Ethics

Paul Tillich or Paul Johannes Tillich (1886 - 1965)

"Doubt, is not the opposite of faith, it is an element of faith." "There is no place to which we could flee from God, which is outside of God."

Eudaimonia as the Highest Good

"Every art or applied science and every systematic investigation, and similarly every action and choice, seem to aim at some good; the good, therefore, has been well defined as that which all things aim for"

Heraclitus

"Everything changes and nothing remains still ... and ... you cannot step twice into the same stream" "Ever-newer waters flow on those who step into the same rivers." "This world, which is the same for all, no one of gods or men has made. But it always was and will be: an ever-living fire..." "Everything is in flux..." "Change alone is unchanging."

St. Thomas Aquinas (A.D. 1224/5 - 1274)

"How is it they live in such harmony, these billion of stars, when most men can barely go a minute without declaring war in their minds? "Sorrow can be alleviated by good sleep, a bath, and a glass of wine." "To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible." "Three things are necessary for the salvation of man: to know what he ought to believe; to know what he ought to desire; and to know what he ought to do."

Ludwig Feuerbach (1804 - 1872)

"It is not as in the Bible, that God created man in his own image. But, on the contrary, man created God in his own image." - Ludwig Feuerbach

Soren Kierkegaard (b. 1813, d. 1855)

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." "The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays." "The most common form of despair is not being who you are."

Jean-Paul Sartre

"Man is condemned to be free: condemned, because he did not create himself, yet nonetheless free, because once cast into the world, he is responsible for everything he does." -Sartre, Existentialism is a Humanism, p.29 "Man is nothing else but that which he makes of himself." Hence, he has no one blame for what he is except himself. "man first of all exists, encounters himself, surges up in the world - and defines himself afterwards."

Karl Marx (1818 - 1883)

"Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people."

Albert Camus

"The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy." "You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life." "There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide. Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the fundamental question of philosophy."

moral law

"directs free beings to act toward their ends by imposing obligation on the free will."

excellence

"excellence" is oftentimes translated as "virtue".

virtue

"trained behavioral dispositions that result in habitual acts of moral goodness

cognitive aspect

(also known as the rational faculty or the intellect) may lead the human person towards excellence or virtue. This faculty enables man to know, understand and apprehend the nature of the good. Human actions done in accordance with the rational faculty are done voluntarily, i.e., exercised according to reasoned account of what a person think is good. As such, it can be considered as a product of a person's own free judgment.

Plato

(born 428/427 bce, Athens, Greece—died 348/347, Athens), ancient Greek philosopher, student of Socrates

Prostaglandin method

- the use of amniotic fluid with a saline solution that forces a premature delivery.

beings

A being can be defined as anything that exists. A being may have a physical (corporeal) existence (chair, table, book, human beings, dogs, etc.) or it can have a metaphysical (beyond physical) existence (truth, love, justice, freedom, God). For Aristotle, any being have four causes.

formal cause

A being is unique precisely because of its materiality. It is for this reason that you can easily distinguish a dog from a cat because of its unique physical features. The distinguishing feature of being (the "form" or "shape") is the formal cause. Going back to the example, the formal cause of a house is its blueprint or the "idea or "design" as conceived by the carpenter or architect before its construction. When referring to the formal cause, a carpenter or architect will ask "what will be the design of the house?" The "design" which is in the mind of the carpenter will serve as his guide when he starts building the house.

efficient cause.

A house will not exist, unless it is created or constructed by a carpenter. The agent that brings into existence another being (from wood to house) is the efficient cause. Hence, the efficient cause of a house is the carpenter or construction worker.

A law is for the common good

A law is for the common good

Humanitarian Abortion

A rape victim who gets pregnant carries the mental and psychological stigma and reminder of the crime.

Aristotle introduces two important concepts: potency and act

A tree or wood can have a variety of potentialities: it can become a house, a chair, a boat, etc. But, for this to be actualized, it needs the act of the efficient cause, the carpenter or the boat-maker. In the same way, human beings, by their very nature as rational creatures are naturally good but they need to continually perform good actions (virtues) in order to actualize their inherent goodness.

politics

Aristotle believes that the highest good "rightly belongs to the most sovereign and most comprehensive master of science

material cause

Aristotle refers to the physical characteristic of being When referring to material cause, you can ask the question "what is it made of?" For example, the material cause of a house is wood, cement, sand, gravel, etc.

ordinance

As an ordinance, a law must be distinguished from mere opinion or piece of advice to make things easier or to get things organized. A law is morally and legally binding, which means, it is a command made by a superior that must be followed by its subordinates.

"che shueh."

Che (zhe) means "wisdom," and shueh (xue) means "study." Philosophy, therefore, is a "study of wisdom". For the Chinese, as well as for the Greeks, philosophy is always geared towards action (Fromm, 1990, 27). The emblem for the Chinese character "zhe" is symbolized by a human mouth and a human hand, which could mean the translation of words into actions. (Fromm, 1990, 51).

Psychosocial Abortion

Due to economic reasons, the pregnant woman is ostracized by family and society to opt for abortion

Eternal Law

Eternal law expresses the necessary relation of the Creator to His creation. St. Augustine defined it as "that law by which it is just that all things be most perfectly in order" (De Libero Arbitrio, bk., I, ch. 6) and "the divine reason or the will of God commanding that the natural order of things be preserved and forbidding that it be disturbed" (Contra Faustum Manichaeum, bk. XXII, ch. 27). Following the insights of St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas defines eternal law as "the exemplar of divine wisdom, as directing all actions and movement" (Summa Theologica, I-II, q. 18, a. 9).

moral challenges

Ethical Egoism Ethical Absolutism Moral Relativism

Ethics: Its Relation to the Other Branches of Philosophy

Ethics is one of the most significant discipline or branches of Philosophy, in fact, a major branch of Philosophy. It is an indispensable aspect of human reality, in fact, it is the backbone of human existence.

education

For Aristotle, education plays an important role in the development of the moral agent: how can education form the human person to become good individuals? Here, it is presupposed that the more one knows, the better he/she is able to do that which is right. Morality is seemingly bound up with knowledge. For Aristotle, knowledge of the good must therefore be taught.

Immanuel Kant (1724 - 1804)

His greatest achievement was the articulation of the categorical imperative. It holds that each person should treat others the way that person would want to be treated him or herself and to act always as if your behavior would become the moral law which all moral persons must follow. "Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never merely as a means to an end, but always at the same time as an end." "All knowledge begins with the senses, proceeds then to understanding, and ends with reason. There is nothing higher than reason."

Epicurus

His philosophy conveyed the ultimate conviction that individuals can live in serene happiness, fortified by the continual experience of modest pleasures. He is also known as "the garden philosopher." How to live the good life? The Pleasure Principle - is often misunderstood as hedonism and mistakenly associated with this phrase: "let us relax, eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die," a phrase which was erroneously attributed to Epicurus.

Thomas Hobbes (1588 - 1679)

Hobbes had a negative view of human nature. The human condition in the state of nature was "nasty, brutish, cruel, and short." There was no peace and security in the state of nature. Even the strong were not secure because even the "weakest" can kill "the strongest" unexpectedly and while they are sleeping. Since everything is permitted (total license or liberty to take and do what one wants), everyone lives in anarchy and fear. 4 But humans are rational and can understand the realities of the state of nature. Through a social contract, they can form government to provide security. Hobbes believes that all natural rights are surrendered to the government which is absolute. Even the most oppressive government is to be preferred over the state of nature.

Nathaniel Gonzales

If this one appeared, remember that: 1. You'll surpass this one. 2. I believe in you. 3. I love you so much. Have a good day reviewing these terms. If you need anything that i can give, just let me know. as long as that would make you happy and feel light. I love you so much love!

Induced Abortion

Induced Abortion

Contractarian Ethics

It is the kind of ethics that is theoretically based from the political concept known as the social contract theory. A social contract is either an imaginary or presumed agreement between the government as represented by a ruler or leader and the ruled subjects of ordinary citizens. A contractarian ethics can be considered as a social ethics as it placed the welfare of the society or a community at the top priority, more than the individual welfare. As such, it is altruistic. It may sound like Utilitarianism as it puts value on the "greatest number" of beneficiaries or recipients, but it is not necessarily teleological. The contractarian ethics can also be deontological depending on the advantage it gives to the whole community. For instance, a person may sacrifice her own self-interest in the name of duty and obligation for the advantage of the majority, to the benefit of each member of her community, such as, a soldier for the nation. In short, it is on the common good where the emphasis is placed. The theory of justice as fairness based from the "original position" by John Rawls could fall under this category.

Teleological Ethics.

It is the kind of ethics that puts much emphasis and weight on the result, outcome, or the consequence of an action. The word "teleological" is a combination of two Greek terms, "telos" and "logos." Telos could mean "end," "aim," or "purpose," while logos could mean "science" or "the study of." This does not mean that the moral agent does not have a good view as regards the result or outcome of her actions, as if only a matter of a blind chance. Instead, the moral agent must have a clear picture already in mind as regards the outcome or consequence of her actions. Prior to the doing of a certain action, the doer must have already calculated the possible intended results of her action. The utilitarian ethics of John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham could fall under this category, as well as the moral theology of St. Thomas Aquinas.

Deontological Ethics

It is the kind of ethics that puts much emphasis on the concept of duty or obligation. The word "deontological" is a combination of two Greek terms, "deon" and "logos." Deon could mean "duty" or "obligation," while logos could mean "science," "inquiry" or "the study of." Having placed the emphasis on duty and obligation, deontological ethics puts much weight on the action itself regardless of its outcome or result. It is one's duty and obligation to be morally upright at all time, without consideration on the consequence of such act. "White lies" does not qualify for a moral act under deontological morality, lying will always be wrong at any time and for whatever reason. Kantian morality falls under this category.

Virtue Ethics

It is the kind of ethics that puts much emphasis on the moral character of the moral agent regardless of what she has done. The word "virtue" is derived from the Roman term "ver," which means "an act which is fitting to man." A virtuous individual is one whose character is always inclined to do what is good. It is therefore a matter of habit that a virtuous man will always choose to do what is good and right. Aristotle's idea of "virtue of the mean" could fall under this category.

Moral Relativism

It is the view which claims that moral standards are relative or dependent upon one's own culture, society, tradition, upbringing, practices, historical periods, and personal preferences. A moral relativist may claim that what is good for one culture may be bad for another in a different place, culture and time. And hence, since moral standards are relative, it is also subjectively dependent on the person who is speaking. Under moral relativism, moral judgements may vary from one person to another person in varying circumstances (Stewart, et.al., 2013, 252).

Ethical Egoism

It is the view which claims that the sole basis of moral judgement should be the individual moral agent's own personal self-interest. An ethical egoist will only consider the welfare of others only if it is also at the best of his own personal interest. In short, an ethical egoist is selfish and self-centered. An ethical egoist, therefore, is not concerned or interested about the outcome or the consequence of his action, nor is he concerned about his duty and obligation toward God and others. He is ultimately concerned about nothing else but his own welfare.

Ethical Absolutism

It is the view which claims that the sole criteria of moral judgement should be the standard norms of morality which are universal and absolute, regardless of the underlying circumstantial justifications of an individual action. An ethical absolutist will strongly adhere to the standard norms without consideration of the surrounding circumstances. In short, he will strictly and rigidly follow the standard norms which he thinks are absolute and applicable to all situations all the time.

Socrates

Know thyself Plato employs the maxim 'Know Thyself' extensively by having the character of Socrates use it to motivate his dialogues. In Plato's Phaedrus, Socrates uses the maxim 'know thyself' as his explanation to Phaedrus for why he has no time for mythology or other far flung topics. Socrates says, "But I have no leisure for them at all; and the reason, my friend, is this: I am not yet able, as the Delphic inscription has it, to know myself; so it seems to me ridiculous, when I do not yet know that, to investigate irrelevant things." "The unexamined life is not worth living." Wisest is she who knows she does not know "When I left him, I reasoned thus with myself: I am wiser than this man, for neither of us appears to know anything great and good; but he fancies he knows something, although he knows nothing; whereas I, as I do not know anything, so I do not fancy I do. In this trifling particular, then, I appear to be wiser than he, because I do not fancy I know what I do not know." "Virtue is knowledge: to know the good is to do the good." "All evil and wrongdoing is ignorance because knowledge can only lead to right action." He who knows what is good, will do what is good. Right insight leads to right action.

final cause.

Lastly, a being is created for a specific purpose, end or goal. Again, going back to the example, a house is built primarily for shelter. This apparent purpose or end is what Aristotle calls final cause.

By him who has the care of the community.

Lawgivers and legislators have the sole responsibility of crafting laws. On the other hand, a competent and legitimate authority has jurisdiction, which means, he or she has the right to impose and administer the law. The authority of the legitimate authority (which is bestowed upon him by the people) comes with a corresponding obligation to see to it that the general welfare of the community is addressed.

Rene Descartes

Mind or thought has priority over sense experience. The mind contains "clear and distinct ideas." The idea of "god" is one of these clear and distinct ideas. The idea of "god" contains the characteristic of existence. We can be sure that the physical world outside us really exists because "god" is not a deceiver. "Doubt is the origin of wisdom." "I think, therefore, I am." The doubter behind the doubt - I am certain that I doubt. I doubt, therefore, I exist.

Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)

Pascal was opposed to the use of traditional proofs for God's existence. Pascal believed that even if these arguments were valid, few would reason well enough to be persuaded by them. And, even if the arguments persuaded someone, that person would still not be saved. Pascal was concerned with leading people to Christ. The heart has its reason, which reason knows nothing of. "The heart has its reasons, which reason does not know. We feel it in a thousand things. It is the heart which experiences God, and not the reason. This, then, is faith: God felt by the heart, not by the reason."

VIRTUE ETHICS

Philosophy started from man's innate desire to know and discover things. Man's search for meaning, wisdom and truth led him to explore and examine reality from various perspectives. From the pre-Socratic philosophers (also called cosmologists) to the "three pillars of Western Philosophy" (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle), it can be said that moral certitude is possible through reason. Aristotle is one of the leading figures in Western philosophy. A towering figure after Plato, he established his own philosophical system by turning his mentor's teachings upside down. In this chapter, you shall examine a major ethical framework whose origin can be traced from the ancient Greek philosophers.

four major branches of Philosophy

Speculative or descriptive philosophy. Practical philosophy Critical philosophy Normative philosophy

Thomas Aquinas

St. Thomas Aquinas was an Italian philosopher and theologian of the Medieval period. He was the founder of the Thomistic school of philosophy and theology and a proponent of natural theology. Born at Roccasecca near Naples towards the end of 1224 or the beginning of 1225, the young Thomas was sent to the Benedictine Abbey of Monte Cassino for his early education.

Eugenic Abortion

Terminates the pregnancy to avoid giving birth to infants with physical deformities.

A law is for the common good

The promulgation is primarily done through publication in print media (newspapers, tabloids, etc.) or broadcast media. Once promulgated, a law is already binding, which means, no one is excused or exempted from following the law. As the saying goes: "ignorance of the law excuses no one."

St. Augustine

The Confessions - "Our hearts are restless, oh Lord, until it rests in Thee..."

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900)

The Parable of the Madman, in Section 125 of the The Gay Science (1882) By Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche Have you not heard of that madman who lit a lantern in the bright morning hours, ran to the marketplace and cried incessantly: "I am looking for God! I am looking for God!"

The case of ectopic pregnancy

The case of ectopic pregnancy

Normative philosophy

This classification of philosophy pertains the badness or the goodness, or the rightness and wrongness of actions and human conduct, of a human act. The branch or discipline of Philosophy that belongs to this category is Ethics.

Speculative or descriptive philosophy.

This classification of philosophy pertains to the general descriptions of the nature, essence, or substance of reality. The corresponding discipline of philosophy that belongs to Speculative philosophy is the branch known as Metaphysics.

Practical philosophy

This division of Philosophy pertains to the quest to attain the truth in relation to action or practice. Its corresponding discipline that is categorized under Practical philosophy is the branch known as Logic.

Critical philosophy

This division of philosophy refers to the quest for truth independent from action or practice. The discipline of philosophy that corresponds to this classification is the branch known as Epistemology.

"what ought I do with what I know?"

Thus, a hermeneutical cycle is formed between knowledge, moral commitment and action.

John Locke (1632 - 1704)

When born, children's minds are an "empty slate." Experience writes on this empty blackboard and children develop language and understanding. Even complex, abstract ideas derive from simple sense experiences and the words we use to describe the things which we see, touch, feel, and hear.

Aristotle

When he turned 17, he enrolled in Plato's Academy. In 338 BC, he began tutoring Alexander the Great. In 335 BC, Aristotle founded his own school, the Lyceum, in Athens, where he spent most of the rest of his life studying, teaching and writing. "Man is a rational animal." "Man by nature desires to know." "Man is by nature a social animal."

consequence of training

You become virtuous by acquiring the habit and continually performing the acts. One becomes a good guitar player through rigorous training and discipline. If you possess the character trait of kindness, you are expected to act kindly in all sorts of situations, towards all kinds of people, and over long periods of time, even if it is difficult to do so. A person with a certain character can be relied upon to act consistently over time.

Hysterotomy

a surgical procedure similar to a ceasarian section. It requires an abdominal incision to evacuate the fetus.

God

absolute and infinite presence of the divine almighty

"darsana,"

also from Sanskrit, pertains to a "mode of seeing," or a holistic and comprehensive way of looking at the world. Darsana refers to the unbiased perception of reality, a worldview which is free from personal and/or cultural prejudices of the perceiver.

Moral presuppositions

are similarly evaluated with the aid of correct logical thoughts.

Divine Law

are the laws found in sacred scriptures. Examples of laws found in the bible are the Ten Commandments and hundreds of other laws found in the Old Testament and the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ in the four Gospels. The Divine Law can also be discerned in official Church teachings (also known as ecclesiastical law). An example of this is the Canon Law of the church. Natural Law is also derived from Eternal Law.

Thomas Aquinas defines a law

as "nothing else than an ordinance of reason for the common good, promulgated by him who has care of the community" (Summa Theologica, I-II, q. 90, a. 4).

Natural Law

as "the creature's participation in eternal law." For example, it is natural for the sun to light and give warmth to our planet, it is natural for the flower to bloom, it is natural for the seed to blossom into a plant or tree, it is natural for fish to swim and for birds to fly. In other words, through natural law, creatures are simply obeying the "natural tendencies" that God has implanted on his creation. It is called natural law because it is rooted in nature itself and is manifested through the nature or essence of a particular thing. In what way is natural law derived from eternal law? Aquinas explains: "Among all others, the rational creature is subject to divine providence in the most excellent way, insofar as it partakes of a share of providence, by being provident both for itself and for others.

Ethical growth and maturity

as a continuous process of development requires constant practice.

"human"

as it is not all or just any actions that are the concern of ethics.

Ethics

as universally known, is a branch of philosophy which specifically deals with the morality of human actions and conduct. Ethics, of course, is scientific and systematic as it "investigates the methods and principles used to evaluate human actions in terms of their goodness, badness, rightness, and wrongness" (Stewart, et.al., 2013, 239). Ethics is generally perceived as the set of theories that served as a guide to specific individual actions.

Moral actions

demand the guidance of correct and sound moral reasoning

For Socrates and Plato

ethics, which is the practical science that deals with the morality of human acts is an important element in moral education. Ethical growth and maturity, as a continuous process of development requires constant practice.

eudaimonia

eudaimonia is something which is long term. As Bostock puts it: "one cannot be eudaimon just for an hour or so. For example: 'I was happy when I got up, but at breakfast I feel depressed.'" The concept of eudaimonia is similar to asking somebody questions like "are you happy with your family life?" or "Are you happy with your job?" which are questions which involve a long period of time (and sometimes a lifetime).

Philosophy

first put into use by the Greek pre-Socratic philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras. The term 'Philosophy' is a combination of the two Greek words "philo" or "philia" and "sophia." "Philo" means "love," while "philia" means "attraction" or "friendship." "Philia" is the opposite of "phobia," which means "fear." The word "philo" and "philia" therefore implies that it is a deep affection, attraction, fascination, or love. "Sophia" means "wisdom." Philosophy, therefore, can be translated as "love of wisdom," or an endless craving or desire for the Truth (Stewart, et.al., 2013, 1). y is formally defined as the science that deals with all the knowable in their ultimate causes with the abstractive power of natural human reason alone. Its laboratory is the rational capacity of the human person that has potentials to make personal decisions that concerns the whole of humanity, including the future of the ecology and the human descendants (Stewart, et.al., 2013, 279). Philosophy is said to have originated from man's innate sense of wonder.

"anviksisi"

from the Sanskrit pertains to the "examination of things through the use of one's true cognition."

Spontaneous Abortion

happens when the causes are natural. Normally called a "miscarriage," is usually caused by environmental factors, or physical trauma on the part of the woman.

Manual Vacuum Aspiration or MVA Method

he manual utilization of an electric pump in suctioning the embryo out of the womb.

vice

is "trained behavioral disposition that results in habitual acts of moral wrongness" (Pojman & Fieser, 2012, p. 167).

Law

is an essential and fundamental element in Aquinas's ethics. Although law is not the whole of morality (Aquinas's ethical framework is non-legalistic), nevertheless, the topic on law plays a central part in Thomistic ethics.

Wisdom

is contrasted to mere knowledge, belief, or opinion. Wisdom implies a capacity for a deliberate rationalization and reflection based from learnings and understanding that are deeply rooted from knowledge and experience. also implies the capacity to ponder for the right actions and appropriate responses to situations. Wisdom is not mere knowledge as it implies the capacity for actions.

The Good

is defined at the outset in terms of the goal, purpose, or aim to which something or somebody moves. To call something "good" is to say that it is under certain conditions sought or aimed at (Mac Intyre, 1966: 58).

Position of the Catholic Church Abortion

is morally wrong because "the one eliminated is a human being at the very beginning of life," at the moment of conception. A fertilized egg already has the full genetic code of a human being during conception.

Epistemology

is the branch of philosophy that deals with the nature, scope and limitations of human knowledge.

applied ethics

is the application or the actual practice of ethics.

Metaphysics

is the science that deals with first principles of things, including the inquiry to the nature of abstract concepts, such as, being, substance, space and time, identity, cause and effect, etc. is sub-divided into three sub-disciplines, namely: Cosmology, Theodicy, and Philosophical Anthropology, or also known as Rational Psychology; all three disciplines corresponds to what is known as the three general objects of philosophical inquiry, namely: a) the world, or the universe; b) God, or the absolute Supreme Being; and c) man, or the human society (Stewart, et.al., 2013, 2).

Logic

is the science that deals with the correctness of argumentation.

"supreme good"

is what Aristotle calls eudaimonia which is usually translated as "happiness", "virtue", "well-being" or "human flourishing". David Bostock offers a translation which he believes is very much close to the original Greek understanding of eudaimonia — "living well and doing well" which literally means "a good life" (Bostock, 11).

morality

it pertains to rightness or wrongness of actions and conduct. Morality, on the other hand, pertains to the specific application of such general theories to the individual actions. Morality implies the "oughtness" of actions; it asks, "what is 'ought' to be done?" in a specific situation.

Three subfields of ethics

normative ethics, metaethics, and applied ethics

Applied ethics

pertains to the "application of normative theories to specific moral problems within specific disciplines"

Metaethics

pertains to the "study of moral reasoning itself" (Stewart, et.al., 2013, 239). Metaethics digs to the bottom of moral reasoning and investigates its very "foundation," whether moral values are learned, discovered, or invented, and whether it is subjective or objective. And if morality is objective, how do we ascertain the objective moral facts of which humans patterned their judgements of moral values (Stewart, et.al., 2013, 239).

Normative ethics

pertains to the search for criteria of what are morally permissible and impermissible actions and behavior. The normative ethical philosophies of Aristotle, John Stuart Mill, and Immanuel Kant are examples of this division.

Moral education

refers to "how a person both thinks and behaves. To be judged as a moral person I must not only be capable of rendering sound moral judgments, but I must also act in particular moral ways" (Miranda, 2001: 75).

Abortion

refers to the "spontaneous or induced expulsion of an embryo or a fetus from the womb of a pregnant woman."

practical science

that deals with the morality of human acts is an important element in moral education.

natural inclination

that we share with other created beings. Though we are unique of all of God's creation (we are the only one imbued with the faculty of reason), we also share in the nature of other beings. One such inclination is to preserve one's own being. A lion or gorilla will normally protect its offspring from any danger or harm. Even plants have a natural defense system against harmful intruders. A rose, for example has thorns to keep herbivores from eating its leaves and branches. Thus, Aquinas is telling us that preserving human life is in accordance with the precepts of natural law. Following this line of thinking, we can thus infer that it is unethical to take the life of another human being. Furthermore, taking one's own life (suicide) is unacceptable since it violates our natural tendency for self-preservation.

Intra-Uterine Cranial Decompression (IDX)

the decompression of the skull of the fetus to induce partial birth

Dilation and Curettage (DC)

the dilation of the cervix and the utilization of a suction curettage in removing the embryo from the womb.

For Aquinas,

the profound mysteries of the Christian religion can only be understood using divine revelation and rigorous rational inquiry. In the words of another great philosopher St. Augustine: "understanding is the reward of faith. Do not therefore try to understand in order that you may believe; but believe in order that you may understand." Aquinas' philosophy therefore is a philosophy in the service of theology, an affirmation that there is a natural harmony between faith and reason.

inner states

the virtue of kindness involves the right sort of emotions and inner states with respect to your feelings towards others. Character is also about doing. Aristotelean virtue ethics is a theory of action, since having the virtuous inner dispositions will also involve being moved to act in accordance with them. Realizing that kindness is the appropriate response to a situation and feeling appropriately kindly disposed will also lead to a corresponding attempt to act kindly. As Dr. Garrett expounds: "a character is formed as a result of more or less freely selected actions of a certain kind."

appetitive element

this is the part of man not in the realm of virtues. In most cases, the appetitive element arises out of the human person's desire to satisfy his pleasures. Human beings' craving for food, sex, wine and other pleasurable things fall under the appetitive element. A person's action which is borne out of the appetitive element is usually done out of impulse which naturally goes against reason. However, the appetitive element of the soul plays an important part for it provides nutrition and nourishment for the body which provides energy and strength for the physical growth of the body.

opposite of virtue

vice

light of natural reason,

whereby man discerns what is good and what is evil, which is the function of the natural law, is nothing less than the imprint on man of the divine light." (Summa Theologica, I-II, q. 94, a. 2). In other words, natural law is "imprinted" on man by God by virtue of man's rational capacity to know what is good or evil. Therefore, since you are rational creatures, it is "natural" for you to discern the will and purpose of God for you.

physical law

which "directs nonfree beings to uniform action toward their ends by an inner necessity of their nature"

The second inclination is one that we share with other animals

which has something to do with the propagation of species and the care of one's offspring. Animals (including human beings) engage in sexual intercourse when they are "in heat". This is also the time when they are most fertile and will have a higher chance to conceive. As parents, it is but natural and indeed a good thing to do to take care of our children—giving them the right food, clothing and shelter. As much as possible, we also give them proper education to prepare them for a bright future. On the contrary, it is unethical for us to abandon our children or deprive them of basic needs or abuse them physically or emotionally. From a natural law perspective, any form of artificial birth control is unethical since it goes against our natural tendency to procreate. Furthermore, if we strictly follow Aquinas's ethical framework, then same sex union is unacceptable since it will not result to the propagation of species.

"he who knows the good does the good",

which means that the activity of knowing would inevitably lead to the practical activity of doing.

A law is of reason,

which means that it is formulated through rigorous discernment using one's intellect or will. Hence, a law must be consistent, meaning, it should not contradict with other laws. As a product of reason, a law is also just, which means, it must respect other rights guaranteed by higher laws. Lastly, a law must be useful, which means that it should serve a higher purpose.