Human Dignity and Morality Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the dignity of the human person, the fourth and fifth commandments, morality, and human sexuality based on the provided lecture notes.

Inherent Dignity

A quality of life linked to being human and a child of God that is universal and irrevocable and cannot be taken away.

Sin

Coming from a Greek word meaning "missing the mark," it occurs when humans aim at the wrong targets or fail to shoot at all.

Fifth Commandment

Thou Shall Not Kill.

Natural Death

An end to life that occurs naturally through ordinary means, such as age or the natural course of illness.

Imago Dei

The theological concept that humans are created in the image and likeness of God, which serves as the basis for human value.

Induced Abortion

The deliberate termination of a human pregnancy resulting in the death of the fetus.

Chemical Abortion

A form of abortion typically involving pills such as mifepristone or RU-$486$, accounting for approximately $63\%$ of abortions.

Zygote

A new being created when sperm penetrates the ovum, characterized by a unique genetic code and a brand new cell composition.

SLED

An acronym for four pro-choice arguments used to determine one's right to life: Size, Level of Development, Environment, and Dependency.

Quality of Life Ethic

A set of moral principles where human value is determined by external factors, circumstances, or behavior, often leading to support for euthanasia or capital punishment.

Sanctity of Life Ethic

A set of moral principles where value is intrinsic and unchanging from conception to death, regardless of external circumstances.

Principle of Double Effect

A moral framework used to evaluate actions that have both a good and bad effect, requiring the object to be neutral, the intention good, and the good effect to not be caused by the bad one.

Just War Theory

A doctrine specifying four conditions for legitimate war: lasting and grave damage from an aggressor, no other options, serious prospect of success, and the use of arms must not produce greater evils.

Capital Punishment

An act of legitimate authority of a nation to put a criminal to death, which the Church notes should be very rare given advanced security systems.

Just Law

A civil law that is not in direct opposition to the Moral Law and reflects it to protect citizens.

Suicide

The willful termination of one’s own life, which is a failure to respect the dignity of life, though culpability can be diminished by psychological factors.

Redemptive Suffering

The belief that human suffering, when offered in union with the suffering of Jesus, can be offered for the good of others.

Euthanasia

The decision by officials or family to end the life of a person deemed to have a poor quality of life or no chance of recovery.

Extraordinary Means

Medical procedures that are burdensome, dangerous, or disproportionate to the expected outcome, which are considered optional.

Fourth Commandment

Honor Your Father and Mother, which extends to teachers, employers, and government leaders.

Domestic Church

The concept that the family is where spiritual life and faith begin and are first passed down.

Canon Law

Laws enacted by the Church to govern liturgical, hierarchical, and penitential practices.

Gluttony

Eating or drinking to an excess beyond the purpose of proper nourishment, turning physical pleasure into an end in itself.

Declaration of Nullity

Commonly called an annulment, it is a statement that a marriage was invalid from the start due to a lack of proper intention or freedom.

Chastity

The virtue that moderates the desire for sexual pleasure according to faith and right reason, required of every person regardless of marital status.

Unitive Purpose

The aspect of sexuality that physicalizes the total, self-giving love between a husband and wife.

Procreative Purpose

The aspect of sexuality that is open to the creation of new life, written into the natural law of the human body.

Natural Family Planning (NFP)

A natural method of observing fertility to avoid pregnancy during fertile windows for serious reasons while remaining open to life.

Pornography

The exhibition of images showing sexual actions for lustful gratification, which objectifies humans and warps the view of sex.

Fornication

Sexual intercourse between a man and woman who are not married, reducing the act to a purely physical encounter.

In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF)

Fertilization of an egg with sperm outside the body in a lab, which violates the unitive purpose by separating conception from the sexual act.

Surrogacy

An arrangement where a woman carries a baby for another couple, which the Church opposes for treating children like products and separating life from marital love.

Agape

God's unconditional love where one desires only the good for the other person.

Eros

A type of love based on passion and desire, including sexual desire.

Indissolubility

A property of marriage meaning it is a permanent covenant that cannot be dissolved by human authority once consummated.

Fruitful

One of the four qualities of marriage requiring a couple to accept children lovingly from God and bring them up according to the Law of Christ.