Ethics

Module 3

modifiers of Human acts

Ignorance - the absence of knowledge and intellectual knowledge that ought to be there

A. Ignorance in its Object

1. Law - ignorance in the existence of duty, rule or regulations
2. Fact - ignorance of nature or circumstances of an act as forbidden
3. Penalty - lack of knowledge of the precise sanction

B. Ignorance in its Subject

1. Vincible ignorance (conquerable ignorance) - ignorance is due to lack of proper diligence
Kinds of vincible ignorance
a. simply vincible - some effort has been but not enough to dispel the ignorance
b. Crass or Supine - result of total or nearly lack of effort to dispel it
c. Affected - if positive effort has been to retain the ignorance
(past actions be judged with present knowledge)
2. Invincible Ignorance - the ignorance that ordinary and proper diligence cannot dispel
Attributable to 2 causes
a. The person has no realization of his lack of knowledge
b. The person who realizes his ignorance finds his effort ineffective

C. Ignorance in its Result

1. Antecedent Ignorance - which precedes all consent of the will
2. Concomitant Ignorance - accompanies an act that would have been performed even if
the ignorance did not exist.
3. Consequent Ignorance - that which follows upon the act of the will

Principles:
1. Invincible ignorance destroys the voluntariness of the act.
2. Vincible Ignorance does not destroy the voluntariness of an act.
3. Vincible Ignorance lessens the voluntariness.
4. Affected ignorance is one way lessens and in another way increases voluntariness

Concupiscence - bodily appetites or tendencies

Types or Concupiscence (impairment to freedom)

A. Antecedent or Inculpable passion/Concupiscence
- occurs when it springs into action unstimulated by the will.
- the stronger is the passion the weaker is the intellect and will
- does not destroy the responsibility of the agent since knowledge and freedom mavbe lessened
but he is still the master of his act
B. Consequent Concupiscence
- follows the free determination of the act and is freely admitted and consented to and
deliberately aroused

Principles:
- Antecedent Concupiscence lessens the voluntariness of an act.
- Antecedent Concupiscence does not destroy the voluntariness of an act.
- Consequent Concupiscence, however great, does not lessen the voluntariness of an act.
Fear - shrinking back of the mind because of an impending evil (danger)

Kinds
a. Acts done with fear or in spite of fear - Fear in this case accompanies an act which in
itself is voluntary
b. Acts done from fear and through fear or because of fear
c. fear maybe slight or grave according to the amount of proximity of the impending evil.

Principles:
- An act done with fear has perfect knowledge and full consent.
- An act done from fear may not have full consent.
- An act done from fear, however great, is simply voluntary, although it is regularly also
conditionally involuntary.

* If fear is so great as to make the agent momentarily insane, the act done from fear is not
voluntary at all, for it is an act of man and not a human act.

Violence - external force applied by a free cause

Types of Violence
1. Perfect violence - is that in which complete resistance is given
2. Imperfect violence - some resistance is shown but not as should be

Principles:
- An act done with fear has perfect knowledge and full consent.
- An act done from fear may not have full consent.
- An act done from fear, however great, is simply voluntary, although it is regularly also
conditionally involuntary.
- If fear is so great as to make the agent momentarily insane, the act done from fear is not
voluntary at all, for it is an act of man and not a human act.

Habit - is the inclination to perform some particular action, acquired by repetition and
characterized by decreased power of resistance and an increase facility of performance.
- vice or virtue

Principles:
- habit do not destroy voluntariness
- they may be formed with knowledge or without of morality

The Principle of Double Effect

- provide specific guidelines for determining when it is morally permissible to perform an action
in pursuit of good end in full knowledge that the action will also bring about bad results.

four conditions are verified at one and the same time:

1. that the action in itself from its very object be good or at least indifferent;
- action cannot be something that is evil in itself
2. that the good effect and not the evil effect be intended;
 - the intention of the action must always be to bring about the good effect.
3. that the good effect be not produced by means of the evil effect;
- the effect can only be an incidental by product of the act, not means to the good effect
4. that there be a proportionately grave reason for permitting the evil effect.
- cannot be used in trivial cases

Hierarchy of Rights and Values

1. The right to live in dignity is higher value over another’s right to profit and investment;
LIFE IS MORE VALUABLE THAN PROPERTY
2. The good for the welfare of the community over the goods for the benefit of the
individual.
3. The value of helping others in urgent situations is preferred over the value of promise
keeping
4. The value of faith in God and integrity of conscience over life, prestige, honor and wealth
5. The right to protect one’s life over the protection of the life of an aggressor in act of self
defense.
6. The life of the mother over the life of the fetus in the case of ectopic pregnancy for the
death of the mother can cause har, to the well being of the father and the children, considering
the emotional and psychological consequences it may cause in the family.

Module 4

Virtue - state of character or habit which is the result of dispositions and deliberations.
- prompting us to actions
- within the context of the human goods which we pursue in our lives.
- habitual actions based on values

Virtue (Aristotle) - state of character concerned with choice lying in a mean being determined by
rational principle and by that principle by which the man of practical wisdom would determine it.
- emphasize the development of character as its central theme rather than trying to define
‘goodness’ or ‘rightness’.
- eudaimonistic theory as it holds ‘happiness’ to be our highest goal.
- we attain happiness by cultivating both intellectual and moral virtue.
- we become virtuous by habit: consistently choose the mean between excess and deficiency
until it becomes second nature.

Rules and the “mean”

- avoidance of strict abstract rules
- emphasis on individual concrete circumstances
- the mean between extremes (excess and deficiency) - Midpoint in Spectrum

Considerations
- the right person
- the right object
- the right amount
- the right time
- the right end
- the right way

Practical advice
Difficult to hit the mean
- avoid what is more contrary to the mean
1. one of the extremes is more erroneous
2. choice of the lesser of two evils
- avoid that to which we are most drawn
- avoid the most pleasurable

Principle of Virtue Ethics

virtue ethics moves from the use of abstract principles and their applications to particular
situations, directly to an examination of the particular circumstances actions and agents.

Intellectual virtues - virtues in mind, ability to understand, reason and make sound judgement
- taught like logic and mathematics

Moral Virtues - not innate rather they acquired through repetition and practice.
- through the practice and doing that one becomes a type of person over period of time virtue
become second nature.

Question of action - How ought I to act?

Question of character - What kind of person ought I to be?

List of Virtues of Professions

Excellence (arete, virtue) - respect to a specific practice
- moral traits
Morality - doing the right thing and getting the right result “building character”
Virtue as the “golden mean”
- excess: having too much of something
- deficiency: having too little of something

Rightly ordered desires

1. Weakness of will (akrasia) occurs when individuals cannot keep their desires under
control
2. continent people have unruly desires but manage to control. Do what is right but not
necessarily because they what to.
3. Temperate people. They are people whose desires naturally or through habit, second
nature directed toward to which is good for them. Do what is right because they want to; the
more holistic person.

Function of Man
Aristotle - function of man is his power of thought
- full development of reason will make man happy
Life reason: activity of the soul in conformity with virtue — clear judgement is self centered
Rational Principle = Golden mean

St. Thomas and Happiness

- happiness as constitutive of moral and cardinal virtues
- Happiness with God

Deontology - ancient greek terms “dein or deon” means to be obligated. Study of obligations.
- to philosophers: study of moral obligation in form of duties and rights
- ex. Devine command theory

Non consequentialist ethical theory

Deontological theories reject the consequentialist idea that the oral value of an act is determined
solely by its consequences.

Consequentialism - an action rightness or wrongness depends on the consequences it causes

Deontological theories - an action rightness or wrongness depends on it conformity to a certain
norm, regardless of consequence

Deontologist can avoid conclusion by insisting that there is a moral duty which forbids killing
persons even if you can get the best consequences by doing so.

Forms of obligations
1. Rights
2. Duties

Deontological theories
1. Agent centered approaches (duty based) - duties of moral agent. Centers on the person
acting rather than the rights.
- an action is wrong or right because of the intentions that motivated it.
Catholic doctrine of double effect: forbidden for intending to cause evils however it is acceptable
to cause evils unintentionally even if we forsee them as effects of actions.
2. Patient centered theories - an action is wrong if it violated a persons rights

Good will - shines forth as something that containes its whole value within itself
Kant believes that morality of an action on the inner motive rather than external effects.
- duty must must be done out of pure reverence to the moral law.

Duty over inclination

A person is only acting morally only when he suppresses his feelings and inclinations and does
that which is obliged to do.
Inclination - doing thighs that ones feels like doing and thus no obligation exists.

Duty is superior to happiness

Duties cannot consist in following rules that promote pleasures and avoidance of pain as the
utilitarians claim

Categorical imperative (Universalizability Principle)

1. Act only according that maxim whereby you can at the same time will it should become a
universal law without contradiction
2. Act un such a way that you treat humanity whether in your own person or in the person
of any other, always at same time as an end and never merely as means to an end.

Lying (kant) - forbidden because if lying were universal action society would be undermined and
it would logically contradict the reliability of language. (1st formulation of the categorical
imperative)
- the person being deceived is being used as a means, rather than as an end (2nd formulation of
the categorical imperative)

Maxim - absolute moral statement; universalizable

Principle of Humanity (respect for persons) - the principle of ends.

Rational beings are ends in themselves do not others as a means

Hypothetical Imperative - ought to do if some conditions hold

Categorical Imperative - ought to do unconditionally

Moral worth of an action

1. It is possible that someone does something out of evil intention, but ends up bringing good
consequences to society.
2. It is also possible that someone does something out of good intention, but ends up bringing
about bad consequences.
3. The consequences of an action are not under our control.
4. We can only control our motives when acting as a moral person.
5. Therefore the moral worth of an action is given by our good will.

William david Ross Provisional List of duties

1. Fidelity. This is the duty to fulfill promises, agreements or contracts that one has entered into.
2. Reparation. It is the duty to make up for past wrongs.
3. Gratitude. It the duty to repay others for past benefits conferred.
4. Justice. It refers to the duty of distribution or distribution in accord with merit. For example,
the duty to prevent an unjust distribution of benefits or burdens.
5.Beneficence. It is the duty to assist those in need.
6. Self-improvement. This is the duty to develop our talents.
7. Non-maleficence. It is the duty not to harm others.

Module 5
Justice is equity not equality.
UTOPIA-perfect society

Cardinal Virtues-building moral character

● Prudence
● Fortitude
● Temperance
● Justice- depends on the needs; more than simple fairness; virtue concerned with the
 rights and duties within relationships and societies
PLATO: Justice is possible through living a life of virtue.
ARISTOTLE: equals should be treated equally and unequals unequally.
TELOS OF ETHICS: JUSTICE & FAIRNESS

KINDS OF JUSTICE:

➢ COMMUTATIVE JUSTICE- fairness that should exist when exchanging goods and services
among individuals institutions. Requires that both parties receive exactly what they
agreed to.
➢ DISTRIBUTIVE JUSTICE- just distribution of income or resources to all people especially
on those persons whose basic needs are unmet.
● Need-based- justice depends on the needs of people
● Merit-based- justice depends on qualifications of people involved
● Justice as equality-

➢ RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE- also called as corrective justice; punishments are considered as

fair and just
➢ COMPENSATORY JUSTICE- people are fairly compensated for their injuries by those who
have injured them.
➢ LEGAL JUSTICE- responsibilities that individuals have to society; these responsibilities are
usually spelled out in laws or other legal documents.
➢ SOCIAL JUSTICE- linked to the common good and exercise of authority or leadership.

VEIL OF IGNORANCE- John Rawls; denying decision makers access to potentially biased
information about who will benefit most or least from the available options; being ignorant
by our circumstances, we can more objectively consider how societies should operate.
ORIGINAL POSITION- standpoint of fairness; embrace equality by not losing his ground.