Mid_Term De Princ Flashcards
What are the circumstances?
who (person), What (quantity or quality of object), Where (Place), Means/Instrument, How (Manner), When (Time), Why (End of Agent)
What is utilitarian or social utilitarian view of morality?
seek pleasure avoid pain
What is rationalist view of morality?
live within in right reason w/o any regard for personal happiness
What is subjectivistic or moral skepticism view of morality?
no such thing as objective or fixed standard of morality (each man private judgement) and feelings are norms for reality (Hobbes, Nietzche)
What is moral positiveism?
freedom of divine will who was and still is able to establish moral code different from that which we now possess
What are the three standards or norms of morality?
ultimate objective standard being the eternal law or divine wisdom as it directs all HA, and the proximate objective standard human reason. The subjective standard is the conscience of the individual
What are three species of morality?
moral goodness, evil, indifference
What is moral goodness?
in accordance with eternal law
What is moral evil?
divergence from eternal law
What are good, bad, indifferent HAs?
degree to which they conform to right reason
What about indifferent acts?
exist in abstract, not concrete. E.g. morose thoughts that arise that no one actually intends to carry out
What are the principles or sources of morality?
elements which in any HA are responsible for one type of morality in preference to another
What are the three principles or sources of morality?
object, circumstance of the act, its purpose
Moral Object (MO) or end of an action (intrinsic and objective end)
that to which the action tends of its very nature directly and immediately e.g. thief steals money, steals money from Church
How is the MO good?
if its in accord with reason and the eternal law (EL)
How is the MO evil?
diverges from reason and EL
How is the MO indifferent?
not divergent or agreement with reason or EL
What are the two ways the MO can be considered?
materially and formally
When is MO material?
when its own relationship to the EL is considered (unaware of evil)
When is MO formal?
so far as its morality is recognized by the conscience of the agent (aware of evil)
What is the First Principle of Morality?
morality of HA is derived from the object morally considered
What is proximate subjective standard of morality?
conscience
What is ultimat objective standard of morality?
eternal law
Is intention part of morality?
intention must be part of act
When is something formally evil?
formal sin involved
When is something materially evil?
material sin involved
What are moral circumstances?
moral conditions which are added to and modify the already existing moral sobstance of the act
What are the seven circumstances?
quis, quid, ubi, quibus, auxiliis, cur, quomodo, quando
What is first principle of Circumstances?
HA derive some morality from their circumstances
How do circumstances influence moral character of an act?
circumstances be morally good or bad (degree they conform or lack conformity to right reason) AND moral character be recognized and intended at least to some extent by agent
What is Second Principle of Circumstances?
some circumstances alter the morality of an act completely, others affect merely the degree of morality
What can be said regarding part A of the Second Principle of Circumstances?
rests on the fact that some circumstances have a distinctive and specific morality of their own e.g. stealing is religious goods is evil but stealing in general is against the act of justice
What can be said regarding part B of the Second Principle of Circumstances?
some circumstances do not possess a moral character differetnt fro that of the object e.g. taking away something beling to another is an act of theft which itself is evil, and the amount stolen aggravates the act but does not offend any other virtue apart from justice
What are the kinds of moral circumstances?
those which alter the morality and those which do not alter morality
What are the sub-divisions of acts which alter morality of circumstances?
moral species and theolgical species
How does circumstances effect moral species of an act?
by offending against different virtues
How does circumstances effect theological species of an act?
converts what was venially sinful into something grievously sinful (e.g light theft venial sin, a great theft is mortal)
What circumstances which DO NOT alter the moral species?
aggravate or diminish the degree of morality in so far as they increase or diminish the moral evil in act
What are aggravted circumstances further divided into?
slight, notably, indefinitely
What effect do indefinite circumstaces have on an act?
change what what was venial into mortal (synonymous w/ those acts which change theological species)
What is the First Principle of the Subjective End or Motive of an Act?
moral character of an act depends also on the motive of the agent (subjective end)
Why does the moral character of an act depend on subjective (extrinsic) end of agent?
end or motive may have its own moral character in reference to the EL and right reason by being opposed or conformed to them
What is a good act?
when all elements (object, circumstance, motive) are in conformity w/ the standards of morality OR when one element good, others indifferent and none evil
What is the Second Principle of the End or Motive?
the motive of the agent a) may change an indifferent act in the abstract into a good or evil act b) may increase or diminish the goodness of an act and even make it evil c) may increase or diminish the evil of an act d) never able to make an evil act good
How can end or motive change an indifferent act in the abstract into a good or evil act(part A of the Second Principle)?
walking viewed in abstract is morally indifferent, but performed for a good motive e.g. obedience it is good HOWEVER walking is morally evil if it is to satisfy an evil curiosity
How can end or motive increase or diminsh the goodness of an act, and even make it evil (part B of the Second Principle)?
motive (end) and circumstance good + object = this increases AND diminishes when object good and there is some evil in the circumstances that does not neutralize or transform object e.g. praying-Object Good, Distracted-Circumstance Bad
What is an evil act?
when all its elements?its object, circumstances and end (motive)-are contrary to the moral norms
How motive of agent increase or diminsh the evil of an act?
object evil, motive good. Stealing money to feed family. Object evil, motive evil. Stealing money to buy illegal drugs.
What is the Third Principle regarding End or Motive?
In all his actions man must put before himself some good motive which is related to God at least implicitly; uder no circumstances may he act for pleasure alone
What sort of intention does the agent require in order that his acts may be good?
refer acts to God as frequently as possible, but those who follow right reson in all their acts must be considered to possess a right intention
What is the Principle of Indifferent Acts (IndA)?
Some HAs when viewed in the abstract are indifferent, but in the concrete such acts are never indifferent
Can you explain the principle regarding IndA?
HAs derive moral character from object, but object in an IndA (i.e. walking, pushing) are themselves indifferent and HAs in concrete are always done for a motive and motive good (presupposing object good) then act is good and consequently bad motive, bad act
What effect does the teaching have on the aescetical life?
should prove a comfort and a spur to men of good will for since no concrete act is Indifferent every act can be meritorious.
What is the Principle of the Morality of External Acts (ExAc) and their Effects?
An external act increases the goodness or evil of the internal act in an accidental manner
Can you explain the Principle of Morality of ExAc?
ExAc does not possess its own distinct freedom but derives all its freedom from the internal act (InAc) therefore, ExAc has no independent moral character so cannot substantially effect InAc but only accidentally.
How does an ExAc effect the InAc accidentally?
by the circumstances which are added to the InAc e.g. due to influence of ExAc the W may desire the object w/ greater INTENSITY and OVER A LONGER PERIOD OF TIME
What is Merit (Mrt)?
that property of a good act which makes it deserving of reward and in CONCRETE it is the good act itself as deserving reward
What is the two kinds of Mrt?
condign and congruous
What is condign Mrt?
found in those good acts for which a reward is due injustice or at least because of some previous promise
What is congruous Mrt based on?
a certain equity or suitability e.g
What is an example of Condign and Congruous Mrt?
employee has strict claim in justice to a fixed salary (condign merit), but it is fitting that he receive some bonus’ from his boss (congruous)
How can both forms of Mrt exist?
perfect and less perfect
What is PERFECT condign (Cnd) Mrt?
based on strict justice, equivalent to the reward obtained which therefore cannot be withheld w/o a manifest violation of justice e.g. salary due to a worker (In the supernatural order only the God-Man possess perfect condign merit
What is CndMrt in its less perfect form?
an which to some extent is equivalent to the reward received. In this way man merits eternal life
What is PERFECT Congruous (Cng) Mrt?
rests on a genuine equity between the act and its reward, it is thus that man in the state of grace who is a fried of God can merit the conversion of another
What is Cng Mrt in its less perfect form?
form of a request e.g. man can mrt or request the grace of final perseverance
What six conditions must be verified for the existence of supernatural Mrt?
Work (Wrk) or act performed must be free, wrk must be morally good, wrk must be done from a desire to please the reward-giver, namely God i.e. some influence of charity, agent must be a wayfarer in this life, Agent must be in the state of sanctifying grace, Divine promise must exist
What is obseqium?
submission of the will
What is the object of merit?
that which can be merited in the sight of God by man’s acts
What acts can a man in a state of grace perform?
Cnd Mrt in reference to: eternal life, an increase of grace and glory
What can a man in the state of grace merit if performed in the state of Cng Mrt in its LESS perfect form?
final perseverance, restoration to divine friendship after a mortal sin that may be committed in the future
What can a man in the state of grace merit if performed in the state of Cng Mrt in its MORE perfect form?
temporal goods, actual graces and the conversion of others
What is the axiom of Psuedo-Dionysius
That act is good whose causes are complete; that act is evil in which a single cause is lacking.
What is effect of Mrt?
reward
What is cause of Mrt?
goodness
Which Mrt is more subjective?
congruous
Recovery of Mrt lost in mortal sin?
effects of absolution are always in proportion to the excellence of the dispositions with which sacrament received (basically dispositions of pentinent matter)
What is law?
ordinance of reason for the common good promulgated by the person who has care of the community
What is required by the ordinance of reason?
that it be efficacious and binding and that it be firm, stable, and enduring
What is “for the common good?”
purpose of any law
Can heroic acts be made law?
no because they are to difficult or impossible
what are the types of common law?
direct and indirect
What is the eternal law?
St Aug “divine reason and will of God commanding the preservation of the natural law and forbidding its disturbance”
What is STA’s definition of eternal law?
plan flowing from God’s wisdom directing all acts and movements
What is the Natural law (NL)?
rational creature’s particpation in the eternal law
How is natural law considered by God?
objectively
How is natural law considered by Man?
subjectively received
Why term “natural” law used?
man subject to NL from birth, contains precepts which are derived from nature of man, NL can be grasped by man’s reason w/o divine aid
What is the object of NL?
moral order as known by human reason and which has to be observed by man
What are the three types of precepts (tiers) in the NL?
primary, secondary, and remote
What is primary precept of NL?
e.g. most universal precepts i.e. good must be done
What is secondary precept of NL?
reasily recognized by man e.g. precepts of Decalogue
what is the remote conclusions regarding precepts?
those conclusions deduced by man’s reason w/ varying degrees of difficulty from the primary and secondary precepts e.g. direct abortion is always forbidden
What are the properties of NL?
universality (binds all men), immutability (cannot be changed within itself), indispensability (does not allow dispensation or equity),
What is different kinds of law?
Divine law or human law
What is sub-division of Divine Law?
eternal, natural, positive
What is object of law?
affirmative (fosters action) or negative (forbids action)
Are affirmative always obligatory?
yes, but they do not bind to continuous fulfilment i.e. don’t oblige subjects to perform the prescribed acts every moment of the day
Are negative laws always binding?
yes, but in addition they never cease to bind i.e. they oblige their subjects to refrain from forbidden action on all occasions
What is fount of of eternal law?
divine wisdom
What is ius gentium?
law of nations or law of people
What is ius gentium based on?
will of mankind
What are obligations of following Human Law?
just remember: render to Caesar what is Caesar’s
What is penal law?
form of law which directly and immediately binds under pain of punishment andnotunder pain of incurring moral fault e.g. speed limit
What are the two types of penal law?
enitirely and mixed
What is an entirely penal law?
contains a precept and a punishment in a disjunctive proposition: free to observe what’s commanded or undergo punishment
What is a purely penal law?
commands that something be done or omitted and imposes on transgressors a pentaly but no theological fault
What is a law which is “not entirely penal”?
imposes obligation which is truly and directly of a moral character and also a temporal punishment on transgressors e.g. saying (not) Divine Office
What are “purely perceptive” human laws?
impose moral obligation w/o any accompanying temporal punishment
What is can be said regarding the transgression of a penal law?
its indirect cause of moral fault
When is a penal law an “indirect cause of moral fault?”
due to culpable neglect orinordinate passion or formal contempt 2) transgressor refused to accept the punishment justly imposed
What is an invalidating law?
renders an act void or at least declares (expressly or equivalently) that the act can be resinded because of some defect in the act
What is difference between invalidating law (InvL) and prohibitory law (PL)?
PL renders act contrary to law UNLAWFUL and InvL renders acts void and deserving of vailidity
How does an InvL render an act void?
by law itself (null and void from beginning) OR after sentence of judge (act valid to judge passes sentence)
What can be said regarding effects of an invalidating law in the EXTERNAL forum?
not avoided by ignorance, good faith, or fear on part of agent
What can be said regarding effects of invalidating law in the INTERNAL forum
don’t seem to be incurred prior to the sentence of the judge if one considers civil law
Is civil law binding?
yes always binding on conscience
What is formal contempt?
transgressing because it is commanded
What is presumption?
conjecture dreived from reasonable signs?
What are two types of presumption?
common danger or definite fact
What is required to Obey Law?
requires more than not transgressing, implicit attention of what law commands
What is interpretation?
genuine explanation of the law
How are words in law to be understood?
natural sense
What can we assume of legislator when he makes law?
has common good in mind
