Franz Raphael Chavez MWF 12:25-1:25 PHILO 107

In The theory of Natural Law, it is said that it refers to the moral rules and principles as a general view to
universal truths. Most religion can relate to this theory because it has tradition and it was formulated by none other
than Saint Thomas Aquinas. The book says that to know the demands of morality we should look into the nature of
humans and know what it begs of us. The moral law, according to what the traditions have said is that it is not
found on some esoteric realm but rather relies on what can be know from a reflective investigation and deep scrutiny
of human nature by our mental faculties. Even so it is treated like that the tradition based on is accessible to human
reason as reason itself is what determines what people ought to do and will not do. The universality of reason applies
to every human being not just to ourselves and other cultural differences maybe encountered. The Natural Law
refers to the laws that are made by the nature or life. It is thus gives us the to discover what is right or wrong for us.
The stoics interpretation of natural law, the Aristotelian influence and there is also the basic and universal natural
human inclinations on which our reasons are based upon. The principles of natural law are a lot. From the principle
of double effect, principle of inviolability of life, principle of forfeiture, principle of totality, principle stewardship,
principle justified rebellion or revolution all of this are talked about and given examples on which it dwells more to
provide a better comprehension with this principle in connection to the natural law theory. Natural law is presented
the morality
Ethical Relativism is defined as something that refers to a doctrine or view that ethical values and beliefs
are relative to the time place, persons, situations and societies that hold them. It goes beyond the cultural boundaries
and it transcends other cultures and people that are not relative to the specific place or context which they are held.
The thing with ethical relativism is that it gives a challenge to the very foundation of morality which is the bases of
human reasoning. There are arguments for ethical relativism that includes. There are also cases that are cited like the
Gang rape in form of tribal revenge, the premarital sex issue, the virgin seminarian, divorce text message, female
genital mutilation, Divorce, an eye for an eye justice lastly the UN declaration of universal human rights. Ethicality
is about
There are sources of knowledge of divine command theory. Also it tackles the issues of suicide bombers,
death for converting to Christianity. In the some websites it states that this is a meta-ethical theory which proposes
that an action's status as morally good is equivalent to whether it is commanded by God. The theory asserts that what
is moral is determined by what God commands, and that to be moral is to follow his commands. Followers of both
monotheistic and polytheistic religions in ancient and modern times have often accepted the importance of God's
commands in establishing morality. Numerous variants of the theory have been presented. There are a lot of people
who have started to work on this. Divine command theory features in the ethics of many modern religions,
including Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, as well as being a part of numerous older polytheistic
religions. In ancient Athens, it was commonly held that moral truth was tied directly to divine commands, and
religious piety was almost equivalent to morality. Although Christianity does not entail divine command theory, it is
commonly associated with it. It can be a plausible theory to Christians because the traditional conception of God as
the creator of the universe supports the idea that he created moral truths. The Divine Command Theory of Morality
says, roughly, Given that God exists, an act is good only because God commands it. There are criticisms of the
divine command theory. First is the oldest objection to the divine command theory comes from the ancient Greek
philosophers Plato. In one of his works that would later become famous called the Euthyphro, Plato ask if it is
something right because God commands it or it is right that is why is commanding it. The reason for objection here
is the very reason why God commands something as right. It would show that the goodness is not dependent on God
but rather it is the other way around us
Proponents of utilitarianism have been split about whether individual acts should conform to utility or
whether agents should conform to ethical rules. For me, utilitarianism isnt what I want. It is something that ignores
what makes us human which is compassion. It does give a heavy influence to consequence thus they say as ignoring
the suffering. According to the greatest happiness principle...the ultimate end, with reference to and for the sake of
which all other things are desirable whether we are considering our own good or that of other people- is an
existence exempt as far as possible from pain, and as rich as possible in enjoyments, both in point of quantity and
quality: the test of quality and the rule for measuring it against quantity being the preference felt by those who, in
their opportunities of experience, to which must be added their habits of self-consciousness and self-observation, are
best furnished with means of comparison. This being according to the utilitarian opinion the end of human action
Morals utility or the greatest happiest principle holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote
happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. By happiness is intended pleasure and the
absence of pain, by unhappiness, pain and the privation of pleasure . Utilitarianism is mainly characterized by two
elements: happiness and consequentialism. Utilitarian happiness is the biggest happiness which every human being
looks for. In utilitarianism everything useful to happiness is good. Therefore, the name of the doctrine is
utilitarianism, based on the principle of utility. Utility is found in everything which contributes to the happiness of
every rational being. The criterion of good and evil is balanced between individual's happiness and the happiness of
the community, "each counting in an equal way and that given utilitarianism save us from the happiness and we are
able to be the best of us
The Deontological and Ethical theory can be traced back to the beginnings of early human civilization
when chief or the king is a word that was given unconditionally and without any further question or objection. Once
orders or commands are being given and it is handed out from above the people are expected to follow
unconditionally. In contemporary ethics, the question is sometimes posed whether the right precedes the good, or
whether it is the other way around. In the quotation above Kant answered the question in the first way. A type of
ethical theory explicitly putting the good before the right is known as consequentialism. Here, actions are judged to
be right, or duties, based on their bringing about the most favorable consequences, as defined by the theory. A wellknown type of consequentialism is classical utilitarianism, which was initiated by Bentham and developed in the
19th-century by John Stuart Mill. This theory defined the most favorable consequences the highest
moral end as overall happiness. Based on this definition of the good, right actions or policies were defined as
those bringing about maximum happiness. To achieve ethical ends to their highest degree of fulfillment. Priority
of the right over the good. Regarding the achievement of the ethical ends of imperfect duties there is another, major
difference between Kantian ethics and consequentialisms like Wolffs or classical utilitarianism. Deontological
Ethical theory is really all about religion it gives us a glimpse on how things would work given a God that directs us

to do or what not to do. This is what it is all about. The philosophers are given a chance to explore and mostly give
their opinions without contradiction from all. The deontological and ethical theory can be traced back way before
the start of everything as it goes through God. In the time of Adam and eve. It says in the book that Immanuel Kant
says that actions are judged to be right or wrong and the duties based on bringing the most favorable consequences
was defined by a theory it is what they believe in.
The First law of Natural Law talks about the moral rules that
govern men and the principles that make us human. These laws are made to make us learn and become better. The
things that made us better is because of this principle as it offers guidance for us. The natural law states that moral
values are what gives us the nature of being human as moral values shows us that we should follow our morality on
which our life is based upon. Ethical relativism is given also a doctrine that are a set of values or beliefs that
encompasses boundaries of cultural boundaries. The thing with ethical relativism is that it gives a challenge to the
very foundation of morality which is the bases of human reasoning. There are arguments for ethical relativism that
includes the things that we dont want. A type of ethical theory explicitly putting the good before the right is known
as consequentialism. Here, actions are judged to be right, or duties, based on their bringing about the most favorable
consequences, as defined by the theory The Divine Command Theory of Morality says, roughly, Given that God
exists, an act is good only because God commands it. There are criticisms of the divine command theory. First is the
oldest objection to the divine command theory comes from the ancient Greek philosophers Plato. The principles of
natural law are a lot. From the principle of double effect, principle of inviolability of life, principle of forfeiture,
principle of totality. Utilitarianism is mainly characterized by two elements: happiness and consequentialism.
Utilitarian happiness is the biggest happiness which every human being looks for. In utilitarianism everything useful
to happiness is good. Therefore, the name of the doctrine is utilitarianism, based on the principle of utility. the very
foundation of morality which is the bases of human reasoning
I realize that all these theories make us human. Without proper guidance, we will all be lost in our own
scramble for gratification. It is an undisputed fact that we will all die someday. One day, we all be just a husk of our
former selves buried in the dirt and a bunch of memories eventually forgotten through the passage of time, but if we
devote ourselves to exceed the expectations expected of an ordinary man, if we rid ourselves of the notion that we
are limited by our physical characteristics as a man, then we could all achieve something greater and be so much
more. I believe that most people are sheeps, they tend to follow only their flock leader, and in our case as humans,
we all tend to follow the norms dictated by society. I believe that if directed to the right course we could all be good.
We could make this world a better place to live in not just for ourselves but for the ones that we love. In this world,
we are all given free will on what to believe in. We are given the chance to try out anything that fits our lifestyle. I
believe in no theories but only to what the bible says. It is what I believe in and will continue to believe in. For me, I
am given a choice to what path I will choose and I pick Gods way or the Christian way. I believe that goodness is
what we need to make this work. It is what would make us better people. To be human, I realize that what separates
us from the bad people is compassion. That is why it is what I find the most important as it gives us our humanity. It
gives us the decision or conscience to do the good rather than the bad. The things that we didnt say would. I realize
in this chapter that there are people who value the consequence more than the morality that is being imposed by the
people. The act whether good or bad wont define you as long that the consequence is yours to face. the
consequences of any action are the only standard of right and wrong. his view can be contrasted or combined
with virtue ethics which holds virtue as a moral good. Some believe that one's intentions are also ethically important.
Utilitarianism ignores justice while others contend that utilitarianism is impractical. Deeming this as impractical is
what most people think. It is because that it ignores the norms of right and wrong of the society. The morality is
being left out as just to waiting for what will be the outcome. The consequence plays a large role in this. This is
something that most people without moral judgement are. The best moral action that could give maximum utility. As
utility is defined to not only quantity but to quality of pleasure. In this life I really value how other people see me for
what I did good and not for what I did wrong. I want to live my life not based on the consequences but based on the
good things that would also be likely to be done to be. As utilitarianism ignores justice which turns compassion to
nothing as I believed that compassion is what separates us from them. Memories can be vile but we cant live
without them. Memories are what our reason are based upon. If we cant face them then we deny reason itself but
we arent contractually tied down to rationality. When we find ourselves locked onto an unpleasant train of thought,
heading to the places where in our past sadness is unbearable. We can always step outside and close the door on all
those dreadful things that happened. We can lock them away forever. You think it all breaks down into symbolism
and structures and hints and clues. Everything is all about knowing but actually it isnt. Thats just Wikipedia. To
figure out a person is hard it isnt like some rabbit hole we could just follow down to understanding. It is something
more that we should experience in order to know. All men have limits, they learn what they are and learn not to
exceed them while for me I ignore mine. It is to become a better person. For me I believe that I can be a better
person based on my own thoughts and guidance. Given that we want to become something to being more than a
man. Being a more hands on person. People need dramatic examples to shake them out of apathy and we cant do
that as normal people. As a man of flesh and blood we can be ignored or be destroyed but as a symbol we can be
incorruptible we can be everlasting. What most people really fear is inside of ourselves the fear of our own power.
We fear our anger and the drive to do great or terrible things. This world is something that well never understand
and we always fear what we dont understand. People tell us that there is nothing out there. Nothing to fear but the
night we experience something life changing we are going to get a glimpse of something. Weve looked for it ever
since. We will travel the world, searching all of its shadows and know that there is something out there in the
darkness something terrifying, something that will not stop until it gets what it wants. Compassion is a weakness
that other people will not share thats why it is so important it separates us from them. If we are bought to a life of
uncertainness we would lose many assumptions about the simple nature of right and wrong and when we travel
around the world we will learn the fear before doing something bad and the thrill of success but we will never be
like that. taking small steps, in whatever ways that are possible, with the goal of eventually reaching change on a
scale thats greater than the sum of its parts. In the end we are the choices that we make. What actions we do, what
paths we take we will always be responsible for where our lives will go through. We give meaning to our lives and
living in this world we are all entailed to live in happiness because we are given our free choice on to what to
believe in. As everything in this world will lead us to things that we dont really understand and most people fear
what they dont understand. Sometimes people say that madness makes us who we are and it was from the Joker in
the comic book Batman Arkham Asylum he relates to us that we are all just people that one bad day could change
us. A traumatic happening in our life will dictate how it will change our lives forever. Given that theory we are all

alike and that most people have what he called a super sanity. It is something that goes beyond normal. It is an
understanding that you know being sane sometimes makes you feel trapped within your own decisions. We are given
the free will in this world and that by human nature we should do good. We of all people should know that there is
not much wrong with ourselves. I love my life right now, the God that I love is always protecting me and there will
always be him standing right by my side. In this life or the next, I am genuinely happy for everything and with
everything going on, we can always count on ourselves and I can always everyday that this is the best day of my
life.