Chapter 4 The Fundamental Principles of Ethics

BA 300
CSR, ETHICS & GOOD

GOVERNANCE
CHAPTER 4: THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF

ETHICS
Objectives
At the end of this chapter, the students are expected to:

• understand the nature of human acts
• differentiate human acts from acts of man
• explain the different components of the human acts
• investigate critically the concept of voluntariness of
human act in relation to the agent’s culpability
Introduction
• Ethics is a science that investigates the nature of the
human conduct.
• In the process of investigation, it is important that we

differentiate between the human act and the act of man.
• The distinction between these two is an important

process in the determination of the morality of man’s
actions.
• These fundamental concepts are necessary because

they serve as guides in our evaluation and judgement of
the morality of human conduct.
The Nature of the Human Act
Human acts are sanctions that proceed from the deliberate free
will of man. These actions are therefore done with knowledge
and consent and willfully carried out by the person.
Characteristic of Human Acts

1. The free and voluntary acts of man.
2. Acts done with knowledge and consent.
3. Acts which are proper to man as a rational being since man
has been gifted with rationality and freedom of will.
4. Acts which are conscious and under our control and for
which we are responsible.
Categories of acts of man
1. Natural involuntary actions – these are actions of man

that are performed intuitively or involuntary, e.g., blinking
the eyes, metabolism, perspiration, beating of the heart.
2. Natural voluntary actions – these are actions that are

within the control of man’s will but only for some period of
time, e.g., breathing, sleeping, eating, walking.
Human Acts in Relation to Reason
• Good acts those done by man in harmony with the dictates

of right reason.
• Evil acts are those actions done by man in contradiction to

the dictates of right reason.
• Indifferent acts are those acts that are neither good or evil.
The Voluntariness of the Human Acts
• Voluntary acts have moral bearings. This is because human

acts are performed by man with knowledge and consent.
Therefore he/she is responsible for his/her actions.
• Categories of Voluntary Actions

a. Perfect voluntariness – actions performed with full
knowledge and with full consent.
b. Imperfect Voluntariness – actions that occur when there is
no perfect knowledge or consent, or when either or both
of the knowledge or consent is partial.
c. Direct voluntary – actions that are intended for own sake,
either as a means or as an end, e.g., murder, stealing
d. Indirect voluntary – actions that are not intended for its

own sake by which merely follows as a regrettable
consequences of an action, e.g., bombing an enemy’s
hideout that leads to killing of non combatants within an
area.
The Moral Principles Involved in Actions
Having Two Effects
• Is it morally right to do an act which entails good as well as
bad consequences?
• The answer is “YES” provided one follows the following

conditions (Panizo, 1964)
- The actions must be morally good in itself, or at least morally
indifferent.
- The good effect of the act must precede the evil effect. The
evil effect is morally allowed to happen as a regrettable
consequences.
- There must be a grave or sufficient reason in doing the act.
- The evil effect should not outweigh the good effect or, at
least the good effect should be equivalent in importance to
the evil effect
The Determinants of Morality
1. The End of the Action – refers to the natural purpose of an act

or that in which the act in its very nature terminates or results,
thus, the end of the action of studying is learning.
2. The End of the Actor – this refers to the intention or the motive
of the doer of the act. This is to be distinguished from the end
of the action. The motive of the agent varies with different
individuals , while the end of an act is always the same.
3. Circumstances of the Act – refer to the conditions that affect

the human act by increasing or decreasing the responsibility of
the actor. These circumstances of the act are not considered
part of the action itself which means acts per se can exist even
without the circumstances.
The Principles Involved in the
Circumstances of the Action
1. An indifferent act can become good or evil through
circumstances, e.g., eating meat is indifferent. However,
eating meat on Good Friday intentionally is evil.
2. A good act can become evil through circumstances, e.g.,

giving money to the poor people is good action. However,
giving money to the same poor people to buy votes during
elections is evil.
3. An intrinsically good act can become better or an

intrinsically evil act can become worse through
circumstances, e.g., visiting a sick person to comfort him is
good action. However, not visiting a mother who is sick in
the hospital out of hatred is worse.
The Principles Involved in the
Circumstances of the Action
4. An evil act can never become good through circumstances,
e.g., stealing money to buy food cannot make the action of
stealing good.
5. A good act done with evil means destroys the entire

objective goodness of the act, e.g., giving food to the
hungry is a good action. However, giving money to the
hungry through robbery is evil.
ACTIVITY NO. 4
Case for Analysis
Title: Mr. Kim

Chapter 4 The Fundamental Principles of Ethics

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Chapter 4 The Fundamental Principles of Ethics

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Chapter 4 The Fundamental Principles of Ethics

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

BA 300

CSR, ETHICS & GOOD

CHAPTER 4: THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF

At the end of this chapter, the students are expected to:

• In the process of investigation, it is important that we

• The distinction between these two is an important

• These fundamental concepts are necessary because

Characteristic of Human Acts

Categories of acts of man

1. Natural involuntary actions – these are actions of man

2. Natural voluntary actions – these are actions that are

Human Acts in Relation to Reason

• Good acts those done by man in harmony with the dictates

• Evil acts are those actions done by man in contradiction to

The Voluntariness of the Human Acts

• Voluntary acts have moral bearings. This is because human

• Categories of Voluntary Actions

d. Indirect voluntary – actions that are not intended for its

• The answer is “YES” provided one follows the following

1. The End of the Action – refers to the natural purpose of an act

3. Circumstances of the Act – refer to the conditions that affect

2. A good act can become evil through circumstances, e.g.,

3. An intrinsically good act can become better or an

5. A good act done with evil means destroys the entire

Case for Analysis

Title: Mr. Kim

You might also like