FUNDAMENTAL

PRINCIPLES OF
ETHICS
The Nature of Human Act
Human Acts in Relation to Reason
The Voluntaries of Human Acts
The Determinants of Morality

THE NATURE OF THE

HUMAN ACT
Human Acts are actions that
proceed from the deliberate free
will of man.

HUMAN ACTS ARE

CHARACTERIZED AS:
The free and voluntary acts of man
Acts done with knowledge and consent
Acts which are proper to man as
rational being since man has been gifted
with rationality and freedom of will
Acts which are conscious and under our
control and for which we are responsible

 Acts of man, on the other hand,

refer to certain types of actions
that are naturally exhibited by man
and as such they are morally
indifferent (or neutral) because we
cannot judge them to be either
ethical or unethical

Two categories of
ACTS OF MAN
1.Natural involuntary actionsthese are actions of man that
are performed intuitively or
involuntarily

2. Natural voluntary actions- these

actions that are within the control of
mans will but only for some period of
time.
. It is important to note, however, that
there are special circumstances where
some acts of man, particularly the
natural voluntary action, may become
human acts and therefore may be
judged to either moral or immoral

HUMAN ACTS IN RELATION

TO REASON
Good acts are those done by man in
harmony with dictates of right
reason
Evil Acts are those actions done by
man in contradiction to the dictates
of right reason
Indifferent acts are those that are
neither good nor evil.

VOLUNTARIES OF THE
HUMAN ACTS
Voluntary acts have moral
bearing
Human acts are performed by
man with knowledge and consent,
he is therefore responsible for his
actions

Categories of
VOLUNTARY ACTIONS
1. Perfect voluntarinessactions
performed with full knowledge and
with full consent
2. Imperfect voluntariness- actions
that occur when there is no perfect
knowledge or consent, or when either
or both of the knowledge or consent is
partial

Categories of
VOLUNTARY ACTIONS
3. Direct Voluntary- actions that are
intended for its own sake, either as
a means or as an end
4. Indirect voluntary- actions that
are not intended for its own sake
but which merely follows as a
regrettable consequence of an
action

THE MORAL PRINCIPLE

INVOLVED IN ACTIONS
HAVING TWO EFFECTS (THE
INDIRECT VOLUNTARY ACT)
Conditions:
1. The action must be morally
good itself, or at least morally
indifferent

2. The good effect of the act must

precede the evil effect. The evil
effect is morally allowed to happen
as regrettable consequence
3. There must be a grave or sufficient
reason in doing the act
4. The evil effect should not outweigh
the good effect or, at least, the
good effect should be equivalent in
importance to the evil act

DETERMINANTS OF
MORALITY
These are the factors that link
human acts with their norm
It serves as the measure of the
goodness and the evilness of the
human act

THREE DETERMINANTS OF
MORALITY
1. The End of Action - this refers to the
natural purpose of the act or that in
which the act in its very nature
terminates or results, thus, the end of
action of studying is learning

2. The End of Actor- this refer to the

intention or the motive of the doer of
the act. The motive of the agent varies
with different individuals, while the end
of act is always the same
3. Circumstances of the Act- refer to
the conditions that affect the human
act by increasing or decreasing the
responsibility of the actor. These
circumstances of the act are not
considered part of the action itself
which means that act per se can exist
even without the circumstances

CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE ACT BECAUSE THEY CAN

EITHER AGGRAVATE OR MITIGATE THE CULPABILITY
OF THE ACTOR

Whorefers to the person or the

one to whom the act is ascribed
What- refers to the quality or the
quantity of the object of the act
Where- refers to the place where the
act is performed

 Howrefers to the manner or

mode by which the act is performed
By what meansrefers to the
means employed by the actor
Whenrefers to the
circumstances of time
Whyrefers to the
circumstances of end or intention of the
act