MODULE NO.
8
WEEK 15 AND 16
MEDINA FOUNDATION COLLEGE
Sapang Dalaga, Misamis Occidental
Purok Jasmin, Poblacion, Sapang Dalaga, Misamis
Occidental
Email Address: mfc_1984@[Link]
College/Department
PHILO (ETHICS)
Instructor: Mr. Arturo Baguio Baluarte, Jr.
Cell No. 09104280021
Email Add: baluarte2330@[Link]
Introduction
This course is a survey of the study of morality by well-known philosophers. It is
designed to help students develop their abilities to read, explicate, analyze,
and evaluate philosophical literature, write and express themselves well about
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their own ethical positions, and think critically and analytically about ethical
issues.
This course is an introduction to moral philosophy and is intended for the
student who has had little or no prior exposure to philosophy. It will provide a
broad but reasonably detailed examination of the central issues of moral
philosophy and will also consider how these can be applied to several
contemporary moral problems.
Rationale
The course aims to align the teaching of Philosophical Ethics with the new teacher
education curriculum that is anchored of the National Competency-Based Teacher
Standards.
Intended Learning Outcomes
A. ILO1: Describe the nature of habits, virtues, vices, and sins, and
distinguish
between the different kinds and classifications of each.
B. ILO2: Analyze the moral behaviors and classify them according to the
types of virtue or vice they reflect, including the cardinal and intellectual
virtues.
C. ILO3: Evaluate the role of virtues such as prudence, justice, temperance,
and fortitude in the formation of a morally upright character and society.
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WEEK 15 AND 16
Activity
1 whole sheet of paper
Answer the question “What makes us human?” Explain your answer. 250 words (40 points)
1. ______________________________________________________________
2. ______________________________________________________________
3. ______________________________________________________________
4. ______________________________________________________________
5. ______________________________________________________________
DISCUSSION
HABITS
– Good or bad tendency acquired through repeated acts.
– Only man is capable of developing habits for he alone acts freely.
– Habits can be developed in the sensible faculties of man, memory and imagination in the
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rational power and especially in the will.
– Habits are necessary for the continuous practice of a moral life.
VICE AND SIN
Vice – is a habit inclining to moral evil.
Sin – is a bad human act which may either result from a vice or tend to form a vice.
a. Mortal – by which a person turns away from God, his last end (blasphemy) ;
venial – by which a person turns inordinately towards some created good but without
forsaking God as his last end.
b. Spiritual (pride); carnal (gluttony)
c. Against God (despair); against neighbors (defamation); against oneself (suicide)
d. By commission (murder); by omission (failure to pay debts).
e. Sin by heart (hate); of the mouth (contumely); of deed (theft).
f. By excess (adulation or flattery); by defect (contempt).
VIRTUE IN GENERAL
VIRTUE - etymologically, it means manliness, strength, courage.
- Virtue is a kind of disposition, ability, or habit inclining man to think and to act correctly,
to follow what is right, and to avoid what is evil.
• According to St. Augustine “Virtue is a good quality of the mind by which one lives rightly,
which no one uses badly and which God works in us but without us”.
The Thomistic Doctrine of Virtue
By: St. Thomas
a. Virtue is a good habit disposing a potency or the power in which it resides to elicit a good act.
b. Virtue directs and completely fulfills the capacities of spiritual powers man.
c. Virtue is not only a good habit in itself but also a productive habit of good actions. By virtue, a
person easily, readily, and without hesitation performs a good act.
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WEEK 15 AND 16
“Human virtue is a good habit perfecting man in any of his rational and inclining him to the right and
perfect use of his potencies”.
INTELLECTUAL VIRTUES
– Habits of the intellect which enable man who possess them to know things better and
easier than the man who does not possess such qualities.
a. speculative – whose function is to perceive the theoretical truths
b. practical – whose function is to apply intellectual knowledge to do or make something.
Virtues of the Speculative Intellect
a. Understanding of the first principle
b. Science
c. Wisdom
Virtues of the Practical Intellect
a. Art
b. Prudence
MORAL AND CARDINAL VIRTUES
• MORAL VIRTUES - virtues in the proper sense, for they deal directly with the moral good
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and not with the intellectual good as the preceding virtues.
• CARDINAL VIRTUES – it’s like four hinges of a door they give access to the temple of
human perfection.
a. Prudence - regulates the intellect itself.
b. Justice – regulates the will with regard to the rights of others
c. Fortitude – regulates the irascible appetite in the face of
danger.
d. Temperance - regulates and controls the concupiscible appetite or
simple passions
VARIETY AND IMPORTANCE OF VIRTUES
• Virtues disposing man to do the right thing to himself, to other people, and to God.
• Virtues moderating pleasures and sorrows, food, and drink; sleep, recreation, etc.
• Virtues control our lower instincts or govern social relations.
CHARITY
• According to St. Thomas “Charity conceives by the desire of the last end, the acts of the
other virtues”
Charity – is the form, mover, mother and root of all the virtues, and the source of good will,
kindness, benevolence, mercy, joy, peace, etc.
- means love of God, love of our neighbors.
- gives unity and harmony not only to the individual moral life but also to the whole social
order.
PRUDENCE
– It is the first and the most important of all virtues, for man’s good actions are ultimately
derived from the rectitude of his mind.
– It is the habit of the practical reason which enables us to judge promptly on particular
cases or contingent actions what is to be done or omitted.
• A prudent man has a distinct knowledge of the facts of life, of their causes and effects; he
remembers the past, is aware of the present, can foresee the future.
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WEEK 15 AND 16
Auxiliary or Assistant Virtues of Prudence
a. Practical Memory – or the ability to profit by past experiences.
b. Practical understanding – or the ability to grasp the moral significance of concrete concrete
situation.
c. Docility – or the ability to take good moral advice from others
d. Ingenuity – or the ability to make quick and good judgment
e. Foresight – or the ability to direct our actions in advance.
f. Circumspection – or the ability to consider the circumstances attending an action
g. Caution – or the ability to avoid difficulties and obstacles.
FORTITUDE OR COURAGE
• St. Thomas describes fortitudes as a strength of the soul which in certain great dangers,
especially the danger of death, binds the will firmly to the moral good.
Fortitude – is a special habit of the soul which enables one to endure pain, dangers and death with
calmness of reason.
TEMPERANCE
– Moral virtue regulating the desire for sensible pleasures within the limits of right reason
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and approved modes of social behavior.
The most important vices resulting from the lack of moderation in sensual pleasures
a. Gluttony
b. Drunkenness
c. Narcotics
JUSTICE
– It implies EQUALITY.
– The habit or readiness which inclines man to give others what is due to them.
5 Different kinds of justice
1. Legal Justice – general justice binding all men to do what is for the common good in accord
with the law.
2. Distributive Justice – concerned with persons in the government.
3. Commutative Justice – concerns the relation between private individuals.
4. Social Justice – deals with the social aspect of property.
5. International Justice – concerned with the common welfare of all nations.
Exercise
1 whole sheet of paper
Activity 1. RELAX AND REFLECT
Go to a quiet place, sit back and recall what had happened in your life. What moments brought you
joy, what moments brought you sadness? List those moments below and make a reflection on how it
shaped you into who you are today. (30 points)
1. ______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
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WEEK 15 AND 16
______________________________________________________________
2. ______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
Assessment
1 whole Sheet of paper
I. True or False
Directions: Write T if the statement is true and F if the statement is false. Write your answer/s in your
paper. (1 point each)
1. Virtue is a good habit disposing a potency or the power in which it resides to elicit a good act.
2. Virtue directs and completely fulfills the capacities of spiritual powers man.
3. Virtue is not only a good habit in itself but also a productive habit of good actions. By virtue, a
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person easily, readily, and without hesitation performs a good act.
4. Virtues disposing man to do the right thing to himself, to other people, and to God.
5. Virtues moderating pleasures and sorrows, food, and drink; sleep, recreation, etc.
6. Virtues control our lower instincts or govern social relations.
7. Moral virtue regulating the desire for sensible pleasures within the limits of right reason and
approved modes of social behavior.
8. Fortitude is a special habit of the soul which enables one to endure pain, dangers and death with
calmness of reason.
9. Prudence it is the first and the most important of all
virtues, for man’s good actions are ultimately derived from a. Practical Memory
the rectitude of his mind.
b. Practical understanding
10. Human virtue is a good habit perfecting man in any of
his rational and inclining him to the right and perfect use c. Docility
of his potencies d. Ingenuity
e. Foresight
f. Circumspection
g. Caution
II. Matching Type h. Eternal
i. Temporal
Directions: Match column A with column B. Write your
j. Natural
answer in your paper. (1 point each)
A k. Positive
B l. Divine positive
1. The ability to profit by past experiences. m. Human positive
2. The ability to grasp the moral significance of concrete n. Ecclesiastical
concrete situation. o. Civil
3. The ability to take good moral advice from others p. laws
4. The ability to make quick and good judgment.
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WEEK 15 AND 16
5. The ability to direct our actions in advance.
6. The ability to consider the circumstances attending an action
7. The ability to avoid difficulties and obstacles.
8. Promulgation eternal
9. Promulgation in time
10. Promulgation through the light of reason
11. Promulgation by fact or by sensible sign
12. The sensible sign comes from God.
13. The sensible sign comes from human authority
14. The sign comes from the church.
15. The sign comes from the state.
III. Enumeration:
Directions: Enumerate the following. Write your answer/s in your paper. (1 point each)
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1-5 The Different kinds of Justice
6-12 The Assistant Virtues of Prudence
13-20 The Positive Laws
Resources and Additional Resources
Book: From Socrates to Sartre by T.Z. Lavine, Random House Publishing
Ramos, Christine Carmela R. Introduction to Philosophy, Manila: Rex Book Store, 2004.
Barbara MacKinnon and Andrew Fiala. Ethics: Theories and Contemporary Issues (USA: Cengage Learning,
2015).
Maboloc, Christopher Ryan. Ethics and Human Dignity (Sampaloc, Manila: Rex Book Store, Inc., 2010).
Barbara MacKinnon and Andrew Fiala. Ethics: Theories and Contemporary Issues. (USA: Cengage Learning,
2015).
Maboloc, Christopher Ryan. Ethics and Human Dignity (Sampaloc, Manila: Rex Book Store, Inc., 2010).
Fronda, Earl Stanley. Reasoning for the Reasonable: An Introduction to Logic and Critical
Thinking. Manila: Rex Book Store, 2005
Agapay, Ramon B. LOGIC: The Essentials of Deductive Reasoning. Mandaluyong City: National
Book Store, 1995
