MODULE NO.
7
WEEK 13 AND 14
MEDINA FOUNDATION COLLEGE
Sapang Dalaga, Misamis Occidental
Purok Jasmin, Poblacion, Sapang Dalaga, Misamis
Occidental
Email Address: [email protected]
College/Department
PHILO (ETHICS)
Instructor: Mr. Arturo Baguio Baluarte, Jr.
Cell No. 09104280021
Email Add: [email protected]
Introduction
This course is a survey of the study of morality by well-known philosophers. It is
designed to help students develop their abilities to read, explicate, analyze, and
evaluate philosophical literature, write and express themselves well about their
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own ethical positions, and think critically and analytically about ethical issues.
This course is an introduction to moral philosophy and is intended for the student
who has had little or no prior exposure to philosophy. It will provide a broad but
reasonably detailed examination of the central issues of moral philosophy and
will also consider how these can be applied to several contemporary moral
problems.
Rationale
The course aims to align the teaching of Philosophical Ethics with the new teacher
education curriculum that is anchored of the National Competency-Based Teacher
Standards.
Intended Learning Outcomes
A. ILO1: Explain the concept of conscience, including its definition, types,
and how it differs from related concepts such as law, prudence, and
moral science.
B. ILO2: Analyze moral situations using the principles of conscience and
moral obligation to determine whether a given action is morally
permissible, obligatory, or forbidden.
C. ILO3: Evaluate the role and moral necessity of sanctions and laws
(divine, human, natural, and positive) in shaping ethical behavior and
maintaining moral order in society.
Activity
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WEEK 13 AND 14
1 Whole sheet of paper
Copy and answer
Choose a partner and complete the table below. 30 points
INDIVIDUAL’S BEHAVIOR SOCIETAL NORMS
DISCUSSION
Conscience
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1. Description of Conscience - Conscience is metaphorically known as the "inner or little
voice of God" crying out man's moral obligations and telling him what to do and what to
avoid in the moral order.
2. Definition of Conscience. - Conscience consists in a practical judgment of mind when
applying the moral law to individual human actions. Conscience is defined as an act of the
practical judgment of reason deciding upon an individual action as good and to be
performed or as evil and to be avoided.
Conscience differs from:
a) Moral science - which is a systematized and formulated knowledge of the conclusions,
drawn from the moral principles and the positive laws,
b) Law - which consists in the objective rules of conduct formulated by an authority and
enforced by sanctions.
c) Consciousness - which is a psychological awareness by which we perceive our states
and acts and are mentally awakened to the things around us.
e) Prudence - which is a virtue timing the use of conscience, and regulating the application
of the universal principles of morality to particular actions.
f) Council- which is concerned with the right means and ways to carry on our moral
decisions.
g) Synderesis, - which is the understanding of the principles and axioms of morality. These
principles are co natural to man’s rational nature; they only need to be developed through
education and experiences.
3. Different Kinds of Conscience,
a) Antecedent or consequent, according as the judgment is passed before an action
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is performed or only after the action is done. The main functions of the antecedent
conscience are to command, to forbid, to advice and to permit.
b) Right or true, conscience judges what is really good as good and what is really evil
as evil according to the true principles of morality.
c) Certain conscience is a subjective assurance of the lawfulness or unlawfulness of certain
actions to be done or to be omitted.
d) Doubtful conscience suspends judgment on the lawfulness of an action and
therefore, if possible, the action should be omitted. If the action has to be necessarily
performed, one ought to examine more carefully the circumstances of the action or consult
an expert moralist. doubtful conscience may occur in business transactions, surgical
operations, and other professional practices.
e) Scrupulous conscience is that which is extremely rigorous, constantly afraid of
committing evil.
f) Lax conscience tends to follow the easy way and to find excuses for omissions and
mistakes. This kind of conscience is dangerous.
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4. The Obligatory Force of Conscience. - The practical judgment of reason or conscience
binds man with a moral obligation. But in some cases, the conscience of a moral agent may
be objectively wrong and subjectively doubtful or certain, and thus, decide a good action as
evil and to be omitted or an evil action as good and to be performed.
How then should the moral problem be solved?
1) In general, man should follow the practical judgment of his conscience whenever he
sincerely, thoroughly, and certainly believes that he must perform or omit an action, be this
action good, bad or indifferent in itself. Example: Giving alms is a materially good action;
playing football is an indifferent action and telling lies is intrinsically evil.
Error in conscience is possible due to the following causes:
1. A mistake along the process of practical reasoning especially with regard to
remote
conclusions of the moral principles.
2) Actions resulting from voluntary erroneous conscience are immoral, as in the case of
voluntary or affected ignorance. Actions resulting from involuntary erroneous conscience are
not immoral, for the error is not the fault of the agent.
3) The solution to moral doubts has been one of the most discussed problems among
moralist. In case of doubt one should always choose the safer course. A doubtful law does
not blind.
In case of a doubtful conscience a person is obliged:
a) To make an effort to remove all doubts by direct investigation or consultation,
thereby changing the doubtful conscience into a certain subjective conscience
b) Subjective certainty can also be achieved by indirect practical reasoning, when the
mind is guided by a good intention or is trying to make a reconsideration of the entire
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situation.
5. Education of Conscience. - It is very important for man to educate his conscience, for his
eternal destiny depends mainly on the kind of conscience he himself develops in this world.
How does man acquire a right conscience? How can he be sure that his practical judgments
and moral decisions in given situations are right?
a) Let us remember that conscience is not independent of external law and authority.
Its function is to apply the law.
Therefore, the guiding hand of conscience is the law. The first step to take in order to
educate our conscience is to overcome ignorance and error by applying ourselves to the
study of our moral, civil, and Church's laws and regulations.
b) The second step in the education of conscience is overcome doubts in moral matters by
forming good habits of reasoning or by consulting prudent and virtuous persons.
6. The Lost Conscience. -The process through which human conscience is deadened has
been analyzed by Msgr. Fulton H. Sheen in the following passage:
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“At the first temptation to steal, the inner voice recalls the seventh Commandment: “Thou
shall not steal.” The ego answers: “This fountain pen is of no great value, anyway, and the
owner will never miss it; he has at least a dozen others; furthermore, I will steal one only”.
This is the dulling of conscience. Next follows the drugging: The voice of conscience
speaks: “You ought not to do this. You said you would never do it again.
7. Peace of Soul and Guilty Conscience. - There are two kinds of conscience: The one
given to us by the Creator and the one we ourselves create to provide for our unreasonable
desires.
The first produces peace of soul.
The second produces remorse and disgust, worry and anxiety.
Moral Obligation and Sanction
1.Moral Obligation Moral obligation is necessity of performing or omitting an action in
accordance with the moral or positive law as recognized by the mind. It is the understanding of
the law that prompts an individual to perform an act or to refrain from it. Moral obligations
impelling us to do or to omit an act do not depend upon ourselves or upon other men.
Moral obligation is different from physical obligation or physical necessity. Moral
obligation means duty, ought-ness. It presupposes freedom to do an act or to omit
it.
Ethics it is the study of man’s moral obligation and in sense it is called Deontology (from the Greek
word, deon which means necessity, obligation.
Physical obligation or necessity
Is a physical compulsion derived from physical laws which are inexorable because they
require necessary conformity to them?
Man is the subject of both moral and physical obligations. His free and deliberate human acts
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are regulated by moral laws. But other corporeal and physical acts are regulated by physical
laws
Man is conscious of two things. He is conscious of the principles of the moral law, of what he
must do and of what he must avoid. Moreover, he realizes that he must do good and avoid evil
in order to attain harmony with reason, the last end, and the true happiness. The last end of
man (God) is also the ultimate source of his moral obligations. Man has the moral obligation of
doing what is good and avoiding what is evil because he recognizes that this is the only way to
achieve his last end or happiness.
2. Existence of Sanction
Sanction- is any motive, consideration, or promise which impels one to follow moral
obligation. Moral laws are given to free agents who can obey or disobey them.
The merit or demerit, the rewards or punishments are given to man for he alone is a free and
moral agent, responsible for his acts, ie. his actions are imputable to him.
Sanction mean the actual reward and punishment applied to moral agents as determined by
law giver.
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3.Moral necessity of sanctions.
The use of sanction is moral and necessary:
(a) For the preservation of social order
(b) For the restoration of the moral order broken by offenders and vindication of divine and
human rights.
4.Punistment
Punishment are physical pains or loss of property inflicted upon convicted persons and applied
according to the direction of the court.
Punishment has two effect:
a. vindication of the offence
b. Reformation of the offender
5.Different Sanction
(a). Positive Sanctions- these are provisions of criminal and penal law of different nations
which deal with definition, trials, and punishment of crimes.
(b). Natural Sanctions- the evildoer punished with remorse of conscience disquietude,
dishonor, and anxiety which may result in mental or disturbance
(c). Imperfect Sanctions - natural sanction applied in this world are imperfect.
(d). Perfect Sanctions - God, the wise lawgiver, assigned sanction to all-natural laws as means
to secure obedience of them.
Three objections
(a). why should evil committed in one moment be punished forever in hell?
(b). why should God who is infinitely good and merciful, use eternal punishment for the
wicked?
(c).is not eternal punishment opposed to the purpose of creation to the glory of God and even
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to the nature of punishment, the primary effect of which is the correction of the offender.
The Independent Morality of Kant
In his critique of practical reason, Emmanuel Kant (1724-1804) developed a doctrine entirely
opposed to the traditional ethics of Aristotle and St. Thomas.
The positive law
1. Eternal – promulgation eternal
2. Temporal – promulgation in time
3. Natural – promulgation through the light of reason
4. Positive – promulgation by fact or by sensible sign
5. Divine positive – the sensible sign comes from God
6. Human positive – the sensible sign comes from human authority
7. Ecclesiastical – the sign comes from the church
8. Civil – the sign comes from the state.
1.Divine Positive law
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The divine positive law is promulgation by a special command by God.
Two Kinds of Divine Positive Law
a). Natural laws given to men by God to remind them of the natural moral laws which,
although knowable by human reason faded through ignorance, passion, custom and bad
example.
b). The supernatural laws lead man to fullness of grace through Christ in order to achieve the
supernatural destiny of man.
2.Human Positive Laws
Human positive law are the laws which proceed from a properly constituted
authority such as the state or church and serve to supplement the provisions of the
natural law in view of the special needs of the community.
3.Human Law are necessary
1.Positive laws are official determination and application of the natural moral principles which
in themselves are universal, broad, and indeterminate.
2. To protect the good and retrain the wicked
3. To adjust the natural law to an ever-changing society.
4. Properties of Human laws
a). St. Thomas assigned four essential properties to the perfection of the human law.
b). Human law should be in accord with the natural law.
c). Offenses against the positive laws are limited to external actions.
d). Human law should inculcate not only justice but also self-discipline and up right living
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5.The making of laws
Each particular kind of government ecclesiastical or civil has its own way of creating
laws for common good of its subject. The general process in democratic countries is
as follows:
6. Moral Binding Power of Human Laws
1. Since are declarations and determination of the principles of natural laws.
2. Prescriptions of any law which are opposed to the divine lay may not be obeyed
under any circumstance.
3. Laws are officially enacted interpreted and repealed by the lawmakers
themselves. Laws can be interpreted by expert layers and jurists, but only the
decisions of the supreme court of justice are final and official.
7. Penal laws
Penal laws and regulations according to common estimate and practice, do not bind
in conscience.
8. The International law
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As a civil law result from the application of the natural law to the needs of the
citizens of a country so international results from the application of the principles
of natural law to the needs of maintaining friendly relations and mutual
cooperation among all nations of the world.
9. The law of Nation
St. Thomas idea international law includes not only the relations between different
independent nations but also the demands of justice between different citizens of
the same nation and between rulers and subjects.
Exercise
1 whole Sheet of Paper
Write your reflection in your paper.
Take a look at the pictures below. What can you say about the pictures? Have you
been in this kind of situation? What are the things you considered in making
choices? 50 points
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Assessment
1 whole Sheet of paper
Identification
Directions: Identify the following. Write your answer/s in your paper. (2 points each).
1. Which is a systematized and formulated knowledge of the conclusions, drawn
from the moral principles and the positive laws.
A. Law C. Prudence
B. Consciousness D. Moral Science
2. Which consists in the objective rules of conduct formulated by an authority and
enforced by sanctions.
A. Law C. Prudence
B. Consciousness D. Moral Science
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3. Which is a psychological awareness by which we perceive our states and acts
and are mentally awakened to the things around us.
A. Law C. Prudence
B. Consciousness D. Moral Science
4. Which is a virtue timing the use of conscience, and regulating the application of
the universal principles of morality to particular actions.
A. Law C. Prudence
B. Consciousness D. Moral Science
5. Which is concerned with the right means and ways to carry on our moral
decisions.
A. Law C. Council
B. Consciousness D. Synderesis
6. Which is the understanding of the principles and axioms of morality. These
principles are co natural to man’s rational nature; they only need to be developed
through education and experiences.
A. Law C. Council
B. Consciousness D. Synderesis
7. These are provisions of criminal and penal law of different nations which deal with
definition, trials, and punishment of crimes.
A. Positive Sanctions C. Natural Sanctions
B. Imperfect Sanctions D. Perfect Sanctions
8. The evildoer punished with remorse of conscience disquietude, dishonor, and
anxiety which may result in mental or disturbance.
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A. Positive Sanctions C. Natural Sanctions
B. Imperfect Sanctions D. Perfect Sanctions
9. The natural sanction applied in this world are imperfect.
A. Positive Sanctions C. Natural Sanctions
B. Imperfect Sanctions D. Perfect Sanctions
10. God, the wise lawgiver, assigned sanction to all-natural laws as means to secure
obedience of them.
A. Positive Sanctions C. Natural Sanctions
B. Imperfect Sanctions D. Perfect Sanctions
11. The judgment is passed before an action is performed or only after the action is
done. The main functions of the antecedent conscience are to command, to
forbid, to advice and to permit.
A. Antecedent or consequent C. Right conscience
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B. Certain conscience D. Doubtful conscience
12. It judges what is really good as good and what is really evil as evil according to
the true principles of morality.
A. Antecedent or consequent C. Right conscience
B. Certain conscience D. Doubtful conscience
13. It is a subjective assurance of the lawfulness or unlawfulness of certain actions to
be done or to be omitted.
A. Antecedent or consequent C. Right conscience
B. Certain conscience D. Doubtful conscience
14. It suspends judgment on the lawfulness of an action and therefore, if possible,
the action should be omitted.
A. Antecedent or consequent C. Right conscience
B. Certain conscience D. Doubtful conscience
15. Which is extremely rigorous, constantly afraid of committing evil.
A. Antecedent or consequent C. Lax conscience
B. Scrupulous conscience D. Doubtful conscience
16. It tends to follow the easy way and to find excuses for omissions and mistakes.
This kind of conscience is dangerous.
A. Antecedent or consequent C. Lax conscience
B. Scrupulous conscience D. Doubtful conscience
17. It is any motive, consideration, or promise which impels one to follow moral
obligation.
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A. Sanctions C. Moral obligations
B. Ethics D. Punishment
18. It is the study of man’s moral obligation and in sense it is called Deontology (from
the Greek word, deon which means necessity, obligation.
A. Sanctions C. Moral obligations
B. Ethics D. Punishment
19. It is necessity of performing or omitting an action in accordance with the moral
or positive law as recognized by the mind.
A. Sanctions C. Moral obligations
B. Ethics D. Punishment
20. These are physical pains or loss of property inflicted upon convicted persons and
applied according to the direction of the court.
A. Sanctions C. Moral obligations
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B. Ethics D. Punishment
Essay
Directions: Answer the following questions briefly. Write your answer/s in your paper.
(10 points each).
1. Why should evil committed in one moment be punished forever in hell?
2. Why should God who is infinitely good and merciful, use eternal punishment for
the wicked?
Resources and Additional Resources
Book: From Socrates to Sartre by T.Z. Lavine, Random House Publishing
Ramos, Christine Carmela R. Introduction to Philosophy, Manila: Rex Book Store, 2004.
Barbara MacKinnon and Andrew Fiala. Ethics: Theories and Contemporary Issues (USA:
Cengage Learning, 2015).
Maboloc, Christopher Ryan. Ethics and Human Dignity (Sampaloc, Manila: Rex Book Store, Inc.,
2010).
Barbara MacKinnon and Andrew Fiala. Ethics: Theories and Contemporary Issues. (USA:
Cengage Learning, 2015).
Maboloc, Christopher Ryan. Ethics and Human Dignity (Sampaloc, Manila: Rex Book Store, Inc.,
2010).
Fronda, Earl Stanley. Reasoning for the Reasonable: An Introduction to Logic and Critical
Thinking. Manila: Rex Book Store, 2005
Agapay, Ramon B. LOGIC: The Essentials of Deductive Reasoning. Mandaluyong City: National
Book Store, 1995
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COURSE MODULE WEEK 13 AND 14
