtue

• Act of man - an act that is not dependent upon intellect and free will. It is done by a human person but is not proper to hum as a person because it does stem from those faculties which peculiar to man, namely, intellect and will.
• Human act - an act that proceeds from the deliberate free will of man.

  • It is an act that is deliberate and knowingly performed by one having the use of reason. Therefore, both intellect and will are in play. It is an act proper to man as man.
• Three elements of determining morality (O-I-C)

  1. The act itself (object)
  2. The purpose of the act (end/intention)
  3. The circumstances surrounding the act (circmastances)
• The act itself - The object of moral choices, it carries the most weight when determining the morality of an action. Intrinsically evil acts are always evil; they can never be justified.
• The purpose of the act (Intention) - It refers to the motivation for which the act is done.
• Circumstances - it describes each individual moral choice by asking about the who, what, when, where, why, and how.
• Virtue - an excellent trait of character; a disposition well-embedded in its possessor.
• Practical Wisdom (Phronesis) - The ability to think and act in relation to values and morals and to deliberate about things that are good or bad for humans (Aristotle, n.d); it enables the individuals to discern and make good judgements about what is the right thing to do in a situation.
• Eudaimonia - the highest good humans could strive for - or a life 'well lived'
• St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) - is generally regarded as the West preeminent theorist of natural law.
• Prudence

  • "Right reason with respect to action."
  • The quality of being wise in practical affairs, as by providing something for the future.
  • A kind of intellectual aptitude that enables us to make judgments that are consonant with our proper and,
  • For Aquinas, _ is not simply an act of the mind for it illuminates for us the course of action deemed most appropriate for achieving our antecedently established telos.
• Temperance

  • In a general sense, it denotes a kind of moderation common to every moral virtue, In its more restricted sense, it concerns the moderation of physical pleasures, especially those associated with eating, drinking, and sex.
  • Disciplining ourselves with the virtue of _ denotes a retrained desire for physical gratification.
• Courage

  • A habitual disposition to take whatever pains may be involved in doing what we ought to do for the sake of good life. Quite simply, it means doing what we know we need to do however difficult or challenging.
• Justice

  • it prompts us to give other what is due to them
  • it governs our relationships with other