SAGE RAINELLE A.

LINGATONG SEM 3
2CE FINAL PAPER

Human Morality in Relation of Becoming A Future Lawyer

What is morality? What is the importance of morality in our lives? Why do we need to
have morality? These are just some of the questions that each of us must ask oneself in order to
understand the process of being human and discovering oneself.

Morality speaks of a system of behavior in regards to standards of right or wrong

behavior. The word carries the concepts of: (1) moral standards, with regard to behavior; (2)
moral responsibility, referring to our conscience; and (3) a moral identity, or one who is capable
of right or wrong action. Common synonyms include ethics, principles, virtue, and goodness.
The particular norms by which moral actions are judged vary to some extent from individual to
individual and from culture to culture (although some norms, such as not to kill, not to steal, and
to honor one's parents, are widespread and perhaps universal), but value judgments concerning
human behavior are passed in all cultures. Morality describes the principles that govern our
behavior. Without these principles in place, societies cannot survive for long. In today's world,
morality is frequently thought of as belonging to a particular religious point of view, but by
definition, we see that this is not the case. Everyone adheres to a moral doctrine of some kind.
Morality is important because it impacts our everyday decisions, and those choices are directed
by our conscience.

The basis of all Catholic Christian morality is our belief in the God who created all things
and in Jesus who taught us even better how to live. We believe we are created in God’s image
and that we, and all creation, are basically good. Yet we recognize our own tendencies toward
evil, especially in an excess of our desires. We believe Jesus, as God become human “God
among us,” has most truly shown us how to live. Our moral life is based on trying to live and
treat others as Jesus did.

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 The morality of human acts are acts that are freely chosen in consequence of a judgment
of conscience, can be morally evaluated. They are either good or evil,” as defined by the
Catechism of the Catholic Church. Acting is morally good when the choices of freedom are in
conformity with man’s true good and thus express the voluntary ordering of the person towards
our ultimate end: God himself. The morality of human acts depends on: the object chosen; the
end sought or the intention; the circumstances of the action. The object, the intention, and the
circumstances make up the ‘sources,’ or constitutive elements, of the morality of human acts.

The morality of the human act depends primarily and fundamentally on the object
rationally chosen by the deliberate will, as is borne out by the insightful analysis. The moral
value of human acts (whether they are good or evil) depends above all on the conformity of the
object or act that is willed with the good of the person according to right reason. This means that
the reason attests that there are objects of the human act which are by their nature incapable of
being ordered by God, because they radically contradict the good of the person made in His
image. Also, one’s intention is not limited to directing individual actions, but can guide several
actions toward one and the same purpose; it can orient one’s whole life toward its ultimate end.
Circumstances are considered to be secondary elements of a moral act. They contribute to
increasing or diminishing the moral goodness or evil of human acts. Freedom makes man
responsible for his acts to the extent that they are voluntary. The exercise of freedom always
brings with it the responsibility before God: in every free act we either accept or reject God’s
will. The responsibility for an action can be diminished or even nullified by ignorance,
inadvertence, duress, fear, habit, inordinate attachments, and other psychological or social
factors.

As human beings, the basis for our moral decisions is an informed conscience. We have
the responsibility to train our conscience by studying the gospel message, Church teachings, our
own education and experience and follow it. This does not mean doing whatever we want, but
what we come to know as right, even if it is difficult, especially if it is difficult. We also know
that following our conscience does not guarantee that we will not make mistakes. One of the best
gauges we can use to try to prayerfully evaluate our conscience is to look back on our actions

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periodically and compare them to the ideals in the gospel stories. I believe this is what the
phrase, “human person is the criterion of morality.”
As human persons, we face different circumstances that will continuously challenge our
morality, which is why it is important for each of us to have our own moral code. Moral codes
are products of cultural evolution, a distinctive human mode of evolution that has surpassed the
biological mode, because it is a more effective form of adaptation. Cultural evolution is based on
cultural heredity acquired through characteristics and personality development as we grow older.
Most importantly, cultural heredity does not depend on biological inheritance, from parents to
children, but is transmitted from each other and without biological bounds. In other words, our
moral code is based on the experiences and challenges we faced throughout our whole lives. It is
the lesson we learn from past mistakes or from the mistakes made by other people surrounding
us.

As law students and future lawyers, our moralities will be tried constantly. The journey is
tough but the end justifies the means. Whether the decision to be made be simply about reading
all the assigned cases in a particular subject or memorizing all the provisions to be discussed in a
subject to have a good recitation in class, one must have not only the will and determination to
become good and ethical lawyers in the future but also one must have the discipline to maintain
one’s morality in order to not be swept away by the corruption surrounding the career we have
chosen.

The voyage is long but it is in the manner that we decide to solve the challenges we face
that allows us to continue to have our conscience intact. It may require a little more patience at
times, but one must remember the responsibility we have as the children of God and prosecutors
of justice.

In the profession that we have chosen, there has been a steady decline of morality by
casting aside established traditions and canons of professional ethics that evolved over centuries.
A lawyer can adhere to all the requirements of morality but still fail to meet the standards of a
true profession, standards calling for fearless advocacy within established canons of service. Law
is a profession and lawyers have certain obligations to their clients and to the court. There will

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always be times when there will be conflict in adhering justice to both client and court. Thus, it is
our duty to remind ourselves of the honorable nature of the profession otherwise there is little
point talking about ethics. It is the substance and not the form that matters here. It is to be borne
in mind that all barristers are members of a profession as distinct from being engaged in a trade.
A trade or business is an occupation or calling in which the primary object is the pursuit of
pecuniary gain. Honesty and honorable dealings are, of course, expected from every man,
whether he be engaged in professional practice or in any other gainful occupation. But in a
profession, pecuniary success is not the only goal. Service is the ideal, and the earning of
remuneration must always be subservient to this main purpose.