MAN, ETHICS, AND VALUES EDUCATION

In the classical tradition, Ethics is Moral Philosophy and is distinguished from

Moral Theology. As a branch of philosophy, Ethics relies solely on human reason to
investigate truths. Moral Theology, on the other hand, employs reason in so far as it
is enlightened by faith or divine revelation.
In contemporary curriculum, Ethics takes the form of Values Education. A
value is something a person prizes, cherishes, and esteems as important to him. It
includes ideas, things, or experiences. The aim of Values Education is to guide the
individual in choosing wisely his values and in acting upon them.
Ethics is the rational foundation of any attempt at Values Education. Ethics
goes deeper into the reasons why we must choose certain values. Ethics explain
human values in relation to the ultimate purpose of human existence.
The Art of Correct Living
Art, in general, is the appreciation of beauty. It implies order and harmony of
parts in a given whole.
Human life does not imply merely physical survival. It is a vocation towards
the refinement of the spirit. The demands of daily life include and derive meaning
from the cultivation of those traits that truly reflect man’s innate dignity. In this
context, Ethics is an art. It is the breath of life, pulsating with the desire for growth
and development. It is a master plan indicating where man must go and what he
ought to do in order to live well. In this sense, every man is an artist, creating
something of beauty out of his self.
The Importance of Ethics
Ethics is an indispensable knowledge. Without moral perception, man is only
an animal. Without morality, man as rational being, is a failure. Because moral
knowledge is too essential to be dismissed, the Creator has seen it fit to gift man with
the natural insight of it. No matter how rudimentary and vague, the primitive has it.
And modern man, finding convenient reasons to tum his back from it, discovers that
he is in the center of it.
Moral integrity is the only true measure of what man ought to be. The most
powerful king, or the most successful professional is nothing unless he too is morally
upright. Thus, the philosophers speak of Ethics as the "only necessary knowledge."
"We are tempted to center everything on human happiness", says Jacques Leclercq,
"forgetting that man's greatness, perfection and happiness, his whole meaning in fact,
consist in transcending the commonly accepted human good."
Morality is the foundation of every human society. Rightly, it observes that
without civic morality, communities perish; without personal morality their survival
has no value. Every culture admits the importance of morality as a standard of
behavior. When the moral foundations of a nation are threatened, that society itself is
threatened.
Ethical Theories
There are two general categories under which ethical theories may be
classified: the atheistic and theistic approaches.
1. The Atheistic approach assumes that only matter exists and that man is
responsible only to himself since there is no God who creates and rules the universe.
Morality is an invention of man to suit his requirements and to preserve his society.
Moral truths are therefore temporary and mutable depending on the situation.
Accordingly, the concept of good and evil is always relative and changeable.
Atheistic theories propose the following principles:
1. Matter is the only reality.
2. Man is matter and does not have spiritual dimension.
3. Man is free and must exercise his freedom to promote the welfare of
society.
4. There is no life after death.
5. Man is accountable only to the State.
2. The Theistic approach begins with the assumption that God is the Supreme
Lawgiver. Everything must conform to God's eternal plan of creation. Man must
exercise his freedom in accordance with God's will. There are absolute principles of
morality which are not changeable. Man is accountable for his actions and deserves
either a reward or punishment in this life or in the next.
Theistic theories postulate the following truths:
1. God is the Supreme Creator and Lawgiver.
2. Man is free and must use his freedom to promote his personal and social
interests along with his fellowmen.
3. Man has an immortal soul which cannot die.
4. Man is accountable for his actions, both good and evil.
Ethics and Religion
Ethics is a science and depends upon rational investigation of its truths.
Religion is a system of beliefs and practices based on faith or revelation.
 Ethics teaches the value of religion, presenting it as a duty to the Almighty.
Religion, on the other hand, as an organized church, contributes to the teaching of
ethics and continues to enrich with its moral insights. Thus, religion provides both
the direction and motivation for the moral life of people. While different religions
give different emphasis to different moral values, they coincide in their efforts to
improve both man and human society. All great religions, for instance, hold life in
deep respect and propose universal brotherhood as necessary for global peace and
prosperity.
Ethics and Law
Ethics studies human motivation. It goes deeper than the study of external
actions. It explores thoughts and feelings. It requires man desires that which is good
and act in accordance with that desire. On the contrary, law requires that we perform
the required action regardless of our feelings towards such action. The law is
concerned with the externality of the act. For law is definitely concerned", says
Mortimer J. Adler, "with what we do, not with what we feel.”
Ethical norms cover thoughts and feelings. Laws do not judge man's thoughts
and desires. In the Ethics of St. Paul, for example, a man commits adultery when he
regards a woman lustfully. This is not the case with law which requires an external
act as proof that a crime has been committed.
Morality therefore, has a wider implication than law, because law can either be
moral or immoral. Thus, what is legal is not necessarily moral, but what is moral is
necessarily worth legalizing.
Ethics is not simply a body of do's and don'ts in the manner of laws. Ethics is a
personal commitment to uphold what is true and good. Ethics aims to develop "right
disposition and inner spirit" for accepting what is lawful.

THE HUMAN ACTS

Man, no doubt, is creative because he possesses tremendous bodily and
spiritual powers. Every minute of his life, he acts and transforms himself and the
world around him. Action constitutes a person, an individual in control of himself
and accountable to himself. What a person is and what becomes of him depend
largely on the type of actions he performs during his life-time.
Distinction is made between human acts and acts of man. The human acts are
those actions which man performs knowingly, freely, and voluntarily. These actions
are the result of conscious knowledge and are subject to the control of the will. We
refer to these actions as deliberate, intentional, or voluntary.
 The acts of man are those actions which happen in man. They are instinctive
and are not within the control of the will. Such actions are the biological and
physiological movements in man such as, metabolism, respiration, fear, anger, love,
and jealousy.
Essential Attributes
For an act to be considered a human act, it must possess the following
characteristics:
1. It must be performed by a conscious agent who is aware of what he is doing
and of its consequences. Children below the age of reason, the insane, the senile - are
considered incapable of acting knowingly.
2. It must be performed by an agent who is acting freely, that is, by his own
volition and powers. An action done under duress against one's will is not entirely a
free action.
3. It must be performed by an agent who decides willfully to perform the act.
This willfulness is the resolve to perform an act here and now, or in some future
time.
Human acts must, therefore, be knowing, free, and willful. The lack of any of
these attributes renders an act defective and less voluntary
Kinds of Human Acts
Human acts are either elicited acts or commanded acts. Elicited acts are those
performed by the Will and are not bodily externalized. These are the following
elicited acts:
1. Wish is the tendency of will towards something, whether this be realizable or
not. The object of wishing may include the impossible, or, that which is remotely
possible, such as winning the sweepstakes.
2. Intention is the tendency of the will towards something attainable but
without necessarily committing oneself to attain it. Such is our intention to study the
lesson, to attend a party, or to spend a vacation in Baguio.
3. Consent is the acceptance of the will of those needed to carry out the
intention. Thus, a woman is said to show consent when she consciously attracts
attention to herself.
4. Election is the selection of the will of those means effective enough to carry
out the intention. A salesman shows election when he opts to visit a client instead of
just writing him a letter.
 5. Use is the command of the will to make use of those means elected to carry
out the intention. It is this act of the will which moves the salesman to dress up and
take a ride to see his client.
6. Fruition is the enjoyment of the will derived from the attainment of the thing
he had desired earlier. The joy of the woman on being complimented for her
attractiveness, or, the satisfaction of the salesman in closing a deal with his client – is
fruition.
Commanded acts are those done either by man's mental or bodily powers under
the command or the will. Commanded acts are either internal or external actions.
Examples of internal actions are conscious reasoning, recalling something,
encouraging oneself, controlling aroused emotions, and others.
Examples of external actions are walking, eating, dancing, laughing, listening,
reading, and others.
Some actions are combinations of internal and external movements such as,
listening, studying, reading, driving a car, writing a letter, or playing chess.
Moral Distinctions
Human acts may either be in conformity or not with the dictates of reason.
“Dictates of reason" refers to the shared consciousness of prudent people about the
propriety of a certain action or manner of behavior. It shows what is permissible in a
given situation, the best option as a matter of fact.
"Dictates of Reason'" stands for the norm of morality which is the standard by
which actions are judged as to their merits or demerits. On the basis of their relation
to the norm of morality, actions are classified into moral, immoral, or amoral.
1. Moral actions are those actions which are in conformity with the norm of
morality. They are good actions and are permissible. Working, studying, paying a
debt, telling the truth, loving a friend – are moral actions.
2. Immoral actions are those actions which are not in conformity with the norm
of morality. They are bad or evil and are not permissible. Refusing to help the needy,
committing murder, adultery, stealing, telling lies – are immoral actions.
3. Amoral actions are those actions which stand neutral in relation to the norm
of morality. They are neither good nor bad in themselves. But certain amoral actions
may become good or bad because of the circumstances attendant to them. Playing
basketball is an amoral act, but playing basketball when one is supposed to be
attending a class is wrong. Playing basketball out of sense of duty to the team is
good.
Extrinsic and Intrinsic Evil
The relation of actions to the norm of morality is either intrinsic or extrinsic.
Something is intrinsic to a thing when it is integral to the nature of that thing. The
sweetness of a mango fruit is, for example, intrinsic to it. But the appeal of a mango
to a particular person is extrinsic to it, that is, such quality is not an integral element
of it as fruit.
Some actions are intrinsically evil because their nature is defective either by
excess or by lack of certain attributes. Such, for example, is the nature of stealing
which, by nature, manifests lack of respect for the property of another.
Some other actions are extrinsically evil because certain factors attached to
them by way of circumstances render them opposed to the norm of morality.
Drinking liquor is extrinsically evi1 when done in excess.
Actions that are intrinsically evil are prohibited at all times and under any
circumstance. Actions that are extrinsically evil may be tolerated provided the
circumstance rendering it to be wrong is first removed. Suicide is intrinsically evil
and remains immoral whatever is its justification. Therapeutic abortion is
extrinsically evil when it is resorted to as a necessary means to safeguard the life of
the mother.
Imputability of Human Acts
A human act is done by a person who is in control of his faculties: intellect and
will. In this sense, a person is like the captain of a ship who assumes full
responsibility and accountability for his decisions.
The imputability of a human act means that the person, performing the act, is
liable for such act. It involves the notion of guilt or innocence. Thus, actions are
either praiseworthy or blameworthy. Actions are attributed to the doer as their
principal cause.
Sanctions and Penalties
Imputability implies that the doer is either deserving of reward or punishment.
This is a basic requirement of justice.
The penal laws of our country provide for a system of punishment for crimes,
ranging from simple fines to imprisonment. The capital punishment, that is, death
penalty, is reserved for "heinous crimes."
Unless also prohibited by the laws of the State, immoralities are not given
corresponding legal punishments such as fines or imprisonment. The Bible, however,
speaks of death as the punishment for "sins." Though the Old Testament interprets
this as death by execution, it refers more to spiritual death or suffering.
A form of spiritual death is the loss of peace of mind, the only genuine
happiness possible in this life. Medical science and psychiatry also show that many
diseases, both mental and physical, are caused by spiritual disorientation. Indeed,
many of the human sufferings we see and experience are the direct results of
immoral situations. For example, an immoral person risks losing his honor, his job,
and his family. He also runs the risk of being ostracized. On the other hand, the
world looks up to a man of integrity. Peace, contentment, and honor are but some of
the rewards coming to an upright person.
Voluntariness
Voluntariness comes from the latin word "voluntas", referring to the Will.
Voluntariness is essential to an act. Without it, an act is a mere act of man. We
distinguish between perfect and imperfect, and conditional and simple voluntariness.
1. Perfect voluntariness is present in a person who fully knows and fully
intends an act. A man who, wanting to get even, takes a gun and shoots his enemy is
said to be acting with perfect voluntariness.
2. Imperfect voluntariness is present in a person who acts without fully
realizing what he means to do, or without fully intending the act. A drunken man
might act irrationally without fully realizing what he is doing; or, a woman, in terror,
might jump out of a window without fully intending to kill herself.
3. Conditional voluntariness is present in a person who is forced by
circumstances beyond his control to perform an act which he would not do under
normal conditions. A child who is intimidated by his mother to study the lesson is
acting with conditional voluntariness.
4. Simple voluntariness is present in a person doing an act willfully, regardless
of whether he likes to do it or not. It is either positive or negative. It is positive when
the act requires the performance of an activity, such as polishing the floor, paying
rent, or playing tennis. It is negative when an act requires the omission of activity,
such as not taking prohibited drugs, remaining quiet, or not listening to the radio.
Types of Voluntariness
We distinguish further between direct and indirect voluntariness.
1. Direct voluntariness accompanies an act which is primarily intended by the
doer, either as an end in itself or as a means to achieve something else. Eating lunch
is carried on with direct voluntariness. The same directness accompanies many of
our daily activities such as going to school, inviting a friend to a movie, reading a
book, or writing a note.
2. Indirect voluntariness accompanies an act or situation which is the mere
result of a directly willed act. Getting a failing mark is indirectly voluntary on the
part of the student who has willingly neglected to study.
Indirectly Voluntary
A person is accountable for his actions and their consequences, but is he also
accountable for results not directly intended.
Generally speaking, a person is liable for the results which are foreseeable by
an ordinary act of prudence. The prankster who shouts "fire" inside a crowded place
has certainly some inkling that his joke might cause fear, panic, stampede, and injury
to people.
Paul Glenn considers a person accountable for indirectly voluntary results of
his acts when:
1. The doer is able to foresee the evil result or effect, at least, in a general way;
2. The doer is free to refrain from doing that which would produce the foreseen
evil;
3. The doer has moral obligation not to do that which produces an evil effect.
Alfredo Panizo cites these principles:
1. A person is held morally responsible for any evil effect which flows from the
action itself directly and necessarily as a natural consequence, though the evil effect
is not directly willed or intended.
2. A human act from which two effects may result, one good and one evil, is
morally permissible under four conditions. If any of these conditions is violated, then
the action is not justifiable and should not be done.
These four conditions are:
1. The action which produces double effects must be good in itself, or at least
morally indifferent.
2. The good effect must not come from the evil effect. To do evil in order to
achieve something good is not justified.
3. The motive of the doer must be towards the attainment of the good. The evil
effect is permitted only as an incidental result.
 4. The good effect must outweigh the evil result in its importance.
These principles and conditions find application in the so called "therapeutic
abortion" where the direct intention is the saving of the mother's life with the
incidental result of aborting the fetus.

THE MODIFIERS OF HUMAN ACTS

The ideal is for man to act deliberately, that is, with perfect voluntariness. This
is not always possible though. Oftentimes, a certain degree of doubt or reluctance
accompanies an act. At other times, emotions hold sway, propelling action with the
swiftness of an impulse.
Factors that influence man's inner disposition toward certain actions are called
“modifiers” of human acts. They affect the mental or emotional state of a person to
the extent that the voluntariness involved in an act is either increased or decreased.
This is significant because the accountability of the act is correspondingly increased
or decreased.
The Modifiers
Man does not act in a vacuum. He is an organism responding and reacting to
stimulus. His total make-up is the sum of all experiences. His personal background,
education, social upbringing, political persuasion, religion, and personal aims –
contribute largely to his development and behavioral preferences.
The following are the modifiers of human acts; (1) Ignorance, (2) Passions, (3)
Fear, (4) Violence, and (5) Habit.
Ignorance
We are familiar with the saying: "Ignorance of the 1aw excuses no one.” This
implies that one should not act in the state of ignorance and that one who has done a
wrong may not claim ignorance as a defense.
Ignorance is the absence of knowledge which a person ought to possess. A
lawyer is expected to know his law; the doctor, his medicine; and the manager, his
business operations. In the realm of morals, everyone of age and reason is expected
to know at least the general norms of good behavior.
Ignorance is either vincible or invincible. Vincible ignorance can easily be
reminded through ordinary diligence and reasonable efforts. The ignorance of a
visitor regarding a particular address in a certain place is vincible, since he can easily
ask for information from a policeman or pedestrian.
 Invincible ignorance is the type which a person possesses without being aware
of it, or, having awareness of it, lacks the means to rectify it. The ignorance
regarding missing persons or objects is often invincible. Sometimes, too, a person
acts without realizing certain facts. Thus, a cook might be unaware that the food he
is serving is contaminated.
Under the category of vincible ignorance is the affected ignorance. This is the
type which a person keeps by positive efforts in order to escape responsibility or
blame. It is affected ignorance when an employee refuses to read a memo precisely
so that he may be exempted from its requirement.
Principles:
1. Invincible ignorance renders an act involuntary. A person cannot be held
morally liable if he is not aware of his state of ignorance. A waiter who is not aware
that the food he is serving has been poisoned cannot be held for murder.
2. Vincible ignorance does not destroy, but lessens the voluntariness and the
corresponding accountability over the act. A person who becomes aware of the state
of ignorance he is in has the moral obligation to rectify it by exercising reasonable
diligence in seeking the needed information. To act with vincible ignorance is to act
imprudently. A waiter who suspects that the food he is serving has been laced with
poison has the moral obligation to ascertain the fact or, at least, forewarn the guests
about his suspicion.
3. Affected ignorance, though it decreases voluntariness, increases the
accountability over the resultant act. Insofar as affected ignorance interferes with the
intellect, it decreases voluntariness. But insofar as it is willed to persist, it increases
accountability. Certainly, refusing to rectify ignorance implies malice. And the
malice is greater when ignorance is used as an excuse for not doing the right thing.
Thus, a child who refuses to be guided by his parents has only himself to blame for
his wrongdoing.

Passions
Passions, or concupiscence, are either tendencies towards desirable objects, or,
tendencies away from undesirable or harmful things. The former is called positive
emotions; the latter, negative emotions. The positive emotions include love, desire,
delight, hope, and bravery. The negative emotions include hatred, horror, sadness,
despair, fear, and anger.
 Passions are psychic responses. As such, they are neither moral nor immoral.
However, man is bound to regulate his emotions and submit them to the control of
reason.
Passions are either antecedent or consequent. Antecedent are those that precede
an act. It may happen that a person is emotionally aroused to perform an act.
Antecedent passions predispose a person to act Thus, love may induce one to make
numerous and lengthy phone calls to his sweetheart, or, to plot the murder of a rival.
Principles:
1. Antecedent passions do not always destroy voluntariness but they diminish
accountability for the resultant act. Antecedent passions weaken the will power of a
person without, however, completely obstructing his freedom. Thus, the so called
"crimes of passion” are voluntary. But insofar as passions interfere with the freedom
of the will, one's accountability is diminished.
2. Consequent passions are those that are intentionally aroused and kept.
Consequent passions, therefore, are said to be voluntary in cause, the result of the
will playing the strings of emotions. Thus, a young man may deliberately arouse
himself sexually by reading pornographic magazines. Or a victim of injustice may
intentionally nurse his resentment towards his tormentor. The young man who
commits lasciviousness after arousing himself sexually and the fellow who commits
vengeance due to his cultivated resentment – are both morally accountable.
3. Consequent passions do not lessen voluntariness, but may even increase
accountability. This is because consequent passions are the direct results of the will
which fully consents to them instead of subordinating them to its control.
Fear
Fear is the disturbance of the mind of a person who is confronted by an
impending danger or harm to himself or loved ones. Distinction is made, however,
between an act done with fear and an act done out or because of fear.
Certain actions which by nature are dangerous or risky are done with varying
degree of fear. Climbing a cliff, flying an airplane through a storm, diving for pearls,
or arresting a notorious killer – are examples of acts performed with fear. In these
cases, fear is a normal response to danger. Such actions are voluntary, because the
doer is in full control of his faculties and acts despite of his fear.
Fear is an instinct for self-preservation. We even fear new experiences or
situations such as, embarking on a long journey, being left alone in a strange place,
or being asked to speak before a group of people. But doing something out of fear, or
because of it, is entirely different. Here, fear becomes a positive force compelling a
person to act without careful deliberation.
The child reads his book out of fear of the mother; the employee volunteers to
work over-time out of fear of being fired by the boss; a friend stops smoking out of
fear of contracting cancer. These examples show how actions are done because of
fear. Fear modifies the freedom of the doer, inducing him to act in a certain
predetermined manner, often without his full consent.
Principles:
1. Acts done with fear are voluntary. A person acting with fear is acting despite
of his fear and is in full control of himself.
2. Acts done out of fear, however great, is simply voluntary, although it is also
conditionally voluntary. It is simply voluntary because the person remains in control
of his faculties, including that of moderating fear. It is also “conditionally
involuntary” because, if it were not for the presence of something feared, the person
would not act or would act in another way.
3. Acts done because of intense fear or panic are involuntary. Panic completely
obscures the mind. In this mental state, a person is not expected to think sensibly.
Thus, a person in a state of panic might jump from the 12th floor of a burning
building. Such act is not considered a suicide, since it is done involuntarily. Panic
causes a person to lose complete control of himself.
Intimidating or threatening a person with harm is an unjust act. Legally
speaking, actions done out of fear are invalid acts. Thus, contracts entered into out of
fear are voidable, meaning, they can later on be annulled. It is grossly unfair to
oblige any person to fulfil a contract obtained by force or threat.
Violence
Violence refers to any physical force exerted on a person by another free agent
for the purpose of compelling the said person to act against his will. Bodily torture,
maltreatment, isolation, and mutilation are examples of violence against persons.
Principles:
1. External actions, or commanded actions, performed by a person subjected
to violence, to which reasonable resistance has been offered, are involuntary and are
not accountable. Active resistance should always be offered to an unjust aggressor.
However, if resistance is impossible, or if there is a serious threat to one's life, a
person confronted by violence can always offer intrinsic resistance by withholding
consent; that is enough to save his moral integrity.
 2. Elicited acts, or those done by the will alone, are not subject to violence and
are therefore voluntary.
The will insofar as it is a spiritual faculty is not within the reach of violence.
History carries the story of thousand heroes who had suffered death instead of
surrendering their will to that of their tormentors. On the contrary, we consider them
villains or weaklings those who succumbed and consented to the wishes of tyrants.
But we may not be too harsh on them, since every man has his own limit of
endurance. "Violence of force” says Bernard Haring, "in any instance, if bound up
with the refined cruelty of present-day methods of psychological torture, can
constitute a serious temptation and often also contribute towards a notable
diminution of inner freedom."
Habits
Habit, as defined, is a lasting readiness and facility, born of frequently repeated
acts, for acting in a certain manner." Habits are acquired inclinations towards
something to be done. They assume the role of a second nature, moving one who has
them to perform certain acts with relative ease.
The word “habit-forming" that we use to refer to certain experiences show how
easy it is for one to acquire a habit. It also implies that a habit is not that easy to
overcome or alter. It requires a strong-willed person to correct a habit successfully
within a limited period of time. Thus, alcoholics and smokers find it almost
impossible to reform.
Principles:
Actions done by force of habit are voluntary in cause, unless a reasonable
effort is made to counteract the habitual inclination.
Habits are either good or bad. We speak here of bad habits which lead to
immoral actions.
Habits are voluntary in cause, because they are the results of previously willed
acts done repeatedly as a matter of fact. Thus, every action emanating from habit is
said to partake of the voluntariness of those previous acts. Therefore, for as long as
the habit is not corrected, evil actions done by force of that habit are voluntary and
accountable.
When a person decides to fight his habit, and for as long as the effort towards
this purpose continues, actions resulting from such habit may be regarded as acts of
man and not accountable.
Action and Emotion
 Man does not act the way a robot does without feeling or emotion. In doing his
act, man does not only evoke certain sentiments, but his decision or intention to
perform is swayed by his emotions. One who loves to sing does not only sing with
feelings but is moved and motivated to sing when the occasion is there.
Emotions are generally instinctive in origin. Neither the degree of their
intensity, clarity, or awareness makes them human acts to be judged as good or evil.
They become good or evil by the attitude of the person manifesting them. A person
who nourishes his feeling of hostility towards another is more prone to acquire the
motive for inflicting harm on the object of his hatred. This is not to say that man is
helpless in the tide of his emotions and that man's responses to action are
emotionally motivated. It means simply that man’s thoughts and actions are colored
by his emotions.
Refinement of Emotions
Ethics deals with emotions as factors affecting human motivation and behavior.
Instead of repressing them, it calls for their refinement. This means that man is
expected to act not only with his mind and body, but precisely with his heart and
soul. Thus, for instance, the Decalogue does not merely command that we love God,
but adds to say "with all your heart and with all your soul.”
In the purist sense, doing good for another is not a virtue unless it comes from
the “love" of what is good. Any other motive is inadequate regardless of the merits
of the assistance offered. It is possible indeed to extend a loan to a friend and this –
grudgingly.
In like manner, mere external obedience to a law is cold and hypocritically
convenient. The ethical expectation is to enter into the spirit of the law and to accept
it with humility and respect
Moral perfection comes from within. We, Filipinos, refer to it as “kagandahan
ng loob.” It is “loob” because it radiates from within the human personality.
Kagandahan ng Loob
Kagandahan ng loob refers to attitude. It stands for all that is good, we call
kabaitan, in a human being. It is the multiplicity of sterling qualities both natural and
acquired, which, because they proceed from the heart and mind, also greatly
influences one's behavior towards himself and others.
Kagandahan ng loob includes such moral values as mapagmahal, maunawain,
may-pakikiramdam, may-pakikiramay, matulungin, masayahin, and hindi
mapagkunvari.
THE ENDS OF THE HUMAN ACTS
Man does not act aimlessly. When he acts, it is because he enjoys the action,
or, because he wants to achieve something by that action. For example, Pablito may
play basketball because he enjoys it, or he may play because he wants to quality for
the varsity team.
What we call end is the purpose or goal of an act. It is that which completes or
finishes an act. Distinction is made between end of the act and end of the doer or
agent.
The end of the act is the natural termination of an activity. The end of the
eating is nourishment; that of reading is comprehension; that of basketball is scoring
a goal; and that of jogging is physical exercise.
The end of the doer is the personal purpose intended by the person performing
the act. He who eats aims to satisfy his hunger; the reader, to relax himself; the
basketball player, to win the game; and the jogger, to maintain physical fitness. The
end of the doer is called the motive. The motive is the reason why a person performs
an act. It is the force that sustains the act and brings it to completion.
Kinds of Ends
The end of the doer is either: (1) Proximate or Remote End or (2) Intermediate
or Ultimate End.
1. The proximate end is the purpose which a doer wishes to accomplish
immediately by his action. The remote end is the purpose which a doer wishes to
accomplish in a series of acts. The proximate end of eating is the satisfaction of
hunger. It is remote end is the promotion of health.
2. The ultimate end is the purpose which is desired for its own sake and not
because of something else. The intermediate end is the purpose which is desired as a
means for obtaining another thing. The attainment of an ultimate end completes an
act and stops all further acts. The attainment of an intermediate end leads either to
another intermediate end or to an ultimate end.
A student may assign his graduation as an ultimate end. The intermediate end,
in this case, would consist in all of those activities leading towards graduation, such
as attending classes, taking exams, participating in recitation, and so on.
A series of separate actions finds meaning in their relation to an ultimate end or
goal. This is fundamentally true with life itself. Living consists of all human
activities. Viewed in their entirety, all human activities are tendencies towards the
ultimate purpose of life itself. This ultimate end of life is happiness.
End as Something Good
Nothing excites the human appetite or rational desire than that which is good.
Because something is good, it becomes the object of desire and, therefore, desirable.
Actions are tendencies towards something good. Thus, what is good and desirable is
also the end of the act. The concept of end coincides with that of good. Accordingly,
Aristotle says that “good” means either of these: good as an end in itself and good as
a means to another end.
Apparent Good. Man has a natural aversion to evil. Evil is never desirable for
its own sake. It is naturally repugnant to man. When someone desires evil as an end,
it is only because he views it, subjectively, as something good. Evil viewed as good
is called apparent good. It is evil disguised as good. It is deceptively tempting and
many fall for it. A suitor who kills his rival regards his immoral action as a “good”
means to rid himself of a rival for the love of a woman.
Every human activity is intended for the attainment of something good. This
good must be objectively genuine, not merely an apparent good. Unfortunately, as a
free agent, man is able to set his choice on mere apparent goods and false values.

The Meaning of Good

The word good has varied shades of meaning. The good of man is that which
fits his function as a rational being. And because it is the soul that which constitutes
man's rational nature, "the good of man proves to be activity of soul in conformity
with excellence; and if there is more than one excellence, it will be the best and the
most complete of these.
A thinker once wrote that human beings have their needs, while individual
humans have their wants. Needs are those goods which are essential to man as man.
Without them, man is incomplete and underdeveloped. Wants are those goods that an
individual requires because of his particular circumstance in life. Obviously, the
needs must first be fulfilled before the wants.
The good that fits man as man are the needs of his rational nature. All other
needs, such as the biological and social, while they are similarly required, are
subordinate to the rational needs.
Kinds of Good
1. Essential and Accidental. Those that fit the natural needs of man as man are
essential goods. Such goods include food, shelter, health, knowledge, virtue, and life.
Those that fit the wants of an individual because of his circumstance are accidental
goods. Such include money, car, good name, academic degree, power, and luxury,
and many more.
Essential good is also called perfective because they contribute to the integral
perfections of man. Accidental good, on the other hand, are called non-perfective
because they merely contribute to the external worth or appearance of a person.
2. Real and Apparent. A real good is something which has an intrinsic value.
Thus, we call it: value. It possesses qualities rendering it "fitting" or desirable.
Examples of real goods are good acts and habits, parents and parenthood, pleasure
and joy, work and leisure, etc. The real good includes both essential and accidental
goods.
An apparent good is actually an evil thing but is viewed as “good” under
certain aspects. Examples are diseases, sadness, death, worry, crimes, etc.
3. Perfective and Non-perfective good. Perfective good is that which
contributes to the integral perfection of a person, such as education, virtue, food,
exercise, and medicine. Non-perfective good is that which merely contributes to the
external appearance or convenience of a person, such as clothes, wealth, social
status, political power, etc.
4. Perfect and Imperfect good. Also called unlimited or limited good
respectively, or absolute and relative goods.
Perfect good has the fullness of qualities enabling it to fully satisfy human
desire. Imperfect good possesses only certain qualities so that it does not fully satisfy
human desire except in a relative or limited sense. All earthly goods are imperfect.
Only God, in the absolute sense, is perfect good.
The Greatest Good
In every activity, man seeks that which is good, the greatest good as a matter of
fact. This is evident in our concern for the best in everything: best friends, best
parents, best food, best performance, best job, and so forth. In the language of the
philosophers, the greatest good is the Summum Bonum. Happiness is what man aims
to achieve in all his activities. The ultimate purpose of life is the attainment of
happiness.
As a psychological state, happiness is the feeling of contentment arising from
the possession of a good. As a state of being, it is the perfection arising from the
possession of the good. Happiness, coming from the possession of the greatest good,
constitutes man's perfection.
 Now, which is the greatest good? What wonderful thing is there the possession
of which will fully and absolutely satisfy human desire so that nothing more remains
to be desired? If the greatest good does not exist, or if it does but is totally beyond
man's grasp, then human life would be pointless. Ethics explains the best answers to
this one fundamental question of life.
Some errors concerning happiness:
1. Some people give the impression that money or wealth can buy happiness.
This is tragic because money merely feeds the bottomless appetite of greed. Money,
besides, is aptly considered the root of all evils, because it gives a false sense of
power. The fact is that riches beget worry, selfish competition, waste, oppression,
and all other forms of injustices. If the Bible is to be believed, the avarice of the rich
makes it very difficult for him to enter heaven. The camel may pass easily through
the eye of a needle, but not the rich who has grown much bigger because of pride.
2. Some people equates health with happiness. Of course, health is prerequisite
to a productive life. But there are the sick who are at the same time happy. The
present-day preoccupation with physical fitness may not be wrong. But he who
invests happiness in the beauty and agility of the human anatomy might not have
much to look forward to when age catches up with him. It is wonderful to be strong
and healthy, but happiness is somewhere else.
3. Sensual people vainly seeks happiness in earthly pleasures. But one may not
indulge in all the pleasures of this world without ending up with pain. Nature shows
how overeating, for instance, causes the stomach to ache. And some people are
simply wasting away because of their imprudent indulgence in liquor, tobacco, or
sex. Pleasures of the body are poor copy of the true lasting happiness that man longs
for. Certainly, an animal who has a rational soul deserves a better fate than AIDS or
cancer.
4. Certain people cling to their public image as if God Himself was made after
their illusion. Surrounded by an adoring crowd, these popular personages exhibit the
exuberance of being “super” putting themselves above the ordinary folk. And yet,
fame and fortune are fragile as a mirror that reflects their vanity.
5. Some dedicate their lives to science and arts. Doubtlessly, the sciences and
the arts are essential to man's development. They are, however, the means rather than
the end in themselves. They are precisely instruments leading to the promotion of
human welt-being. The same can be said of virtue.
6. Some propose that the final purpose of man is the promotion of the State or
Government. While man is sociable and needs the State to regulate his social,
political, and economic relations, the good of the individual comes ahead of that of
the State. Thus, the ideal State does not sacrifice the well-being of its members.
Precisely, it is the function of government to make possible the happiness of its
members or citizens.
Natural and Supernatural Happiness
Natural happiness is that which is attainable by man through the use of his
natural powers. Supernatural happiness is that which is attainable by man through
the use of his natural powers as these are informed and aided by God's infusion of
grace. Supernatural happiness is a study belonging properly to Moral Theology.
Natural Happiness consists in the perfection that can be attained by man
through the employment of his body and soul and the powers inherent in them:
intellect, will, internal and external sensory powers, the sense appetites, locomotion,
nutrition, and growth.
The highest good belongs to the intellect: the contemplation of truth. But this
fullness of knowledge is attained through virtue.
The Ultimate Purpose
Christian philosophers, notably St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, teach
that man, in every deliberate action acts toward an end, and ultimately, to an
absolutely ultimate end: happiness. Since man's desire and tendency towards
happiness is unlimited, nothing short of the Absolutely Perfect Good can satisfy it
perfectly. Therefore God, the Infinite Good, is the greatest good, to be attained as the
ultimate end.