The Moral Good of Human Acts: Foundations, Constituents, and Impediments

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the nature, constituents, sources, and impediments of human acts according to major ethical frameworks and Catholic moral theology.

Consequentialism

A moral theory asserting that the morality of an action depends solely on its consequences.

Utilitarianism

A moral theory holding that an action is morally right if it produces the greatest overall good (or utility) for the greatest number of people, aiming to increase good things (such as pleasure and happiness) and decrease bad things (such as pain and unhappiness).

Act Utilitarianism

A branch of utilitarianism stating that a person should choose the specific action that produces the greatest good for the greatest number of people.

Rule Utilitarianism

A branch of utilitarianism stating that an action is morally right if it follows a rule that, if generally followed, would produce the greatest good for the greatest number.

Deontological Ethics

A moral theory formulated by Immanuel Kant that views morality in terms of categorical imperatives derived from pure reason, asserting that moral law is binding on all rational beings regardless of desire.

Categorical Imperatives

In Kantian ethics, moral commands that one must follow regardless of personal desires, derived through pure reason and intellect.

Universalizability Principle

A formulation of Kant's categorical imperative stating: "Act only according to that maxim which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law without contradiction."

Formula of Humanity

A formulation of Kant's categorical imperative stating: "Act so that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in that of another, always as an end and never as a mere means."

Virtue Ethics

An ethical framework emphasized by Aristotle that focuses on the character of the individual rather than following rules, holding that right actions flow effortlessly from being a good person.

Eudamonia

According to Aristotle, the pinnacle of humanity or a life well-lived, also known as human flourishing, attained by living virtuously.

Alter Christus

A Christian moral concept meaning "another Christ," signifying the imitation and following of Jesus Christ so that a believer lives for the sake of the Kingdom of God.

Human Acts (Actus Humani)

Actions performed by a human person with sufficient knowledge and full deliberate consent; acts that proceed from a deliberate will and are worthy of praise or blame.

Acts of Man (Actus Hominis)

Actions performed without being mastered through intellect and will, lacking sufficient knowledge and freedom, and therefore non-voluntary and outside the direct concern of morals.

Primo-primi Acts

Quick, reflex, and nearly instantaneous reactions (such as withdrawing a hand after an electric shock) in which the will does not have time to intervene.

Constituents of Human Acts

The three essential elements that must be present for an action to be considered a human act: knowledge, voluntariness, and freedom.

Knowledge (in Human Acts)

The intellectual constituent of a human act requiring adequate awareness of what the agent intends to choose and an appraisal of the action's moral value.

Freedom (Liberum Arbitrium)

Freedom of choice, designating a situation where an agent has real alternative actions available and decides which choice to take without external coercion.

Voluntariness

A formal quality of human acts whereby an action or omission results from an inner principle of the agent with knowledge of the end, being consciously desired or willed.

Perfect Voluntary Act

An act performed with full attention and full consent of the will.

Imperfect Voluntary Act

An act performed with imperfect or partial attention or consent of the will.

Direct Voluntary Act

An act where the result or action is directly intended as an end in itself or as a means to another end.

Indirect Voluntary Act

An act where an effect is not directly intended but merely permitted as the inevitable consequence of an object directly willed.

Negatively Voluntary Act

An act in which the will effects something by the voluntary omission of an action that could have prevented an evil to another or helped secure a good.

Principle of Double Effect

A moral principle allowing an action that has both good and bad consequences provided four conditions are met: the object is not evil, good and evil proceed at least equally directly, the intention is strictly good, and a proportionately grave reason exists.

Sources of Morality

The three determinants identified in Catholic moral theology used to evaluate the morality of a human act: the object of the act, the intention (end), and the circumstances.

Object (Finis Operis)

The human deed done or action performed itself, which can be intrinsically good, intrinsically evil, or morally indifferent.

Intention (Finis Operantis)

The motive, purpose, or end of the act that resides within the acting subject.

Circumstances

The secondary conditions surrounding a moral act (including person, place, time, manner, means, and thing) that can aggravate, mitigate, or negate moral responsibility.

Indifferent Act

An action that is neither good nor evil in itself, whose moral character depends on the intention with which it is performed.

Ignorance

The lack of knowledge about a thing in a being that is capable of knowing.

Vincible Ignorance

Ignorance that can be dispelled by simple, reasonable diligence; it is voluntary in cause and provoked by negligence or bad will.

Simply Vincible Ignorance

A form of vincible ignorance in which a person could have known the truth, but did not make sufficient effort to find out.

Supine Ignorance

A serious form of vincible ignorance characterized by a severe lack of concern or effort to know what ought to be known.

Affected Ignorance

A type of vincible ignorance deliberately fostered or sustained because knowing the truth would interfere with what the person wants to do.

Invincible Ignorance

Ignorance that cannot be dispelled by reasonable diligence, which completely removes voluntariness of malice and excuses moral responsibility.

Error

A false judgment or conviction arising from deficient education, bad company, or misleading information; when made in good faith, the agent is not responsible for the consequences.

Inattention

A momentary deprivation of insight; if attention is completely lacking during an act, the action ceases to be a human act.

Passion (Concupiscence)

A movement of the sensitive appetite that precedes the free decision of the will, stirred by good or evil apprehended by the imagination.

Fear (as an Impediment)

Mental trepidation due to an impending evil (fear of the senses); if it completely darkens the mind or paralyzes the will, it excuses an agent from imputability.

Violence (as an Impediment)

A compulsive physical or moral influence brought to bear upon a person against their will by an extrinsic agent.

Habits (as an Impediment)

A facility and readiness in acting in a certain manner acquired through repeated acts, which can be deliberately admitted or opposed.