Mid Term B 2 Flashcards
What is conscience?
judgement or dictate of the practical intellect deciding from general principles the goodness or evil of some act which is to be done here and now or has been done in the past
What is an act?
application of knowledge to an individual fact
Where does conscience derive judgement?
general principle (presupposes gen. pri. of faith and reason and applies to act)
Is consicene subjective or objective?
subjective
What is primary function of conscience?
pass judgement on an act which is to be done or have already been done
What is a moral habit (synderesis)?
habitual practical knowledge of the first principles whose proper act is to decide in a general way that good must be done and evil avoided
What is difference between synderesis and conscience?
conscience individual synderesis general and conscience can err but synderesis never can
What is a moral science (MS)?
deduces objective conclusions from the first principles
What is difference between MS and conscience?
conscience is subjective and may(not) agree w/ moral science
What is prudence?
a virtue which sometimes coincides w/ conscience
What is difference between prudence and conscience?
pru habit while conscience is an act
What does natural law embrace?
objective principles of morality
What is difference between natrual law and conscience?
conscience uses general principles of morality to decide whether an act should be performed or ommitted
What are the kinds of acts for conscience?
antecedent or consequent
What is antecedent act of conscience?
precedes the act performed and it either commands, forbids, counsels, or permits performance of an acy
What is consequent act of conscience?
passes judgement on acts already performed and it approves of the act performed causing spiritual joy OR disapproves of the causing remorse (Examination of Conscience)
When is a True Conscience conformed to the eternal law?
deduces correctly from true principles that some act is lawful
When is a False Conscience exercised?
decides from false principles considered as true that something is lawful which in fact is unlawful
What are divisions of an erroneous conscience?
scrupulous, perplexed, lax, pharasaic
What is scrupulous conscience?
for usesless and ridiculous reasons it things or rather fears that an act is evil when it is not
What is a perplexed conscience?
sees sin both in the performance and in the omission of some act
What is a lax conscience?
judges on insufficient grounds that there is not sin in the act or that the sin is not grave though It Is (sees sin nowhere)
What is the worst type of lax consciecnce?
hardened for it sees some sins to be of little importance
What is a pharasaical conscience?
minimises grave sins but magnifies matters of little importance as the Pharisees
What are the three forms of assent regarding conscience?
certain, probable, doubting
When does a conscience assent to an act?
certain: when it firmly decides that some act is either lawful or unlawful. Probable: when it judges that some act is probably lawful or unlawful. Doubting: when it hesistates to pass judgement on the moral character of an act
What is the First Principle of the True and False Conscience?
Everyone is obliged to use serious care to possess on all occassions a true conscience
Why are all obliged to a true conscience?
conscince is proximate norm of morality which acts as guide for man’s moral life
What is the proximate norm of morality?
conscience
What are means to obtain true conscience?
careful knowledge of laws which govern our moral life, taking wise counsel, prayer to the Father of light, removal of obstacles to a true conscience
What is the Second Principle of True and False Conscience?
Everyone is obliged to follow his conscience whether it commands or forbids some action, not only when it is true but also when it is in invincible error
Why is “commands” and “forbids” used?
One must follow even if invicibly ignorant
What is the Third Principle of True and False Conscience?
not permissable to follow conscience when in vincible error, but one cannot act contrary to such a conscience. Error must be corrected before any action taken
Is a vincibly ignorant conscience a certain conscience?
NO
How do we indirectly remove doubt?
reflex principles
What are Reflex or Indirect Principles?
general directions which directly and of themeselves do not prove the truth of the matter under investigation but do reflect their own clear light on the obscure practical doubt and dispel the darkenss of that doubt while the act is being performed
What are the significant reflex principles?
doubtful law has no binding force, in doubt one must stand by presumption, in doubt possession is nine-tenths of the law
When does a doubtful law not have binding force?
when doubt concerns the lawfulness of an act and not its validity
When can a doubtful law not be applied?
concerns validity of the Sacraments, concerns somthing which is absolutely necessary for salvation e.g. risk of losing eternal life, the safer opinion must be followed, when the question involves an established right of a third party e.g. judge would not be justified in giving judgement on the basis of a probable opinion while refusing to follow what is certainly the more probable opinion
What else shoudl one do in doubt?
One must stand in presumption
What is a moral system?
method of arriving at moral certainty from a state of practical doubt
What are the seven systems?
rigorism (absolute tutiorism), morderate tutiorism, probabiliorism, equiprobabilism, Pure probabilism, Lax probabilism, compensationism (system of sufficient cause)
What is rigorism?
maintains that the safer course must always be followed even though the opinion in favour of liberty is most probable (Condemned by Alexander VIII)
What is moderate tutiorism?
less safe opinion which favours liberty can be followed provided that it is most probable
What is probabiliorism?
one may follow the opinion that favours liberty so long as it is clearly more probable than the opinion in favour of the law
What is equiprobabilism?
when there are conflicting opinions which are eqaully or almost equally probable it is lawful to follow the opinion in favour of liberty when the doubt relates to the existence of law, but if the doubt concerns cessation of law then the law continues to bind
What is pure probabilism?
in case of doubt relating to the lawfulness of acts and not to their validity it is always lawful to follow the opinion in favour of liberty if the opinion is certainly probable, even though the opinion in favour of the law is more probable
What are the kinds of probability?
Intrinsic Probability and Extrinisc Probability?
What is intrinsic probability?
when founded on reasons taken from the nature of the matter to prove its truth
What is extrinsic probability?
based on authority of learned men
What is an opinion extrinsically probably?
five or six noteworthy authoritiesin favor or at least one outstanding doctor lk STA or SA
What are the three kinds of opinion?
certainly, doubtfully, slightly (all three depend on whether opinion rests on sold and firm arguments or doubtful or slight arguments
