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CHAPTER I NORMS OF MORALITY

I. The Objective Norm of Morality

1. Definition of law in St. Thomas

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; ~ 1 According to st. Thoma~ Aquinas human law is an ordinan~ of reason fo~ common good promulgated by hem who has the care of the community. The word fa\l\! derived is =G1iJ;j ed from the latin word which means "to bind". law binds us to what good.:, What binds us to good is a rule that pertains to reason, not emotion or' selfishness. The effect of the law is to make men and society good. The 'law' makes us'

goo'd!\ ltairns at wha: is good for people '

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1 law is an ordinance, i.e. it induces an obligation .and is not merely a counsel, .

is an ordinance of reason because it must be based on the insights of reason into is good and valuable for the community. The mere will of a lawgive( is not rFFi.' ....... 1 reason for a valid la\\I. nor are emotions and sentiments. Laws can only be enacted the common good and not for the private good of a few citizens. Even if a Jaw solely a smaller group, Le. medical technologists, pharmacists, lawyers, nurses etc .• ' . purpose of the law must in the last analysis be the good of the whole comm'Uriity~':

Promulgation is the official publication of a law so that it comes to the knoWledge of the/','

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subjects. Promulgation is necessary for a law to become obligatory. A law becomes: '

enforceable, either from the moment of its promulgation or at some later datefixed by

theiegislator.· ". " .

2. The Ohject of Human Legislation

According to .he definition of human law, the direct object of the law is the common welfare

In particular, tour conditions are listed by moral theologians which must be fulfilled for some regl. lations to become a law. The content of the law must be morally permitted and must be just, possible and useful.

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1. The law can only command what is morally permitted, and it cannot

command what is intrinsically evil. '

2.. The law rn. ist be just. This includes the lawgiver not overstepping his jurisdiction,

3. The law must be physically and morally possible. The law is morally impossible ;1 it commands actions that are completely beyond the forces

and means of a person. .~

4. The law mus: be useful and of benefit for the common gooo,'A law loses its force as soon as it becomes useless or injurious to the community.

1. Kinds of Laws

There are three kinds of laws that make us good:

1. The Divine Law of God

2. The' Nature I Law of Human Beings

3. The Humar: Law of Society

1 ~. Divine Law

Divine Lav. is the eternal law of God. It is .divine wisdom that directs all our acts and movements in life. God's wisdom in His law makes us good and holy. Good men follow God's div. ne law and bad men disobey it: God's law is manifested in Holy Scriptures - in the commandments of the Old Testament and in the teaching of Jesus in the New Testament.

2. Natural Law

As human beings. em~rge from infanc~_ into a mat~re and res~onsible life (with the use of reason and Intelligence) they. begin to recogmze the requirements of doing good and avoicmq evil. Thus, good human reason reflects human awareness of the Divine Law. God's laws must prevail in our lives and this is what is called the Natural Law. Human reason must reflect God's law in conducting the affairs of human life. Natural law is sometimes called the Law of Morality or the Natural Moral Law. According to St. Augustine, the Divine Law is written in the heart of men and so he is a moral person. Thus, the husband who is faithful to his wife, students who do not cheat in their exams, medical technologists who submit accurate results are observers of the Natural Law which isa reflection of the law of God.

3. ' Human Law

Human Laws are community laws. These are the laws of our society, our government and our community. They are civil laws, international as well as national laws. Human law is a reflection of both Divine Law and Natural Law, Human Law is . derived from them anc' human Law applies Divine and Natural raws in special situations.

We cannot live without civil laws, but neither can we live with them unless they are good laws. Civil Law must be aimed at holiness, morality and the good of all the people.

4. The Notion of L:3w and Man's Response

Man's response to' God's will determines the morality of his actions and his entire way of life. If a .nan's response is faithful to his calling, his actions and way of life are morally good. But f he is unfaithful to his calling, his actions are morally bad. Man's response consists in recognition and promotion of the created value; in the faithful fulfillment of the task assigned to him in this world and in . obedience to tfi-e moral command. Man's resp »nse is one of wiliing obedience and responslbillty. The very core of moral decision is t!-,e spirit of obedience to God. It requires humble and docile attention to God's will ror this reason, man is not only called to obey the law but also to

take care of it responsi>ly_·. . . .

The role of iaw is not to record what is done, but to help in ,promoting improvement It is the task of law to pursue a reform of society and of conditions of fife in ail milieu, starting with the most deprived so that always and everywhere it may be possible to give every child coming into this world a welcome worthy of a person.

II. The Subjective Norm of Morality

1. On Consclence:

Notion and Orig.1 of Conscience:

Con~cience a~; a moral faculty manifests to man his moral obligation and impels him to fulfill it.' As a pactical moral judgment it tells man in a concrete situation what his moral obligation is; It is that faculty for making judgments in relation to the rightness or wrongness of one's conduct, i.e. in relation to practical moral truth. The elementary pround and nucleus 0': conscience is called "synteresis" by scholastic theology since the 12111 century. The most universal principle of synteresis is that the good must be done and evil must be avokred.

Moral conscier.ce opens man to the call of the voice of God. In this lies the entire mystery and the dignity of the mora! conscience, in being the place, the sacred place where God speaks to man. (Pope John Paul 11)

The center of the soul is the place where the voice of conscience lets itself be heard and the place for the free personal decision. (St. Edith Stein)

What is the role of conscience in man's moral development? To know God's law, to ponder it and translate it into life. (John Paul 11)

2. Conscience arid Moral Responsibility

The late Rev. Fr. Antonio Pinon presents three concerns of conscience.

First, it is only concerned with the moral aspect. not w.ith any other. Conscience asks whether I mayor may not eat steak on Ash Wednesday, not whether it is tender or . reasonably priced. Conscience does not bother per se, about the legal aspects.

Secondly, conricience is not concerned with morality in general, but with the morality of my behavior in the particular, in the here and now.

Thirdly, consclence has to do ... Ath my own behavior, never with that of others.

3. Types of Conscience:

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From the viewpoint of the relationship of conscience to objective truth, conscience may either be true or erroneous.

A true conscier.ce is one which indicates correctly the goodness or badness of

moral conduct. .

An erroneous conscience (sometimes called a false conscience) is one which falsely indicates that ~ good action is evil or an evil action is good.

A certain conrcience is one which dictates a course of action in clear terms without fear of error.

A doubtful conscience is one which leaves a person undecided as to the proper course of action.

A lax conscience considers a serious matter as something light; that serious sins are permissible. It finds excuses for grave misco~duct. Such pe?ple often begin by rationalizing minor faults until their conscience becomes dull and Incapable of proper

direction.

A scrupulous conscience.sees evil where there is none. Saint Francis de Sales points out that scrupulosity has its source in pride.

A tender or celicate conscience forms a correct judgment with ease even in matters which involves fine distinctions.

4. Formation of Conscience:

Following one's conscience in obedience to the law of God is not always an easy way. Nevertheless, it .nust be clearly stated that the path to true progress of the human person passes throi. jh the constant fidelity to his/her conscience maintained in uprightness and truth.

The training o. mind and will to be submissive to the moral law is called the

formation of conscience. This involves three processes (CCC), 1780)

1. Their perce otion of the principies of morality

2. Practical application in' the given circumstances

3. Judgment (f the concrete acts yet to be performed or already performed.

These processes affirm that conscience is a cognitive faculty which demands development in man. Normally, these developments take place with the acquisition of practical moral knowledge, occasioned by experience, . education and study. However, it appears that acquisition of knowledge of data and principles necessary for moral judgment is nor adequate. As Ashley and O'Rourke puts it: "Our decision is ethically good only if w:~ have good will that inclines us to follow our best information and ethical insight , even ;1 they are not rationally conclusive" This has implication in the formation of conscience; information is not enough; formation of both the intellectual and volitional faculties of man is necessary. The goal of this formative process is an

infor rr .ed and well-torn; ed conscience. .

Richard Gula correctly points out that forming one's conscience is not simply a matter of answering the question" What ought I to do?" Forming one's conscience should take into account not only the question qWhat sort of person am I?" but also "What sort of person o. :ght I to become?" What is the sort of person that God wants me to be? In other words, our whole moral outlook, the way we approach moral questions, cur whole moral charrctei is important. Clearly, properly form:ng one's conscience

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requires a certain deqree of self-knowledge - we must know what kind of person we are and how we would normally act in certain circumstances. Gula indicates four sources of what he calls "moral wisdom" which can help us in forming our conscience.

1. On the purely human level we look to our own experience, our own personal character. We look also at the experiences of family, friends, experts, people who know more than W~ do but who are honest and will not simply tell us what we want to hear

2." On the Christian level we have the help of Sacred Scripture, our faith, the example of virtuous Christians, people that is, who have really lived the gospel values. We also have the. work of theologians and Scripture scholars, who help us interpret God's word.

3. We belong to a Christian community that has traditions, stories, rituals, devotional practices that help to form our spiritual outlook and character. "The mature conscience" says (;;ula, "is formed and exercised in community iri dialogue with other sources of moral wisdom." Particularly we should note the importance of prayer, for prayer is essential if we are to form our consciences properly.

4. As Catholics we also have a rich tradition of moral discernment. More specifically, we believe that tho official teaching of the Church is there to help and guide us in matters which may have clear-cut moral answers. For us, the teaching magisterium headed by Christ's vicar the Pope, is a special and authoritative source of moral wisdom. We must Hive it our full and loyal attention. (Richard Gula. S., 1989)

Some References:

Catechism of tile Catholic Church, ECCE Work and Life Publications: Manila.

1994.

John Paul II, Pope. veritetis Splendor (The Splendor of Truth) Translation Boston: S: Paul Books Media, 1993.

Vatican

National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB), Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Series (EROs). Washington, O. C~ United States Catholic Conference, 1995.

Ashley, Benecict M .. O.P. O'Rourke, Kevin D.O.P Ethics of Health Care,

Department of Bioethics: Faculty ofMeditine and Surgery, University of Santo Tomas, 1986.

Gula, Richard M. SS. Reason Informed by Faith. Paulist Press, 1989.

Article:

. Three Kinds of Law. "Mustard Seed" Josph Galdon, S.J. Philippine Daily

Inquirer, Sunday Litestyle, Sunday. September 13, 1998.

Chapter II

FUNDAMENTALS OF ETHICS

1. The Science 0: Ethics

1. Meaning and Importance of Ethics

Ethics comes tram the Greek ethos which means "habit" or "custom", It is also called morals,from the Latin "mos" (pluraf.mores) which means "custom- or "norms" in the sense of natural ir -;Iination to act with an intention, i.e, with a direction to an end.

Ethics is the science which guides our judgment concerning the morality or human acts. Medic31 Ethics (which includes all para-medical fields like Medical Tecilf,ology) is the pa Ucular aspect of Ethics wh:ch guides our judgment. concerning the goodness or badness. of human acts in the medical profession Correctly understood, medical ethics deals '.'lith moral conduct and is concerned with moral principles Ethics studies human actions both in their inner order and in their order to the end of man, or in other words how mar should live in order to attain his end. Human actions are. the material object of ethics in so far as they are ordained to the end of man.

2. Ways c t bescribing the Science of Ethics

1. Ethics is a practical science because it presents truths that are to be acted upon .. It presents data which directly imply and indicate directions for human conduct.

2. Ethics is a moral science because it deals with the deliberate free acts of man which are either in agreement or disagreement with the dictates of reason.

3. f=thics is a phi lose phica! science because it arrives at its conclusions by the use of human mason, w!~ich is philosophy's only tool. This means that Ethics is a natural science.

3. Meaninq and Importance of Morality

The term "morality" is used as a general term for moral judgments, standards and rules of conduct. These Include not only the actual judgments, standards and rules to be found in the morel codes or codes of ethics of existing professions (ex. Med. Tech. society) or societies but also what may be called ideal judgments, standards and rules which can be justitied on rational grounds. WhEther actual or ideal, morality has to do with right or wrong cor duct and also with good or bad character.

. The derivation of the word "morality". as a comprehensive term for the human

good,. from mores anc customs, reflects a historical reflection in which a uniform social milieu was uruversally recognized as setting the standard. A person who' allowed himselflherself to be g;Jided by prevailing custom was moral. It may reflect the more-or less well-founded co t, fidence that tradition and society are the best guides' to the knowledqe of the go :·,d. Regard for p,revailing customs can gradually become an expreasion of responsi.iitity for the comrnuruty if the concept for morality and the way it is

experienced are broacmcd and deepened. (Kd'J Rahner, editor 1989) .

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. .' ~ Some important cons. :lerations follow from the above.

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1. Morality has tc do with who and what we are as human beings and with our legiti~ate development as persons. It applies to all human persons Whether _ they are religiclus or not

2. Authority does . not create morality. The church or government or anyone else in authority ca: ,not arbitrarily declare something to be immoral. Whatever it is must be immo:al (i. e. inflicts unjustified evil of itself) in itself before it can (or should) be so declared. An example may help us understand this. The major arqurnent aqainst abortion is not that the Church forbids it. Rather, it is the other way around -the church forbids it because it is wrong, that is, because it inflicts unju~;tified ontic evil. And so, I am against abortion, not primarily because I am a Catholic but primarily because I am a member of the human race.

3. Immoral and iUagal are not the same thing.

We note for example, and with sadness, that in some countries abortion is legal,

but it is certalrry immoral. .

The condition of moral maturity is the condition in which an individual has the capacity to be open--minded about his moral beliefs, defending them by reasoned argument when they sre challenged and giving them up when they are shown to be false or unjustified. This is the ultimate goal of ethical thinking: to help a person to be his true -

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Since right reason and sincere conscience are meant to exist in every human being, an ethics of right reason offers the wisest possible range of acceptance. It is this system of normativ€: ethics based on right reason, whose main concepts will be explained in the chapters that will follow that will serve as basis for the M-edical Technology ethics thai: we herewith present.

4. What ar~ these truths which right reason can discover?

1. GOCi exists.

2. Gal; is just. -

3. Mar i has a soul that is immortal. Man's soul has the faculties of

inte.iect and will.

4. ThE' object of the intellect is truth. ---

5. ThE; object of the will is goodness.

6. Ma: 's will is free and is therefore capable of moral gcod or moral

evil

7. Goc,j must be done, evil must be avoided.

8. An »ct is good when it is in conformity with right reason.

9. An .:.ct is evil when it is not in conformity with right reason.

5. The Hu-nan Act

5.1.. JI,.-~aning of Human Acts and Acts of Man

Human acts c .nsist of our thoughts, words deeds/gestures, acts of omission whici"! proceed from tl.e detiberate free will of man. They are knowing and free acts.

They are acts proper to man as man, as a rational being. Man is responsible for his hurnan acts.

Quite different from human acts are acts of man. An act of man is one that is

not dependent upon intellect and will. They are merely bodily or biological acts that happen in the body or through the body. Man is not responsible for acts of man.

Wh~t makes t'ie act moral subjectively is the person (the sLibject) who performs the human act. The person who is responsible for his act, a makes the act moral as he is free and "master of his act": that is, theaet must be deliberate or willful. Freedom then, is the subjective function of morality.

5.2. A human act possesses three essential qualities:

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1. Knowledge is deliberation. It meanst advertence, ~aving awareness. and consciousness . The use of reason gives us our capacity to think, to put things together in OUi' minds, draw conclusions, gather data organize them. draw further conclusions etc. the object of the intellect, which enables one to gain knowledge is truth. It is tn: intellect that enlightens the will to make decisions and choices.

Knowledqe can be classified as a) speculative knowledge also known as knowledge of science or intellectual knowledge. This kind is fact-oriented, objective and 1 ndependent. b) evaluative knowledge - is required for a genuinely human act; it ; s knowledge of art and has to do with quality rather than quantity and is persona!

1. Freedc m

st. Themas defines moral acts as "the human acts of which man is the master" i.e. tt..~ deliberate human acts of the will or endowed with willfulness. Freedom is nc : the liberty to do anything whatsoever. It is the freedom to do good, and in f 'lis alone happiness is to be found. The good is thus the goai of freedom. In c snscquence man can become free to the extent that he comes to knowledge of ~h~ truth, and to the extent that the truth, not any other forces guides his will.

3. Voluntariness

A volu itary act is a deliberate action of man's free will, done with knowiedge and advertence. To be perfectly and specifically voluntary, the act must be an a: t which the will accepts freely, with antecedent knowledge of its moral object, n .otive, and circumstances and with accompanying advertence.

6. Determm .mts of :1 Voluntary Act

5. '!. j\i ;("a; Object

. '.. Th~ mar J object is ~that to which the will immediately and primarily directs Itself It. IS the pnrnary deter • .-:inant; identifies the act and gives it a name. It is the determinant towards t' ';ich til~ action is addressed. The object specfies or defines the kind of a.:ti'!ity to ce d. Tie: ~i::.!:10 to church, studyir.g one's tessonc, collecting specimens

from patients, etc. The object then is the first specifying element of the action. It is called the end of the action, finis operis to distinguish it from the end of the agent or finis operantis, which refersto the purpose or the intention of the agent. The .agent cannot change the nature of the action. A doctor who removes the uterus of a woman Can be

. more or less skillful. and he may have his own intentions, but it remains nevertheless a hysterectomy.

There are obiects that are intrinsically good and others that are intrinsically evil.

An act of prayer is an example of an intrinsically good action. On the other hand. the direct killing of an innocent person is a case of an intrinsically evil action.

However, actions which are intrinsically good or evil are few. The great number of moral actions tends towards objects which by themselves are indifferent (neither good nor evil). Hence the need to look at other sources or determinants of morality. namely the intention or end of the agent, and to a lesser degree, the circumstance surrounding the performance of the action.

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6.2 The End ofthe Agent (finis operantis)

Strictly speaking, ttiere is no moral act if the mind and the will are not involved.

The role of the mind in the human act is to discover or perceive the aspect of goodness of the object of the action; to this role of the mind follows the part played by the will desiring to acquire or possess that aspect of goodness. This is what is called the intention or the firm resolve of the will to obtain an end or an object which is perceived as . good. This is also called -the end of the agent (in Latin, finis operantis). The intention or . purpose of the agent is a commitment whereby the person decides on the goodness or

. badness of a particular object. Through that commitment the person accepts the moral responsibility of whatever follows from his action. Thus in the order of intention, or at the

. planning stage of the .action, it is the purpose of the agent that decides. Some ethicists also describe the end of the agent as the principal determinant of morality because both the object of the act and circumstances surrounding the action are only means to achieve the end of the agent. It is also described as the "sout of the act" because it is the origin of the whole act.

6.3. The Circumstances

The circumstances of an action are particular details of the same which are not directly related to the action itself. Following the classical list they are: who, what, where, with what. wh~'. how and when. Except for the circumstance of who, which at times may refer to an important aspect of the agent, or the why, which may be identified with the intention of tha agent, the others are of much less important. If an abortion is committed whether it is done in this or that provincial hospital may not be significantly important. It is significantly important 'however if it is done at the UST hospitat'by reason of what this hospital'neans in terms of the practice of Catholic medicine and of the scandal and bad exarr pte it may be giving.

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Thus, the circt.mstances can vary, without modifying the object and morality of

~eact. .

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