Chapters 7-8

Question 0

Define: Temperance

Answer 0

restraint of human passions and appetites in accordance with reason, self-control of the body

Question 1

Explain Prudence

Answer 1

~most important of the four cardinal virtues
~one who uses his ability to reason, thinking things out carefully
~one who has the ability to make good choices, who is inclined to be good
~we need to use prudence to control impulses, inclinations and instincts
~the prudent person is the wise person who has the ability to do good and avoid evil

Question 2

Explain Temperance

Answer 2

~applies to three essentials in life: food, drink and sex
~We must take proper care of ourselves, have well-ordered lives, preserve ourselves
~temperance is a love that is life-giving and selfless
~passion for food, drink, and sex are powerful forces
~idea is not to repress these desires entirely, but to use them for human growth
~One must use reason, moderation and self restraint (temperance) in all three areas

• Abstinence: re: too much food
• Sobriety: re: too much drink
• Chastity: re: desire for sexual pleasure

Question 3

Define Friendship

Answer 3

~a willingness to spend oneself with the other

~Opening of one’s heart and mind to the other - the free and independent communication of one’s own person

Question 4

Explain Friendship

Answer 4

~we can not attain the good life by ourself
~Aristotle wrote that friendship is a deliberate activity that requires continuous exercise
~it allows the other to see right in and know us as we really are
~true friendship exists only between those who love one another
“Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15.13)
~Friends transfigure us-we understand ourselves, appreciate our uniqueness and feel more authentic about who we are (Richard Gula)

Question 6

Define happiness

Answer 6

The Gospels speak of happiness in terms of beatitude - blessedness. *God has placed the desire for happiness in the human heart in order to draw us to the one who alone can fulfill it. We find happiness in life by living the good life, that is, life in the way of Christ

Question 7

Explain Happiness

Answer 7

it is one of the “goods” that Catholic ethics studies, the aim of the good life. The Christian tradition has always believed that we were created for happiness. It recognizes this desire for happiness as natural, insisting that God has placed it in the human heart (CCC#1718). The Good life, the ethical moral life, is also the happy life.

Question 8

Are our actions good, neutral, or evil?

Answer 8

When we act, we do so to obtain a good. our actions are never neutral. For example, sometimes my actions may be evil, but I think there is something “good” in it for me. Ultimately, I think my action is going to make me happy, or happier

Question 9

Why are there four levels of happiness?

Answer 9

• In previous generations, people knew what they were suffering for. But our generation, doesn’t know what to live for now, never mind what to die for.
• If you are living for others, not material things and find yourself unexpectedly pregnant, you could see the baby as a privilege not a problem

Question 10

What are the four levels of happiness?

Answer 10

1) Physical Pleasure and Possession
2) Ego Gratification
3) Contribution/Making a Difference
4) Faith in and Surrender to God’s loving will

Question 11

Explain Physical Pleasure and Possession

Answer 11

*turning on one of your five senses in a positive way
*happiness from feeling good in your body
~~people don’t move on from level one sometimes, and stay stuck in this level, which can cause life to lose it’s meaning eventually
~~~leads to unhappiness

Question 12

Explain Ego Gratification

Answer 12

*feeling good about something you do or can do
*Can happen by:
~being popular or having friends like you
~accomplishing or succeeding at something
~power/control/authority
~wining at something
*can live for this only. It can result in anger, jealously. aggression, etc.
~~Can’t have a true friendship in this level because you know/think the other person just wants to be better than you
*“if you want to be first, you must be last”–put others before yourself

Question 13

Explain Contribution/making a difference

Answer 13

*caring for someone having to help someone
*Five transcendental ways you can make a difference in the world (Plato)
~truth ~justice ~love ~empathy ~compassion ~home

**level three isn’t enough because we don’t want truth, we want perfect truth, we don’t want knowledge, we want perfect knowledge, we don’t want love, we want absolute, unconditional, infinite love
**Plato says because we want unconditional love, it must exist, that’s what God is
~~~Can lead to disappointment

Question 14

Explain Faith in and Surrender to God’s loving will

Answer 14

*prioritize the commandments to love

Question 15

Define Solicitude

Answer 15

Anxious concern for others
~we must live with others, whether friends or not
~Levinas sees the others as an ethical appeal
***For example, the beggar forces him/himself into my consciousness, raising the question of my generosity - I feel responsible for him or her
~reeling compassion, sympathy and suffering for the other is important for truly living the good life
~the good life at which ethics aims is a matter of giving and receiving

Question 16

What are the three spiritual values by St. Thomas Aquinas?

Answer 16

• free gifts from God
  1. Faith - a gift from God when He reveals himself
  2. Hope - a gift from God inspired by the Holy Spirit
  3. Charity - a gift from god that begins with His love of us

Question 17

What are the four Cardinal values by St. Thomas Aquinas?

Answer 17

• acquired by human effort
  1. Prudence - reason well in moral decision-making
  2. Temperance - remain moderate in use of emotionless/passions
  3. Fortitude - courage in life’s difficulties
  4. Justice - act well in relation to others

Question 18

Define Chastity

Answer 18

“Chastity means the integration of sexuality within the person. It includes an apprenticeship in self-mastery.” (CCC#2395). “Christ is the model of Chastity. Every baptized person is called to lead a chaste life, each according to his particular state of life.” (CCC#2394)

Question 19

Explain Chastity

Answer 19

~every baptized person is called to lead a chaste life, whether married or single (CCC#2394) - this includes loyalty and fidelity to one’s spouse
~purity of mind and body helps develop true self-respect and makes one capable of respecting others and treating them with dignity
~It helps one recognize that all are created in the image of God
~Chastity gives one freedom that brings love, joy, peace, patience and self-control

Question 20

What does a chaste person look like?

Answer 20

a chaste person is consistently in charge of his or her sexual feelings, rather than the feelings of being in charge of the person

Question 21

When is full sexual intimacy intended for?

Answer 21

Full sexual intimacy is intended only for marriage. Sexual intercourse is not meant to be used to respond to a passing attraction, to satisfy sexual attraction, to satisfy sexual feelings, or to express a youthful love that may not be destined to last. Sexual intercourse is a sign of fully committed love. It is a gift that a man and a woman offer to each other in marriage

Question 22

What is Natural Law?

Answer 22

Knowing good from evil
~God has given each of us the innate capacity to reason through our human nature
~”The natural law…enables man to discern by reason the good and the evil, the truth and we know the lie” (CCC#1954)
~”The natural law is nothing other than the light of understanding placed in us by God; through it we know what we must do and what we must avoid.” St. Thomas Aquinas

Question 23

What are Aquinas’ Four Principles of Natural Law?

Answer 23

In ethics we must follow our God-given natural inclinations, which are the following:

1) preserve and protect life, i.e.) avoid abortion, euthanasia, suicide, etc.
2) Procreate (have babies), i.e.) avoid artificial contraception, homosexual acts, etc.
3) Knowledge and truth, i.e.) all have the right to be educated
4) Cooperate, i.e.) avoid chaos and war, working together towards peace

Question 24

Define Natural Law

Answer 24

The original moral sense which enables us to discern by reason what is good and what is evil, what is true and what is a lie

Question 25

What is Natural Law Theory?

Answer 25

it is a non consequential theory that holds that humans should live in according to nature

• a renowned proponent of this position is the philosopher Saint Thomas Aquinas
• Saint Thomas reasoned that God created the Universe and the laws that govern it are laws that God imposed on it. Similarly, God imposed on humans certain “Natural Laws” through the natural inclinations that God built into human nature when God created human nature
• For Aquinas, morality arises when our reason becomes aware of the “natural inclination” or “natural purpose” that God built into human nature and we act in accordance with this
• Aquinas spoke of four “Natural” and fundamental “Goods” that humans must respect and Cherish. They are: a) Human Life (preserve) b) Family (procreate) c) Knowledge (pursue) d) an orderly society

Question 26

What are human virtues?

Answer 26

Human virtues are form attitudes, stable dispositions, habitual perfections of intellect and will, that govern our actions, order our passions and guide our conduct according to season and faith. The cardinal virtues are temperance, prudence and justice.

Question 27

Define Euthanasia

Answer 27

occurs when a person kills another person without their consent, usually in the the case of someone who is ill or dying

Question 28

Define Assisted Suicide

Answer 28

occurs when a person asks another person to help them commit suicide by providing or administering the means of death

Question 29

What is Pope John Paul II’s quote regarding depression/euthanasia?

Answer 29

“true compassion leads to sharing another’s pain: it does not kill the person whose suffering we cannot bear”

Question 30

Who is Plato?

Answer 30

427-347
~the father of western philosophy
~taught by Socrates who claimed that “the examined life is not worth living”
~teacher of Aristotle – Plato influenced St. Augustine centuries later
~determined the human capacity to reason is what separates us from the animals
~It is through our ability to reason that we can find the good that is in everything
~thinks philosophers are the happiest because they search for THE truth not A truth

Question 31

Who is Emmanuel Levinas?

Answer 31

1905-1995
~unlike Kant, who says the good comes from within oneself, Levinas says the good is a call, a vocation that comes from the Infinite Good who is God