Introduction to Ethics

• Foundational knowledge of ethical concepts, theories, and applications is achievable through structured lectures.

Introduction to Ethics

• Ethics is the study of moral principles that govern human behavior, focusing on what is right and wrong.
• Ethics guides decision-making, promotes trust, and ensures fairness and accountability in personal and professional life.
• Ethics maintains transparency in business practices.

Branches of Ethics

• Metaethics delves into understanding moral language and concepts, such as defining "good."
• Normative Ethics focuses on determining moral rules and guidelines, addressing "What should I do?"
• Applied Ethics involves examining real-world issues.
• Applied ethics addresses dilemmas in medical treatments.

Key Ethical Theories

• Utilitarianism maximizes happiness for the greatest number.
• Vaccination programs are an application of utilitarianism to benefit public health.
• Deontology includes duty-based ethics that focuses on rules and obligations.
• A doctor's treatment of a patient regardless of background exemplifies deontology.
• Virtue Ethics focuses on moral character and virtues.
• A leader demonstrating honesty and integrity in decision-making is an example of virtue ethics.

Ethical Principles in Practice

• Key ethical principles are autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice.
• Autonomy respects individual choices.
• Beneficence promotes good.
• Non-Maleficence avoids harm.
• Justice ensures fairness.
• A hospital allocating limited resources during a crisis balances beneficence and justice.

Ethical Dilemmas and Decision-Making Models

• Recognizing situations where moral principles conflict identifies dilemmas.
• The Four-Component Model (Rest) integrates moral sensitivity, judgment, motivation, and character.
• The PLUS Model integrates policies, Legal considerations, Universal values, and Self-awareness.
• Addressing a whistleblowing situation exemplifies ethical decision-making.

Conclusion

• Understanding ethical concepts with critical thinking and reasoning promotes ethical behavior and transparency in business practices.

Understanding "Man as a Person"

• A person is defined as a unique, rational being with dignity and moral agency.
• Recognizing every person's inherent worth is the foundation of moral principles.
• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights emphasizes the dignity of all human beings.

Characteristics of the Human Person

• Rationality enables humans to reason and make decisions.
• Weighing consequences and principles solves ethical dilemmas.
• Freedom involves the responsibility to choose and act, but with accountability for actions.
• Choosing to help a stranger in need demonstrates freedom.
• Humans thrive in relationships, showing relationality with others and the community.
• Family and societal bonds exemplify relationality.
• Each person is distinct and irreplaceable; their contributions are unique.

Moral Agency

• Moral agency is the capacity to discern right from wrong and act accordingly.
• Standing against injustice exemplifies moral agency.

Philosophical Perspectives on the Human Person

• Immanuel Kant views humans as ends in themselves, not merely as means.
• Treating employees with respect rather than as tools for profit respects Kant's belief.
• Gabriel Marcel views humans as beings-in-relation, emphasizing love and presence.
• Valuing genuine friendships is an example of Marcel's view.
• Thomas Aquinas views the human person as a union of body and soul, with inherent dignity.
• Ethical considerations like organ donation in medical practices respects inherent dignity.

Value and Dignity of the Human Person

• Intrinsic value is each person's worth, not achievements or status.
• Advocating for marginalized communities respects inherent dignity.
• Human rights are based on recognizing human dignity.
• The right to education and healthcare are example of human rights.

Ethical Implications

• Respecting human life includes all stages from conception to natural death.
• Debates on bioethics, like euthanasia, highlight the importance for respecting life.
• Justice and fairness ensure equality in treatment and opportunities.
• Anti-discrimination policies in workplaces exemplify justice and fairness.
• Compassion and solidarity support those in need.
• Volunteerism and charitable work show compassion and solidarity.

Conclusion Key Takeaways

• The human person is central to all ethical considerations.
• Recognizing and upholding human dignity is important in all aspects of life.

Class collaborative learning

• Understanding philosophical perspectives and real-life examples are critical.
• Sharing videos or articles about human rights and dignity help inform people.
• The class should Q&A to address questions about the nature of the human person.

Case Study Analysis

• A company exploits workers in developing countries can be used to analyze ethical issues.
• The ethical issues include violating the rights and dignity of workers.
• The ethical issues also include proposing solutions that respect the workers' humanity.

Role-Playing Scenarios

• Medical professionals prioritize wealthy patients over poor ones.
• This helps with discussion of dignity, fairness, and medical ethics.

Debate

• A debate of giving artificial intelligence systems personhood.
• This can help explore perspectives on what defines a person and whether Al qualifies.

Reflection Journal

• One should reflect on a time when they stood up for someone’s dignity.

Human act

• It refers to any action with knowledge, freedom, and deliberation.
• This helps distinguish morally responsible actions from involuntary or non-human acts.

Definition of Human Acts

• Human act consists of deliberate will of a person with essential elements.
• The essential elements are knowledge, freedom, and deliberation.
• Knowledge, freedom and deliberation consists of awareness, voluntariness, and consideration.

Types of Acts

• Human Acts (Acts of Man as Human Acts) involves actions with awareness and free will.
• Donating to charity, apologizing for a mistake, and telling the truth are examples off Human Acts.
• Acts of Man are involuntary actions without deliberation or free will.
• Breathing, blinking, and involuntary reflexes are examples of Acts of Man.

Factors Affecting Human Acts

• Factors that affect human acts are knowledge, freedom, and voluntariness.
• Knowledge consists of a person being aware of what they are doing.
• Freedom consists of external force, such as threats, can affect a person's free will.
• Voluntariness consists of the degree of willingness affects the morality of an act.

Morality of Human Acts

• Human acts consists of good acts, evil acts, and indifferent acts.
• Good acts consists of actions in accordance with moral law and reason.
• Helping a stranger in need is an example of Good acts.
• Evil acts are actions that go against moral principles.
• Stealing from others is an example of Evil acts.
• Indifferent Acts are actions that are neither morally good nor bad.
• Walking in the park is an example of depending on the intention.

Components of Morality in Human Acts

• The object is the act itself
• The intention is the reason behind the act.
• The circumstances are the conditions that affect the morality of the act.
• Helping the poor genuinely in a time of need is morally good while showing it off diminishes morality.
• Individuals make ethical choices when ensuring actions align with knowledge, freedom, and good intention.

Differentiating Between Intrinsic and Extrinsic Evil

• Understanding the distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic evil helps assess implications in ethical.

Definition of Intrinsic Evil

• Actions are inherently wrong regardless of circumstances, intentions, or consequences
• These acts are morally evil in themselves and cannot be justified under any condition.

Characteristics of Intrinsic Evil:

• Universally immoral consists of actions that is always wrong.
• It violates fundamental moral principles by goes against natural law and divine law.
• Intent and circumstance cannot alter its nature.

Examples of Intrinsic Evil:

• Intrinsic Evil consists of murder, rape, torture, blasphemy.

Definition of Extrinsic Evil

• Actions are not inherently evil but become wrong due to external factors such as circumstances, laws, or intentions.
• Morality depends on external conditions.

Characteristics of Extrinsic Evil

• Context-dependent is when The morality of the act depends on external conditions.
• Actions can be permissible or necessary in certain circumstances.
• Subject to moral evaluation involves deeper analysis of motives and effects.

Examples of Extrinsic Evil:

• Extrinsic Evil consists of lying, taking another person's property and breaking the law.

Key Differences Between Intrinsic and Extrinsic Evil

Aspect - Intrinsic Evil | Extrinsic Evil

• Nature - Inherently wrong | Wrong due to external factors
• Justification - Can never be justified | Can be justified in some cases
• Dependence on Context - Independent of circumstances | Dependent on situation and intention
• Example - Murder, rape | Lying, taking property under necessity

Sensitivity to the Common Good

• The common good ensures that people are able to have access to fundamental rights, resources, and opportunities.
• The common good emphasizes cooperation, respect, and shared responsibility.

The Importance of Sensitivity to the Common Good

• When people prioritize the common good, communities become stronger and more cohesive.
• Sensitivity can help create fairness and justice by creating policies and actions that benefit everyone, especially marginalized groups.
• Thinking beyond oneself fosters a culture of compassion that encourages acts of kindness and social responsibility.

Practical Ways to Develop Sensitivity to the Common Good

• Engaging in community service helps those in need foster empathy.
• Conserving resources and reducing waste benefit everyone.
• Supporting causes that promote equality and human rights contributes aids human rights
• Practice listening to help come to fair decisions.

Understanding and Practicing the Virtue of Temperance

• Temperance promotes self-control, moderation, and balance.
• It encourages individuals to regulate their well-being, harmony, and moral integrity.

Meaning of Temperance

• Temperance is ability to exercise restraint over impulses, emotions, and desires.
• It involves making thoughtful and responsible choices, ensuring aligned actions with ethical and moral values.

Historical Perspectives on Temperance

• Aristotle viewed finding a balance between excess and deficiency to achieve human flourishing.
• Religious teachings promote righteousness by advocated moderation in behavior, consumption, and speech.
• Modern society seeks to improve people mentally and physically by promoting lifestyles and self-discipline.

Importance of Practicing Temperance

• Enhances self-control, helping individuals resist temptations.
• Promotes Mental and Emotional Stability, reducing behaviors.
• Encourages Physical Well-being, prevents overindulgence in substances that may harm health.
• Fosters Financial Responsibility, prevents spending and promotes wise practices.
• Strengthens Character and Integrity, encourages living, responsibility, and trustworthiness.

Lacking Temperance cause

• Addiction, dependence, and strained relationships due to emotions
• The issues may also cause financial instability and health problems due to overindulgence.

Practicing Self-Discipline

• Establishment clear limits in consumption, interactions, and reactions.
• Learn differentiate between desires and necessary needs.
• Develop patience to avoid behaviors.

Developing Mindful Habits

• Practice moderation in food intake and choose nutritious options.
• Reduce media time to reduce time on unnecessary content.
• Organize tasks efficiently to prevent overworking.

Strengthening Emotional Regulation

• Engage in techniques to develop self-awareness.
• Coping mechanisms like breathing and affirmations can increase emotional stability.
• Avoid substances or indulgence as relief.

Encouraging Temperance

• Recommend consumption of resources.
• Support fair-trade and environmentally friendly products.
• Encourage others by having compassion and responsible behavior.

Applying Temperance Aspects of Life

• Balance study time with leisure to avoid burnout.
• Practice patience, active listening, and emotional restraint.
• Avoid reckless spending habits.
• Have a balanced diet, exercise routine, and rest.

Ways to Cultivate Temperance

• Avoid spending and wastefulness.
• Learning how to manage anger, greed, and impulsivity.
• Balanced diet, exercise regularly, and enough rest.
• Establishment boundaries in work, social media use, and daily activities