ETIC 211_ 1ST SEM_2ND YR @ABEGAIL MAGBANUA

conflicting positions being taken. It is critical to be considered. They should be informally

identify these principles, and in some cases, to weighed, since some positive consequences are
determine whether some principles are to be more detrimental than others.
weighted more heavily than others. Clearly,
biblical principles will be weighted the most 7. MAKE A DECISION
heavily. There may be other principles that  Deliberations cannot go on forever. At some
speak to the case that come from other sources. point, a decision must be made. Realize that one
There may be constitutional principles or common element in ethical dilemmas is that
principles drawn from natural law that there are no easy and painless solutions to them.
supplement the biblical principles that come Frequently the decision that is made is one that
into play here. The principles that come out of involves the least number of problems or
your mission and calling are also important to negative consequences, not one that is devoid of
consider. them.
4. LIST THE ALTERNATIVES END OF PRELIM

 Part of the creative thinking involved in

resolving an ethical dilemma involves coming up
with various alternative courses of action.
Although there will be some alternatives that
you will rule out without much thought, in
general the more alternatives that are listed, the
better the chance that your list will include some
high-quality ones. In addition, you may come up
with some very creative alternative that you had
not considered before. WHAT IS UTILITARIANISM?
5. COMPARE THE ALTERNATIVES  Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that argues for
the goodness of pleasure and the determination
WITH THE PRINCIPLES
of right behavior based on the usefulness of the
 At this point, the task is eliminating one of actions consequences. This means that pleasure
alternatives according to the moral principles is good and that the goodness of action is
that have a bearing on the case. In many determined by its usefulness. Putting these ideas
instances, the case will be resolved at this point, together, utilitarianism claims that one’s action
since the principles will eliminate all and behavior are good in as much as they are
alternatives except one. In fact, the purpose of directed toward the experience of which refers
this comparison is to see if there is a clear to the usefulness of the consequences of one’s
decision that can be made without further action and behavior. When we argue that the
deliberations. If a clear decision is not drug war program of the present government is
forthcoming, then the next part is the model that permissible because doing so results in better
must be considered. At the least, some of the public safety , then we are arguing in a utilitarian
alternatives may be eliminated by this step of way. It is utilitarian because we argue that some
comparison. individual rights can be sacrificed for the sake of
the greater happiness of the many
6. WEIGH THE CONSEQUENCES
THEIR SYSTEM OF ETHICS EMPHASIZES
 If the principles do not yield a clear decision,
then a consideration of the consequences of the
THE CONSEQUENCES OF ACTIONS:
remaining available alternatives is in order.  This means that the goodness or the badness of
Both positive and negative consequences are to an action is based on whether it is useful in

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ETIC 211_ 1ST SEM_2ND YR @ABEGAIL MAGBANUA
contributingnto a specific purpose for the
greatest number of people.
UTILITARIANISM IS  In the book An Introduction to the Principles
CONSEQUENTIALIST: of Morals and Legislation (1789), Jeremy
 This means that the moral value of actions and Bentham begins by arguing that our actions
decisions is based solely or greatly on the are governed by two “sovereign masters”--
usefulness of their consequences; it is the which he calls pleasure and pain. These
usefulness of results that determines whether “masters” are given to us by nature to help us
the action or behavior is good or bad. determine what is good or bad and what ought
THE UTILITARIAN VALUE PLEASURE to be done and not; they fasten our choices to
their throne.
AND HAPPINESS:
 The principle of utility is about our subjection
 This means that the usefulness of actions is
to these sovereign masters: PLEASURE and
based on its promotion of happiness as the
PAIN.
experience of pleasure for the greatest number
of persons, even at the expense of some  On one hand, the principle refers to the
individual rights. motivation of our actions as guided by our
avoidance of pain and our desire for pleasure.
It is like saying that in our everyday actions,
we do what is pleasure as good if, and only if,
they produce more happiness than
unhappiness. This means that it is not enough
 Born on february
to experience pleasure, but to also inquire
15,1748 in london,
whether the things we do make us happier.
england. Died on June
6, 1832. Having identified the tendency for pleasure
and the avoidance of pain as the principle of
 He was the
teacher of James Mill, utility, Bentham equates happiness with
father of John Stuart pleasure.
Mill.  Actions that lead to PLEASURE ARE RIGHT,
 Bentham first ones that produce PAIN ARE WRONG
wrote about the
greatest happiness principle of ethics and was
known for a system of penal management called
PANOPTICON.

JEREMY BENTHAM
UTILITARIANISM LAW
 Intellectual inheritor of David Hume  Government should not pass laws that protect
tradition, customs or rights
 Recognized as ‘Act Utilitarian’
 Government should base all laws on the
 Right actions result in ‘good or pleasure,’
happiness principle
wrong actions result in pain or absence of
pleasure. The greatest happiness for the greatest number
 The Principle of Utility  Bentham’s theory is both empirical (how much
 Law and Social Hedonism pain or pleasure is caused by the act or policy)
 Felicific Calculus
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and democratic (each individual’s happiness is
as important as anyother’s)

SOCIAL HEDONISM  His ethical theory and his defense of utilitarian

views are found in his long essay entitled
Ethics as Greatest Happiness
UTILITARANISM (1861).
 Moral worth judged by presumed effect
 He studied Greek at the age of three and Latin at
 Action guided by pleasure/pain
the age of eight. He wrote a historyof Roman Law
age eleven. He was married to Harriet Taylor
after 21 years of friendship.
 Was born on May 20, 1806 in Pentonville,
London, United Kingdom. Died on May 8, 1873
In this framework, an action can be evaluated on the in Avignon, France from Erysipelas
basis of intensity or strength of pleasure;
JOHN STUART MILL
 DURATION or length of the experience of
pleasure.
UTILITARIANISM
 CERTAINTY, UNCERTAINTY, or the  A more sophisticated form of Utilitarianism.
likelihood that pleasure will occur; and  Concerned with quality of pleasure and quantity
 PROPINQUITY, REMOTENESS, or how soon of people who enjoy it.
there will be pleasure.  Recognized higher and lower types of human
pleasure.
These indicators allow us to measure and pain in  PRINCIPLE OF GREATEST NUMBER
actions, we need to consider THREE MORE  JUSTICE AND MORAL RIGHTS
DIMENSIONS:
 Mill dissents from Bentham’s single scale of
 FECUNDITY or the chance it has of being pleasure. He thinks that the principle of utility
followed by sensations of the same kind must distinguish pleasures QUALITATIVELY
 PURITY or the chance it has of not being and not merely quantitatively.
followed by sensations of the opposite kind.  For Mill, utilitarianism cannot promote the kind
 Lastly, when considering the number of of pleasures appropriate to pigs or to any other
persons who are affected by pleasure or pain, animals. He thinks that there are HIGHER
another dimension is to be considered -- INTELLECTUAL and LOWER BASE PLEASURES.
EXTENT.  LOWER PLEASURES: eating, drinking, sexuality,
etc.
 HIGHER PLEASURES: intellectuality, creativity
 Felicific calculus allows the evaluation of all and spirituality.
actions and their resultant pleasure. This means
that actions are evaluated on this single scale "It is better to be a human being
regardless of preferences and values. In this
sense, pleasure and pain can only quantitatively dissatisfied than a pig satisfied;
differ but not qualitatively differ from other better to be Socrates dissatisfied
experiences of pleasure and pain accordingly.
 FELICIFIC CALCULUS- common currency
than a fool satisfied.”
framework that calculates the pleasure that
some actions can produce.

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 Mill creates a distinction between legal rights
and their justification. He points out that when
legal rights are not morally justified in
accordance to the greatest happiness principle,
then these rights need neither be observed, nor
 Utilitarianism cannot lead to selfish acts. It is be respected. This is like saying that there are
neither about our pleasure nor happiness alone; instances when the law is not morally justified
it cannot be all about us. If we are the only ones and, in this case, even objectionable.
satisfied by our actions, it does not constitute a
moral good. In this sense, utilitarianism is not In short, Mill’s moral rights and considerations of
dismissive of sacrifices that procure more justice are not absolute, but are only justified by
happiness for others. their consequences to promote the greatest good of
 Utilitarianism is interested with the best the greatest number.
consequence for the highest number of people.
It is not interested with the intention of the
agent. Moral value cannot discernible in the BETHAMITE MILLSIAN
intention or motivation of the person doing the Democratic Elite Utilitarianism
act; it is based solely and exclusively on the Utilitarianism
difference it makes on the world’s total amount No one pleasure is Some pleasures are
of pleasure and pain. inherently better than better than others.
any other.
If drunken parties make If you party then get
Utilitarianism is interested with everyone’s
you happy, then go for it. drunk every day, then
happiness, in fact, the greatest happiness of the you won’t be as happy as
greatest number you otherwise might be.
Reading poetry isn’t Enjoying poetry is better
better than watching the than watching bad TV.
Bachelor, it’s just And if you disagree, it is
different. because you don’t
understand quality.

 When we call anything a person’s right, we mean

that he has a valid claim on society to protect
him in the possession of it, either by the force of
law , or by that education and opinion. If he has
what we consider a sufficient claim, on whatever
account, to have something guaranteed to him
by society, we say that he has a right to it.
 The right to due process, the right to free speech
or religion, and others are justified because they
contribute to the general good. This means that
society is made happier if its citizens are able to
live their lives knowing that their interest are
protected and that society (as a whole) defends
it
 A right is justifiable on utilitarian principles in
as much as they produce an overall happiness
that is greater than the unhappiness resulting
from their implementation.
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ST. THOMAS AQUINAS

MORAL OBJECT
 The intention inherent in the action that one is
actually performing.
 It specifies the human act and is the purpose that
the act accomplishes as a means to the ultimate
goal of life.
 Although the moral object or finis operis is the
 Also known as Doctor Angelicus and Doctor
fundamental element of the morality of the
Communis
human act, that is also the circumstance.
 Born in 1225 Aquino, Italy
 Died in 1274 in Italy
 Referred to as Thomas because his last name
Aquinas refers to where he was born.
 Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, Catholic
priest, and Doctor of the Church
 Theologian, and jurist in the tradition of
scholasticism
 Begins his natural law theory by differentiating
human acts from acts of man
CIRCUMTANCE
NATURAL LAW  is the part of the human act that must be
 Natural law is a system in which actions are seen considered in order to evaluate the total moral
as morally and ethically correct if t accords with act. Can be considered in various moral
the end purpose of human nature and human questions, thus, be might ask, ‘who’, ‘when’, ‘how
goals. much’ or ‘in what manner’
 Follows the fundamental maxim, ‘do good and
avoid evil’
HUMAN ACTS
 Human acts as Aquinas expressed proceeds
from the will.

INTENTION / MOTIVE
 The ultimate reason that determines the moral
act
 Is a means towards attainment of true happiness
ACTS OF MAN both of a agent and the common good.
 Is an action that does not proceeds from the will
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 We are called to heed the voice of conscience
and enjoined to develop and maintain a life of
virtue.
 However, we need a basis for our conscience to
be properly informed, and we need a clearer
guidepost on whether certain decisions we
make lead us toward virtue or vice.
 Designed by Aquinas  Being told that one should heed one’s conscience
 Used in order to judge the moral acceptability of or that one should try to be virtuous, does very
the human act that has two effect: little to guide people as to what specifically
 GOOD should be done in a given situation
 EVIL  There is a need or a clearer basis of ethics, a
ground the will more concretely direct our sense
of what is wrong and right
 For Aquinas, there should be Natural Law

 The action is good itself or at least in different

 The Good effect must come first before the evil ESSENCE OF LAW
effect or a least simultaneously  As a rational being, we have free will. Through
 The Good effect must be intended our capacity for reason, we are able to judge
 There must be a proportionately grave reason between possibilities and to choose to direct our
for the evil effect to happen actions in one way or the other.
MEDIEVAL THINKER  ACTIONS are directed toward attaining ends or
goods that we desire.
THOMAS AQUINAS  There are many possible desirable ends or
 This natural law of theory is part of a larger goods, and we act in such ways to pursue them.
project, which is Aquinas’ vision of the Christian  ACTS are rightly toward their ends by reason
faith
 AQUINAS reminds us that we cannot simply
THE CONTEXT OF AQUINAS’ act in pursuit of our own ends or good
ETHICS without any regard for other people's end or
 How in our pursuit of happiness we direct our good. We are not isolated beings, but beings
actions toward specific ends. who belong to a community.
 How our actions are related to certain  Since we belong to a community, we have to
dispositions in a dynamic way since our actions consider what is good for the community as
arise from our habits and at the same time well as our own good. This can be called
reinforce a good disposition leading us toward COMMON GOOD.
making moral choices.  We should reconize the proper measure or
 The Christian Life is about developing the the limits in our acts in a way that we can
capacities given us by God into a disposition of pursue ends, about our own and that of
virtue inclined toward the good others, together. The determination of the
 Aquinas also puts forward that there is within us proper measure of our acts can be referred to
a conscience that directs our moral thinking as LAW.

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 We should reconize the proper measure or HUMAN LAW
the limits in our acts in a way that we can
 refers to all instances wherein human being
pursue ends, about our own and that of
construct and enforce laws in their
others, together. The determination of the
community
proper measure of our acts can be referred to
as LAW. ETERNAL LAW
 A LAW, therefore, is concerned with the  refers specifically to the instances where we
COMMON GOOD. have what is handed down to us in sacred
 It is also necessary for rules or laws to be scripture
communicated to the people involved in  "So then no one can know the eternal law, as
order to enforce them and to better ensure it is in itself, except the blessed who see God
compliance. This is reffered to as in His Essence."
PROMULGATION.
 "The definition of law may be gathered; and it
is nothing else than an ordinance or reason
for the common good, made by him who has
care of the communitg and promulgated" — IN COMMON IN OTHER
Aquinas
BEINGS
 We have consider how we, human beings, are
VARIETIES OF LAW both unique and at the same time
 We do not only recognize God as the source of participating in the community of the rest of
these beings, but also acknowledge the way creation. Our presence in the rest of creation
they have been created and the way they does not only mean that we interact with
could return to Him, which is the work of His creatures that are not human, but that there
divide reason itself. is also in our nature something that shares in
 He governs all the acts and movements that the nature of other beings.
are to be found in each single creature, so the
type of Divine Wisdom, as moving all things
IN COMMON WITH OTHER
to their due end, bears the character of law. ANIMALS
ETERNAL LAW  Aquinas then goes on to say that there is our
human nature, common with other animals, a
 What God wills for creation
desire that has to do with sexual intercourse
 How each participant in it is intended to
and the care of one’s offspring. As the matter
return to Him
of fact, animals periodically engage in sexual
 We must recognize that we are part of the
intercourse at a specific time of “heat”, and
eternal law and we participate in it in a
this could result an offspring. In human too,
special way.
that natural inclination to engage in the
 Irrational creatures are participating in the
sexual act and to reproduce exists. Thomas
eternal law, although we could hardly say
writes certain special sins are said to be
that they are in any way "conscious" of this
against nature, thus contrary to sexual
law.
intercourse, which is natural to all animals, is
 Aquinas notes that "we cannot speak of them unisexual lust, which has received the special
by obeying the law, except by the way of name of the unnatural crime
similtude""Wherefore it has a share of the
External Reason, whereby it has a natural UNIQUELY HUMAN
inclination to it's proper act and end" - this  We have an inclination to good according to
participation of the external law in the the nature of our reasons.
natural creature is called NATURAL LAW
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 With this, we have a natural inclination to EXAMPLE
know the truth about God and to live in
 Suppose you’re a software engineer and you
Society o It is of interest that this is followed
learned that a nuclear missile is about to
by matters of both an epistemic and a social
launch that might start a war. You can hack
concern.
the network and cancel the launch, but it is
 General guideposts:
against your professional code of ethics to
 Epistemic Concern – which is that
break into any software system without
we know we pursue the truth
permission. Thus, a form of lying and
 Social Concern – which is that we
cheating.
know we live in relation to others
What does deontology suggests you to do?
 Thomas tells us that there is a priority among
the powers of our soul, with the intellectual
directing and commanding our sensitive and
nutritive capacities  Reggie, is a taxi driver who drove his
 Recognizing how being rational is what is Australian passenger, Trent Shields to his
proper to man, the apparent vagueness of the workplace.
third inclination that Aquinas mentions is
counter-balanced by the recognition that he
is not interested in providing precepts that
one would simply, unthinkingly follow
 In making human laws, additions that are
not at all problematic for the natural law are
possible.
 As Aquinas puts it, nothing hinders a change
in the natural law by way of addition, since
our reason has found and can fine many
things that benefit individual and communal
human life.

DEONTOLOGY
 “duty-based” or “obligation-based” ethics
DEONTOLOGY
 It is an approach to ethics that focuses on the  Moral theory that evaluates the actions that
rightness and/or wrongness of an action- are done because of duty - Refers to the study
itself; rather than on the rightness or and obligation - Immanuel Kant is the main
wrongness of the consequences or the proponent
character of the person. RATIONAL WILL
 What makes a choice RIGHT is its conformity  capacity to act according to principles that we
to moral norms determine for ourselves
 Deontology may sometimes be consistent SENTIENCE
with Moral Absolution, the belief that certain
 Organism has the ability to perceive and
actions are just wrong, no matter what
navigate its external environment
follows.
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ETIC 211_ 1ST SEM_2ND YR @ABEGAIL MAGBANUA
RATIONALITY that faculty. The binding force then become
universal rather than relative.
 Humans are rational because they have the
 A key thinker in moral reflection
ability to stop and think about what they are
doing

 A 15th century mathematician and

astronomer who proposed that the sun was
 Born on April 22, 1724. stationary in the center of the universe and
 College: University of Konigsberg (AKA the earth revolved around it.
Albertina)  He proposed the heliocentric model of the
 After College: 6 years as private tutor to universe in his book De Revolutionibus
young children and began teaching Orbium Coelestium.
Philosophy at the Albertina the following  Heralded a radical paradigm shift in the way
year. humans considered their place in the
 After retiring he came to believe that there universe
was a gap in this system separating the
metaphysical foundations of natural science
RATIONAL WILL
from physics itself, he then closed this gap in  Ability to enact our thoughts
his series of notes – Opus Postumum  Refers to the faculty to intervene in the world
to act in a manner that is consistent with our
 Herald the “Copernican Revolution in
reason.
Philosophy”
 Kant developed revolutionary insights AGENCY
concerning the human kind and the  Ability of a person to act based on her
conditions for the possibility of knowledge intentions and mental states.
similar to Copernicus  The capacity of a person to be the cause of her
 He intends to develop “Supreme Principle of actions based on reasons and not merely to
Morality”. It is supposedly supreme because mindlessly to react to the environment and
by basing it on the faculty of reason, it base impulses
becomes binding for all creatures that have

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SCENARIO:
 Reggie found a suitcase and she returned it to
the owner but what if Reggie did not return the
suitcase, destroyed the lock, then took and sold
 He claims that the property of the rational its valuable contents?
will is autonomy which is the opposite of  Reggie may have concluded “I am entitled to
heteronomy. benefit from this lost suitcase. I am the author
These three Greek word are instructive: of this principle. I am acting autonomously.” He
may conclude this since no external authority is
 Autos
legislating laws for him by using rewards or
 Heteros
punishments.
 Nomos
 What is the focus of the authorship of Reggie
Which means;
based on the scenario?
 Self
 Other
 Kant claims that there is a difference between
 Law rational will and animal pulse.
EXAMPLE  The choice can be determine by pure person
 Brushing one’s teeth which is not yet a moral is called free choice. That which is terminable
dilemma but is sufficient to explain the only by (sensible impulse stimulus) would be
difference between autonomy and animal choice (arbitrium brutum)
heteronomy;  Human choice is a choice that may indeed be
 Now think about the children twenty years affected but not determined by impulses, and
later; the children might concluded that they: is therefore in itself (without an acquired skill
✔Agree with the principle behind it. (Act of of reason) not pure, but can nevertheless be
legislating principles) determined to do actions from pure will
✔Every night they impose it upon
themselves to brush their teeth before going
to bed. (Enacting principles) SENSIBLE IMPULSE
 These are usually bodily and emotional.
“The will is thus not only subject to the law, but
Examples:
it is also subject to the law in such a way that it
gives the law to itself, and primarily just in this  Jealously from seeing your girlfriend or
way that the will can be considered the author of boyfriend make eyes at someone
the under which it is subject.”  The rage from being pushed foully by your
opponent in a basketball game.
The distinguishing point in autonomy is the locust
of the authorship of the law which can be divided by the
PURE REASON
 There is a choice or action
external or internal.
 Kant calls this kind of action free choice, and
one may argue that human freedom resides in
EXTERNAL AUTHOR LAW this capacity of reason to intervene to
 the will is subjected to an external authority, “mediate” within arbitrium.
thus heteronomy will.  Kant describes that human choice can be
affected but is not determined by sensible
INTERNAL AUTHOR LAW impulses.
 if the author was the will itself, imposing the
law unto itself, then it is autonomous What does it mean for a human to be affected but
is not determined by sensible impulse?
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ALTERNATIVE SCENARIO  Universability/Universalisability
 Reggie tells himself “I am entitled to benefit ✔ Humanity as end
from this lost suitcase. The action of Reggie in ✔ Kingdom of ends
the scenario is considered as heteronomous.  FOUR KEY ELEMENTS
 Why heteronomous?  Kant state that we must formulate an action as
maxim, which he defines as a “subjective
CONCLUSION principle of action”
 Heteronomy of the will occurs when any
 We have many maxims in our lives, and we live
foreign impulse, whether it is external (as in
according to them.
other persons or institutions that impose their
will on the agent) or sensible (as in bodily
“Act only according to such a maxim, by which you
instincts or base emotions) is what compels a
can at once will that it becomes a universal law.”
person to act.
 In contrast, autonomy is the property of the What does it mean to will a maxim that can
will in those instances when pure reason is the become a universal law?
cause of the action
 In groundwork towards a metaphysics of
morals, Kant takes up the issue of making false
promises. He narrates the predicament of who
needs money, but has no immediate access to
obtain it except by borrowing it from a friend.
KINDS OF MORAL THEORIES
 This is a specific act under the general category
 SUBSTANTIVE
of acts called false promising. Kant says that the
 FORMAL MORAL THEORY
man would like to make such a promise, but he
SUBSTANTIVE THEORY stops and asks himself if what he is about to do
is right or wrong: is it really wrong to borrow
 it immediately promulgates the specific actions
money without intending to pay it back?
that comprise that theory.
Example:
 MAXIM: I will borrow money even though I
 ten commandments
know that I will not be able to return it.
 “honor your father and mother”.
 UNIVERSAL LAW/UNIVERSABILITY: A
 “you shall not kill”
world where everyone borrows money
FORMAL MORAL THEORY without the intention of returning it.
 It does not supply the rules or commends  Now there are two possibilities in this
straight away. hypothetical world:
✔ By “making sense”, we refer to the logical
IMMANUEL KANT plausibility.
 Embodies a formal moral theory in what he ✔ By “not making sense”, we refer to the
calls the categorical imperative, which provides
logical impossibility
procedural way of identifying the rightness or
wrongness of an action.
 Kant between being “consistent with itself”
 Kant describes the categorical imperative in 3
and “contradict itself”, but must necessarily
ways.
contradict itself.
 “When I am in need of money, I shall borrow it
even when I know I cannot pay it back. “
 “Act only according to such a maxim, by which  The meaning of the act “to borrow” implies
you can at once will that it becomes a universal taking and using something with the intent to
law. ” return to it. In the maxim, the claim is “to

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borrow” even when I know I cannot pay it  The practice of deontology in our moral
back, which contradicts the very meaning “to reflection, we are encouraged to have
borrow”. courage to think on our own, to use our
 The act of borrowing money without rational will against external authorities as
intending to pay is rationally impermissible. well as internal base impulses that tend to
undetermined our autonomy and self-
determination.

“All our knowledge begins with the senses,

 Self-contradictory
proceeds then to the understanding, and ends
 Act and its purpose become impossible with reason. There is nothing higher than
RATIONAL PERMISIBILITY reason.”
 Intrinsic quality of an action that is objectively -Immanuel Kant
and necessarily rational.
UNIVERSALIZABILITY TEST
 a form of a moral test that invites us to imagine
a world in which any proposed action is also
adopted by everyone else.  The goal of life is well-being (happiness) and
 it is the foundational principle for the means to attain it is by acquiring a
deontological, or duty-based, ethics. virtuous character.

CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE ORIGINS OF VIRTUE ETHICS

 The theory of virtue ethics originates in
 It is precisely for the rational will that is
Ancient Greece, though some connections can
autonomus.
be drawn as far back as Ancient China.
 Kant gives two forms of the categorical
 In Greek, virtue (arête) means ‘excellence’.
imperative:
 Socrates once claimed: “it’s the greatest good
✓Behave in such a way that a reasonable
for a man to discuss virtue all day … on the
generalization of your action to a universal
grounds that the unexamined life is not worth
rule will lead to a benefit to a generic person
living” (The Apology).
under this universal rule.
✓Always treat others as ends and not means.

PATERNALISM
 is the term used for actions we take or  For Greeks (and all subsequent virtue
decisions we make for another person with theories), the goal of action is the ultimate
the intention of benefiting that person. - human good: happiness (eudaimonia).
metaphor of father  Human happiness is to be understood as the
highest achievement of what it means to be
✓Deontology is the spirit of enlightenment of human, of the human essence. It is a kind of
morality. It is based on the light of one’s own reason flourishing, health, or well-being of the soul
when maturity and rational capacity take hold of a or mind.
person’s decision making.  While happiness seems to be subjective, the
✓ Moreover, with deontology particularly the idea of human flourishing implies an
method of universalizability, we can validate and objective notion of happiness. (Think of it on
adopt the rules and laws which are right and reject analogy with health.)
those that are irrational. Thus, impermissible  Virtue makes a person good, or excellent, and
because it is self-contradictory.\ so it is the means by which we acquire
happiness.
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 Virtue is supposed to be a kind of knowledge;

 Aristotle and Aquinas distinguish between
 It is identified with wisdom (sophia); intellectual and moral virtues:
 Wisdom is both necessary and sufficient for  Intellectual virtues can be taught
virtue; formally. They involve knowledge
 Knowledge about virtue is somehow and understanding of causes and
analogous to mathematical knowledge; ends (the why and how).
 Both kinds of knowledge are the result of a  Examples: theoretical wisdom,
self-reflective process called ‘recollection’. scientific knowledge, insight or
understanding, technical skill or art,
and practical wisdom.
 Moral virtues can only be acquired through
practice and experience. They involve
acquiring habits of character and have to do
 Since virtue concerns action, it is possible to
with the appropriate management of
act well without knowing how to act well;
emotions.
 As long as someone has the right belief about
 Examples: temperance or
which actions are good, he or she will act
moderation, justice, courage or
virtuously;
fortitude, generosity, friendliness,
 But belief without knowledge is unstable and
wittiness, truthfulness, etc.
fleeting;
 This is why it is necessary to have, not just VIRTUE AND CHARACTER
true belief, but knowledge, which is justified  To be virtuous is to have a virtuous character.
true belief  Character is an engrained habit or disposition
to act in certain ways.
 Virtuous action must come from a virtuous
character (as opposed to some external
force).
 With Aristotle, we distinguish the kind of  The virtuous person wants to act virtuously
wisdom necessary for ethical action from and does so for that reason.
wisdom in the sciences. CHARACTER CONTINUED
 The wisdom necessary for action is “practical  Dispositions or character traits are to be
wisdom” (phronêsis) or good moral understood broadly, so that a virtuous person
judgment. Aquinas calls this “prudence” is virtuous in many different situations.
(prudentia).  For example, an honest person not only tells
 Judgment applies to a range of different the truth, but doesn’t cheat, respects
situations, which is why it requires contracts, obeys the laws, and doesn’t
experience to acquire. misrepresent him/herself.
 Good judgment enables a person to make the  And the honest person does this because he
right sort of decision in the right kind of or she prefers to be honest, not because
circumstances at the right time. he/she wants to avoid some bad
consequence.

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 For this reason, it is unwise to attribute a
virtue to someone on the basis of one or a few
actions.
HABIT: HOW TO ACQUIRE
VIRTUE  Aquinas recognizes Aristotle’s idea that
 With respect to the moral virtues, Aristotle virtue leads to happiness, but he sees this as
thinks we “learn by doing”. an imperfect, natural, or human form of
 Virtue requires discipline and practice. happiness.
 Repeated virtuous actions help to engrain the  Complete and perfect happiness is not to be
character traits or dispositions that make a found in this life, for Aquinas. It is the beatific
person virtuous. vision: complete intellectual union with the
 Making virtuous decisions requires good divine (seeing God in God’s essence).
moral judgment (reason), so there is an  This sort of blessed happiness is impossible
essential, rational component as well. as long as our intellect is embodied and
operates through the senses (since God’s true
AN ANALOGY essence is not perceivable by the senses.)
 One of the easiest ways to think of how to  Additionally, human beings are unable to
acquire moral character is by comparing it to obtain this perfection without the grace of
skills like the ability to play a sport or a God. So, this ultimate end or purpose of
musical instrument. humanity is supernatural, it requires divine
 A person who practices hard and trains her intervention.
body acquires the skills to be able to do that
skill well. REVIEW
 The skilled athlete or musician is also the one  Virtue ethics is the theory that moral goods
who is better able to practice, reinforcing her involve acquiring a virtuous character.
skill.  Virtues are either moral or intellectual.
 The skilled athlete or musician actually  Moral virtues involve acquiring a character
physically changes his or her body through through practice, by engraining habits or
repetitious actions. dispositions to act well.
 In the same way, the virtuous person finds it  Making good choices, practicing good habits,
easier to act virtuously; she actually changes and acting well all involve good moral
her physical and emotional characteristics. judgment (the application of reason to
changing, practical situations).
CHARACTER AND THE WILL  Good moral judgment, good actions, and a
 Aquinas emphasizes the importance of will in good character ultimately make a person
his account of the moral virtues. happy. They lead to the well-being of the soul.
 For Aquinas, even if a person has the right
characteristics and is inclined by nature to do
Why Should I Be Moral?
the right thing, that person still has a choice Because of My
either to follow commands of reason or not.
 The individual, human will is right when it Character!
conforms to divine will.
 Divine will is the ultimate lawgiver: God ARISTOTLE’S ETHICS
ordained right and wrong, good and bad,  384-322 B.C.
when God created the world. So, failure to  The Nicomachean Ethics
conform to God’s will is to violate the natural  Two Kinds of Persons
law.  Continent:

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- Do what is right, but not necessarily Fear of important Courage
because they want to. damages
 Temperate:
Bodily appetites and Moderation
- Do what is right because they want to;
their pleasures
the more holistic person

THE GOAL OF HUMAN Distribution of Justice

limited resources
EXISTENCE Attitude to slights Mildness of
 Eudaimonia and damages Temper
 Flourishing, Happiness
 A Lifelong Pursuit, accomplished
 Rationally, through theoretical
wisdom and contemplation
 Functionally, through practical  Proper position between two extremes
wisdom and politics  Vice of excess
 Vice of deficiency
THE GOAL OF HUMAN
 Not an arithmetic median
EXISTENCE & EUDAIMONIA  Relative to us and not the thing
 Aimed at the “perfect happiness” which is the  Not the same for all of us, or
perfect activity  Any of us, at various occasions
 An excellence in any activity in accordance  “In this way, then, every
with the nature of that activity knowledgeable person avoids excess
 Thus, “Human happiness is the activity of the and deficiency, but looks for the mean
soul in accordance with perfect virtue and chooses it” (II.6)
(excellence)”. (I.8; Pojman, 394).
THE MEAN
THE VIRTUES Vice of Virtue Vice of Excess
INTELLECTUAL VIRTUES Deficiency
 Wisdom, Understanding, Prudence Cowardice Courage Foolhardiness
 Taught through instruction
Stinginess Generosity Prodigality
MORAL VIRTUES Shamelessness Modesty Bashfulness
 Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, Temperance Maliciousness Righteous Enviousness
 The result of habit Indignation
 Not natural or inborn but acquired through
practice
 Habit or disposition of the soul (our VIRTUES AND THE MEAN
fundamental character) which involves both
 Defined through Reason
feeling and action
 Education, contemplation, reflection
- “Those strengths of character that
 Balanced with Other Virtues and applied
enable us to flourish” (Hinman)
using phronesis:
 To have any single strength of
THE VIRTUES character in full measure, a person
 Defined / understood in terms of spheres of must have the other ones as well.*
human experience - Courage without good judgement is
blind
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- Courage without perseverance is  Virtue contributes to the good life
short-lived ROSALIND HURSTHOUSE
- Courage without a clear sense of your  A neo-Aristotelian – Aristotle was wrong on
own abilities is foolhardy women and slaves, and there is no need to be
 “The virtuous person has practical wisdom, the limited to his list of virtues.
ability to know when and how best to apply  We acquire virtues individually, and so
these various moral perspectives.” (*Hinman) flourish, but we do so together and not at
each other’s expense.
VIRTUES AND COMMUNITY
 Virtues are defined and lived in community CAROL GILLIGAN
 Sharing a common identity and story  In a Different Voice (1982)
 Modelling the Virtues  Developmental theories have been built on
 Importance of Moral Exemplars observations and assumptions about men’s
(Saints and Heroes) lives and thereby distort views of female
 Practicing the Virtues – Habit is Crucial! personality.
 The kinds of virtues one honors depend on
“In a word, then, like activities produce like the power brokers of one’s society.
dispositions. Hence we must give our activities a  The Ethics of Care
certain quality, because it is their characteristics
that determine the resulting dispositions. So it is a MICHAEL SLOTE
matter of no little importance what sort of habits  Develops the feminist ‘ethics of care,’ and
we form from the earliest age ̶ it makes a vast links it to a virtue ethics inspired more by
difference, or rather all the difference in the Hume and Hutcheson’s moral sentimentalism
world.” (II.i.) (Pojman, 396) than by Aristotle.
 Slote’s version of virtue ethics is agent-based
 Reinforcing the Virtues
(as opposed to more Aristotelian forms which
are said to be agent focused) i.e. the moral
rightness of acts is based on the virtuous
motives or characters of the agent. The
G.E.M. (ELIZABETH) ANSCOMBE motives are all important
 In 1958 she published an article called
Modern Moral Philosophy arguing that we MARTHA NUSSBAUM
should return to the virtues, as the idea of a  She interprets Aristotle’s views as
law without a lawgiver was incoherent. absolutes… justice, temperance, generosity
etc. are essential to human flourishing in all
ALASDAIR MACINTYRE societies and in all times.
 After Virtue (1981)  Nussbaum sees a relativist approach as being
 Modern moral philosophy is bankrupt; it incompatible with Aristotle’s virtue theory.
must recover the tradition of virtue.
Importance of Narrative as a “live tradition” – Are the virtues the same for everyone?
you need to know where ethics has come
from.  People are very different.
 Virtues change over time.  But we face the same basic problems and
have the same basic needs.
PHILIPPA FOOT  Everyone needs courage as danger can
 Tries to modernise Aristotle. always arise.
 Ethics should not be about dry theorising,  Some people are less well off, so we will need
but about making the world a better place generosity.
(she was one of the founders of Oxfam)  Everyone needs friends so we need loyalty.
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 Excess: having too much of
STRENGTHS OF VIRTUE ETHICS something.
 Importance of the Person, Motive, Heart,  Deficiency: having too little of
Conscience something.
 Connection to Community  Not mediocrity, but harmony and balance.
 Realization that morality is not defined by  The Mean varies from person to person
moments but by a long-term process  There are many ways of behaving & thus
 Allowance for gray areas, varying contexts, many ways to be happy
different levels of moral maturity and life
contexts A VIRTUOUS LIFE MEANS
WEAKNESSES OF VIRTUE ETHICS BALANCE
 Dependence on strong communities
 Take one of the cardinal virtues away, then
 Not easily applied to ethical issues or to give
one happens?
us practical solutions
 Demands time At school?
 Can be turned into a really poor duty-based
 Competence
ethics
 Teamwork
 Might be taken as situational ethics
 Social justice
HOW DO WE ACQUIRE VIRTUE?  Mellowness of heart
 Practical wisdom
 Comes from observing human affairs
carefully
 Comes from remembering how our
actions & the actions of others have ADDITIONAL NOTES
played out  It is the ethical framework that is concerned
 The more we develop a virtuous character & with understanding the good as a matter of
acquire practical wisdom developing the virtuous character of a
 The greater chance we will act well in person.
life  Virtue ethics, on the other hand, focuses on
 Good actions from from good character the formation of one’s character brought
 Good character is essential to human about by determining and doing virtuous
happiness acts.
 Virtue ethics was derived from or is closely
VIRTUE &HABIT associated to Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics.
 For Aristotle, virtue is something that is The term virtue comes from the latin word
practiced and thereby learned—it is habit ‘virtus’ which means manhood or perhaps
(hexis). ‘worth’. Thus, the word of any action of man
 This has clear implications for moral is based from virtue instead from duty or
education, for Aristotle obviously thinks that consequence, it does not posit a question,
you can teach people to be virtuous. ‘what shall I do or perhaps what rule I ought
 Role models become very important to follow?’ Rather, how should I carry out my
life if I am to live well?’ The emphasis
VIRTUE AS THE GOLDEN MEAN therefore is on what an individual can do to
 Aristotle says virtue involves finding the produce the sort of character that
proper balance between two extremes. instinctively does the right thing. Thus, virtue
ethics holds that it is not only important to do

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the right thing but equally one must have the apart form the object and are not independent
right disposition, motivation, and traits for of our experience.
being good and doing right.
THE ETHICS OF VIRTUE
 Virtue ethics date back to aristotle (384-322
bce) in his Nichomachean ethics.
 Aristotle’s central question: “What is the good
of man?”

 When one speaks of the truth, for example, how

 Aristotle was born in Macedonia and studied
beautiful Juan Luna’s Spoliarium is, she cannot
philosophy under Plato in Athens. He was
discuss its beauty separately from the
considered to be the brightest among Plato’s
particular painting itself. Same is true with
students in the former’s school, the Academy.
understanding the good: the particular act of
He later founded his own school, Lyceum,
goodness that one does in the world is more
where he became a very productive
important that any conception of the good that
intellectual, having written numerous works on
is outside and beyond the realm of experience.
different topics. Such as the theoretical and
One sees the ethical theory of Aristotle as
practical sciences, and logic. He was also known
engaging the good in our day-to-day living.
to be the tutor of Alexander the Great who tried
to conquer the world. Aristotle’s Nicomachean
Ethics is his major work in moral philosophy.

Aristotle begins his discussion of ethics by showing

that every act that a person does is directed toward
a particular purpose, aim, of what the Greeks called
telos. There is a purpose why one does something,
and for Aristotle, a person’s action manifest a good
that she aspires for. Every pursuit of a person of a
hopes to achieve a good. One eats for the purpose
of the good, that it gives sustenance to the body. A
person pursues a chosen career, aiming for a good,
that is, to provide a better future for her family. A
 For Plato, the real is outside the realm for any person will not do anything which is not beneficial
human sensory experience but can somehow to her.
be grasped by one’s intellect. The truth and, Even a drug user “thinks” that substance abuse will
ultimately, the good are in the sphere of forms cause her good. This does not necessarily mean that
or ideas transcending daily human condition. using drugs is good but a “drug addict” would want
On the other hand, for Aristotle the real is found to believe that such act is good. Therefore, for
within our everyday encounter with objects in Aristotle, the good is considered to be the telos or
the world. What makes nature intelligible is its purpose for which all acts seek to achieve.
character of having both form and matter.
Therefore, the truth and the good cannot exist

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One must understand that an individual does actions happiness is achieved, things such as wealth,
and pursuits in life and correspondingly each of these power, and pleasurable feelings just give
activities has different aims. Aristotle is aware that value-added benefits in life. The true measure
one does an act not only to achieve a particular of well-being for Aristotle is not by means of
purpose but also believes such purpose can be richness of fame but by the condition of
utilized for a higher goal or activity, which then can having attained a happy life.
be used to achieve an even higher purpose and so on.
In other words, the different goods that one pursues
form a hierarchy of telos (plural form of telos)
How does a person arrive at her
highest good?
But a certain difference is found among ends; some
are activities, others are products apart from the  According to Aristotle, if an individual’s
activities that produces them. Where there are ends action can achieved the highest good , then
from the actions, it is the nature of the products to be one must investigate how she functions
better than the activities. which enables her to achieved her ultimate
purpose. If she performs her function well,
then she is capable of arriving at happiness.

What is the highest goal for

Aristotle? What goal is both final What defines human beings is her
and self-sufficient? function or activity of reason?
 According to Aristotle, older individuals  Life seems to be common even to plants, but
would agree that the highest purpose and the we are seeking what is peculiar to man. Let
ultimate good of man is happiness, or for the us exclude, therefore, the life nutrition and
Greeks, Eudaimonia. growth. Next there would be a life of
 Now, such a thing happiness, above all else, is perception, but is also seems to be common
held to be; for this we choose always for itself even to the horse, the ox, and other animals.
and never for the sake of something else, but There remains, then an activie life of the
honor, pleasure, reason, and every virtue we element that has a rational principle; of this,
choose indeed for themselves (for if nothing one part has such a principle in the sense of
resulted form them we should still choose being obedient to one, the other in the sense
each of them), but we choose them also for of possessing one and exercising thought.
the sake of happiness, judging that by means  What defines a person therefore is her
of them we shall be happy. Happiness, on the function or activity of reason. A person’s
other hand, no one chooses for the sake of action to be considered as truly human must
these, nor in general, for anything other than be an act that is always in accordance to
itself. reason. The function of human being is to act
 Happiness for Aristotle is the only self- following the dictates of her reason. Any
sufficient aim that one can aspire for. No person for that matter utilizes her reason but
amount of wealth or power can be more Aristotle further says that a person cannot
fulfilling than having achieved the condition only perform her function but she can also
of happiness. One can imagine a life of being perform it well.
wealthy, powerful, and experiencing
pleasurable feelings and yet, such life is still
not satisfying without happiness. Once
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THE LOCAL SAYS “MADALING MAGING
TAO, MAHIRAP MAGPAKATAO”
 It can be understood in the light of Aristotle’s  this part of man is not in the realm where
thought on the function of a good person. Any virtue is exercised because, as the term
human being can perform the activityof suggests, it cannot be dictated by reason)
reason; thus, being human is achievable. VEGETATIVE SOUL
However, a good human being strives hard in  the vegetative aspect functions as giving
doing an activity in an excellent way. nutrition and providing the activity of
Therefore, the task of being human becomes physical growth in a person
more difficult because doing such activity  the vegetative aspect of the soul follows the
well takes more effort on the part of the natural processes involved in the physical
person. activities and growth of a person.
APPETITIVE SOUL
 it works as a desiring faculty of man.
 the act of desiring in itself is an impulse that
naturally runs counter to reasons and most of
the time refuses to go along with reason.

 Achieving the highest purpose of a human  Knows what is right and wrong
person concerns the ability to function
according to reason and to perform an MORAL
activity well or excellently. This excellent way  concern the act of doing
of doing things is called virtue or arête by the INTELLECTUAL
Greeks. Aristotle is quick to add that is virtue  Concern the act of knowing
is something that one strives for in time. One
does not become an excellent person  One rational aspect where a person can attain
overnight. excellence is in the intellectual faculty of the
 “For one swallow does not make a summer, soul. As stated by Aristotle, this excellence is
nor does one day; and so too one day, or a attained through teaching. Through time, one
short time, does not make a man blessed and learns form the vast experiences in life where
happy” she gains knowledge on these things. One
learns and gains wisdom by being taught or
What exactly makes a human by learning.

being excellent? There are two ways by which one

 Aristotle says that excellence is an activity of can attain intellectual excellence:
the human soul and therefore, one needs to
understand the very structure of a person’s PHILOSOPHIC WISDOM
soul which must be directed be her rational  It deals with attaining knowledge about the
activity in an excellent way. For Aristotle, the fundamental principles and truths that
human soul is divided into two parts; the govern the universe.
Irrational element and the rational faculty.
 It helps one understand in general the
meaning of life.

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PRACTICAL WISDOM men, seem somehow to divine that this kind of state
is virtue, viz, that which is in accordance with
 It is an excellence in knowing the right
practical wisdom.
conduct in carrying out a particular act.
 One can attain a wisdom that can provide us
with a guide on how to behave in our daily
 It seems that for Socrates, moral goodness is
lives.
already within the realm of intellectual
excellence. Knowing the good implies the ability
 Although the condition of being excellent can
to perform morally virtuous acts. For Aristotle,
be attained by a person through the intellectual
however, having intellectual excellence does not
aspect of the soul, this situation does not make
necessarily mean that one already has the
her into a morally good individual. However,
capacity of doing the good. Knowing the good
Aristotle suggest that although the rational
that needs to be done is different from doing the
functions of a person (moral and intellectual)
good that one needs to accomplish.
are distinct from each other, it is necessary for
 Therefore, rational faculty of a person tells us
human to attain the intellectual virtue of
that she is capable of achieving two kinds of
practical wisdom in order to accomplish a
virtue moral and intellectual. In discussing
morally virtuous act.
moral virtue, Aristotle says that it is attained by
 In carrying out a morally virtuous life, one
means of habit. A morally virtuous man for
needs the intellectual guide of practical wisdom
Aristotle is someone who habitually determines
in steering the self toward the right choices and
the good and does the right actions. Moral virtue
actions. Aristotle is careful in making a sharp
is acquired through habit. Being morally good is
distinction between moral and intellectual
a process of getting used to doing the proper act.
virtue.
The saying “practice makes perfect” can be
 In itself, having practical wisdom or the
applied to this aspect of a person. Therefore, for
excellence in knowing what to act upon does
Aristotle, a person is not initially good by nature.
not make someone already morally virtuous.
Knowing the good is different from
determining and acting in what is good. But a
morally good person has to achieve the
intellectual virtue of practical wisdom to
perform the task of being moral.
 This distinction draws a sharp contrast
between Aristotle’s understanding of the  Developing a practical wisdom involves
dynamics of knowledge and action from that of learning from experiences.
Socrates’s view that knowledge already  Knowledge is not inherent to a person
contains the ability of choice or action  Knowing the right thing to do when one is
confronted by a choice is not easy.
This is why some say that all the virtues are  One needs to develop this knowledge by
forms of practical wisdom and why Socrates, in one exercising the faculty of practical reason in her
aspect, was on the right track while in another, he daily life. In attaining practical wisdom, she
went astray; in thinking that all the virtues were may initially make mistakes on how reason is
forms of practical wisdom, he was wrong, but in applied to a particular moral choice or action.
saying they implied practical wisdom, he was right. But through these mistakes, she will be able to
This is confirmed by the fact that even now, all men, sustain practical wisdom to help steer
when they define virtue, after naming the state of another’s ability to know morally right choices
character and its object, add “that (state) which is in and action. In other words, she is able to mature
accordance with the right rule”; now the right is that and grow in her capacity on knowing what to
which is in accordance with practical wisdom. All do and living a morally upright life.
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 This is why when it comes to life choices, one abilities. But can also be deficient in the way she
can seek the advice of elders in the community, express these
those who gained rich life experiences and  A morally virtuous person targets the mesotes.
practical wisdom, because they would be able For Aristotle, the task of targeting the mean is
to assist someone’s moral deliberation. Parents always difficult because every situation is
can advice their children how to behave in front different from one another. Thus, the mesotes is
of family members and relatives. Senior constantly moving depending on the
members of the community like priests, circumstance where she is in. The mean is not
counsellors, and leaders may also guide the the same for all individuals. As pointed out by
young members on how relationships with Aristotle , the mean is simply an arithmetical
others are fostered. proportion. Therefore, the task of being moral
involves seriously looking into and
understanding a situation and assessing
properly every particular detail relevant to the
determination of the mean. One can be angry
with someone, but the degree and state of anger
depends accordingly with the nature of the
person she is angry with. The aid of reason
dictates how humans should show different
anger toward a child and a mature individual.
Mesotes determines whether the act applied is
not excessive or deficient. Likewise, an
individual cannot be good at doing something
haphazardly but reason demands a continuous
habituation of a skill to perfect an act. Targeting
the middle entails being immersed in a moral
circumstance, understanding the experience,
and eventually, developing the knowledge of
 Based on Aristotle, a morally virtuous person is
identifying the proper way or the mean to
person is concerned with achieving her
address a particular situation.
appropriate action in a manner that is neither
 Moral virtue is firstly the condition arrived at by
excessive nor deficient. In other words, virtue is
a person who has a character identified out of
the middle or the intermediary point in between
her habitual exercise of particular actions. One’s
extremes. One has to function in a state that her
character is seen as a growth in terms of the
personality manifest the right amount of
continuous preference of the good. Secondly, in
feelings, passions, and ability for a particular act.
moral virtue, the action done that normally
Generally, feelings and passions are neutral
manifest feelings and passions is chosen
which means that, in themselves, they are
because it is the middle. The middle does not fail
neither morally right nor wrong. When one
short or is exercise of the proper proportion by
shows a feeling of anger, we cannot immediately
which these feelings or passion should be
construe it as morally wrong act. But the
expressed. Aristotle adds that the middle is
rightness or wrongness of feelings, passions, and
relative to us. This does not imply that mesotes
abilities lies in the degree of their application in
totally depends in what the person identifies as
a given situation. It is right to get angry at an
the middle. Such case would signify that
offensive remark but it is not right to get angry
Aristotle adheres to relativism. But Aristotle’s
at everyone just because you were offended by
middle is not relative to the person but to the
someone. One can be excessive in the manner by
situation and the circumstance that once is in.
which she manifest these feelings, passions, and
This means that in choosing the middle

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starts off evolved his principle with a thought of a
democratic society, one this is characterized via way
of means of freedom and equality. This is coupled
together along with his emphasis on different rational
people whose rationality permits them to agree upon
ideas of distribution customary via way of means of
all. Second, he adheres to the concept of the need of a
agreement principle to be able to legitimize any nation
movement withinside the procedure of distribution.
Third and last, Rawls provides ideas of justice that
function the underlying motive for any simply society.
According to Rawls, those ideas must be observed in
any respect charges via way of means of rational
people. It is likewise vital to be aware that for Rawls,
the ideas if justice are meant to insure that the people
rights and liberties are blanketed and that all of them
is given same possibility to realize their perceived
dreams no matter their socio-political and financial
status. And ultimately, those ideas are designed to
assure that the terrible are given veto or strength over
inequality.
Etymologically, justice comes from the Latin
word ‘jus’ to mean ‘right’. The etymological meaning
of the word ‘justice’ that connotes ‘right’ is somewhat
a bit different from the word ‘justice’. What then is
justice? The terms fairness, desert (what is deserved)
and entitlement are used by various philosophers in an
attempt to explicate justice. This account interprets
justice as fair, equitable, and appropriate treatment in
John Rawls’s principle of justice is directed closer
the light of what due or owe to others.
to reformulating conceptions of justice which can be
primarily based totally upon ideas which can be The writer of the Hippocratic Oath insists that it is a
arbitrary from an ethical point of view. Moreover, part of the doctor’s duty to keep his patients free from
Rawls is in opposition to all claims of Utilitarianism. injustice they can do themselves, Justice is generally
He sees it as unfavorable to the wellness of the people thought to be giving others their due. This idea may be
withinside the society. This is because, for Rawls, taken into different senses, most narrowly as fulfilling
Utilitarianism does now no longer remember the responsibilities prior to any undertakings, more
character as inviolable. It virtually sees the character widely, as being fair perhaps to others, quite generally,
as sheer mechanism for the proliferation of welfare- as acting uprightly in any way of actions bearing on
software and, hence, as expendables for the others, biblically, the scripture would say that justice
maximization of software or happiness of the may mean goodness and holiness in general. However,
majority. Thus, Rawls rejects any ethical claims that most philosophers use the term justice in a more
invoke the concept of software or the happiness of the specific sense that was referred to as ‘rightness in
majority. Indeed, for Rawls, people do own inviolable people’s interactions and interrelations’. Thus, it is
rights and dignity that can not be overridden through rightfully correct to say that sometimes the word
the society’s venture of the best life. ‘justice’ overlap with the word ‘right’.
In his components of his principle of justice,
Rawls gives 3 essential presuppositions. First, he
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 [example: only people who are members of the
Philippine Health can avail of its medical
services and privileged]

TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO

 Formally speaking, as Aristotle in
FREE-MARKET EXCHANGES.
Nicomachean Ethics would say that justice  [example: the service is provided only to those
who can afford it such as cosmetic surgery]
refers to ‘equals must be treated equally’ and
‘unequals must be treated unequally’. This is TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO
the formal principle of justice, it is ‘formal’
because it identifies no particular respects in MERIT.
which equals ought to be treated equally and  [example: this principle involves that
thus provide no criteria for determining implementation of set of rules/criteria that must
whether two or more individuals are in fact be met before a privileged can be granted.
equal (Beauchamp and Childress, 2001). Example: Philippine Charity Sweepstakes
service of proving free health care assistance
only to those who meets the required criteria
and that is having no financial capacity to
provide it for themselves and to their family]

TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO

Principles that specify the relevant EFFORT.
characteristics for equal treatment are called ‘material’  [example: this refers to the patient’s efforts to
because they identify the substantive properties for comply or not to comply with the medical
distribution. Philosophers like Engelhadrt, Keusch, advice. A diabetic client has the choice to comply
Wildes and others have suggested the following or not to comply with his medication and diet
material principles of justice: regimen]

TO EACH PERSON AN EQUAL

SHARE.
 [example: all members of the society are given
equal services such as the free immunization to
all children below seven years old] DISTRIBUTIVE JUSTICE.
TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO  It refers to fair, equitable, and appropriate
distribution or responsibilities or share or rights
NEED. and roles, resources and privileges
 [example: when there is a shortage of ex. CRIMINAL JUSTICE.
Hepatitis B vaccine, it is provided only to the  Refers to the infliction of punishment or penalty
high risks groups. Likewise, only health care proportionate to the crime committed. In other
workers assigned in the high risks areas are words, no exemption in the merited penalty.
provided with free health check-ups, RECTIFICATORY JUSTICE.
medication, including treatments and
 Refers to just compensation for transactional
vaccinations to protect them]
problems such as breaches of contract and
TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO practice based on civil law. Rectify the person
who did not observe hi/her word of honor.
CONTRIBUTION.
The discussion of justice will only be limited to
distributive justice for it’s too complex to handle it here.
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Theories of distributive justice have been developed to those likely to make the greatest future social
specify and unite one’s diverse principles, rules and contribution, d) short-term services are to be
judgment. Theory attempts to connect the preferred to long-term care and institutional care is
characteristics of persons with morally justifiable eliminated as much as possible and e) healthcare for
distribution of benefits and burdens. Nonetheless, the terminally ill, dying, elderly, chronically sick or
systematic theories of justice have been proposed to incapacitated, severely handicapped and
determine how social burdens, including health care permanently unconscious is to be given the lowest
goods and services should be distributed or priority (Anthony Fisher).
redistributed. Some influential theories that go with the
discussion of justice are the following:
EGALITARIAN
Justice as the equal distribution of good and
services (John Rawls).
Egalitarian argued that justice means is
essentially considered what is due is what is fair,
equal, or perhaps fairness. John Rawls principle of
justice is derived from what people would choose if
UTILITARIAN they were forced to be impartial, if they had to
choose principles on which to base a social structure
Justice as whatever brings about the greatest that will satisfy them whenever they turn out to be
good of the greatest number (John Stuart Mill) located in it. John Rawls continue to say that each
person will choose two principles that will lead
For a utilitarian, justice is not an independent towards the exercise of fairness, namely, a) each
moral principle. Rather it is a principle dependent person should have the most extensive system of
on, governed by, that sole principle of morality, the basic liberties compatible with similar liberties for
principle of utility. It names the most paramount and all and b) social and economic inequalities should be
stringent form of obligation created by the principle arranged so that they are to the greatest benefit of
of utility. Utilitarian therefore work out all the the least advantaged and are open to all under
predictable benefits and all the predictable losses of conditions of fair equality of opportunity. Simply to
some proposed change or state of affairs, calculate say, justice for Rawls therefore consists in fair
the net sum (or utility) of the proposed changes and equality of opportunity.
choose that state of affairs which will bring about the John Rawls himself never applied justice to the
greatest good for the greatest number, which will in distribution of health care. However, most readers
turn maximize utility. Justice in this instance then is (Daniels, Norman) of John Rawls believed that his
the distributed result of that calculation. Thus, any theory inspired approaches to health care
form of state of affairs is considered just if it distribution by insisting that each person
represents the greatest good for the greatest irrespective of social condition such as poor and the
number and unjust to the extent that it does not wealthy should be provided with equal fair
affect that result. opportunity to health.
As it is applied in health care, utilitarian used Distribution Rawls believed must be on the
two principal criteria for working out one’s utility: basis of need which is understood as what is
quality of life measures and social contribution necessary for equality of opportunity. For example,
measures. It is a fact that some utilitarian may have better services, such as luxury hospital rooms and
various emphases yet they tend to favor the expensive but optional dental work, should be
following principles in medicine: a) prevention is to available for purchase at personal expense by those
be preferred to cure and cheaper (less expensive) who are able and wish to do so. On the other hand,
therapies are to be preferred to a more expensive everyone’s basic need of health service should be
ones, b) expensive or scarce therapies are only met at an adequate level. By this, it ensures decent
available to the young and those who likely to lead minimum of health care and equal opportunity.
long productive lives, c) preference should be given
to those likely to receive the greatest benefit in
terms of improved length and quality of life and to
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Communitarian regards justice as pluralistic
LIBERTARIAN (Beauchamp and Childress, 2001). That means it
derives justice from as many as different
Justice as the lack of restraints on individual
conceptions of the good as there are diverse moral
liberty (Robert Nozick).
and cultural communities. Communitarian then
Contemporary libertarian like Robert Nozick placed the community as the core of a value system
believed that it is not the role of the state to impose than prioritizing an individual as libertarian
any pattern of distribution of benefits and burdens proposed. The value of any public goods are rooted
on its members since that will violate the rights of from a communal practices. Communitarian
individuals. Nozick believed that individual have believed that human life will go better if collective
rights, such as right to liberty, life, property and and public values guide people’s lives. They have a
others, which those individual are entitled to enjoy commitment to facilitate and practice designed to
and to exercise so long as it does not interfere into help members of the community develop their
the rights of others. Nozick therefore believed that common and henceforth personal lives (Honderich,
the affair of the state is to protect citizens against 1995).
any unjust interference such as, theft, fraud, violence Modern communitarian writers disagree on
and others and it is not the business of the state to the application of these theories to health care
distribute benefits and burdens such as health care access. Some proposes a federation of interlinking
since that will turn violate the rights of individuals. community health programs that are democratically
So, as the libertarian suggests, the only just administered by the citizen-members. In this
system of allocation of health care is the operation approach to communitarian, each individual
of the free-market. It is up to people individually to program would determined which benefits to
choose what health care or service, and from whom, provide, which care is most important, whether
for which they wish to spend their own resources. It expensive service will be included or excluded
is up to the health professional as well to decide (Beauchamp and Childress, 2001).
how, when, for whom, with whom and for how much
they wish to work. Libertarian therefore treats
autonomy, both the health care professional and the The following table shows a
patient as a central notion of health care and summary of the different
allocating resources. Individual then must be
encouraged to take responsibility for their own approaches to justice:
health (Ronald Dworkin, 1981).
Approaches Propone Principle Descriptio
Applying Nozick’s libertarianism to health to justice nt n of
care, health care professionals are obliged to Justice
provide care only that health care in keeping with utilitarianis Mill Justice as Equality of
their own prior undertakings or present choices. m whatever all persons
Thus, they may legitimately decide for themselves brings and
what distribution standards to apply to their own about the impartialit
practices. Furthermore, libertarian, supports greatest y between
generally a health care system, the state or any good of persons
instituted state that does not coerce in taking one’s the
own personal property rights, physician have greatest
liberty, nurses too, and society is not morally number
obligated to provide health care if it is done through Egalitarian John Justice as Emphasize
coercion. Rawls the equal d on what
distributi is owe (as a
COMMUNITARIAN on of (at matter of
Justice is what is due to individuals or groups least fairness)
depend on the community-derived standards some) by the rest
(Alasdair MacIntyre). goods or of us to the
services poorest
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ETIC 211_ 1ST SEM_2ND YR @ABEGAIL MAGBANUA
and most The first issue on allocation of scarce
vulnerable resources is on the ‘macro’ level is: how much
members should be spent on healthcare? The second would
of the be on meso-allocation which is: how many
community healthcare resources should go to what kind of
services? And finally, on the microallocation: who
should get what share of the healthcare resources?
Libertarian Robert Justice as Recognizes The problem of health care distribution
Nozick the lack of the does not only arise when being addressed directly.
restraints centrality Time and again it rears its head when treating other
on of bioethical questions such as the appropriate
individual individual’ treatment of newborns, the infertile, the
liberty s chronically sick and the terminally ill and the
autonomy permanently unconscious.
To allocate is to distribute by allotment as
Communitari Alasdair Justice is Consist in Beauchamp and Childress would argued. And such
an MacIntyr what is favoring distribution does not presuppose either a person or
e due to and a system that rations/prioritize resources. A
individual fostering criterion of one’s ability to pay in a competitive-
s or the market for instance is a form of an example of
groups common allocation.
depend good of ‘Macroallocation’ decisions determine the
on the one’s funds to be expended and the goods to be made
communit communiti available, as well as the method of distribution. This
y-derived es. It emphasize that a macroallocation deals with how
standards emphasize much of the society’s resources will be used for
s on various needs, including health-related
solidarity expenditures. A certain state therefore decides how
with every much of the national budget goes to the health care
human program and what proportion of available health
being/pers goes to which program.
on On the other hand, ‘Microallocation’ decisions
determine who will receive the particular scarce
Justice underlies the nurse commitment to resources. This distinction that were mentioned
provide services with respect for human dignity and are useful, but the line between them are not clear
render nursing care to the best of their ability to every and oftentimes interact.
patient regardless of religion, sex, race, economic status One’s own moral intuition often drives each
and beliefs. one into two conflicting directions: either to
allocate more to treatment or to allocate more to
prevention and education. Now, determining who
among the given options will receive priority varies
due to different philosophies one is adhering. So,
the only recourse perhaps is to give what is due to
ones own.
The basic ethical question to allocation of
scarce and resources is not whether there is a need
to rationing or prioritization but how it should do
so, given the case that it is inevitable. Unless there
is a systematic ethical examination and criticism of
health care distribution, there are likely to be
inconsistencies, abuses in the way the goods of the
state is allocated.
END OF MIDTERM 43