CHAPTER IV
Frameworks and Principles of
Moral Frameworks
THE MEANING OF ETHICAL FRAMEWORK
Ethical framework is a set of codes than an
individual uses to guide his or her behavior.
It is just another term for “moral standards”
as discussed in the early part of this text. It
is what people use to distinguish right from
wrong in the way they interact with the
world.
THE MEANING OF ETHICAL FRAMEWORK
An ethical framework guides an
individual in answering these
two questions “What do I ought
to do?” and What Do I ought to
do so”?
THE MEANING OF ETHICAL FRAMEWORK
It may be classified as follows:
[Link] or Character Ethics of Aristotle
[Link] law or commandment ethics of St. Thomas and
others
3. Deontogical and Duty Framework of Immanuel Kant
4. Utilitarianism teleological and consequentialist
approach
5. Love and Justice Framework
ARISTOTLE’S VIRTUE ETHICS
An ethical act is the action that a virtuous
person would do in the same circumstances.
Virtue ethics is person-based rather than action-
based. It looks at the virtue of moral character
of the person carrying out an action, rather than
an ethical duties and rules or the consequences
of particular actions.
ARISTOTLE’S VIRTUE ETHICS
Virtue ethics does not only deal with the
rightness or wrongness of individual actions.
It provides guidance as to the sort of
characteristics and behaviors a good person will
seek to achieve. In that way, virtue ethics is
concerned with the whole of a person’s life,
rather than particular episodes or actions.
ARISTOTLE’S VIRTUE ETHICS
A good person is someone who lives
virtuously – who possess and lives the
virtues.
ARISTOTLE’S VIRTUE ETHICS
We try to identify the character traits
(either positive or negative) that might
motivate us in a given situation.
We are concerned with what kind of
person we should be and what our
actions indicate about our character.
BASIC TYPES OF VIRTUES
1. Intellectual virtues – excellence of
the mind
2. Moral virtues – person’s
dispositions to act well
ARISTOTLE’S VIRTUE ETHICS
The virtuous person did not inherit
his/her virtues. Neither were these virtues
simply passed on to him automatically. His
being a person of virtue is a product of
deliberate , consistent, continues choice
and practice of living the virtue of virtues.
ARISTOTLE’S VIRTUE ETHICS
Watch your thoughts; they become your words.
Watch your words; they become your actions.
Watch your actions; they become your habits.
Watch your habits; they become your character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.
ST. THOMAS’ NATURAL LAW ETHICS
Natural law ethics is what natural law says.
Natural law is the ordinance of Divine
Wisdom, which is made known to us by
reason and which requires the observance
of the moral order.
ST. THOMAS’ NATURAL LAW ETHICS
It may also be defined to be “the eternal
law as far as it is made known by human
reason.” By the eternal law we mean all
that God necessarily decrees from
eternity.
ST. THOMAS’ NATURAL LAW ETHICS
Eternal law is what God wills for
creation. We are part of God’s creation
and so we are part of God’s eternal
law.
ST. THOMAS’ NATURAL LAW ETHICS
St. Thomas defined law in general as an
ordinance of reason.
ST. THOMAS’ NATURAL LAW ETHICS
For a law to be a law, it must have the four
requisites:
1. Ordinance
2. For the common good
3. Promulgation
4. By one who has charge of the community
ST. THOMAS’ NATURAL LAW ETHICS
Based on the definition, an unreasonable law is not
law; a law that favors one to the prejudice of
another or does not equally protect all is not a law;
a law that is not promulgated or published or made
known to all, is not a law, and a law that is enacted
by an unauthorized person is not a law. The law
must be made known or communicated to all
people to ensure correct understanding and
compliance.
KANT’S DEONTOLOGICAL ETHICS: THE
DUTY FRAMEWORK
Deontological has its roots from the Greek
“Deon” which means “duty”. Hence,
deontological ethics focused on “duty, obligation
and rights” instead of consequences or ends.
KANT’S DEONTOLOGICAL ETHICS: THE
DUTY FRAMEWORK
The duty-based approach, sometimes called
deontological ethics, argued that doing what is right
is not about the consequences of our actions but
about having the proper intention in performing the
action. The ethical action is taken from duty, that is,
it is done precisely because it is our obligation to
perform the action.
KANT’S DEONTOLOGICAL ETHICS: THE
DUTY FRAMEWORK
According to Kant, an action is right if it can
coexist with everyone’s freedom in accordance
with a universal law. This means you can only
exercise your rights in such a way that you do
not violate the rights of others.
GOOD WILL
Kant’s criteria or framework of what is right or
wrong is good will.
An act is said to be right or wrong depending
on whether it is done with or without good will.
The rightness or wrongness of an action
depends on one’s good will or intentions.
CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE
If one cannot wish or want that a certain rule
or maxim becomes the maxim of all, that it is
not right to follow it.
OUGHT IMPLIES CAN
One’s ability to do something is a
necessary condition for his being
obliged to do it.
“If I ought to do something, then I can
do it.”
UTILITARIANISM
“The greatest happiness principle”
holds that actions are right in
proportion as they tend to promote
happiness; wrong as they tend to
produce the reverse of happiness.
UTILITARIANISM
“The greatest good of the greatest
number.
THE CONSEQUENTIALIST FRAMEWORK
It focuses on the future effects of the
possible courses of action, considering
the people who will be directly or
indirectly affected. We ask about what
outcomes are desirable in a given
situation.
THE LOVE AND JUSTICE FRAMEWORK
Three well-known concepts of love
originating from the Greeks, namely, agape
or charity, erotic or passionate sexual
encounter and philia, the affection
between friends. Love as a moral
framework is the agapeic. Agape is the
love principle preached by Jesus Christ.
THE LOVE AND JUSTICE FRAMEWORK
Agape is the “willing of the good of
another”. It is the act of sharing, or
giving more than what is just because
justice is the minimum of love.
THE LOVE AND JUSTICE FRAMEWORK
Agapeic love is absolute norm, the
absolute framework for the
determination of the right thing to do
or wrong to avoid. In moral reasoning,
it is asked, is it an act of loving?
JUSTICE AND FRAMEWORK
a. Social Justice – is equal access to
wealth, opportunities and privileges
within society. Hence, promotion of
social justice is equivalent to
promotion of the common good.
JUSTICE AND FRAMEWORK
a. In ordinary political discourse, the
“common good” refers to those
facilities – whether material, cultural or
institutional – that the members of the
community provide to all members.
JUSTICE AND FRAMEWORK
b. Justice as the minimum demand of
love – to do justice is already an act of
love, the minimum demand of love.
Which means that love is more, gives
more than what is just.
JUSTICE AND FRAMEWORK
b. Mathematically, if love is 100% of
being for others. Then justice may just
be only 10%.
JUSTICE AND FRAMEWORK
c. Distributive Justice – justice that is
concerned with the distribution of
allotment of goods, duties and
privileges for the best interests of
society.
FEATURES OF DISTRIBUTIVE JUSTICE
a. Egalitarianism – doctrine of political
and social equality. “No person shall be
deprived of life, liberty, or property
without due process of law; nor shall
any person be denied the equal
protection of the law.”
FEATURES OF DISTRIBUTIVE JUSTICE
b. Capitalist and free-market systems –
let the law of demand and supply
follow its course.
FEATURES OF DISTRIBUTIVE JUSTICE
c. Socialists – follow the rule, “from each
according to his ability, to each according
to his needs”. This requires collective
ownership of the means of production,
distribution and exchange with the aim of
operating for use rather than profit.
FEATURES OF DISTRIBUTIVE JUSTICE
d. Taxation – is government’s getting a
part of what its people earn in order
to have money to spend for public
services, operating and maintaining
public places or properties, for people’s
use.
FEATURES OF DISTRIBUTIVE JUSTICE
e. Protection and preservation of
public welfare – the constitution gives
a government the right to take private
property for public use under the
doctrine of eminent domain.
FEATURES OF DISTRIBUTIVE JUSTICE
f. Property for Public use – the
government has a Constitution-
granted power to take private
property for public use with just
compensensation.