EXISTENTIAL BASES OF GOOD

The article is devoted to the consideration of the good nature existential foundations. Good, as a transcendental phenomenon, reveals itself in a person as a powerful mechanism of its internal development – spiritual needs. Need, unlike desire, is not just a requirement of the human body. Need is a way of relationship, that is, communication with objective reality. This life aspiration is responsible for the personality realization as an active, creative, responsible part of co-existence. Therefore, all aspects of human life and communication, and productivity, and harmony, depend on the state of the needs system satisfaction. It is these existential conditions that correspond to the principles of ethical absolutism. Thus, the intersection point of ethics and human (ethical and anthropological principles), the condition for the interaction and implementation of the principles of ethics is concentrated in the development of our soul needs. The soul seeks to go beyond the egoistic desires of the flesh. Therefore, to hear the “voice” of the soul (both one’s own and that of a loved one), to respond to its call, a person can only when the desire to know the world around him conquers the desire to possess this world. In this regard, we are talking about the fact that the basis for the spiritual needs of humans is the need for love. The need to love resonates with the basic ethical principle “love of one’s neighbor”. Therefore, working on our own egoism, we realize the whole complex of spiritual needs: in knowledge, communication, freedom, creativity. So, the need to love is the highest metaphysical force in which the nature of good is concentrated, both on the ontological and existential levels.

Los presupuestos de una doctrina moral en el pensamiento de san Agustín

The article deals with the notion of human nature based on what Saint Augustine exposes in De immortalitate animae, following Varron’s footsteps on the unity of the soul and body, and the prima naturae, as they appear in his work De Philosophia. It is also pointed out that St. Augustine separates himself from the Varronian thought in regard to the highest good of the human being, since for him it is placed in the soul, as it appears in De moribus ecclesiae catholicae. On the other hand, the Augustinian basic ethical principle regarding goods is developed, presenting the distinction between the things that have to be loved propter se and those that have to be loved propter aliud, to subsequently make a presentation of the concept of uti and frui, as both are developed in De Doctrina Christiana and in the De Ciuitate Dei. It also stresses the innovative value of amor sui, where Saint Augustine modifies the stoic concept of oikéiosis, following the idea of the two loves as pondus, both caritatis and cupiditatis. As a deepening of the same concept of oikéiosis, the psychological process of the free act is analyzed, comparing the Augustinian process with the process described by Aristotle in his Ethica Nicomachea.

Autonomy

This chapter explores the basic ethical principle of autonomy and the related principles of veracity, fidelity, and avoidance of killing. The pharmacist’s role in recognizing and respecting the individual patient’s moral interests is discussed. The chapter addresses the psychological and moral meanings of the principle of autonomy and delineates the elements of a substantially autonomous decision. Circumstances are discussed when it would be morally justifiable to override the actions of a substantially autonomous person. Cases highlight the issues that arise in determining whether a person is substantially autonomous for health care purposes, those posed by external constraints on autonomy, and those that arise in consideration of overriding patient autonomy.

The ethical basis of psychotherapeutic practices, ascending to the Eastern Christian anthropology

This article analyzes the genesis and consequences of the underlying prerequisites and the principle of anthropogenesis – the refusal of people from the auto- and geterodestructive behavior associated with sacrifice. Drawing on a variety of biological, philosophical, historical, cultural and psychological material, the author proves the extreme importance of the crown of this process - a basic ethical principle in the eastern version of Christianity as an absolute ban on sacrifice. This article argues that the applied approach from these ethical and essentially anthropological position provides both for the practicing psychologist, and his/her client most adequate orientation in the true sense of what is happening in traumatic interpersonal relations.

“It was right to do it, because .. .”

We propose a theory of prescriptive attribution as a theoretical framework for research on the justification of actions. Justification is viewed as one possible strategy of account-giving necessitated by violations of socially shared standards of conduct. The theory makes two main assumptions. First, at the core of every justification is an at least implicit reference to a basic ethical principle. Second, justifications are in several respects similar to reason attributions; they can, therefore, be conceived of as “prescriptive attributions.” Variables that affect prescriptive attributions include factual characteristics of the action and its context, stable personality characteristics of the justifying person, and temporary motivational biases such as impression management concerns.