morality unit 2 review

Conscience

A judgement of reason whereby the human person recognizes the moral quality of an act

What is conscience related to?

Prudence

A well informed conscience is an…

informed conscience

How do we overcome the effects of OG sin?

God’s grace acting in and through our conscience

What does a true conscience correspond with?

God’s law & Our telos

3 parts of a moral act

Act (Object), Intention, & Circumstances

Act (Object)

Most important

“What”/ matter

Intrinsic evils

Intention

“Why” or subjective element

Moral choice → intention must be good

Circumstances

‘Who, where, when, or how” + consequences

Increase or decrease culpability

Can we judge and act merely by intention alone?

No, there are acts that are always gravelly illicit because of their object/action

What does a morally good act require?

The goodness of the object, of the end, and of the circumstances

Lax

Failes to recognize sin

Scrupulous

Thinks non-sin is sin

Erroneous

In error/ wrong

Vincible Ignorance (Culpable)

Ignorance that could be overcome, but you choose not to find the answer

Invincible Ignorance

Ignorance that cannot be overcome at the time - unintentional ignorance

What is invincible Ignorance caused by?

Improperly formed conscience

Certain Conscience

Sure of the moral course of action to be taken

Doubtful Conscience

Uncertain of which action is moral

Good Conscience

You follow the voice of your conscience

Bad Conscience

You don’t follow the voice of your conscience

What factors lead to a faulty conscience?

Ignorance of Christ and his Gospel

Bad example of others

Enslavement to passions

False idea of autonomy of conscience

Rejecting Church authority in her teaching on morality

Lack of repentance

Lack of love

Cognitive Dissonance

A conflict between our beliefs and our actions

Why is Cognitive Dissonance dangerous?

Tempting to change our beliefs instead of our actions

Especially hard when temptation is claimed as morally acceptable by culture

What rules apply when we aren’t sure what to do?

Never do evil so good may result from it

Golden Rule

Charity

Golden Rule

Whatever you wish that men do to you, do so to them

What are characteristics of a well-formed conscience?

Upright

Truthful

Rational

In line with good willed by God

Can a conscience be fully formed?

No

What are the benefits of a well-formed conscience?

Remedy for fear, selfishness, and pride

Prevents resentment arising from guilt, and complacency

Guarantees freedom and peace of heart

What does Paul tell the Romans regarding the world?

To not fall in line with things in their culture that wants to drag them down; rather, fill their minds with good things

What are some good ways to form our conscience?

Receive the sacraments (grace)

Examine your conscience

Read, pray, study the scriptures, Catechism, works of saints, and good people

Practice virtues

Daily prayers

Surround yourself with people who will hold you accountable and challenge you

What does Bishop Barron say about attachment & Agere Contra?

Attachment can cause people to highly value random good of this earth. By detaching from these temptations and addictions so we can grow close to God

The best way to overcome attachment is to go against it which the agere contra means

Agere Contra

Latin for “to act against”

How might good decisions relation to happiness & how does it relate to Eudiamonia/happiness?

The happiness of valuing a good beyond ourselves requires that we work on perfecting ourselves - even if we would like to be, we aren’t satisfied with anything less

How does Character formation and good habits connect with authentic freedom? how does it relate to Agere Contra & eudaimonia/happiness?

Connects to agere contra because we need good habits to “go against” the bad habits and lead us into the right direction

Character education and self-control leads us to Eudiamonia/happiness

Character Formation

The practice of good habits to transform our bad habits and addictive tendencies

How does character formation relate to good habits?

Character formation requires us to do good habits in order to heal and end our bad habits

Why are little decisions important?

95% of the time we know what to do, but lack the will or determination to do it

Vital to do these smaller actions so that it will be easier to do them when they are bigger in the future

Catchism on Virtue

A habitual and firm disposition to do the good

Firm attitudes and habitual perfections of intellect and will that govern our actions

Lead to morally good life

What is the anterior midcingulate cortex?

A part of the brain that grows when you challenge yourself and do things you do not like doing. It will stop growing when you start doing things you like

How does the cortex relate back to Bishop Barron and eudaimonia/ characther education?

Illustrate Bishop barron’s point of how going against ana ction can challenge us to do good and lead us into the right direction

Shows how through formation and controlling ourselves from wanting to do the possible bad thing that we like, we can reach Eudaimonia/happiness

What does Mark Ji Tianxiang teach us about changing our habits and failing?

He shows us how it can be very difficult to overcome an action that was once good but turned bad once it became a habit

Sometimes our addictions can feel like too much to overcome, but we need to stay willing to grow and be resilient to strengthen our weakened relationship with God

Cardinal Virtues

Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, and Temperance

Prudence

Practical wisdom that helps us select the right means of achieving what is good

• Counsel

• Judgement

• Decisiveness

Temperance

Self-control that moderates our attraction to pleasure

Fortitude

Courage

• Firmness

• Constancy

• Resolve

Justice

Relationships with and responsibilities toward others and Honoring God/truth

• Devotion

• Prayer

• Tithing

• Filial Piety

Cardinal

Cardo → Hinge

What virtues are the source of all other good habits?

Cardinal Virtues

Theological Virtues

Faith, hope, and charity

CS Lewis on Prudence

Thinks it is common sense and that God will not blame or love anyone less if they are born with a very second-rate brain

CS Lewis on Temperance

Christians can give up all things any reason but once he starts to say they are bad in themselves or condemning others, they are in the wrong

Putting food or pickiness over other can be a form of gluttony

CS Lewis on Justice

Fairness

CS Lewis on Fortitude

Courage that faces danger and preserves under pain

Can’t practice any of the other virtues without using this one

CS Lewis on Pride

Most evil

Gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than others

Proud man looks down on others and cannot see anything that is above them

7 Deadly Sins

Pride, envy, greed, anger, sloth, gluttony, and lust

Pride

Capital sin of the capital sins

Envy

Wanting what others have to the point where a person wishes to deprive them of it

Greed

The disordered love of riches or earthly goods

Anger

The inordinate desire to punish or seek revenge

Sloth

The joylessness when faced with God as our supreme joy

Gluttony

Over-consumption, which makes a person a slave to base desires and supersedes a person’s devotion to God

Lust

The disordered desire for or indulgence in impure sexual pleasure

7 Counter virtues

Humility, solicitude, generosity, meekness, diligence, temperance, and chastity

Humility

Combats the sin of pride

Solicitude (kindness)

Care for the wellbeing of others

Combats envy

Generosity

Combats the sin of greed

Meekness (patience)

Combats the sin of anger

Moderates anger and controls resentment towards others

Diligence

Combats the sin of sloth

Gives us the fervent, action-oriented desire to progress forward so we can please God and find true happiness/peace

Temperance

Combats the sin of gluttony

Chastity

Combats the sin of lust

Allows us to see our bodies as temples for the Holy Spirit

Law

Ordinance or reason for the common good, promulgated by the one who is in charge of the community

Four things that make a just law

Reasonable, common good, competent authority, and promulgated

5 expressions of moral law

Eternal Law, natural law, civil law, revealed law, and church/ecclesiastical law

Eternal law

God’s self-revelation & who God is

Natural Law

Law that can be discovered through human reason

4 basic aspects of natural law

Universal, permanent, unchaing, and reasonable

Civil Law

A prudential application of the natural law for members of a given society

Revealed Law

Law that God revealed to the Israelites and prepares them for the coming of Christ

Old Law

Law of Moses and first stage of revealed law

Summarized in the Decalogue

Prepares us for the Gospel

Lacks the grace and strength of the Holy Spirit

New Law

Summed in the Beatitudes

Deals with interior acts of the heart and reminds us that just following the rules is not enough

What is Jesus’ summary of the law and the prophets?

The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments

Love neighbors as self and love God with everything in us

Beatitudes

Happy and positive commandments that deal with interior acts of the heart

Church Law

The full body of established rules governing the Catholic Church and applies Divine Law

Precepts of the Church

1. Attend mass on Sundays

2. Confess sins at least once a year

3. Receive eucharist at least during the Easter seaon

4. Keep holy the days of obligation

5. Observe laws of fasting and abstinence

6. Provide for the material needs of the Church, according to your abilities

Why should we trust Church Law

• Deposit of the Faith

• Papal infallibility

• God’s goodness and love

Sin

Offense against reason, truth, and right conscience

Root is in the hear tof man (free will)

Mortal Sin

Destroys charity in the heart and turns us away from God

Grave matter

Full knowledge of the act

Oppositon to God’s law

Full consent

Result of mortal sin

In Hell if there is not repentance and God’s forgiveness

Venial Sin

Moral law is not obeyed in a less serious matter

weakens charity

Bit of our relationship with God and worse if repeated very often

Significance of the 7 deadly sins

They engender or birth other sins

Formal cooperation with Evil

You know and intend to help another commit a sin

Sin of Commission

You sin because you do something sinful

Sin of Omission

You sin because you don’t do something you should do

Connection of commandments to covenant

Commandments are a part of the covenant and they need to be looked at together

Bishop Barron’s explanation of the significance of the 1st commandment

Ties our relationship with each other to our relationship with God

Everything flows form what you worship

Why are the first 3 commandments first?

If God is first, then I need to examine my priorities and look at how I am living

How does the OT understanding of sacrifice relate?

God wants to free them from their spiritual bondage (israelites sacrifice)

Sacrifice free us from unhealthy attachments

How do worship and sacrifice help us to live the first commandment?

Worship helps us free ourselves from idolatry

Both helps us orient us to a relationship with God

How to grow in the first Commandment?

Theological Virtues