Experience:

According to utilitarianism, we should always do whatever will produce the greatest amount of
happiness and whatever is necessary to prevent the greatest amount of unhappiness, but what if the
only way to produce happiness, and to prevent unhappiness, is to harm or even kill people who are
innocent?

Answer :
For my own opinion, pursuing happiness isn’t wrong. But of course we have to consider the morality
and the people that get involved by our action that we label as pursuing happiness. Shortly, pursue our
happiness as much as we can, but be responsible for every action we take.

Experience:
Imagine that you find yourself in dire circumstances that forces you to kill an innocent person in order to
prevent many innocent people from dying. Considering the principle of utility, what do you think is the
right thing to do? This question arose in The Queen u Dudley and Stephens (1884), an English law case
involving four men stranded in a lifeboat without food or water. If we are the judge, how should we
judge the action of Dudley and Stephens? Was it morally justified or morally wrong? Go to the website
and read the case: https://la.utexas.edu/users/ jmciver/357L/QueenvDS.PDF
Answer :
For me considering the principle of utility is yes, i can sacrifice one life to save many people even if it
hurts to sacrifice one life.

Experience:
Given that the Philippines is a predominantly Christian country, there is a good chance that you either
had a Christian upbringing, or at least would have some familiarity with Christianity. Does your
understanding of Christian doctrine coincide with what we find stated on the previous pages? Were you
surprised by anything in that discussion?
Answer :

I believe that my understanding of Christian doctrine coincides with stated on the

preceding pages, as evidenced by the three parts of Aquinas' voluminous work known as Summa
Theologiae of Aquinas, as well as the fact that we are created by God. It is surprising because it is kind of
interesting, it plays an important role in our lives that we can rely on and apply. In a nutshell, we can
learn something from it that will be beneficial to us.

Experience:
From your own experience and observation, which of the following do you think seems to have the
greatest influence on the behavior of people: natural law, human law, or divine law? Explain your
answer.
Answer :
For me the greatest influence on the behavior of people is natural law because it states that humans
have certain rights, moral values, and responsibilities that are inherent in human nature. Natural law
theory is based on the idea that natural laws are universal concepts and are not based on any culture or
customs. Still, it is a way society acts naturally and inherently as human beings.

Experience:
Do you observe these natural inclinations being manifest in your own experience? How? Are these
regulated by reason? Why or why not?
Answer :
States that we have an inclination to good according to the nature of our reason. With this, we have a
natural inclination to know the truth about God and to live in society. It is of interest that this is followed
by matters of both an epistemic and a social concern. The examples given to us of what kind of matters
would be in line with this inclination are shunning ignorance and avoiding offending those people with
whom one lives.

ASSESSMENT
Lesson1.
Assess:
Let us imagine that a man planted a bomb in your school, and it will explode in two hours unless
the police are able to find it, Due to time constraint and the impossibility of evacuating the school, is it
legal for the police to use torture to draw information from a suspected bomber?
Based on your answer in number 1, what if the man who planted the bomb will not say its
location unless his two-year-old child is tortured? Will it be legal for the police to torture the two-year-
old child, if doing so will reveal the location of the bomb?
Answer:

Yes, I agree that given the situation, the use of torture would be acceptable. It is very difficult to think
about and to make the correct decision as many things could go wrong with torturing someone as a
method of “interrogation”. In this case(assuming that the bomber is not lying and has actually planted
bombs inhighly populated areas), any means of gathering information about the locations o fdeadly
bombs with the potential of killing hundreds of people would be acceptable in my eyes. If harming a
man who is going to intentionally kill as many innocent people as possible with no proper justification is
the only way to save those same.

For me if the person is deserved to be tortured then go. But if we torture the two year old children is
really a big no. is not the way to solve that problem, remember that we don't have any right to do an
abusive interrogation tactics or to hurt any people physically, and emotionally because if we do that it
will remain in their minds and it possibly traumatized that two children. Instead we must think other
ways that we cannot hurt physically and emotionally.

Challenge:

Utilitarianism argue that we should always maximize happiness. And this is true regardless of whether
we are deciding for our private lives or on concerns about the country (laws and the like). This means
that as a principle, we are to choose actions that will always produce the greatest amount of happiness.
Provide circumstances where this might not be true.

Answer :
like for example if i make a promise to you and then act in such a way such as to break it, my act has the
feature of breaking a promise and many people would claim my act was wrong because it has that
feature. however according to utilitarianism that feature does not make the acts wrong for that features
is relevant to whether the act is right or wrong. for the utilitarianism, whether breaking a promise is
right or wrong depends intirely on the acts consequences

Harness:
Let us say that you have a friend, who likes to sing in the shower because he believes that he is a
good singer. But you know that he is really an awful sounding singer. Should you tell him the truth: even
if it will ruin your friendship and his self-esteem? If you think it is wrong to lie in this instance, do you
think there is a moral duty to tell the truth despite the consequences.
Answer:

For me i think it is not wrong to tell your friend that he /she is an awful singer you can use a
constructive criticism to tell him that he can improve on while singing it is a moral duty because he
wouldn't want to know that he /she is an awful singer so he would probably strive to be better next
time. let him know that you just want to give the best for her/ him.

Lesson 2

Consider discussing the following case: If fifteen thousand informal settlers live next to a nuclear factory
in a country torn by civil war, will you bomb the nuclear factory? If you do not bomb it, it will produce
nuclear bombs that can annihilate one hundred thousand innocent civilians in another country.

Answer :

For me no, because it wasn't really damaged on the civil war, but if we bomb, it meltdown or explosion
at a nuclear facility could cause a large amount of radioactive material to be released into the
environment. People at the nuclear facility would probably be contaminated and possibly injured if
there were an explosion.

Challenge:
Considering the principle of utility, when the only way to prevent harm to the large number of
people is to harm a smaller number of people (like Duterte's War on Drugs), is it always permissible to
harm a smaller number in order to prevent harm to a large number?
Answer :

For me if the basis is the Duterte's war on drugs, in this case I agree that we should first harm a smaller
number to prevent harm to a large number in order to point out who are the big people that produce
and supply drugs.

Harness:
Discuss with your classmates: According to Jeremy Bentham's principle of utility, we should
always do whatever will produce the greatest amount of happiness. Is that right? Suppose we have to
choose between building a sports stadium and building an hospital. Should we build the biggest stadium
in the country because there are many sports fans compared with sick people? What do you think?
Answer :

An action can be evaluated on the basis of intensity or strength of pleasure, distinguishing the pleasures
qualitatively and not only quantitatively. So, it is not justifiable to build a basketball court just because
their many basketball fans. It is more justifiable to build more hospitals even with few seek people
because the pleasure of the few that would relieve from new and advance built hospital it qualitatively
greater than the pleasure gets by basketball fans. After the basketball game, the pleasure would just go
but the duration or length of the experience of pleasure relieved of the patient is way greater,
maximizing the balance of happiness and pain. The interests of a few sick people who need a hospital
outrank the interests of thousands of sports fans. Not building a basketball court would not cause pain
to basketball fans because they would still be able to watch from television. Just like Mill said, we should
seek for the “higher” pleasures.

Lesson 3
Assess:
Consider the following questions:
1. What details can you recall about St. Thomas Aquinas?
Answer :
Thomas Aquinas was a Dominican friar who has become the preeminent intellectual figure of the
scholastic period of the Middle Ages, arguably contributing to the doctrine of the faith more than any
other figure of his time, and perhaps even in the whole history of the Church. The Summa Theologian,
Aquinas’s magnum opus, is a voluminous work that comprehensively discusses many significant points
in Christian theology. He was canonized in 1323.

2. Explain how the structure of the Summa Theologiae itself is based on the main message
of the Christian faith.
Answer :
The 3 parts of the structure of Summa Theologiae’s voluminous work can be
viewed as the main message of the Christian faith because it says on those work involves
speaking to God, just like how Aquinas did, recognizing that we are created by God that
pursuits happiness and salvation and lastly is the focuses on Jesus as our Savior.

3.Explain the dynamic between acts and habits and why this is important in ethics.
Answer :
It says that our actions are related to certain dispositions referring to our habits in
a dynamic way. Our action arises from our habits, and it reinforce them. Furthermore, it
is important in ethics because it can be able to develop either good or bad habits with
good dispositions leading us toward making moral choices that can contribute to our
moral virtue.
Challenge:

The term "conscience" has entered into popular thinking as vaguely being something within us that is
somehow involved in our moral thinking. Consider some of the common ways that people might
construe this term. Now do some online research on conscience as discussed by Thomas Aquinas, and
compare and contrast our philosopher's discussion of it with the popular notions.

Answer :

According to Aquinas, conscience has something to do with our sense of right and evil, which we are
obligated to follow; it is not merely a gut feeling or intuition, but must be informed, led, and founded on
morals. According to my study, the usual ways that people understand conscience are similar to
Aquinas' perspective, people see conscience as a moral sense that permits us to behave in the world in
morally and socially acceptable ways too. In contrast to Aquinas’s concept of conscience, common ways
that people view that it is also an inward looking and subjective character of conscience reflected in the
etymological relation between the notion of “conscience” and that of consciousness. “Consciousness”
starts to be used with a distinct meaning referring to the psychological and phenomenal dimension of
the mind, rather than to its moral dimension.

Harness:

In the community that you belong to—village, school, or maybe workplace—to what extent does the
religious faith determine or at least influence the rules and other norms to which people adhere? Try to
make an objective assessment of both the pros and cons of this religious presence.

Answer :

Religious faith, I believe, has something to do with commitment to standards; it affects positive conduct
while discourages poor behavior. For example, being honest is required in religious beliefs, and it is also
required in our rules/norms. Cheating is plainly a wrongdoing, is being similar to rules/norms, according
to religious faith. Furthermore, there are benefits and drawbacks to having a religious presence. It has a
significant influence on our life, whether helpful or negative. Religion may help individuals overcome
anxieties, be supportive when they are going through a difficult moment, promote rational ideals, a
meaningful life, and build a deep relationship with God, etc. However, while it is advantageous in certain
ways, it also has drawbacks: it may be abused by fundamentalist, and it can lead to prejudice against
minorities.

Lesson 4

Assess:

Consider the following questions. Explain how rule is a measure of acts.

1. Explain why promulgation is necessary for the law.

Answer :

It is necessary for rules or laws to be communicated to the people involved in order to enforce them
and to better ensure compliance. The impression of an inward principle,” asserted Thomas Aquinas, “is
to natural things what the promulgation of law is to men; because law, by being promulgated, impresses
on man a directive principle of human actions.” Promulgation is of the very essence of law, and a sine
qua non of legal obligation. This is true both logically and historically.

2. Distinguish eternal law from divine law.

Answer :

Eternal law refers to what God wills for creation, how each participant in it is intended to return to Him.
Given our limitations, we cannot grasp the fullness of the eternal law. While Divine law refers specifically
to the instances where we have precepts or instructions that come from divine revelation.

3. Explain the relationship of the natural law to eternal law

Answer :

The relationship between the two is thought eternal law to be that rational plan by which all creation is
ordered, and natural law is the way that human beings participate in the eternal law.

Challenge:

Consider from your own experience examples of laws that are clearly directed toward some common
good, and also examples of laws whose connection to the good seems questionable.

Answer :

In a family, for instance, the family home is part of the common good because the familial bond
requires members to take care of the home as part of a shared effort to care for one another's interests
in shelter and safety.

Pro-lifers” don't consider abortion to be moral even though it is legal, while the pro-euthanasia crowd
doesn't consider assisted suicide to be immoral simply because it is almost always illegal. Both groups
simply reject the morality of the laws in question.

Harness:

Do some research on a particular set of rules or laws operative in your community, Do they meet the
ideal picture of law as presented in our discussion on the essence of law? If not, explain in what way
they seem to be problematic.

Answer :
One particular rules that operative in our community is if there is a conflict between two parties always
include or consult the Barangay so the problem well be fixed. And Yes, it meet the ideal picture of law as
presented in our discussion on the essence of law.

Lesson 5

Assess:

Consider the following questions:

1. What is characteristic of the nature shared by all beings?

Answer :

A desire to preserve one's own being. A makahiya leaf folds inward and protects itself when touched. A
cat cowers and then tries to run away when it feels threatened. Similarly, human beings have that
natural inclination to preserve their being. For this reason, Aquinas tells us that it is according to the
natural law to preserve human life. We can, thus, say that it would be a violation of the natural law, and
therefore unethical to take the life of another.

2. What is characteristic of the nature shared by all animals?

Answer :

Aquinas then goes on to say that there is in our human nature, common with other animals, a desire
that has to do with sexual intercourse and the care of one's off spring. As a matter of fact, animals
periodically engage in sexual intercourse at a specific time of "heat," and this could result in offspring. In
human beings, too, that natural inclination to engage in the sexual act and to reproduce exists

3. What concerns emerge from the nature of human beings as rational?

Answer :

Aquinas presents a third point which states that we have an inclination to good according to the
nature of our reason. With this, we have a natural inclination to know the truth about God and to live in
society. It is of interest that this is followed by matters of both an epistemic and a social concern.
Challenge:
Can you think of human laws that are proper extensions of the natural law? Explain how this is
so. Can you think of other human laws that violate the natural law? Explain how this is so.

Answer :

The laws of nature are supported by laws that require us to care about each other, so I suppose traffic
laws and those against murder and theft would apply. Laws that violate nature’s laws are abundant in
our culture. All sorts of laws that benefit the very wealthy and harm others, that allow us to harm
nature, that, in general, exploit rather than support the common good.

Harness:

Post-truth

Go online and look for an instance of what might be "fake news."See whether you are able to
determine the veracity of the news report. Detail your findings and opinion below.

Answer :

Amid the pandemic, theres is a fake news circulating that covid vaccine are installed woth microchips.
In relation to issue, it was further spiced up that these microchips can alter the DNA, and track the
location of the person being injected.

These are clearly haoxed as these statements are not released by big and international news
companies. In fact, it was further contented by the medical practitioners releasing statements online
based on scientific and medical studies. They are firm that covid vaccines, in any way, cannot contain
microchips and alter the DNA. These persons are more credible compared to those who are spreading
fake news.