Determinants of Morality

Summary

Ella Mabasa discusses the determinants of morality, emphasizing three key factors: the end of the action, the end of the actor, and the circumstances of the act. She explains how these factors influence the morality of human actions, using examples like studying and eating to illustrate natural purposes and individual intentions. Mabasa also highlights Paul Glenn's principles on how circumstances can alter the morality of acts, concluding with the idea that good acts performed with evil means negate their goodness.

Takeaways

• 🧑‍🎓 Human actions, such as studying, working, or stealing, are linked to moral norms and must be studied to understand their morality.
• 💡 The three determinants of morality are: the end of the action, the end of the actor, and the circumstances surrounding the act.
• 🎯 The first determinant, 'end of the action,' refers to the natural purpose or result of the act, which is generally the same for everyone (e.g., studying leads to learning).
• 🙋‍♀️ The second determinant, 'end of the actor,' refers to the individual's intention or motive, which can vary between people (e.g., one person may study for fun, another for exams).
• ⏳ The third determinant, 'circumstances of the act,' refers to external conditions like time, place, and method, which can increase or decrease the actor's responsibility.
• ⚖️ Circumstances do not form part of the act itself but can aggravate or mitigate its moral weight (e.g., eating meat on Good Friday is morally worse due to the day’s significance).
• 🤔 Who, what, where, when, how, and why are key factors when considering the circumstances of an action, impacting the morality of the act.
• 🚫 An indifferent act can become good or evil through circumstances, such as eating meat being morally neutral but wrong on Good Friday.
• 📉 A good act can become evil depending on circumstances (e.g., donating money to the poor is good, but doing so to buy votes is evil).
• 💔 An evil act can never be justified through circumstances, and a good act done with bad means, like stealing to help someone, destroys its moral goodness.

Q & A

What does the term 'determinants of morality' refer to?

The determinants of morality refer to factors that serve as the measure of the goodness and evilness of a human act.

How many determinants of morality are mentioned in the script?

Three determinants of morality are mentioned: the end of the action, the end of the actor, and the circumstances of the act.

What is the primary determinant of morality according to the script?

The primary determinant of morality is the end of the action, which refers to the natural purpose or result of the action.

Can you provide an example of the 'end of the action' from the script?

An example of the 'end of the action' is studying, where the natural purpose or end result is learning.

What does the 'end of the actor' signify?

The 'end of the actor' refers to the intention or motive of the person performing the act, which can vary among individuals.

How does the 'end of the actor' differ from the 'end of the action'?

While the motives of the agent (end of the actor) vary with different individuals, the motives of the action (end of the action) are the same for all individuals.

What are the circumstances of the act?

The circumstances of the act refer to the conditions that affect the human act by increasing or decreasing the responsibility of the actor.

Can you give an example of the 'circumstances of the act'?

An example of the 'circumstances of the act' is eating meat on Good Friday, where the condition (Good Friday) affects the morality of the act (eating meat).

What are the five principles involving the implications of the circumstances of the act as mentioned in the script?

The five principles are: 1) An indifferent act can become good or evil through circumstances. 2) A good act can become evil through circumstances. 3) An intrinsically good act can become better, or an intrinsically evil act can become worse through circumstances. 4) An evil act can never become good through circumstances. 5) A good act done with evil means destroys the entire objective goodness of the act.

How does the script explain the principle that an evil act can never become good through circumstances?

The script explains that no matter the circumstances, an evil act, such as stealing money to buy food, cannot become a good act.

What is the significance of the five principles involving the circumstances of the act?

The five principles help to understand how the morality of an act can be influenced by the circumstances surrounding it, and they provide guidelines for evaluating the moral implications of actions.