Module 6: Determinants of Morality PDF

**MODULE 6 -- DETERMINANTS OF MORALITY**  **MODULE SCHEDULE** This module is designed to be discussed for a period of two weeks. Lesson Delivery will be done in synchronous and asynchronous learning. The platform to be used will be facebook messenger, google classroom and goo...

**MODULE 6 -- DETERMINANTS OF MORALITY**  **MODULE SCHEDULE** This module is designed to be discussed for a period of two weeks. Lesson Delivery will be done in synchronous and asynchronous learning. The platform to be used will be facebook messenger, google classroom and google meet created for the class. **LEARNING OBJECTIVES** At the end of the module, you are expected to: 1. discuss the different determinants of morality as explained in the module; 2. demonstrate the correlation of motive and action; 3. illustrate the different properties of a just law as discussed in the module. **INPUT INFORMATION** I. **INTRODUCTION** II. **The Determinants of Morality** 1. **[The End of the Act]**. It is the natural termination or completion of an act. The end of the act of eating is appeasing hunger, the end of playing basketball is scoring a point, and the end of medication is curing illness. 2. **[The End of the Doer]**. It is the purpose or motive which the doer wishes to accomplish by his action. Without a motive, an act is accidental and involuntary. A good motive is truthful, prudent, temperate, and just. It is the most equitable for the greatest number of people, or in the words of the existentialist: "the most loving of all in a given situation. **Motive and Action** The correlation between motive and act is defined in the following principles (Glenn, 111 -- 113): 1. *[An evil act which is done on account of an evil motive is grievously wrong]*. In other words, a bad action and a wrong motive make for a dangerous combination. Stealing in order to buy "shabu" meant double trouble. Do not try it. 2. *[A good action done on account of an evil motive becomes evil itself]*. This means that something nice and sweet may turn ugly and sour because of a bad motive. Do not be a hypocrite! 3. *[A good action done on account of a good purpose acquires an additional merit]*. This means you go ahead and do the right thing. You can never go wrong on this one. 4. *[An indifferent act may either become good or bad depending on the motive]*. This means you be careful of what you eat or what you say. 3. **[Circumstances of the Act].** These are the historical elements surrounding the commission of an act, such as the status of the doer, the place, the time, or the intensity of the act. The circumstances are hinted by the interrogative pronouns -- *who*, *what*, *where*, *with whom*, *why*, *how*, and *where*. 1. *Who* refers either to the doer of the act or the recipient of the act? It has to do with the age, status, relation, schooling, social standing, an economic situation of those involved in an act. In this regard, we note the following: i. The moron, insane, senile, and children below the age of reason are incapable of involuntary acts and are not morally accountable. ii. Educated persons have greater accountability than those with less or without education. iii. Persons constituted in authority have accountability for the actions of those under them. This is the meaning of "command responsibility." Thus, parents have command responsibility over their children who are minors, employers, over the actuations of their employees, and superiors, over the acts of their subordinates. The law on sexual harassment is based on the doctrine of command responsibility. iv. The legal or blood relation of people involved in act may modify the nature of such an act. For instance, killing of a parent changes homicide to parricide. 2. *What* refers to the act itself, or to the quality and quantity of the results of such act. In robbery, for instance, what is stolen and how much is stolen are aggravating factors. Likewise, the number of victims determines the seriousness of the murder. 3. *Where* refers to the place where the act is committed. A crime inside a church is more scandalous than that committed in a secluded place. Murder in a marketplace is more heinous than that done in a mountain trail. 4. *With whom* refers to the companion or accomplices in an act. The more people involved in the commission of an act, the more serious is the crime. 5. *Why* refers to the motive of the doer, as discussed earlier. 6. *How* refers to the manner the act is perpetrated. Homicides committed with much cruelty is a heinous crime. 7. *When* refers to the time of the act. A murder committed when the victim is sleeping is more offensive than the one done when the victim is wide awake. 1. Circumstances may either increase or decrease the wrongfulness of an evil act. The killing of innocent people in the case of terrorists exploding a bomb in public places constitutes a serious crime against humanity. On the other hand, killing a tyrant who has long oppressed the assailant accepts a mitigating factor, and, therefore, is less evil. Nonetheless, the act remains an evil act and the perpetrator of such act is accountable and punishable. 2. Circumstances also may either increase or decrease the merits of a good act. Helping another at the risk of one's life is an act of heroism. Helping another in expectation of a reward or fee is a business transaction. 3. Circumstances may exempt temporarily someone from doing a required act. A debtor may not pay his debts when he does not have the money, or if paying up would cause him great hardships. 4. Circumstances do not prove the guilt of a person. The presence of a person when a crime is committed does not prove he is the criminal. III. **The Morally Good Act** IV. **The Relevance of Laws.** V. **The Definition of Law** VI. **Kinds of Law** 1. **[Divine Positive Laws]** are those made known to men by God, like the Decalogue (Ten Commandments) given to Moses. We also call them moral laws because they are concerned with moral acts. Violation of these laws constitutes a sin. 2. **[Human Positive Laws]** are those made by legitimate human authority, such as the laws enacted by the State or the Church. Human positive laws are intended to preserve peace and order and to direct members object to the work for the common good. They may also have as their object the moral acts. The Constitution and the Civil Code embody the laws of the Philippines. Canon Law embodies the laws of the Catholic Church. 3. **[Affirmative and Negative Laws]**. Both divine and human positive laws are either affirmative or negative. Affirmative laws are those that require the performance of an act, like that of giving respect to parents and that of paying taxes when due. Negative laws are those that prohibit the performance of an act, like the prohibition against smoking in designated public places. VII. **Binding in Conscience** VIII. **Properties of a Just Law** 1. A human law must conform with divine laws. This is because all legitimate authority comes from God. Therefore, no human authority may contradict God's will as manifested in the natural law or divine positive laws. 2. A human law must promote the common good. The common good is the communal benefit, material, and spiritual necessary for the promotion of human life. The common good consists in economic prosperity, peace and order, health, education, and moral instruction of the members of the society. 3. A human law must not discriminate against certain individuals or groups. It must apply proportionately to all members of the society so that the needs of each one is served. 4. A human law must be practicable. A law which imposes undue hardships and sacrifices in its compliance is not just. 5. A human law must be flexible. It must provide limits and define the basis for exemptions. Laws are for the benefit of man, not for his destruction. 6. A law must be amendable. The conditions and reasons for a law do change. Therefore, a law should be amendable and changeable. IX. **Reading** **The Reality of Evil** There are good actions and there are evil actions. Their realities do not come from the mind in spite of some people saying \"evil is all in the mind\". Some people do not see evil, accept it as something \"normal\", or identify it as something else. Some, for example, would regard pornography as an art. Some think of gambling and prostitution as means of livelihood. A terrorist believes that murdering unbelievers is fulfilling God\'s Will. A government official believes accepting bribe is a privilege of his office. A pile of garbage is garbage even if a scavenger were to say it is good. Garbage represents what is ugly, dirty and bad in the surrounding. In contrast, a rose garden stands for what is clean, beautiful, and wholesome. Therefore, only he who is intellectual dishonest would claim \"evil is only in the mind\", implying that evil is something imaginary, an illusion. The expression \"ang masama ay nasa isip lang\" should not mean that evil is a fiction. It should mean rather that an evil act begins in the mind as an evil thought and is translated into an immoral act.. Indeed, the mind is \"the devil\'s workshop\".  **LEARNING ACTIVITIES** Answer the following question (10 points each). 1. What factors determine the moral quality of an act? 2. When is an action a "just act?" **ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION** Be ready for a 20-item quiz. **ASSIGNMENT** 1. Explain: "the end does not justify the means." **LEARNING RESOURCES** Agapay, Ramon (2016): *Ethics and the Filipinos*. National Bookstore