PHILO031: 1ST SEM_W1

Nature of Philosophy and Ethics A. WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY & ETHICS? B. B. IMPORTANCE OF ETHICS PURPOSE OF ETHICS BRANCHES OF ETHICS

philia, sophia

philosophy comes from two greek words

love

also known as philia, strong desire for a particular object

wisdom

also known as sophia, correct application of knowledge

Human Act

ann act which proceeds from the deliberate free will of a man

Human Act

an act that proceeds from the knowing and freely willing human being

ex: listening to a talk, studying this PDF

moral acts

Human acts are what acts

Acts of Man

these are man’s animal act of sensation, and appetition done without advertence and the exercise of free choice

ex: actions done in infancy (peeing), in sleep, in delirium, etc

based on complete/adequate cause, based on the Relation of Human Acts to Reason

Classifications of Human Acts

based on complete/adequate cause

there are some acts that begin and are perfected in the will itself, and the rest begin in the will and are perfected by other faculties under control of the will

 Elicited Acts

These are those that find their adequate cause in the will (the deliberate will) alone.

 Elicited Acts

“Your intention to study in your room” what kind of act is this?

• wish

• intention

• consent

• election

• use

• fruition

these are the types of elicited acts

wish

• Refers to the simple love of anything

• The first tendency of the will towards a thing, whether realizable or not

wish

“I do so long to see you tonight” what kind of elicited act is this?

Intention

The purposive tendency of the will towards a thing regarded as realizable, whether the thing is actually done or not

Intention

“Ex: I will see you tonight.” what kind of elicited act is this?

Election

The selection by the will of the precise means to be employed in carrying out an intention

Election

“ I will select riding my bike to see you tonight.” what kind of elicited act is this?

Use

The employment by the will of bodily or mental powers or both to carry out its intention by the means elected

Use

“To actually see you, I will command my mental and bodily powers to carry out my intention” what kind of elicited act is this?

Fruition

• The enjoyment of a thing willed and done

• The will’s act of satisfaction in intention fulfilled

Fruition

“I will experience this the moment I will actually see you.” what kind of elicited act is this

Commanded Acts

These are those that do not find their adequate cause in the will-act but are perfected by the action of mental or bodily powers under orders from the will.

Commanded Acts

“Using your mind, eyes, etc. in studying” is an example of what act?

Internal

Acts done by internal mental powers under command of the will

Internal

“effort to remember, effort to control anger” what kind of commanded act is this?

External

Acts effected by bodily powers under command of the will

External

“eating halo-halo, writing your answers” is an example of what commanded acts?

Mixed

Acts that involve the employment of bodily and mental powers

Mixed

“solving a Math problem” is an example of what commanded act?

Based on the Relation of Human Acts to Reason

Human acts are either in agreement or disagreement with the dictates of reason, and this relationship constitutes the morality of human acts

Good

When human acts are in harmony with dictates of right reason

Evil

When human acts are in opposition with the dictates of right reason

Indifferent

When they stand in no positive relation to the dictates of reason

Constituents of the Human Acts

• These refer to the essential elements or qualities for an act to be human

• These qualities are knowledge, freedom, and voluntariness

Knowledge

A human act proceeds from the deliberate will; it required deliberation

Deliberation

means advertence, or knowledge in intellect of what one is about and what this means.

Deliberation

this means knowledge

Freedom

A human act is an act determined (elicited or commanded) by the will and by nothing else

Freedom

It is an act that is under control of the will, an act that the will can do or leave undone

free act

Freedom is also called this, thus, every human act must be free

Voluntariness

A human act to be voluntary, or must have voluntariness, simply means it must be a will-act

Voluntariness

This is to say that there must be both knowledge and freedom in the agent or the doer of the action

Philosophy

science that studies beings in their ultimate cuauses, reasons, and principles through the aid of human reasons alone

being

all things that exist

material or immaterial

the notions of god, soul, spirit

metaphysics, epistemology, logic, ethics

major branches of philosophy

metaphysics

foundation of philosophy

metaphysics

study of things beyond the physical; concepts or things that cannot be experienced

metaphysics

the first philosophy

ontology

general metaphysics, studies beings in their ultimate causes, reasons, and principles through the aid of reason alone

logos

greak word meaning reason or the underlying principle of all that is

cosmology

special metaphysics, studies the world (or universe) including its origin, dynamics, and characteristics, as well as the laws that govern in order

kosmos

greek word meaning world

psyche

greek word meaning soul/mind

logos

greek word meaning study

psychology

study of the nature and dynamics of the human person as a whole, with emphasis on teh way the person’s mind functions and the way she behaves

theodicy

natural theology, study of god, justification of the goodness of god in the face of the existence of evil

epistemology

study of the nature and scope of knowledge and justified belief

episteme

greek word meaning knowledge

logic

study of the principles and criteria of a valid argument, distinguish sound or good reasoning from unsound or bad reasoning

logos

greek word, science of correct thinking

Ethics

morality of human acitons, how human persons ought to act, and the search for a definition of a right conduct, and good life

theory, practice

ethics is more on ____ while morality is more on _____

Ethics

about character — the sum of qualities that defines a person which include a person’s intellect, thoughts, ideas, motives, intentions, temperament, judgment, behavior, imagination, perception, emotions, loves, and hates.

character

the sum of qualities that define a person

all about what a well-intentioned person with good character would do

in virtue ethics, how is character defined?

• wisdom

• courage

• temperance

• justice

Cardinal virtues

Cardinal Virtues

form ethical decision-making because they provide a foundation to make

good judgments when faced with an ethical dilemma

Ethics

basically a Philosophy subject and as such it utilizes reason to understand the moral nature of man

Ethics

provides rational understanding of the cause and effect of moral actions in

various human interactions

Ethics

can help mold the human person towards a more civilized and orderly fashion in relation to his fellow men, and his surroundings.

Philosophy

the science that studies reality or things according to their ultimate causes,

principles, and nature through the use of human reason alone

Philosophy

the discipline that pervades every fabric of human existence

Philosophy

requires into the very heart of every human concern - life, morality, society, government, man, and many more

Aristotle

This philosopher puts philosophy succinctly, saying it begins in wonder

Philosophy begins in wonder. All it needs is a sense of wonder.

Aristotle states succinctly that

Moral Philosophy

The other name for Ethics

Ethics

branch of philosophy that studies the morality of human conduct - that is, ideas such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice etc...

Ethics

studies the rightness or wrongness of a human action

Ethics

Theory of right action and the greater good, “systematic study” of the underlying principles of morality

Morality

“practice,” rightness or wrongness of human action, “prescriptive,” tells us what we ought to do, exhorts us to follow the right way

Ethics

practical science of the morality of the human conduct.

ethos

greek word meaning custom or character

ETHOS, TA ETHIKA

Ethics is derived from these greek words

custom or character

Ethos means

philosophical inquiries into the nature of Good & Evil

Ta Ethika means

Mos or Moris

Morality is derived from the greek word/s

Mos or Moris

the Latin equivalent of the term “custom” or “habit

Importance of Ethics

• Guides us in making choices

• Saves time and effort in decision-making

• Provides pre-set guidelines for right and wrong

• Helps evaluate outcomes and alternatives

define “What I Ought to Do,” to improve the human situation

The purpose of Philosophy in general and Ethics in particular

distinguish which is “good” or “bad”

Primary purpose of your philosophical system

• Descriptive Ethics

• Normative Ethics

• Meta Ethics

• Applied Ethics

Branches of Ethics

Descriptive Ethics

deals with what people actually believe (or made to believe) to be right or

wrong, and accordingly holds up the human actions acceptable or not acceptable or

punishable under a custom or law

Descriptive Ethics

deals with what people believe to be right or wrong, and accordingly holds up the human actions under a custom or law

comparative ethics

Descriptive ethics is also termed as as it compares the ethics of the past and present; ethics of one society and other

Descriptive Ethics

also takes inputs from other disciplines such as anthropology, psychology, sociology and history to explain the moral right or wrong.

Normative Ethics

deals with “norms” or set of considerations how one should act

Normative Ethics

a study of “ethical action” and sets out the rightness or wrongness of the actions

Prescriptive Ethics

the other term for Normative Ethics
- is called this as it rests on the principles which determine whether an acction is right or wrong