RIGHTS AND

DUTIES
DEGRACIA, Shielamae O.

Born with man are his rights and duties. Rights and duties are necessary attributes to man as a moral
being. Rights exist for the growth and protection of Man.

Martin Luther King said that "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

Nelson Mandela stated that "To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.

Dalai Lama "Peace can only last where human rights are respected, where the people are fed, and where
individuals and nations are free."

Immanuel Kant "Every man is to be respected as an absolute end in himself; and it is a crime against the
dignity that belongs to him as a human being, to use him as a mere means for some external purpose."

John T. Kennedy "The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened."

What is RIGHT? As an Adjective We can use it as "Her act is right." or or "that is the right person'" or
"what he is doing is right." While As a Noun We can use the word right as "All Filipinos have rights." In
Ethics, we take it as a noun. RIGHT is defined as anything that is owed, or due to a person. RIGHT is
something that is found in every person due to his nature as a moral being. RIGHT is a moral power
residing in a person, a power which all others are bound to respect.

There are kinds of rights first Natural Rights An inherent right of a person to pressure, protect and
promote his life.

Secondly Positive Rights is any right of man that is provided by, or based on, enacted by the state or the
church or any legitimate social institutions. EXAMPLE publicly funded education, health care, social
security, and unemployment benefits

Divine Rights refers to the rights of the church to teach.

Human Rights it could be based on natural law or positive law. For instance, right to live right to protect
and promote life and property.

Civil Rights
includes in social, political, educational, and economic rights of a person or a citizen of the state.

Ecclesiastical Rights refers to rights of the church established by

CANON LAW. the body of ecclesiastical law that developed within Christianity, particularly Roman
Catholicism, governing the internal hierarchy and administration of the church.

Right of Property refers to man's right to own and dispose property, as he needs it to maintain and
promote life.

St. Thomas's Natural and Inalienable Rights

Right to Life Human life is man's greatest value, his right to life must be the highest among all human
rights. Anything that thwarts the existence and promotion of life must be warded off by the right to live.
Even the unborn fetus has the right to be born and live in this world.

Right to Private Property Man's right to own and utilize private property is another inalienable right that is
inseparable from the right to life. it would be useless for man to be born to this world if he would be
deprived of the right to possess the God-given goods of this Earth.

Right to Marriage Together with the bodily and psychological complementation means that man and
woman are by nature: bound to marry and copulate. Marriage is God's way of letting the human species
multiply and fill the earth.

Right to free Movement It is part of a man's freedom to move or travel freely. He was given a physical
body to tour the earthly place limitless. Only criminals are denied the moral right to free movement.

All persons have the right to

Think freely, and to entertain ideas and hold positions based on conscientious or religious or other beliefs.
Subject to certain limitations, persons also have the right to demonstrate or manifest religious or other
beliefs, by way of worship, observance, practice and teaching.

Right to Work Man has to work to sustain his life. A person cannot refuse to work. Work is intended as a
tool to develop its agent in the process. Work should make a man become more man.

Furthermore, there are tree feature rights, Limitation A person cannot exercise a right in excess of its
boundary to the violation of other's rights. For the sake of the rights of others, one's rights have limits.
Coaction To prevent violation of human rights from occurring, there is an inherent moral power in the
person. the person can exact or demand justice if his rights are thwarted.
Coaction is the person's moral power to protect and promote his rights., and Collision it is the inevitable
clashing of two or more rights.

DUTIES

What is Duty ? A duty is a moral obligation demanded of a person to do or not to do a thing ( Glenn: 142).
An individual who claims a certain right has at the same time the duty to act consistent with such right
(Agapay: 112)

Kinds of Duties
Natural Duties based on natural laws
Positive Duties performed as required by enacted laws.
Affirmative Obligations required by affirmative laws.
Negative Duties requiring the agent to omit or refuse to do a certain act.

Certain general principles for an exemption from duty;

1. Duties imposed by natural law do not permit exemption. Example: No person is exempted from
committing acts of murder, rape, stealing or adultery.

2. Duties imposed by affirmative precepts of natural law may permit exemptions when their
performance is hampered by obstacles or circumstances impossible to overcome. Example: A
poor person is not bound to give alms to the beggar in the street.

3. Duties confronted with ordinary obstacles surmountable by the agent are not subject to
exemptions. Example: A problem student in the class is not an excuse for the teacher to get absent
from her teaching duty.

1 st priority Duties towards God.

2 nd priority Duties towards public/common goods
3rd priority Duties towards family and relatives
4th priority Duties towards self and personal interest
5th priority Duties towards friends and affinities
6th priority Duties towards the society in general

MAN AND HIS ENDS

It is unthinkable for man to exist without a goal in life: an end, a destiny.

The only way to give meaning to human existence is to posit a goal, the very reason for being and
existence.
Every human activity tends toward an end, purpose, or goal. No act is performed unless there is an
objective in view.
Human living is an act an activity. Hence, life must have a goal, a destiny.
It is the goal that calls for human activity, for human existence. Otherwise, living would be meaningless
and absurd if it has no goal or ends.
Ignacio (1985) puts it in a symbolic form:

All acts tend toward an end. But human existence is an act. Therefore, human existence tends toward an
end.
End is the very cause of the human acting. It is the very reason why an act is performed, the very reason
for its existence
End is both a termination of an act and a goal there of ( Glenn.: 48)
End is that which completes an act. It is also that for which an act is performed. It is that which motivated
the agent to perform an act to attain it.

we do not speak of end as edge or limit or rim of an object, but rather the object of an act.

Every activity of man is directed toward an end.

If man makes an act without any purpose to attain, he is acting without any direction. In a sense, he could
be abnormal.
The end is the final cause of an activity, which is apprehended as good.
The end is that which is apprehend as desirable, it attracts the agent to do an act towards it. If the end is
desirable and attractive to the agent (person), then it must be good.
Example: a piece of gold, a house, a car, a friend, foods, ect. All these objects, if taken as ends are good.

THE GOOD
3 MODES OF PERCEIVING AND USING THE GOOD
1. GOOD AS TO UTILITY: An object or act is perceived as good when it is useful for one’s purpose and
satisfaction.
2. GOOD AS TO BEAUTY: People consider an object or act as a thing of beauty when it satisfies their
aesthetic appetite. The beauty of a person, physical or social, is synonymous to goodness.
3. GOOD AS TO NATURE OR REALITY: Goodness by nature is real, not accidental. In this context a
thing is seen as good, not because of usefulness or aesthetic value, but because it is its nature and reality.

What is now MORAL GOOD? The moral good is applied specifically to beings of moral nature:
human beings. People know what is right which he is inclined to do, and the evil which he tends to
avoid. But the idea of “good” has several meanings as we apply them to people. In other words, there
seems to be goods or goodness that are morally evil. In reality, these are not goodness but skills. And
skills are not all morally good.
“IMMORAL GOODNESS AND MORAL GOODNESS”

CLASSIFICATION OF ENDS
AS END OF THE ACT: The end of the act is that end toward which the act of its own nature is
immediately directed. It is the direct object of the act.
2. AS END OF THE AGENT: The end of the agent can be different or the same as the end of the act
depending upon the agent.
3. TEMPORAL ENDS, INTERMEDIATE ENDS: When an end is subject to time and place, it is
classified as temporal. It is temporal in the sense that it does not last forever, but good only for a certain
time. Or it is good only for a certain place or space. These temporal ends are intermediary in that they are
used as means to attain other ends. They are means-ends. Hence, they cannot be the ultimate-end.
Temporal-intermediary ends, relative in duration, are used for the attainment of the ultimate end.
4. THE ULTIMATE END: It is the last and final goal of human act and the human
agent. It is called the end-of-all-ends, since this cannot be used to attain any higher end. The ultimate end
is permanent and absolute and can never be converted as means. It is an end per se. The ultimate end
serves as the sufficient reason and motive of the act. The ultimate end is the final cause of all other ends.
This is the goal of all goals.

2 ASPECTS OF THE ULTIMATE END

1. SUBJECTIVE ULTIMATE END: The subjective possession of the objective ultimate end by the
person. The possession results to enjoyment or happiness.
2. OBJECTIVE ULTIMATE END: The ultimate end is inseparable from the subjective ultimate end.
When combined with the perceived objectively by the agent outside himself. The objective ultimate end
subjective aspect, the objective ultimate end gives the agent happiness by possession thereof.

Subjective and objective aspects of the ultimate end are one in the person of the agent. The ultimate end,
as taught by theist philosophy and Christian teaching, is the SUMMUM BONUM or Supreme Good, the
highest good of all goods. The ultimate end is the crowning point of the series of temporal -intermediary
ends.

It is this ultimate end that gives meaning to all temporal ends. Temporal ends are subordinated to the
ultimate end. Hence, people should not hold temporal ends as their highest value in life. They should go
beyond the relative values of temporal ends.

To-faced: GOD'S GLORY and SALVATION OF MANKIND

SOME ULTIMATE GOALS IN CHOSEN BY CERTAIN THINKERS

Not all men have the same ultimate goals in life. They vary in their ethical views. As a result, their
supreme goods differ from one another. Common to them, however, is all their ultimate ends are to be
attained in this world.
1. MATERIALISTIC ETHICS. This tendency holds that the supreme good of human life are human
pleasures and satisfaction. This type is classified into Hedonism and Utilitarianism. Hedonism
teaches that the highest end of human life is found in sensual pleasures and bodily satisfaction
 man can enjoy in this world (Glenn:11). These includes biological, sexual and social pleasures
and all kinds of bodily enjoyments. Forerunners of this teaching were Aristippus among the
Greeks and Helvetius among the modem thinkers. Utilitarianism holds that the ultimate end of
man is the possession of political power through conquest of other nations. The proponents of this
were Epicurus and his followers followed by Lueretius and Horace. In the modem period, we
have Hobbes and Nietzche. Social utilitarianism teaches that the greatest value of man consists of
the maximum welfare of the entire society. Proponents of this theory were Bentham and Stuart-
Mill. Social utilitarianism is the same as Russia's communism or collectivism taught by Karl
Marx (1818-1883).

2. ULTRA-SPIRITUALISM. This type of ethics takes spiritual matters and virtues in this life as the
ultimate end of man. There are two forms of this kind: a. Greco-Roman Stoicism. This ethics
takes virtue and abstinence from sensual pleasures as the highest end of man. Proponents of this
ethics were Zeno of Citius, Chrysippus and Seneca. Humanistic Personalism. Christian Wolff
(1679 -1754) and others hold that the ultimate end consists of human perfection through
knowledge, virtue, honor which must be acquired. Such perfection and self-fulfillment are the
highest value, hence taken as the ultimate end of human life. The attainment and possession of
self-perfection and contentment would necessarily result to happiness.

3. PROGRESSIVE ETHICS. The ethics of progress takes indefinite progress, material or spiritual,
as the ultimate end of man. Aristotle, a Greek proponent of this thinking, states that the final goal
of man is the continuous acquisition of all temporal goods, which may be socio-economic-
political, or cultural and moral progress, taken as a whole, as general or individual well-being in

CHRISTIAN ETHICS
A brief historical background of Christianity is imperative for a better understanding. Christian Ethics
emanates from the teaching of Jesus Christ and His Church, embodied in the Holy Scriptures and church
doctrine (teaching).
Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem in the Holy Land, now called Israel. The date of birth of our Lord and
Savior was estimated closely to be on the 25th of December according to the Roman calendar. It is almost
2000 years ago now (1999). He was born of the Holy Spirit by a simple and virtuous Jewish girl Mary to
assume humanity aside from his divinity.
Christ, being a God-man, lived with his family (Mary and Joseph) and among his Jewish community.
At the age of about 30, he ended his so-called "hidden life" and commenced his "public life", revealing
himself as the Messiah or Redeemer of Mankind. Accordingly, divine revelation tells us that Christ was
sent by the Father to earth to save mankind from their sins. Before he suffered and was executed on the
cross in Calvary, he taught the people that He is the
"truth, the life and the way to the Father" - for us to follow.

ARISTOTLE
INTRODUCTION…. Aristotle was an ancient Greek Philosopher who lived from 384 to 322 BCE
Nicomechaean Ethics is one of the most famous book of Aristotle. Aristotle present his theory of
Eudaimonia.

• He considers that morality is not merely a matter of knowing the good actually doing or practicing the
good.
• We become what we are by what we do and not merely by what we know. • We can fully actualize our
potential as human beings once we understand what being human essentially aims to and do the necessary
things to fulfill our action in the most excellent way possible.
NICOMECHEAN ETHICS • Is essentially a guide for living well, a handbook for those who seek to
build and cultivate one’s character in the hope of achieving life’s ultimate goals (telos), he says is
happiness or flourishing (eudaimonia)

EUDAIMONIA Aristotle assumes that any activity, practical or theoretical, aims towards some end or
good. Literally, the parts of the word translate into well (eu) and spirit (daimon). This has given rise to
other proposed translation of ‘’living well’’, ‘’the good life’’or flourishing. Eudaimonia is often translated
as happiness. According to him, good life will be one lived in accordance with reason, which entails
cultivating one’s virtue.

According to Aristotle that the purpose of mankind is eudaimonia (happiness). The purpose of man is to
achieve eudaimonia, which is a state of serene and permanent happiness, rather than the momentary
exaltation of the senses. Eudaimonia is an activity of the soul in accordance with virtue.

VIRTUES Are acquired character traits that aid in human flourishing.

Aristotle wants to find out what our chief and is and he also interested in finding out what all our lives
essentially and ultimately aim to. Happiness is the self-sufficient, final and attainable goal of human life.
It is self-sufficient because to have it makes human life complete. Our chief is not something we merely
possess but something what we continually actualize (in practice).

THE SOUL The soul is the part of the human being animates the body. Aristotle postulates that happiness
is an activity of the soul. Body and soul are inseparable.

THE RATIONAL PART OF THE SOUL The Speculative Part- (responsible for knowledge) is part
concerned with the pure thought and is essentially part of contemplation. The practical intellectual-
(responsible for choice and action) in charge of the nutrition and growth of the human being.

THE IRRATIONAL PART OF THE SOUL The Vegetative Part- is in charge of the nutrition and growth
of the human being. This part of the soul takes care of all the involuntary functions of the body, from
breathing to digestion and the like. The Appetitive Part- shares in the rational element of the soul it cannot
itself reason, but it does share in the rational element in that can be influence by it. For example, passions,
such as sexual urges and desire for wealth, and recognition are quite difficult to control.

VIRTUE, THE MEAN, AND THE PRACTICAL WISDOM The Greek word for the virtue is arete which
means by excellence, the Greeks thought of how a thing fulfills it’s functions (ergon) in accordance with
it’s nature. To be virtuous, in other words, is to exhibit one’s capacity to fulfill one’s essence or purpose in
such a way that’s one’s potentially as particular being may be said to be actualized in the most excellent
way.

To be virtuous, in other words, is to exhibit one’s capacity to fulfill one’s essence or purpose in such a
way that one’s potentiality as particular being may be said to actualized in the most excellent way.

TWO KINDS OF VIRTUES Moral Virtue- have to do with excellence in the performance of decisions
relating to moral and practical activity. Moral virtue arises from habitual practice (ethos). Intellectual
Virtues- have to do with one’s capacity to harness reason’s contemplative capacity for arriving at
knowledge. Intellectual virtue owes it’s existence.

Virtue, then, it’s twofold, intellectual and moral. Both the coming-into-being and increase of intellectual
virtue result mostly from teaching. Hence, it requires experience and time whereas moral virtue got its
name by a sight alteration of term habit(ethos). It also clear, as a result, that none of the moral virtues are
present in us by nature, since nothing exists by nature is habituated to be other that it is.

‘’ NO PERSON IS BORN MORALLY VIRTUOUS’

It is only in practice that we come to know that we truly know how to do something. For example It is
only in trying to solve math problems do we find out if we are good at mathematics and have the capacity
to be mathematicians.

Virtue- a state of character which makes a person good and capisable of fulfilling his/her end (telos)as a
human person. A virtuous person is able to arrive at a decision or perform an action that may be
considered as an intermediate between deficiency and excess, which he calls the mean or mesotes.

All persons have the talent potentially to be so, if only they habitually do excellent deeds. Aristotle
declares that we become morally virtuous by doing morally virtuous acts. We become just by doing just
acts. We become based in our actions.

Thomas Aquinas
❖ Born on 1225
❖ "Aquino"
❖ tutelage of the benedictine abbot of monte cassino
❖ 14 yr. Old, University of Naples
❖ order of preachers at the age of 19. (1244)
❖ Studied with albert the great in cologne (1205-1280)
❖ Master of Theology (1256)
❖ 18 years of his life were spent in lectures, instructions, writing and quodlibets.
❖ March 7, 1274

Etsi Deus non daretur

❖ Even if there is no God.
❖ presupposes the existence of a God who is the author (source) and the goal (end) of all reality.
❖ The human person can choose to act in accordance with his/her dignity
❖ Freedom here is knowing the best goal and being able to reach for it through decisive action. This is
expressed as the dictate of "doing good and avoiding evil"

Conscience and Natural Law

There are different kinds of conscience that mat lead to wrongdoing:
❖ Callous- results in the long-time persistence in doing evil that the self can no longer whether what
he/she does is good or bad.
❖ Perplexed - needs guidance in sorting out one's confusion.
❖ Scrupulous -fails to trust one's ability to do good and, hence, overly concerns itself with avoiding what
is bad to the point of seeing wrong where there really is none.

Three Contemporary
1. Who am I? Questions
❖ The task of knowing the self is the point of departure for the task of building up the identity of the
human person. Ethics for Aquinas is primarily a question of human identity.
❖ "All human acts are moral acts".
❖ Through his/her acts that man defines himself/herself, the ethical man is the task of his/her free acts.

2. Who do I want to be Questions?

❖ Defining the self gives one a chance to clarify his/her goal.
❖ Self-knowledge here is malleable towards self-determination. Ethical acts give direction through
freedom to build up the self towards a particular goal.
❖ Given this knowledge of himself/herself and the ability to evaluate his/her options and possibilities, the
self can also better give direction to himself/herself.

3. How can I get there?

❖ This question also utilizes the sound judgment of human reason and evaluates the best route to get to
the goal decided upon.
❖ This last question breaks down the task to be done into the particulars of actions and daily routine.

The Relational and Perfection of Love in Aquinas

❖Thomistic ethics is incomplete if it does not end with the love that is directed towards God
❖The highest perfection of man for St. Thomas is in his/her wanting to be with God.