ETHICS

MORAL ACTS

Prepared by Armando C Damasco

School of Criminal Justice Education
2nd Semester 2022-2023
 What is a Moral Act?

 Moral Act is an action that is freely chosen and comes into

existence through our exercise of reason and will.

 For an act to be morally good, one's intention must be good. If we

are motivated to do something by a bad intention— even
something that is objectively good—our action is morally evil. It
must also be recognized that a good intention cannot make a bad
action (something intrinsically evil) good.

 Freedom as the foundation of Moral Acts

A long-standing position in philosophy, law, and theology is that
a person can be held morally responsible for an action only if
they had the freedom to choose and to act otherwise. Thus, many
philosophers consider freedom to be a necessary condition for
moral responsibility.
 What is a Moral Act?

Determinants of Ethics in Human Actions

 By Determinants of Ethics we mean that the factors in
human conduct or the conditions which can determine
whether the action is good or bad.

There are three such determinants of morality, namely: 

1) the object,
2) the circumstances and
3) the end
 Determinants of Moral Act

1. The Object 
 Its what the free will chooses to do--in thought, word, or deed-or
chooses not to do.
 It refers to the effect that an action primarily and directly causes.
 It is the result of the act without taking into account the
circumstances or the end.
For example the object of setting fire to hut of a slum-dweller is to
burn whereas the end might be revenge.
 From the viewpoint of object an act is generally classified as
morally good, bad or indifferent.
 For a morally good act, the object of it must be good.
 What is a Moral Act?

2. The Circumstances 
 These are such things as the person involved, the time, the
place, the occasion, which are distinct from the object, but can
change or at times even completely alter its moral tone.

 Circumstances can make an otherwise good action better for

e.g. giving food to a person who is almost dying of starvation.

 They can make good an act which is otherwise indifferent, for

e.g. sitting with a person who is feeling lonely. But they can
also make worse an act which is evil in its object for e.g.
robbing a beggar from his/her only meal of the day.

 Since all human actions occur in a particular context i.e. at a

certain time and at a certain place, the circumstances must
always be considered in evaluating the moral quality of any
human act. 
 What is a Moral Act?

3. The End 
 The end or intention of a human act is the purpose that prompts one
to perform such an act.

 It is the reason for which the agent performs a particular act.

 It is the effect that the agent subjectively wills in his/her action.

 At times it can so happen that the intention of the agent coincides with
the object of the human act, for e.g. offering a glass of water to a
thirsty person to quench thirst. However at other times both of them
might be different. For e.g. a captured spy may commit suicide in
order to safeguard the secrets of the country.

 A human act to be morally good the agent or doer must have a good
intention—he must want to accomplish something that is good in one
way or another. 
 Determinants of Moral Act

 In conclusion:

 To be morally good, a human act must agree with

the norm of morality on all three counts: in its
nature, its motive, and its circumstances.

 Departure from any of these makes the action

morally wrong.
Activity
 Culture and Moral Behavior

Culture
• Culture encompasses religion, food, what we wear, how we wear
it, our language, marriage, music, what we believe is right or
wrong

Moral Behavior
• To act according to one’s moral values and standards.

How does culture define our moral behavior?

• It reflects the moral and ethical beliefs and standards that speak
to how people should behave and interact with others.

Ethnocentrism
• The act of judging or evaluating another person’s culture basing
on your own. The opposite of cultural relativism.
 Culture and Moral Behavior

Culture Relativism
• The ability to understand a culture on its own terms. It refers to
not judging a culture to our own standards of what is right and
wrong.  
Pros of cultural relativism:
1. Makes some actions excusable
2. Preserves culture
3. Respect for other cultures
4. Suggests cooperation and unity

Cons of cultural relativism:

1. Some actions are not excusable
2. Determining what is good and bad is almost impossible
 Filipino Culture

FILIPINO CULTURE
 The culture of the Philippines comprises a blend of traditional
Filipino and Spanish Catholic traditions, with influences from
America and other parts of Asia.
 
Filipino qualities and traits:
 
POSITIVE:
Hospitable
Respectful
Family Oriented
Religious
Hardworking
Resilient
 Filipino Culture

 Filipino qualities and traits:

NEGATIVE:
 Fatalism
 Crab Mentality
 Colonial Mentality
 Mañana Habit
 Assignment
Differentiate:
Acts of Man from Human Act

 For class discussion next meeting.