THY 1: Search for True Happiness & Moral Good of Human Acts

Vocabulary flashcards covering worldviews on happiness, Christian theology, human acts, moral theories, constituents, sources of morality, and impediments to morality based on lecture notes.

Hedonism

A worldview holding that seeking the pleasurable is the primary reason for human behavior, equating happiness with pleasure ranging from physical exhilaration to material possessions.

Materialism

A doctrine that highly values material possessions, success, and progress as the highest values in life, opposing intellectual and spiritual values.

Consumerism

An upshot of materialism which holds that personal well-being and happiness depend on the level of consumption, particularly on purchasing material goods.

Eudaimonism

A moral framework holding that the highest form of happiness is acquired through the practice of virtues as good habits.

Beatific Vision

Perfect happiness consisting of the contemplation and vision of the Uncreated Good (God) in heaven.

Decalogue

God's commandments that show humanity the path of life, shedding light on human dignity and essential moral duties.

Beatitudes

Divine teachings indicating dispositions and basic attitudes oriented toward eternal life and fulfilling humanity's natural desire for happiness.

Consequentialism

A moral theory focusing on the results or consequences of actions and treating intentions as irrelevant, under the premise that good consequences yield good actions.

Utilitarianism

An ethical theory grounded in the primal human desire to seek pleasure and avoid pain, teaching that actions should maximize overall utility for the majority of people.

Principle of Utility

The core principle of utilitarianism stating that one should always act so as to produce the greatest good for the greatest number of people.

Act Utilitarianism

A form of utilitarianism holding that in any given situation, one should choose the specific action that produces the greatest good for the greatest number of people.

Rule Utilitarianism

A form of utilitarianism teaching that people ought to live by rules that, in general, are likely to lead to the greatest good for the greatest number over time.

Deontological Ethics

An ethical theory, formulated by Immanuel Kant, holding that morality is based on categorical imperatives and duties derived from pure reason.

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 approach emphasized by Aristotle focusing on an individual's character, defining virtue as the mean between excess and deficiency leading to eudaimonia.

Human Acts (Actus Humani)

Acts performed by a human person with sufficient knowledge, intellect, deliberate will, and free choice, making the agent morally responsible.

Acts of Man (Actus Hominis)

Actions performed by a person without deliberate control or the full use of intellect and will, such as bodily functions, involuntary reflexes, or actions during sleep.

Liberum Arbitrium

Translated as 'freedom of choice', designating the capacity of the will to govern decisions when selecting among multiple alternative options.

Voluntariness

A formal quality of human acts whereby an action or omission results from an internal principle within the agent who possesses knowledge of the end.

Perfectly Voluntary Act

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

Imperfectly Voluntary Act

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

Directly Voluntary Act

An act intended directly as an end in itself or as a means to another intended end.

Indirectly Voluntary Act

An act that is not directly intended in itself, but is permitted as an inevitable outcome of an object directly willed.

Negatively Voluntary Act

An act where the will affects something negatively through the voluntary omission of an action that could have prevented an evil or secured a good.

Principle of Double Effect

A moral principle allowing an action that produces both a good and an unintended evil effect, provided four strict conditions regarding moral object, equal directness, good intention, and proportionate reason are met.

Object of the Act (Finis Operis)

The action itself or matter toward which the deliberate will directs itself, specifying the basic moral substance of the act.

Intention (Finis Operantis)

The purpose or movement of the will residing in the acting subject toward an intended goal or end.

Circumstances

Secondary elements (person, place, time, manner, means) surrounding a moral act that increase or diminish its moral goodness or evilness without changing its essential quality.

Invincible Ignorance

A lack of knowledge that cannot be dispelled by reasonable diligence, completely removing moral responsibility.

Vincible Ignorance

A lack of knowledge that can be dispelled by simple diligence, remaining voluntary and not excusing moral responsibility.

Primo-Primi Acts

Quick, nearly automatic reflex and instantaneous reactions occurring prior to deliberative control.