ETHICS

1.Discuss the meaning of ethics

2. Compare Ethics with other Sciences that deal with man
3. Evaluate Morality and Human Existence
 CHRISTIAN ETHICS

ETHICAL TEACHINGS OF JESUS CHRIST:

a. The moral paradigm used by Jesus Christ is similar to those of Greek philosophers call towards
self-realization or fulfillment by oneself of the possibilities of one's character or personality.
b. His ethics is so radical, demanding, yet so fair, because He addressed to everyone wether he is
a king, a prince, a rich man, or a pauper or slave.
c. His moral teachings recognizes no social stratification and does not discriminate regarding
ability, nationality, race, educational background, sex, status and what else can we add.
d. Jesus Christ did not write anything, through the Sacred Scriptures we can follow how He
teaches. He teaches his radical (from the word radix meaning root) ethical idea.
LORD’S ETHICAL TEACHINGS THROUGH THE FOLLOWING HEADINGS:
a. The ethics of Jesus shows more preference to the poor and the oppressed.
b. The ethics of Jesus is an ethics of love.
c. The ethics of Jesus demands honesty and authenticity
d. The ethics of Jesus is an ethics which teaches faith in the father
e. The ethics of Jesus is an ethics of peace and reconciliation.
f. The ethics of Jesus demands sacrifice and suffering.

The ethics of Jesus indeed:

g. Manifests a preferential options for the poor, the abandoned, the disadvantaged, the other privileged,
persecuted, exploited and oppressed. To them Jesus promises heaven as their reward.
h. The ethical ideal emphasized by Jesus is for them to bear their lot and develop a sense of hope for their glorious
future. Jesus says in the Beatitudes “Blessed are the poor, theirs is the kingdom of God.”
i. The core of ethics lies in man’s heart, not in man’s observance of the law of man of man’s fidelity to traditional
norms.
j. The moral man is he who loves his neighbors and therefore loves God.
k. The commandment of Christ requires a Christian to love not only the lovable persons but even the Unlovables.
l. His ethics seeks no hypocrisy for it directly points at one’s heart and one’s mind. He teaches honesty and sincerity
m. He does not like people who want to be moral because they are seeking for affirmation or approval from the
common public that they are good.
n. The ethics of Jesus teaches faith in the Father. For Jesus, a believer should not worry for tomorrow, instead he
should complete trust in the Father.
o. The moral teachings of Jesus demands peace and reconciliation, It is said that one cannot find peace if he is not
at peace with himself.
p. The moral teachings of Jesus demands suffering and sacrifice, Jesus says; “ If you want to follow me, you must
deny yourself, take up your cross and begin to follow in my steps.”
THE ETHICAL TEACHINGS OF ST. AUGUSTINE.
a. The focal point of Augustine’s moral teaching is God
b. Love is the highest attribute of God and this is the central point of his moral teachings.
c. God is the starting point and the terminal point of everything in existence.
d. God is the creator and He created everything out of Love.
e. God expects all His creations to come back to Him.
f. God gives man freewill, so because man has freewill he is endowed by God with the power to choose b/w good
and evil.
g. Man authors evil and not God, because everything which God created is good.
h. Evil for him is the negation or absence of good. When man does evil, he does it because of his freewill.
i. A an immoral person is a person who lives in sin.
j. Human acts are nothing else but gesture’s of man’s freewill.
k. Man by nature is imperfect because of his freewill, man is capable of attaining perfection on the condition that
man should keep himself good.
l. Human salvation: how can an immoral man be saved? Man can only be saved by the grace of God, God alone can
redeem man.
m. 5 cardinal virtues or some contributory factors to help man attain salvation:
Prudence is the first cardinal virtue for a reason; it is the virtue that teaches us knowledge of reality. From prudence,
we gain the ability to discern what is good in every circumstance and to choose the right actions.
Justice (virtue) Justice is one of the four cardinal virtues in classical European philosophy and Roman Catholicism . It
n. To be good is to desire for God. Since man desires happiness, man
should, by necessity, desire for God because it is God alone who can
give us perfect happiness and ultimate satisfaction.
o.Only the cardinal virtues can give man sure assurances towards his
reunification with God.
p.So, just like Plato, St. Augustine reechoes the necessity of wisdom and
virtues to be practiced by ,an for man to become morally alive.
q.God as love drives him to take love as the basis and central point of
his ethics.
r. Love is the foundation of all virtues.
 ETHICAL TEACHING OF ST. THOMAS AQUINAS

a. An avid follower of Aristotelian philosophy, he Christianized the pagan moral philosophy of

Aristotle.
b. He takes the concept of virtue taught by Aristotle in his Nicomachean ethics and integrates his
theological virtues to complement Aristotle’s virtue.
c. Angelic thinker’s concept of human actions, according to Aquinas “every agent acts for an end”
human actions always geared towards ends, when these end are attained , they also become
the means for the attainment of other ends.
d. Final ends of all these ends, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle call this final or ultimate end of
human actions happiness.
e. There should be a clear idea of what a final end is:
1. If it is desirable to us for its own sake
2. If it is sufficient in itself to satisfy us
3. If it is attainable by the wise among us,
4. If it offers happiness to us
f. According to Aquinas the agent performs voluntary or willful actions through the following conditions:
1 . If the act is in itself overt (externally manifested)
2. If the agent acts because of a motive that prompts him to act
ETERNAL LAW
- Plans for all things and direct all things to their proper order, purpose, and ends (GOD)
- Plan and direction of God

NATURAL LAW
- The natural order of things or the attainment of God’s plan and direction of these things

NATURAL MORAL LAW

- The natural order of man as a being of action, as a rational being, and a free being.
- This can only become valid when it is applied to man in relation to man’s action
- This governs man in his actions

According to Aquinas, the Natural law and Natural Moral law are copies and reflections of
the Eternal Law . Since the Natural law is the reflection of the Eternal Law, the Natural law and
the Eternal Law are one. The Natural Moral law, on the other hand, is the Eternal law acquired
by man through his reason. Reason serves as a medium of the Eternal law to be known by man
in the context of Natural Moral Law . Specifically, the Natural Moral Law is comprehensible in
man
 ETHICS

WESTERN ETHICS

1.ANCIENT GREECE DEVELOPED MORAL LIFE IN PERFORMANCE OF DUTIES AS A

CITIZEN EX.(PAYING TAXES) “A MAN WHO PERFORMED HIS DUTIES WAS A GOOD
MAN”
2.MEDIEVAL PERIOD: LIFE IS DOMINATED BY CHURCH, THE GOOD LIFE WAS
IDENTIFIED BY THE HOLY LIFE OR RELIGIOUS LIFE. THUS, THE MORAL STANDARD
WERE GEARED TOWARDS SALVATION.
3. MODERN PERIOD: REVOLT AGAINST THE CHURCH; MORALITY IS MORE
CONCERNED WITH FREE INDIVIDUALS.
4.TODAY: ETHICS IS MAINLY CONDITIONED BY 2 INFLUENCES: FREE REFLECTIONS
FROM THE GREEK CITY STATES AND MORAL TRADITION OF JUDEO-CHRISTIANS
TAUGHT BY THE CHURCH IN MIDDLE AGES.
SOCRATES
- SON OF SOPHRONICUS, A STONE CUTTER AND PHAENARETE, A MIDWIFE
- BORN IN 469 B.C
- DIED IN 399
- HE WAS 70 WHEN HE DIED
- HE NEVER WROTE A BOOK
- HE TAUGHT MANY ESSENTIAL THING

PLATO
- INTELLIGENT STUDENT OF SOCRATES
- HE WAS BORN IN ATHENS, IN 427 B.C AND DIED IN 347 B.C AT THE AGE OF 80
- HE BELONGED TO DISTINGUISHED FAMILY.
- HIS FATHER WAS ARISTON WHILE HIS MOTHER WAS PERICTIONE
- THE ORIGINAL NAME OF PLATO WAS ARISTOCLES
- HE HAD 2 BROTHERS; ADEIMANTUS AND GLAUCON
- HE HAD ONE SISTER NAMED PROTONE
- AFTER THE DEATH OF HIS FATHER, HIS MOTHER MARRIED PYRILAMPES AND HAD
A SON NAMED ANTIPHON
- AFTER THE DEATH OF SOCRATES TRAVELLED TO ITALY, SICILY ETC.
- HE WENT BACK TO ATHENS AND FOUNDED THE ACADEMY IN THE YEAR 388 B.C
ARISTOTLE
- HE WAS BORN IN THE GREEK COLONY OF STAGIRA IN MACEDONIA IN 384 B.C.
- HE WAS THE SON OF NICOMACUS, A COURT PHYSICIAN TO AMNYTAS II OR KING
PHILIP, THE GREAT KING OF MACEDONIA WHO WAS THE FATHER OF PHILIP THE
GREAT.
- AT 18 HE BECAME PLATO’S STUDENT AT THE ACADEMY
- HE REMAINED PLATOS’S DISCIPLE FOR APPROXIMATELY 20 YEARS UNTIL PLATO
DIED IN 347 B.C
- IN 343 B.C HE BECAME THE TUTOR OF ALEXANDER WHO LATER BECAME
ALEXANDER THE GREAT
- AT 49, HE RETURNED TO ATHENS AND FOUNDED THE 2ND GREATEST SCHOOL OF
ANTIQUITY, THE LYCEUM.
- SOME OF HIS WRITINGS ARE MAGNA MORABIA AND EUDEMIAN
 GREEK ETHICS

GREEK PHILOSOPHERS: SOCRATES, PLATO, ARISTOTLE

A. THE MENTIONED GREEK PHILOSOPHERS CLASSIFIED AS ETHICS OF SELF REALIZATION,EMPHASIZE THE

PERSONHOOD OF EVERY INDIVIDUAL,THEY HIGHLIGHT THE SELF OF EVERY MAN AS BEING CONFRONTED WITH THE
DEMANDS OF LIVING A GOOD LIFE.
B. IN GENERAL, GREEK ETHICS ESTABLISH AN ANSWER TO THE MORAL QUESTION: WHAT IS THE GOOD LIFE?

ETHICAL TEACHING OF SOCRATES

. SOCRATES IS CONSIDERED AS THE GREATEST MORAL PHILOSOPHER
. HIS PHILOSOPHY IS EVIDENTLY ETHICAL RATHER THAN ONTOLOGICAL
. HIS EPISTOMOLOGY IS TOWARDS A MORAL LIFE.
. KNOWLEDGE IS NOT AN ENTITY FOR ITS OWN SAKE BUT A MEANS TO ETHICAL ACTIONS.
. KNOWLEDGE AND TRUTH PROVOKE THE WILL TO ACT FOR THE GOOD TO LIVE RIGHT OR GOOD MORAL LIFE.
. A PERSON CAN ACT CORRECTLY AND WELL IF HE KNOWS WHAT IS A GOOD LIFE.
. A WISE MAN DOES WHAT IS RIGHT BECAUSE HE KNOWS WHAT IS RIGHT.
. ACTION IS AN EXTENSION OF KNOWLEDGE, (one cannot act correctly if one does not know what is correct action)
. AN ACTION IS GOOD IF IT BEARS A GOOD QUALITY AND AS WELL AS WITH BAD ACTION.
. ACTION IS RIGHT IF IT SERVES MAN TRULY—IN THE SENSE OF ENHANCING HIS AUTHENTIC HAPPINESS.
SUMMARY:

SOCRATES:
-ETHICS EMBODIES FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE (MAN’S SUPREME GOAL IS HAPPINESS,
WHICH IS DOING WHAT IS RIGHT
- FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES DEMANDS 2 THINGS: GOODNESS AND VIRTUE
- AN ETHICAL PERSON IS HAPPY BECAUSE HE DOES WHAT IS RIGHT/GOOD , WHAT ENABLES
HIM TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT/GOOD IS VIRTUE WHICH IS FOR SOCRATES IS SYNANIMOUS
WITH KNOWLEDGE.
- VIRTUE IS KNOWLEDGE VICE-VERSA
- KNOWLEDGE IS THE MEDIUM OF AN ETHICAL LIFE.
 ETHICAL TEACHING OF PLATO

. HAPPINESS LIES IN REASON

. MAN ACTUALIZES HIMSELF IF HE TRIES TO BE RATIONAL
. 2 DOMAINS OF REALITY: IDEAL (IDEA) AND PHENOMENAL WORLD (PHENOMENA)
. IDEA IS ETERNAL, IMMUTABLE, SELF EXISTING, AND INDESTRUCTIBLE
.THE ZENITH OF IDEA IS GOOD WHICH HE DESCRIBES AS SOMETHING BEYOND THE TRUTH, BEYOND ESSENCE, AND THEREFORE,
IS LIKE THE SUN THAT SHINES ALL THROUGHOUT EXISTENCE
. THE PHENOMENAL WORLD IS MATERIAL, MUTABLE, TELEOLOGICAL, AND DESTRUCTIBLE.
. IDEAL AND PHENOMENAL WORLD CAN BE LINKED TO PlaTO’S CONCEPT OF MAN
. MAN IS A METAPHYSICAL DICHOTOMY OF BODY AND SOUL, MAN IS THE LOCUS OF THE IDEAL AND PHENOMENAL WORLD
. MAN IS A SOUL USING A BODY
. MAN’S SOUL HAS 3 PARTS: SPIRITUAL (FEELING) APPETITIVE (DESIRE) RATIONAL
. POSITIONS OF EACH PART OF THE SOUL: (CHEST-SPIRITUAL SOUL) (ABDOMEN-APPETITIVE SOUL) (HEAD-RATIONAL SOUL)
. RATIONAL PART/SOUL IS THE PART THAT CAN ESTABLISH BALANCE IN A PERSON
. SELF REALIZATION IS ATTAINABLE BY NURTURING REASON PROPERLY.
. 4 BASIC VIRTUES: WISDOM, COURAGE, TEMPERANCE, AND JUSTICE
. WISDOM ARISES IN THE RATIONAL SOUL, COURAGE IN THE SPIRITUAL SOUL, TEMPERANCE IN THE APPETITIVE SOUL
. WISDOM RULES OVER OTHER VIRTUES, BECAUSE WISDOM RULES
. TEMPERANCE MEANS MODERATION, JUSTICE MEANS THE OBSERVANCE OF DUTY AND RIGHTEOUSNESS : IT IS WHAT IS DUE TO
OR FROM A PERSON.
. LIFE OF REASON (RATIONAL SOUL) IS THE HAPPIEST AND FORM OF LIFE
. KNOWLEDGE (FUNCTION OF RATIONAL SOUL) MAKE A WELL BALANCED MAN.
. REASON ESTABLISHES A BALANCE BECAUSE IT RULES PASSION (SPIRITUAL SOUL) AND DESIRES (APPETITIVE SOUL)
. HARMONIOUS MAN IS A MORALLY VIRTUOUS WHO IS RATIONALLY, BIOLOGICALLY, AND EMOTIONALLY BALANCED.
. IF ONE WANTS TO BE HAPPY, ONE SHOULD BE HARMONIOUS MAN: A MAN OF VIRTUE.

SUMMARY:
PLATO
. HE DEVELOPS A UNIVERSAL AND ABSOLUTE ETHICAL THEORY
. VIRTUE AND KNOWLEDGE BELONG TO IDEA
. VIRTUE AS INNATE AND KNOWLEDGE AS ABSOLUTE, UNIVERSAL, AND OBJECTIVE.
. MORAL LAWS ARE UNIVERSAL AND ABSOLUTE BECAUSE VIRTUE AND KNOWLEDGE ARE PARTS
OF THE MORAL LAW.
. IF THE GOOD IS THE SUMMIT OF IDEA AND IF IDEA INVOLVES VIRTUES (WISDOM,
TEMPERANCE, COURAGE AND JUSTICE)
. KNOWLEDGE TEHREFORE ENABLES A HARMONIOUS MAN ARRIVE AT THE GOOD, TO ARRIVE AT
THE GOOD REQUIRES ONE SEARCH FOR KNOWLEDGE SO THAT ONE WOULD BE ABLE TO
ESTABLISH A WELL-BALANCED PERSONALITY.
. GOOD IS THE TERMINAL POINT OF MORALLY VIRTUOUS PERSON.
. PLATO SAYS THAT THE GOOD IS: “THE HARMONY OF OUR NATIVE INTEREST—TO SEE, TO KNOW,
TO CULTIVATE THE AFFECTIONS, TO ASSOCIATE OURSELVES WITH THE MOVEMENT OF THE
 ETHICAL TEACHING OF ARISTOTLE

- ETHICS IS A MATTER OF PLANNING, PURPOSE, AND DECISION: A MATTER OF CHARACTER

- IT IS NOT NATURAL FOR MAN TO BE MORAL, BUT FOR MAN TO BE MORAL IS DEMANDED BY NATURE
- “ WHAT IS THE FUNDAMENTAL OBJECT OF HUMAN DESIRE” “WHAT IS THAT WHICH MAN ULTIMATELY LOOKS FOR” (WEALTH,
ACHIEVEMENT, OR SENSUAL PLEASURES)
- THERE IS SOMETHING FUNDAMENTAL BEHIND FAME, RICHESS, SUCCESS, AND SENSUALITY.
- THE FUNDAMENTAL FOR ARISTOTLE IS HAPPINESS
- ETHICS OF SELF ACTUALIZATION
- HAPPINESS IS DEPENDENT ON ONE’S SELF ACTUALIZATION
- MORALITY IS NOT INNATE BUT SOMETHING WHICH HAS TO BE DEVELOPED,THUS, MORAL IDEAS ARE DEVELOPED.
- REASON IS VIRTUE AND VIRTUE IS REASON
- 2 KINDS OF VIRTUE: INTELLECTUAL AND MORAL
- INTELLECTUAL VIRTUE ARISES OUT OF TEACHING OR INTELLECTUAL VIRTUE SURFACES THROUGH ONE’S CONTEMPLATION OF
THEORETICAL MORAL TRUTH AND ONE’S DISCOVERY OF RATIONAL PRINCIPLES THAT OUGHT TO CONTROL OUR EVERY
ACTION.
- MORAL VIRTUE IS NOT NATURAL IN US, ARISES AS A RESULT OF HABIT OR MORAL VIRTUE COMES TO THE FORCE OUT OF
ONE’S HABITUAL CHOICE OF ACTION IN CONSONANCE WITH RATIONAL PRINCIPLES.
- A VIRTUOUS PERSON IS A PERSON WHO LIVES IN REASON AND A PERSON WHO LIVES IN REASON IS HAPPY, BECAUSE HE IS
ACTIVE IN EXERCISE OF VIRTUE.
- VIRTUE IS THE EXCELLENCE OF A THING TO PERFORM ACTIVELY ITS PROPER FUNCTION.

SUMMARY
 ETHICS
Online Class
MON/WED: 1:3O-3:OO
2 year College (2 sem)
nd nd

JOSE REUBEN PALOMA

(Subject Teacher)
Meaning of Ethics
Ethics is derived from the Greek word ethicos which
is pertain to ethos the English translation of which is
“custom” or “Character.” From this etymological meaning
the ff; vernacular or formal definitions are drawn:
a. Ethics is the practical Science of the morality of human
conduct
b. Ethics is a philosophical Science dealing with the morality of
the human acts.
c. Ethics is the systematic study of human actions from the point
of view of their rightness or wrongness as means for the
achievement of ultimate happiness.
d. Ethics is the normative science of the conduct of human beings
living in societies-science which judges this conduct to be right or
wrong, to be good or bad…
e. Ethics mean a philosophical study of morality, of the
foundation on which morality is based, and of the practical
implications of a systematic moral outlook.
f. Ethics is a normative science based on reason, which interprets
specific and paramount facts, the elements of which are conduct
. Forthe sake of simplicity, let us take Panizo’s definition. Panizo says that ethics is a
Philosophical science which deals with the morality of human acts. Let us analyze what this
definition means.
. Ethics is a Philosophical Science this means that ethics is one of many disciplines in
Philosophy. In general, we can speak of 4 divisions of Philosophy:

a. Descriptive or Speculative Philosophy is a discipline that posits

the question: What is the nature (essence, substance) of reality?
Metaphysics (Philosophical science of beings) falls under this.
b. Normative Philosophy is a discipline that posits the question:
What is good and what is bad or what is right action or wrong
action? Ethics or Moral Philosophy falls under this.
c. Practical Philosophy is a discipline which reflects upon truth in
relation to action. Logic belongs to this discipline.
d. Critical Philosophy is a discipline that posits the question: What is
. SoEthics as a philosophical science is a normative Philosophy. But what makes
ethics as a normative philosophy or science:
Ethics as a Science (Normative Science) because it systematically establishes
standard or norms of human conduct. It therefor qualifies human conduct as to
whether it is good or bad and right or wrong. After it qualifies human conduct,
ethics also requires a definitive human conduct. This means that it
requires
. man to act properly as man. And to act properly as
man, ethics idealistically requires man to do what is good and
what is right.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ETHICS AND MORALITY
. Etymologically, there is no difference b/w ethics and
morality. Ethics comes from the Greek word Ethos
meaning “custom.”
. Morality comes from the Latin word mos or moris
which also means “custom.”
. Because of this, ethics is also called moral philosophy
or precisely, the other name of ethics is moral
philosophy.
. Ethics as a normative philosophical science is a
POSTULATES IN ETHICS
. Postulates are proven facts that need to be presupposed.
Some examples are the Theory of Relativity or the Theory
of Gravitational Pull and other established scientific
theories. Ethics need not to prove them. Instead, it takes
them as they are because they are already proven by the
other sciences. In moral philosophy there are 3 basic
postulates:
A. The existence of God
B. The existence of intellect and free will
C. The spirituality and the immorality of the soul
ETHICS COMPARED WITH OTHER SCIENCES THAT DEAL
WITH MAN
1.Ethics and Psychology
. Psychology is a descriptive philosophy that treats
man’s intellect, free will and conduct while ethics
guides man’s intellect to know moral truths and man’s
will to translate his intellectual knowledge of moral
truths into action (conduct). Further, psychology
generally deals with human behavior. It posits the
question “How does man Behave?”. Ethics, on the other
MORALITY AND HUMAN EXISTENCE
There is morality because there is a
man
1.Man is the only Moral Being
Man is the only moral being by virtue of the following
reasons;
a. Man is a being of action. Man acts and knows his acts.
Because he knows he acts, he knows he is responsible for his
actions
b. Man has intellect. His intellects enable him to know what is
right or wrong and good or bad actions. Because he is capable
2.Man as an Animal

KNOWLEDGE SENSES
ANIMAL
APPETENCY INSTINCT

MAN

senses
KNOWLEDGE AND
RATIONAL INTELLECT

INSTINCT
APPETENCY AND
WILL
3.Man as a Rational Animal
It is his being rational that makes man a man. It is only in this context that man is to be
understood as a moral being or a moral agent. It is man’s being rational that makes him a
unique grade of animal. Being rational, man’s knowledge does not stop in the senses since his
sensual knowledge (perception) is further processed by his intellect in a form of abstraction.
As rational animal (animal rationale not capax rationale or capable of reason) man stives for
something not only through his instincts but also through his will.

4. Intellect Compared with Will

Intellect and will go hand and hand as complementary factors as they are intrinsically
endowed in man as the moral agent. In order that we can view the difference b/w intellect
and will properly, let u consider another diagram:

INTELLECT WILL
Wisdom Highest Goal Virtue
Truth Goal Good
Thinking Function Doing
5.Concrete Basis of Morality
Morality is not a mere cerebral affair; it is applied ethics. Therefore, it is also real or
concrete. It becomes real, perhaps through the following:
a. When one encounters a moral experience
b. Moral experience could ensue when one encounters a moral problem and
c. A person encounters a moral problem when the problem injuncts him moral obligation
Therefore, when one is caught up in a moral problem one should face his moral
obligation; What ought I to do? What must I do? And what should I do.? These are all moral
questions, and they belong to the intellectual level of man. What about the will? Because
man has a will, man can also entertain options on what to do with his obligation. In the
context of the will, we can speak now of the polarity in morality. What is meant by this? By
polarity in morality, we mean that man has freedom to choose b/w good and bad or right
and wrong responses to his obligation.