Philosophy Towards Vice and Values

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WILL AND REASON IN MORAL DECISION MAKING
The will generally, is that faculty of the mind which selects, at the moment of decision, the strongest desire among
the various desires present. Will does not refer to any particular desire, but rather to the mechanism for choosing
from among one’s desires.
Reasoning in the real world supports decision making and is aimed at the achievement of goals. A distinction is
developed between two notions of rationality: rationality which is reasoning in such a way as to achieve one's
Goals--within cognitive constraints--and rationality which is reasoning by a process of logic.
Decision-making is the process of identifying and choosing alternatives based on the values, preferences and

beliefs of the decision-maker.
---“Desire for more is what causes the suffering.” This is supported by Plato in one of his dialogues
Symposium, he says, “Eros is a powerful demon, a being between the mortal and the immortal, an eternally
needy hunter of the beautiful. Human beings share that demonic condition; for they are neither good nor bad, but
desire the good and the beautiful, the possession of which would constitute happiness for them.”
(Arthur Schopenhauer)
---Within philosophy the will is important as one of the distinct parts of the mind - along
with reason and understanding. It is considered central to the field of ethics because of its role in enabling
deliberate action.
In Book III Aristotle divided actions into three categories instead of two:
 Voluntary (ekousion) acts.
 Involuntary or unwilling (akousion) acts, which are in the simplest case where people do not
praise or blame. In such cases a person does not choose the wrong thing, for example if the wind
carries a person off, or if a person has a wrong understanding of the particular facts of a situation.
Note that ignorance of what aims are good and bad, such as people of bad character always have,
is not something people typically excuse as ignorance in this sense. "Acting on account of
ignorance seems different from acting while being ignorant".
 "Non-voluntary" or "non willing" actions (ouk ekousion) which are bad actions done by choice, or
more generally (as in the case of animals and children when desire or spirit causes an action)
whenever "the source of the moving of the parts that are instrumental in such actions is in oneself"
and anything "up to oneself either to do or not". However, these actions are not taken because they
are preferred in their own right, but rather because all options available are worse.
It is concerning this third class of actions that there is doubt about whether they should be praised
or blamed or condoned in different cases. Virtue and vice according to Aristotle are "up to us". This
means that although no one is willingly unhappy, vice by definition always involves actions which were
decided upon willingly. Vice comes from bad habits and aiming at the wrong things, not deliberately
aiming to be unhappy. The vices then, are voluntary just as the virtues are. He states that people would
have to be unconscious not to realize the importance of allowing themselves to live badly, and he
dismisses any idea that different people have different innate visions of what is good.
1) Activity 3: Skill-building Activities (18 mins + 2 mins checking)
a. Developmental Activity (8 mins.)
Instructions. Narrate and evaluate a real-life situation that involves a moral decision making.
Write it inside the box below.
Real-life situation:
See:
Judge:
Act:
b. Formative Assessment (10 mins.)

Instructions: Analyze the situations below, and answer the questions that follow.
Situation 1:
Ming came to you feeling very upset that he has no friends in class and that he is always snubbed by
the others. It is because they say he is noisy and keeps telling the teachers on others’ mischievous acts. You
know he has a strong belief in being honest, in telling the truth and in doing things right.
1. How would you advise him?

_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
2.The will is the selection among the desires towards the good. What is the “good” thing in the situation? Why?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Situation 2:
Two young men, brothers, had got into a serious trouble. They were secretly leaving town in a hurry and
needed money. Karl, the older one, broke into a store and stole a thousand dollars. Bob, the younger one, went to a
retired old manwho was known to help people in town. He told the man that he was very sick and that he needed a
thousand dollars to pay for an operation. Bob asked the old man to lend him the money and promised to pay him
back when he recovered. Really Bob wasn’t sick at all, and he had no intention of paying the man back. Although
the old man didn’t know Bob very well, he lent him the money. So Bob and Karl skipped town, each with a thousand
dollars.
1. Which is worse, stealing like Karl or cheating like Bob? Explain your reason.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Is there a “good” thing in the situation? Demonstrate.

_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
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Score:__
Note: Check your answers against the Key to Corrections found at the end of this SAS. Write your score on your
paper. (You can also check or consider your answers as long as your ideas are closely related to the given)
2) Activity 4: What I Know Chart, part 2 (2 mins)
2
Note: This serves as your review and summary of what was learned from the session. You have to monitor how
your knowledge has changed by reviewing the questions in the What I Know Chart from Activity 1.
Instructions: Write your answers to the questions based on what You now know in the third column of the
chart below.
What I Know Questions: What I Learned

(Activity 4)
Is desire important in making

a decision? Why
Is there a decision made

without using reason and
will? Why
Is it true that good action

must be grounded in good
will?
3) Activity 5: Check for Understanding (5 mins)

Instruction: Write your philosophical insight below.
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Note: (Key to Correction for this test should only be in the Teachers’ Guide and not in the SAS)
LESSON WRAP-UP
Activity 6: Thinking about Learning (5 mins)
Reflection:
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
NOTE: Mark your place in the work tracker below which is simply a visual to help you track how much work you
have accomplished and how much work there is left to do. This tracker will be part of your activity sheet.
FAQs
1. What is moral decision?
Ans. A moral decision is a choice made based on a person's ethics, manners, character and what they believe
is proper behavior.
2. What makes moral decision making significant?

Ans. Moral decisions tend to not only affect the well-being, but also the well-being of others.
3. What are the two kinds of Morality?

Ans. Two kinds of morality: One which we preach, but do not practice, and another which we practice, but
seldomly preach.”
4. What are the basic steps to making a good moral decision?

 Identify the decision.
 Consider possible options.
 Evaluate the consequences of the options.
 Reflect and pray.
3
 Decide what you will do.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - -- - - - - --
KEY TO CORRECTIONS
Activity 5: Check for Understanding (5 mins)

Ans.

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WILL AND REASON IN MORAL DECISION MAKING

Decision-making is the process of identifying and choosing alternatives based on the values, preferences and

 Voluntary (ekousion) acts.

1) Activity 3: Skill-building Activities (18 mins + 2 mins checking)

a. Developmental Activity (8 mins.)

b. Formative Assessment (10 mins.)

1. How would you advise him?

2. Is there a “good” thing in the situation? Demonstrate.

2) Activity 4: What I Know Chart, part 2 (2 mins)

What I Know Questions: What I Learned

Is desire important in making

Is there a decision made

Is it true that good action

3) Activity 5: Check for Understanding (5 mins)

2. What makes moral decision making significant?

3. What are the two kinds of Morality?

4. What are the basic steps to making a good moral decision?

Activity 5: Check for Understanding (5 mins)

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