ETHICS FINAL NOTES

Obligation is Understood as "Man as an End in Himself/Herself," Autonomous, and

Universalizable
Obligation is a must, a ‘’categorical imperative’’ or a duty that is defined by reason as
doable for man’s violation and. Therefore, should be carried out by the human person.
‘’Man as an end in himself/herself’’ means the obligation cannot be passed on to others.
‘’The buck stops here’’, that is, the human person is himself the center of action and
responsibility in a given ethical situation.
Kantian Ethics and Religion
Reason as foundation, good will as the source and duty as a motivation
Kant’s definitive recognition of true religion ‘’religion is not true to itself’’. Religion is the
reconciliation of ethics and hope, the task of fulfilling one’s duty and the gift of happiness
that once cannot gain by one’s effort alone.
CHAPTER IV Utilitarianism: John Stuart Mill
Utilitarianism is a moral theory.
Good decisions are judged as good if they are brought about by good and just motives
and result in good consequences
Bad decisions are considered bad if they are motivated by anything most of the society
deems as malicious such as selfishness, spite or envy, and if they have destructive
consequences.
Bentham’s Felicific/Hedonistic Calculus is a method to balance the pros and cons of
a proposed course of action in relation to the balance of pleasures and pains it potentially
produces. These are some guide questions to measure it.
1. Intensity. How strong is the pleasure?
2. Duration. How does the pleasure last?
3. Certainty or Uncertainty. How likely or unlikely that the pleasure will occur?
4. Propinquity or remoteness. How soon does the pleasure occur?
5. Fecundity. What is the probability that the action is followed by sensations of
the same kind?
6. Purity. What is the probability that is not follow by sensations of the opposite
kind?
7. Extent. How many people are affected?
The Greatest Happiness Principle
John Stuart Mill defined happiness as the pleasure and the absence of pain, while
unhappiness is pain or the absence of pleasure.
Principle of Utility or the Greatest Happiness Principle is the supreme measure of
morality.
One of the most objections to such a doctrine is that it seems to degrade the nature of
human person by reducing morality to a pleasure-driven activity. This doctrine is suited
to Ancient Greek Philosopher Epicurus. Epicurus believed happiness corresponds to
ataraxia (peace and freedom from fear) and aponia (absence of pain).
Mill’s famous quote ‘’It is better be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better
to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied.’’
Pleasure of the mind are considered higher than the pleasure of the flesh.

OBJECTIONS
A. To the objection that happiness is unattainable (poverty)
Another reason why some experience difficulties in being happy is lack of mental
cultivation.
Happiness is attainable if one understands it realistically and lives one’s life in
solidarity with others and cultivates one’s deeper capacity to enjoy that which
endures in the transitory.
B. To the objection that Utilitarian morality is incompatible with self-sacrifice
In the case of self-sacrifice, it is morally acceptable so long as it is done for the
sake of the good of the greatest number. But if self-sacrifice is merely done for its
own sake, then utilitarianism is a waste.
C. To the objection that social concern is a rare motive for action
For Mill, distinction must be made between the motives and the consequences of
one’s actions with respect to which of the two (low and high pleasure) is the basis
for judging an act to be.
One cannot fault someone for having a small sphere of influence for this does not
curtail her capacity to still put the welfare of others (no matter how few) over
his/hers.