Transcript File - aquireligion

Prof. Fernandino J. Pancho
What determines the morality
of a human act?
 A human act can be



Good
Bad
Neutral/Indiferrent
 Depending on…
1. The Object or Effect
2. The Intention
3. The Circumstances
The Object (finis operis)
 It is the direct effect of the human action
 It is the first quality determining or describing the
human act.
 The basic factor of morality, the very substance of
moral act.
 It is always and necessarily the result of the act,
independent of intention and circumstances.
 The object is not the matter of which a thing is made
but the matter about which something is done.
 Examples:
Human Act
Direct effect/Object of the
human act
Eating
Preservation of human life/self
Theft
Stealing other’s property
Cheating
Getting a good grade which you do
not deserve
Giving Alms
To relieve the poverty of the poor
Lying
To deceive other person
Selling
Property is transferred from one to
another
Studying
Getting a a good & deserving
grade
 Examples: Direct effect on the Rights of others
Human Act
Corruption
Direct effect/Object
of the human act
Impact on Rights of
Others
Getting kickbacks
Less infrastructure,
less road, less fund for
education, less help
for the poor
Concibinage/Adultery Relationship &
Intercourse of a
Husband/wife to
another woman/man
not their
wife/husband
Less time & money for
the family, loss of
trust. Negative
impact on children.
Broken family.
Intention/Motive (finis operantis)
 It is the reason or purpose behind our acting.
 The reason or purpose on why the person did the
action.
 It is the plan or determination of the will to bring
about a certain effect.
Principles of Intention
1. An objectively good act may receive more goodness.
GOOD ACT
+ GOOD INTENTION
= DOUBLY GOOD ACT(more goodness)
Example:
- He taught street children how to read so they can do
better in school.
2. An objectively evil act may become more evil
becuase of bad intention/motive.
BAD ACTION
+ BAD INTENTION
= DOUBLY BAD ACT(more evil)
Example:
- He accepted bribes so that he can continue his
gambling habit.
3. An objectively good act may become morally evil
because of intention.
GOOD ACT
+ BAD INTENTION
= BAD ACT
Example:
- When a person give alms to a poor girl with the
intention of seducing or raping her.
4. An objectively evil act can never become good in spite
of the good intention/motive.
BAD ACTION
+ GOOD INTENTION
= BAD ACT(but lesser guilt)
Example:
- He stole money so he can send his children to school.
- He cheated in the exam so he can maintain his
scholarship and help out in the family.
5. An indifferent/neutral act may become morally
good.
NEUTRAL ACTION
+ GOOD INTENTION
= GOOD ACT
Example:
- He writes stories in order to inspire others.
5. An indifferent/neutral act may become morally bad.
NEUTRAL ACTION
+ BAD INTENTION
= BAD ACT
Example:
- He writes stories in order to destroy the reputation of
others.
Circumstances
 Circumstances are conditions modifying
human
actions, either by increasing or by diminishing the
moral responsibility attending them.
 Conditions which affect the voluntariness of the act.
 A condition that affects what happens or how
somebody reacts in a particular situation.
The SEVEN Circumstances that affects the morality of
our actions:
 WHO
- the person/subject who does or receives
the action.
 WHERE - the place/setting of an action.
 WHAT
- the object/effect of an act.
 WHY
- the intention/motive that moves the
person to an act.
 WHEN
- the time of the action performed
 HOW
- the different conditions/modalities such as
consent, violence, fear, ignorance or
voluntariness.
 BY WHAT MEANS – the ways/methods/process of an
act.
Principle - Circumstances
1. Circumstances may increase or diminish the goodness
or badness of an action
Example:

To steal a working animal from a poor farmer is aworse act
than to steal it from a rich man.
2. Circumstances may change a good or indifferent act
into a punishable one.
 Example:

To sleep is an indifferent act. But a guard sleeping at his post
during his duty will be punished by his commander.
 A human act, in order to be morally good, must be
perfect according to the three elements: object,
intention and circumstances.
 Any deficiency will make a human act morally evil.
“Bonum ex integra causa:
malum ex quocumque defectu”
(The good results from whole perfection; the evil from any defect)
What do you think?
1.
A person plans to donate P1,000 to the church.
However, on his way to the church, the money was
stolen from him, and he was not able to donate it?
Did the person do good?
2. A group of people are planning to rob a bank. On the
day they plan the robbery, the bank burned down,
and they were not able to rob it. Did the people do
something bad?
Class Activity
Divide into groups of 5.
2. Think of a situation which can be good or bad
depending on the Object, Circumstance, and
Intention.
3. Make TWO skits that will show the situation:
1.
• Skit No. 1 should show that it is good.
• Skit No. 2 should show that it is bad.
4. Maximum 10 points based on:
– Creativity – 5 points
– Reality of the situation – 5 points