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ETHICS

On the nature and objectof ethics

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ETHICS

Definition

Etymology

Object

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Object of study

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Material object of ETHICS

Object of study: human acts

Human actions

free actions: proceed from man's deliberate will.

Acts of man no rational control

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Material object of ETHICS

What are human actions

When carrying out a free act, man uses hisreason and his will.

He is capable of leading himself to a freelychosen goal. Freedom makes man a moralsubject.

In every free act, man becomes the authorof this act and is responsible for it.

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Formal object of ETHICS

M The formal object of any

science is the perspectivefrom which it studies a givenreality;

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Formal object of ETHICS

orali as the formal object of ethics

Ethics studies human acts in as much as

they are good or bad;

Moral value (goodness or evil) of these acts

They are good if they are oriented towardsmans final goal; bad if they draw him awayfrom that goal.

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Moral goodness

Morality as goodness or badness

The notion of good and evil asethical notions should beunderstood in reference to the WILL

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Moral goodness

Morality as goodness or badness

Distinction between:

Moral goodness reference to will

Technical goodness in reference tointelligence, skill

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Moral goodness

Technical goodness

Thief who carries outa "perfect" robbery good in the technicalsense

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Moral goodness

Technical goodness

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ETHICS

Moral goodness is absolute goodness

Ethics is concerned with the moral good or

the absolute good, which is in reference tothe orientation of the will to man's finalgoal.

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ETHICS

Moral goodness/evil is absolute

It makes the doer of the action good or bad in

the absolute sense.

Lying (even a small lie) converts the person toa LIAR

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Ethics as a science: theoretical,practical, normative

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ETHICS as science

science as certain knowledge through

causes (Aristotle)

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Characteristics of scientific knowledge

Certain and systematic: based on seriousreflection

Well-founded on universal principles

(principles that have general application)

ETHICS as science

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Ethics as a TheoreticalScience

speculativeknowledge about

what is good or evil,about the nature ofmans activity, aboutthe virtues, etc.

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Ethics as a theoreticalscience

Ethical theory cannotstand on its own.

In order to understand

human actions, weneed to have a correctunderstanding of thehuman person(philosophy ofman/anthropology).

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The significance of ThomasAquinas Philosophy of being

or philosophicalrealism

The notion of creationdominates Thomas Aquinasphilosophical explanation ofreality: nothing exists which isnot creatura except theCreator himself, and that this

createdness determinesentirely the inner structure ofthe creature.

(J. Pieper, The NegativeElement in the Philosophy ofSt. Thomas, p. 47)

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What is specific of the philosophy of being (of St. Thomas) is theaffirmation that the ultimate cause of all created reality is the act ofbeing, actus essendi, as the most radical and basic act, without whichnothing can exist.

As the first and most radical act, the act of being is act in the mostproper and fullest sense that can subsist by itself without any limitation.The existence of a wide variety of beings however manifests that the actof being cannot be possessed in all its fullness by any created reality, asproven by their very own limitation in their manner of being or essence.

This would mean that no created reality could have been the causeof its own reality: it could not have endowed its own existence unto itselfsince it could never had been always in existence.

Thus in order to explain the existence of reality, the philosophy of

being affirms the existence of an Uncaused Cause, Pure Act that subsistsby itself: God is the source or the cause of all beings that exist.

hil h f b i d

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Philosophy of being andethics The notion of creation has significant

consequences for ETHICS

1. Mans innate capacity to regulatemorally his conduct is ultimately explainedas the participation of the rational being,created in the image and likeness of God, inthe order established by Divine Wisdom.

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Phil h f b i d

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Philosophy of being andethics

3. Mans dignity as a free being ultimately lies in achievingthe purpose for which he is created.

The creation of rational beings responds to the divineplan that there should be persons who are capable of

establishing a real spiritual communion with God.

The realization of this divine plan begins with the act ofcreation, but can only find its fullness in the fulfilment,on the part of man through his free acts, of the purposethat inspired the creative Act.

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Ethics is a practical science

It aims at changing our lives

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Practical science:

We do not studyEthics to know what

is virtue but to learnhow we can makeourselves virtuousand good; otherwiseit will be a useless

study. (Aristotle)

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Normative:

On the basis of this reflection, ethics formulatesvalue judgments and norms of behaviour to guideones actions.

Link between theory, practice, norms

Rules are founded on theory To be ethical is not a matter of following rules

as something externalNorms have a RATIONALE

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ETHICS as a normative science

Ethical behaviourcannot be reduced todoing the minimum

As long as I am notcaught

I am not harmingother people

It is a small action andwill not do any realharm