Excursus: What is “good” according to the Roman Catholic Tradition? (Ref. Gula, Richard. 1989. Faith Informed By Reason)
The nature of the concept good is the full realization of any beings’ potential, or to achieve perfection.
The innate tendency within the human person to seek perfection is the ontological basis for the fundamental moral obligation – to realize one’s potential, or to be all I can be.
Actions are moral when it arise from this innate tendency and contribute to the full actualization of human potential.
The Christian sees God as the fullness of being and sees God’s actions as good because they flow from the divine nature – which is love.
The Christian convictions about the good are governed by the religious beliefs expressed in the stories of the Bible especially in Jesus, and further expounded in the theological tradition of the church.
TYPES OF ETHICAL THEORY
1. Consequentialist Theory / Consequentialism
• An act-based theory
• Judges actions as right / morally good or wrong depending on the over-all consequences of the action.
• Supporting this maxim is the famous: “the end justifies the means”
• A prominent form of Consequentialism is “utilitarianism”.
• Defining characteristic – principle of utility = the moral end to be sought is attained with the greatest possible balance of good over evil ( or the least possible balance of evil over the good) in the world as a whole.
• The classic figures of Utilitarianism
1. Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832)
2. John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)
Any argument w ...