Ethics Study Guide PDF

ETHICS DEFINED.. Standards of duty and virtue that indicate how we should behave. Ethics is about right and wrong and how an honorable person should behave. Ethics is about being a good person. ISVS.OUGHT ETHICS APPLIED.. Is it wrong to clone a human being or to destroy human embryos in medi...

ETHICS DEFINED.. Standards of duty and virtue that indicate how we should behave. Ethics is about right and wrong and how an honorable person should behave. Ethics is about being a good person. ISVS.OUGHT ETHICS APPLIED.. Is it wrong to clone a human being or to destroy human embryos in medical research? What are our obligations, if any, to the generations of humans who will come after us and to the nonhuman animals with whom we share the planet? VALUES These are principles, objects or persons that and who we consider important and guide us in our day to day living Theseare the basis of our own actions. These are the things we consider significant in our lives. KINDS OF VALUES 1\. BIOLOGICAL VALUES 2\. SOCIAL ANDCULTURAL VALUES 3\. RATIONAL AND RELIGIOUS VALUES 4\. MORALVALUES CHOOSING YOURVALUES Values that are essential must be preferred over those that are accidental. Values that give greater satisfaction must be preferred over those that provide short lived-pleasures. ETHICS AND MORALITY Greek word "ethos-customs, usage, character" "A characteristic way of acting" Latin equivalent is mos or mores-the root words of morals and morality In general, they mean the traditional manners, customs, habits or character of a community or group, which pertain to the group\'s standards or what is commonly understood as the group\'s "system of values\", which determines what is considered "good", "right\" or the "proper\" way of living, acting and doing.- May also be defined as the science of the morality of human acts- The study of human motivation, and ultimately, of human rational behavior. MORALITY Defined as the quality of human acts by which they are constituted as good, bad, or indifferent.--- MORAL IMMORAL AMORAL HUMANACTS AND ACTS OF MAN Human Acts are those actions which man performs knowingly, freely and voluntarily. There actions are the result of conscious knowledge and are subject to the control of the will Acts of Man on the other hand are those actions which happen in man. They are instinctive and are not within the control of the will. ESSENTIAL ATTRIBUTES FOR HUMAN ACTS It must be performed by a conscious agent who is aware of what he is doing and of its consequences. It must be performed by an agent who is acting freely, that is, by his own volition and powers. It must be performed by an agent who decides will fully to perform the act (Voluntary). Illustration A certain student is aware of the regulations concerning the wearing of ID before entry & during inside the campus. (Knowledge) He/She is free to wear or not to wear the ID before entry & during inside the campus (Freedom) He/she did not wear the ID and consequently disobeys the regulation of the school. (Voluntariness) VOLUNTARINESS Latin word \"Voluntas\", referring to the Voluntariness is essential to an act. The person does it intentionally or voluntarily-NAIS NIYA TALAGANG GAWIN INTENTIONAL/VOLUNTARY ACTS Avoluntary act is defined as the act which proceeds from an intrinsic principle with knowledge of the end. Avoluntary act proceeds from the will and depends upon the will. A voluntary act is a will-act, not only a \"willed act\" When man knows theendof his work to the greatest degree and moves towards it, the voluntary character of his actions is present to the greatest degree. INDIRECT VOLUNTARINESS A person is responsible for his actions and their consequences. But is he also accountable for results not directly intended? Paul Glenn considers accountable for indirectly voluntary results of his act when: A. the doer is able to foresee the evil results or effect, at least, in a general way; B. the doer is free to refrain from doing that which would cause the foreseen evil; C. when it is his duty to refrain from doing such act. KINDS OF HUMANACTS(P.GLENN) Wish is the tendency of will towards something, whether this be realizable or not. Intention is the tendency of the will towards something achievable but without necessarily committing oneself to achieve it. Consent is the acceptance of the will of those needed to carry out the intention. Election is the selection of the will of those 2 means effective enough to carry out the intention. Use is the command of the w to make use of those means elected to carry but the intention. Fruition is the enjoyment of the will derived from the attainment of the thing he had desired earlier. Commanded acts are those done either by man's mental or bodily powers under the command of will. INTERNAL ACTIONS EXTERNAL ACTIONS MORAL DISTINCTIONS OF HUMANACTS Moralactions Immoral actions Amoral actions are those actions which stand neutral in relation to the norms of morality. THE MODIFIERS OF HUMANACTS 1\. IGNORANCE 2\. PASSIONS ( CONCUPISCENCE) 3\. FEAR 4\. VIOLENCE 5\. HABITS IGNORANCE Defined as lacking of a required knowledge which human being should have of his moral duties. PASSIONS ( CONCUPISCENCE) Passions are strong tendencies towards the possession of something good or towards a avoidance of something evil. The object of somebody's intense interest or enthusiasm or overpowering emotions or a sudden outburst of emotion Passions are neither good nor evil, but INDIFFERENT (without bias or preference for one person, group, or hing rather that another) ELEVEN CHIEF PASSIONS 1\. LOVE 2\. DESIRE 3\. DELIGHT 4\. HOPE 5\. BRAVERY 6\. ANGER 7\. HATRED 8\. SADNESS 9\. DESPAIR 10\. FEAR 11\. HORROR PASSIONS IN MORAL POV Passions are provided by nature for self-preservation of the individual and the human race. A person without them would be with no capacity for self-defense, improvement and devotion. growth, Passions may be called good when ordered by the rational will to help man in the practice of virtue, or in the attainment of that which is morally good. Passions may be called bad when used by the rational will to accomplish morally evil actions or when it is not controlled by reason. A person should be a master of his/her passions and not a slave of it. FEAR Fear is a disturbance of the mind caused by the thought of a threatening evil. 3 It It is the apprehension by the mind of an impending evil. It is an unpleasant feeling of anxiety or apprehension caused by the presence or anticipation of danger. FEAR CANBEDISTINGUISHED INTO: Acts done with fear or in spite of fear. When a person climbs a dangerous mountain at night. Acts done from or through fear of because of fear. When a sea captain thrones his cargo overboard in a storm in order to save the ship and the lives of the passengers. Fear may be slight of grave according to the amount or to the proximity of the impending evil. PRINCIPLES- FEAR Acts done with or in spite of fear are always voluntary. Acts done from or through fear of because of fear are involuntary. Fear as a disturbance of mind lessens the voluntariness but it does not destroy it. Fear considered as an ordinary passion may increase or diminish the voluntariness of the human act. VIOLENCE Violence or compulsion- is the application of external force on a person of external force on a person by another for the purpose of compelling him to do something against his will. consists in the actual application of physical force to extort something from a person HABIT Habit is a constant and easy way of doing things acquired by the repetition of the same act. It is an established action or pattern of behavior that is repeated so often that it becomes typical of somebody, although he or she may be unaware of it. Synonymous to addiction, dependency, fixation, obsession, weakness, custom, routine, practice, tradition, convention, pattern.