Philosophy •The human person is the highest among the hierarchy of

beings.
◇Science
•Their specific difference (rationality) makes them unique
◇ Of all things and separates them from others as well. It is a quality that
◇By their highest causes and ultimate principles others don’t have.

◇ As known by the light of natural reason alone •Such, these labels differ us from one another

Philosophical Traditions GOOD AND VALUE | ETHICS AND EXPERIENCE

GOOD

 Objectively the goal or fulfillment of being man.

 It is the end or the object of the will hence since the
will is the faculty that drives one to act, it could be
said that the good as the object of the will also
provides the driving force of human action and
human endeavors.
 Either be a real and objective good or just an
apparent good.

VALUE

 an assessment of worth, it constitutes a large part of

General Philosophical Questions who we are and how we live.
 It can either be objective or subjective:
❑What is the world like? a. Objective – value is independent of the
assessment of men; does not depend on the
▪ Metaphysics: nature of reality
valuation or estimation of individuals or group
❑What do we know? of individuals
b. Subjective – conferred by individuals On
▪ Epistemology: nature and scope of knowledge certain objects or situations; dependent on the
❑How should I act? estimation or valuation of individuals

▪ Value Theory: ethics and aesthetics – the value of

Human conduct, and the existence/value of beauty

❑How do I express truth correctly?

▪ Logic: validity of arguments

“IDEOGENISIS” a process of how our brain recognizes

the things that surround us through the help of our senses.

VALUES

-are inseparable from the endlessly changing experiences of

man’s life

-material, societal, aesthetic, religious or moral

-the value in the realm of human conduct is called moral

values (e.g. justice, honesty, love, etc.)

ETHICS & EXPERIENCE

LIVED EXPERIENCE
THE HIERARCHY OF BEINGS
  the awareness on the part of the individual that
when he performs or does a certain action, he is
aware that he is the author of the act, that he is the
agent of action.
 this awareness or experience brings with it a sense
of responsibility for the moral value of the action.
ETHICAL EXPERIENCE
-an agent of action one is responsible for the action
ON ETHICAL EXPERIENCE
KANT – a priori, a posteriori, synthetic a priori
SCHELER – value is an objective content felt by the person
WOJTYLA – value is primarily a work of the person and is
brought about casually in the individual’s personal essence.
ETHICAL THEORIES
+ Are set of principles that serve as the basis in determining
the morality of human actions or conduct.
+ They are used to make moral judgments.
+ They provide the reasons why a particular action or
behavior is good or bad, acceptable or unacceptable.
+ Two Categories: Teleological and Deontological
Teleological Theory
 Ultimate Criterion or Standard to what is morally
right or wrong or obligatory: the non-moral value
that is produced by an act or rule.
 The final determinant of the morality of an act is
the comparative amount of good or the comparative
balance of good over evil produced.
 The action’s rightness or wrongness depends on the
consequence.
 The problem: wait and see attitude
Consequentialist Theories
Hedonism – the rightness of an action depends upon the
amount and or the quality of physical pleasure it promotes or
the amount of physical pain it avoids
Epicureanism – right action promotes mental or spiritual
pleasure and minimizes spiritual or mental pain. The
ultimate good is what will give man mental serenity
Egoism – an action is right insofar as it promotes the self-
interests of its agent.
Classic Utilitarianism – the rightness of an action depends
upon how useful or beneficial it is, as opposed to how
useless or harmful it is
Act Utilitarianism – the right action in a given situation is
the one which would promote the greatest amount of
happiness for the greatest number of people in the situation.
Instrumentalism/Pragmatism – an action is right if it
improves the existing situation, remedies some deficiencies
in it, or resolves a specific problem
Deontological Theories
(a.k.a. Non-Consequentialism)
 Denies what a teleological theory affirms
 Affirms that the right or obligatory or good act is
not always dependent on the certain non-moral
values produced or the outcome of an act or rule.
 It is dependent on other considerations other than
the outcome
Deontologists – it is possible for an action or rule to be
morally right or obligatory even if it does not promote the
greatest possible balance of good over evil or even if it does
not have a good outcome or result.
*The rightness or wrongness of an action does not depend
on its consequence.
*Right actions that produce goodness do not make them
morally right.
Divine Command Theory – rightness is established by
God, who either establishes general moral laws and
standards or prescribed and prohibits particular actions; and
action is good or right if it conforms to these laws,
prescriptions, and prohibitions.
Natural Law Theory – moral standards exist in the very
fabric or nature of the universe; an action is right if it
conforms to these natural moral laws.
Social Contract Theory – rightness is a function of rules
and institutions established in a society and implicitly or
explicitly agreed to by its members
Natural Rights Theory – human beings share certain basic
rights which oblige us to treat one another in certain ways
-Human rights are universal rights; right to life, liberty, and
property.
Categorical Imperative – nothing was good in itself except
good will, and the will is the uniquely human capacity to act
according to the concept of law or principles
Prima Facie Duties – moral guidelines that determine what
we ought to do, prima facie duty is an obligatory duty.
Virtue Ethics – one should seek to develop the character
traits known as virtues and act in accordance with them.
Virtue Theorists stress the importance of developing good
habits of character.
RATIONALITY AND FREE WILL
Reason – we deliberate and make conscious decisions
Free Will – which we determine our own action, its course
and objectives
Rational and Free Agents – we are responsible for our
actions and our responsibility as rational free agents do not
end simply with our actions, we also take responsibility for
their consequences and for the equality of the choices we
make.
CHOICE
 Our act of choosing is our moral obligation to make
the right choice, to pick the good option from the
variety of other options at hand.
 “Consequential acts”
 The greater knowledge and freedom, the greater the
responsibility
FREEDOM AND RESPONSIBILITY
 We are concerned with what is right and what is
wrong – consequence of being a rational agent
 “we do not just want to live our lives, we want to
live it well; a well-lived life is a happy life”
MORALITY
 sets the standards by which we can measure or
judge whether a conduct is good or bad.
 the rightness or wrongness/ goodness or badness of
an action or conduct
 imposes certain rules or standards in order for us to
determine what is right and what is wrong
 as a normative philosophy, it offers a set of rules
or standards to which we have to conform our
actions, rules that we ought to follow
 refers only to human acts (actions which proceed
from man’s rationality; these are actions which are
done with knowledge, freedom, and voluntariness)
ETHICS AND MORALITY
Amoral – actions which do have a rational character can be
considered amoral, they cannot be judged as morally good
or morally evil
Norm or standard of morality – human actions are judged
as whether morally good or morally evil, then there must be
something against which actions could be measured as good
or evil.
- does not only judge the morality of the action, it gives us
the reasons why a particular action is morally good or
morally evil
Ethics – it is not the same as moral - to study of the morality
of the act or conduct or the norms or codes governing such
conduct or act. - consists of a rational or theoretical
interpretation of moral phenomena or issues
Morals – the act or conduct itself; refers more to the
standards which individuals are encouraged to observe in
their conduct.
ETHICS
 also known as moral philosophy is motivated by
the fact that people strive to be responsible agents
of actions.
 The role of moral philosophy or ethics to search for
something that would guide us in determining what
is good or bad and wrong.
 Ethics as a science of the morality of human acts
deals with the issue of whether an action is good or
bad and the reasons why a particular action is good
or bad. (it is not only to judge an action but to give
reason why the act is good or bad)
 Ethics as a philosophy is the attempt to achieve a
systematic understanding of the nature of morality
and what it requires of us – how we ought to live
and why.
ETHICISTS
 Ethicists or moral philosophers are not only
concerned with the morality of human actions, they
are also concerned with the reason why an action is
moral or immoral.
 If we are to make moral judgments, we must back
them up with valid reasons.
 Feelings and emotions are invalid reasons since
they are biased, irrational or are just products of
pour prejudice, and social and cultural
conditioning. In order for it to be valid, we must let
our reason guide our feelings and emotions