Moral Principles and Stewardship

Moral Principles

  • Morality is exclusive to human beings, aligning actions with natural moral law.
  • Natural law applies to all created beings, but natural moral law is specific to humans.
  • Four major moral principles:
    • Stewardship
    • Totality
    • Double effect
    • Cooperation

Ethics

  • Ethics is defined as the study of the morality of human behavior.
  • Medical ethics is the study of the moral dimensions of actions in the practice of medicine.
  • Ethical reasoning involves analyzing general ethical principles to determine if an action aligns with those principles.
  • Universal laws, derived from natural law, have a wide range of application.
  • Respect for human life is a universal principle, applicable in medicine where life and health are at stake.

Principle of Stewardship

  • Human life has intrinsic value.
  • This value cannot be taken away because humans are created in God's image.
  • Respect and protection for human life.
  • Man is the apex of God's creation, higher even than angels.
  • Man has duties and responsibilities towards his own life.
  • His body is a gift from God, to be taken care of.
  • Faith and religion enhance the appreciation of this course.
  • Religion (from Latin, "to bind") connects us with God.
  • Man transcends earthly existence, destined for eternal life with God.
  • God created the universe and man, entrusting everything to him, calling for stewardship.
  • God will ask for an accounting of our actions.
  • Genesis 1:26-27: God created man in His image and gave him dominion over the earth.

Man's Dignity

  • Man is a special reflection of God's beauty.
  • Man can think, will, and understand, but is also God's creature.
  • Other creatures demand our respect.
  • Man has dominion but is accountable to God.
  • Psalm 8:6: God made man lord over his creation.
  • God blessed his creatures and told them to multiply and fill the earth.
  • Everything comes from God and returns to Him.

Hierarchy and Order

  • There is a hierarchy among things, including man, and their relationship to God.
  • Useful dominion: Using resources in accord with our needs.
  • There is an order in the world; some beings are more perfect than others, but none reach the perfection of man.
  • God said, "Be the master of all things. Fill the earth and conquer."
  • God placed all things under man's dominion, but we must not abuse them.
  • Use them reasonably and responsibly to satisfy needs. Useful Dominion requires responsible use.
  • We dominate but don't abuse. Use everything for ourselves and others, accounting what we did with them.
  • Respect human beings as God's creatures.

Accountable Stewardship Over Man's Life

  • Man does not have the same dominion over himself.
  • Man is accountable to God for what he is and what he makes of himself.
  • He is given gifts to use for himself and others.
  • Responsibilities included in the divine plans is the mission for man to realize himself, to develop his talents.
  • Develop gifts and potential to the fullest.
  • Human life is essential to carry out this mission.
  • Without life, human realization is impossible, and God's plans are frustrated.
  • Intrinsic objective immorality or any attempt against one's own life is an usurpation of power.
  • Taking our own life or the lives of others is a right that belongs to God alone.
  • Accountable stewardship is valid in all aspects of man's life and is significant in medicine.

Beginning and End of Life

  • Situations like abortion, fetal research, genetic manipulation, euthanasia, and mercy killing must be understood in the context of accountable stewardship.
  • Man is not his own master but is accountable to God.
  • Practice medicine with utmost care, prioritizing human life.
  • If we don't care for human life, God's plans for man's potential will be frustrated.