Chapter VI - Nature, Structure and Evaluation of the Moral Act Flashcards
Subject of Morality =
the person insofar as they act freely
Human Acts:
Acts of Man:
To sum up: .
the acts of the free will and the acts of other faculties governed or freely consented to.
physiological processes (e.g. digestion) or reflex actions; acts of man are carried out in men more so than by men; they are involuntary.
That which distinguishes the human act, and therefore the moral act, is the fact of being voluntary
Voluntary Act:
an act which proceeds from an intrinsic principle and is accompanied by formal knowledge of the end
Voluntariness (volontarietà):
conscious and deliberate tendency of personal will towards its End
Characteristics of voluntariness:
active
self-referential
immediate expression of the person
Elicited Acts (atti eliciti)
: acts exercised directly by the will (to love, hate, decide)
Commanded Acts (atti imperati):
Acts realized immediately by some faculty other than the will (the intellect, the arms, the eyes) under the influence and motion of the will.
Direct Object of the will
is the good (real or apparent) apprehended by the reason
Two types of “goods” which are willed in themselves:
Honest Good: willed in itself because it is thought to be objectively good in itself
Pleasing Good: can be willed in itself because it causes in me a “positive affective resonance” (pleasure, satisfaction, joy, etc.)
Third type:
Finalized Good (or Useful good) which is not an end, but rather is put in relation to an end and thus enters into the direct object of the will, even if in a secondary way; it is the means. NOT to be confused with indirect object (see below)!
Indirect Object of the will:
consequence of the action (collateral effect) which is not in any way willed, either as end or as means, but is foreseen and permitted as inevitably linked to that which is willed
Intention:
an elicited act of the will consisting in the effective willing of an end that, in reality, is distant from us, such that it is not immediately realizable, but has to be realized by means of a series of actions aimed at it
Choice:
elicited act of the will that has for its object the action immediately realizable in view of the desired end
The morality of Human acts depends on three elements:
- the moral object
- the end
- the circumstances
Moral object (finis operis)
- object of the act of choice which gives the moral species to an act
End (finis operantis)
- the objective for which the agent orders his action, that is, that which he wants to obtain through the chosen action or actions; it is, therefore, the principal motive of the action
The role of End in moral evaluation
Actions which are indifferent in their object become good or evil on account of their end
Actions good in in their object (good in themselves) can, on account of their end, become:
morally better
morally worse (for mixed intentions)
evil
Actions evil in their object can, through the intention, become more or less evil
Circumstances
- secondary elements that influence the morality of the moral act
Definition of St. Thomas: whatever conditions are outside the substance of an act and yet in some way touch the human act, i.e. the “accidents” of the act
Circumstances related to the Moral Object
Time (quando)
Place (ubi)
Quantity of object (quantum)
Effects of action (quid)
Circumstances regarding the Agent
Condition of the Subject who acts (quis) Mode of acting (quomodo) Means employed (quibus auxiliis) Circumstantial motives (cur)
5 Principles of the Moral Imputability of Consequences
- We are responsible for the negative consequences of our evil actions, even if these consequences were not foreseen: though having been foreseeable
- The good consequences of evil actions cannot be ascribed as merit to the agent
- We are not responsible for the unforeseeable negative consequences of our good actions.
- We are not responsible for the foreseen negative consequences of the omission of an evil or forbidden action
- One is not culpable for the foreseen negative consequences of a good action, so long as the action meets the conditions proposed in our discussion of the principle of double effect
Principle of Double Effect
Determines when it is licit to perform an action which beyond its good effects involves something which is morally evil; also called “indirect will.”
Conditions of Double Effect:
The act must be in itself good or at least indifferent
The good effect must not be achieved by evil means
The person must directly seek the good effect
There is proportionality between the good intended and the evil tolerated
Circumstances concerning knowledge which modify imputablity
Advertence / Ignoraces
Advertence
(awareness) - the mental act by which a person realizes what he is about to do or is doing and the morality of the action
Differentiation of advertence
Intensity: Full Advertence Partial Advertence Inadvertence Modality (In)Advertence of Law (In)Advertence of Fact Actuality Actual Advertence Virtual Advertence Scale Distinct Advertence (clear) Generic Advertence (confused)
Moral Principles regarding Advertence
An action is morally imputable if realized with at least virtual advertence, since it is sufficient to guarantee the liberty of the act
Generic Advertence of the morality is sufficient for the moral act
Partial Advertence diminishes freedom and so diminishes Imputability
Ignorance
does NOT refer to an obstacle which impedes the application of the act of knowledge which one normally possesses
rather, it is an erroneous understanding of the circumstances of the action and, above all, its morality
Circumstances concerning voluntariness which modify imputability
Voluntariness / Consent
Instances of lack of voluntariness:
Non-voluntary Actions
Involuntary Actions
Mixed Actions
Consent:
free turning of the will (approval, acquiescence) towards the good (real or apparent) presented by the intellect
Differentiation of Consent
*Degree of Consent: Perfect Consent Imperfect Consent *Actuality of Consent: Actual Consent Virtual Consent
Moral Principles regarding Consent
For the morality of the act, Imperfect Consent is sufficient, which follows a Partial Advertence, or full advertence but with a incomplete acquiescence of the will
For Mortal Sin, Perfect Consent is required, though it is compatible with a certain reluctance and mixed Voluntariety
The reality of our free nature implies that, with normal advertence and if there does not exist external coercion, consent can be said to be perfect when the act is accomplished externally.
Signs of types of Consent
Consent which deeply changes personal behavior is assumed to be perfect
With Partial Advertence, Consent is presumed Partial
If its simple to perform the act and it is not done then it is presumed that the consent was Imperfect
Relation of Passions to Moral Imputability
Antecedent passions
Concomitant passions
Consequent passions
5 principles regarding the relation of fear and moral imputability
- Fear diminishes Volunteriety, though normally does not negate it
- Positive Law does not oblige in case of grave fear
- Negative Moral Law does oblige even with grave fear
- To overcome fear is a sign of greater voluntariness
- Fear can render null or at least rescindable certain acts which require full freedom (e.g. marriage)
Merit:
retribution owed to an action or type of conduct
“De condigno” Merit
owed in justice, proper to Christ alone
“De congruo” Merit:
supposes a certain suitability, taking account of the generosity of the giver.
Conditions of Merit
The act must be a Human Act
The act must be good
The act must be of a person as viator (this life)
The act must be accomplished by a person in the state of grace
The degree of merit depends on the quality of love of the person
If the doctrine of merit is understood correctly, the Christian will never become an egotistical reward seeker
