I. Instruction: Read carefully the situation below, then answer the questions that follow.

Crista

On the way home from school one day, you saw your classmate, Crista being dragged by the
hair by her Mom to their car. The scene shocked you that you were unable to move. Then, you
saw Crista, now inside their car crying and she simply looked at you and kept looking until the
car drove off. The look in Crista’s eyes bothered you and kept you awake that night.

The next day, you saw Crista in class and started to approach her. When she saw you, she
stood up and left the room. You followed her to the restroom and when you two were alone, you
asked if she is ok. She did not say anything but instead started crying. She asked that the two of
you meet during homeroom since the adviser is out sick for the day.

During homeroom, Crista told you her story but only after she made you promise to keep it to
yourself. Crista is a good student, one of the top 10 in class. Though pretty, she kept to herself
and does not socialize with classmates. She transferred from another school because of
financial troubles. Her father has to go abroad for work and she and her mom were left here in
Manila. Relatives are in the provinces and they lived in a rented apartment.

Crista is the apple of his father’s eye. Being an only child, her father doted on her. Her mom, on
the other hand, is another thing. They were a happy family up until her father’s business
declared bankruptcy. Then her mother changed. Her mother forced her father to go abroad for a
high paying job, and when he left, Crista received the brunt of her mother’s frustrations.

The physical and verbal abuse had been happening for the last six months. Crista was
threatened not to tell her father and she does not want to add to his burden. Still crying, Crista
showed you the latest punishment of her mother, simply because she forgot to turn off the lights
in the comfort room. Dark red welts on her thighs. They looked raw and painful. You feel for
Crista, but what can you do?

Questions: 100 -150 words per answer

1. What is your moral dilemma in Crista’s situation? State the possible outcomes of this
dilemma.
- Crista have been experiencing this for six months, it wouldn’t take long if Crista had
the courage to fight back or defend herself. That’s why someone need to stand up for
her or should at least give her a hand and courage to defend herself. Person who
isn’t related to their private matters shouldn’t be involved, however this is the only
way to give Crista a chance to achieve freedom, her Mother is doing this out of
frustrations and someone needs to wake her Mother out of her emotions, Crista
aren’t the only one who didn’t need help but also her Mother. One of the only ways to
make this possible, are to let the Father or DSWD to know of this scenario to come
up with a solution and in order to prevent this event from happening again.

2. Would you consider the abuse on Crista by her mother to be an immoral act? Support
your answer.
- Morality directs people to behave in certain ways and avoid behaving in other ways.
It evaluates behavior as right or wrong and may involve measuring the conformity of
a person’s actions to a code of conduct or set of principles. Morality is normative, it is
concerned with how people should behave, not just how they actually do behave. In
depend upon Crista’s situation, she is highly possible to reach depression, if such
 things continue to happen. Therefore, it is considered as immoral act, no parents can
actually hurt their own child, so sympathizing Crista’s Mother’s situation, she also
need and seeking help. It’s not easy to manage family’s matters, and looking at their
current situation, we could say that they’re at their worse moments. Every family’s
have their worse times; however, it is not advisable to let the parent’s frustrations go
out of control and let their children receive such things. So, instead every family
member should make sacrifices in order for them avoid things from happening.

3. Is it possible for the abuse of Crista by her mother not to be considered an immoral act?
Explain.
- Moral refers to what societies sanction as right and acceptable. Morality often
requires that people sacrifice their own short-term interests for the benefit of society.
People or entities that are indifferent to right and wrong are considered amoral, while
those who do evil acts are considered immoral. Crista’s mother’s action is not an act
of disciplining her child, it is an act out of her frustrations and emotions. More like, it
is considered as physical abused and immoral. Immorality is evil, sinful, or otherwise
wrong behavior. Immorality is often called wickedness and is a state avoided by
good people. Since morality refers to things that are right, immorality has to do with
things that are wrong.

4. Why do you think Crista’s situation caused you to lose sleep? Explain.
- Anyone would be bothered on what they saw, it’s not natural to see someone are
being abused publicly especially it is a child who was being abused at. And morality
was concerned with normative standards of right and wrong behavior. Abuse and
neglect can occur anywhere: in your own home or a public place, while you are in
hospital or attending a day center, or in a college or care home. Knowing or thinking
that someone you know are getting abused. You may fear for her safety and maybe
for good reason, you may want to rescue her or insist she leave, but everyone must
make their own decisions.

5. In an ideal world where you have the moral character and moral courage, what would
you do to help Crista? Support your answer.
- The standard you walk past is the standard you accept, it’s a commonly shared
philosophy about looking the other way when confronted with an incident of abuse
being played out before your eyes. As it goes, by choosing to do nothing to help a
stranger being victimized in public, to some degree, we might be condoning the act
by omission. Morally neutral acts are morally right activities that are allowed but not
required. One is neither obligated nor prohibited from doing them. In an ideal world, it
is natural to give someone you saw receiving immoral action a help & provide some
different ways to resolve their problems.

6. What in the philosophies of Aristotle and St. Thomas can guide your actions if you
decide to help Crista and end her mother’s abuse? Explain.
- Aristotle emphasized that virtue is practical, and that the purpose of ethics is to
become good, not merely to know. Aristotle also claims that the right course of action
 depends upon the details of a particular situation, rather than being generated
merely by applying a law. Virtue ethics is a philosophy developed by Aristotle, it is to
understand and live a life of moral character. This character-based approach
to morality assumes that we acquire virtue through practice.
- St. Thomas ethical theory involves both principles, rules about how to act and virtues
personality traits which are taken to be good or moral to have. In contrast, St.
Thomas believes that moral thought is mainly about bringing moral order to one's
own action and will.