Vocabulary Flashcards
The condition or state of affairs surrounding a moral decision; these include the consequences of an action. Circumstances can increase or diminish the responsibility of a person, but they cannot change the moral quality of the acts themselves; they never make good an act which is in itself evil.
circumstances
Human appetites or desires remain disordered due to the temporal consequences of Original sin. This remains even after Baptism and constitute an inclination to sin.
concupiscence
A personal appeal that to carry out a particular action that has been ordered by legitimate authority would be against one’s own conscience.
conscientious objection
The quality of being guilty or deserving punishment for participation in sin.
culpable
The premeditation or forethought that weighs one’s options before making a moral act
deliberation
Judgment of conscience that occurs when there is doubt about the good or evil of an act done or omitted.
doubtful conscience
the primary goal of the intention and the purpose pursued in an action.
end
That which is opposed to the moral law and thus entails sin.
evil
The power rooted in reason and the will, to act or not to act, and so to perform deliberate actions on one’s own responsibility.
freedom
Includes the power of directing one’s own actions without constraint.
free will
The clear and deliberate knowledge of the merit or sinfulness of an action.
full knowledge
An act that is performed with both knowledge and free will.
human act
the lack of knowledge
Ignorance
A quality, character, or conduct in violation of moral law
immorality
The attribution of a secondary effect that follows as a natural result from the primary effect
indirect responsibility
a movement of the will toward an end
intention
ignorance that cannot be overcome by ordinary diligence.
invincible ignorance
Any human act that has a moral content and involves deliberation and choice.
moral act
The ethical norms, authored and revealed by God and safeguarded by the Church, imposing obligations on the conscience of each person.
moral law
The view that there is no absolute or universal moral law or truth, resulting in a morality determined by cultural factors or personal preference.
moral relativism
The subset of theology that makes use of reason to offer practical judgments, under the guidance of divine revelation, in order to direct human acts towards their supernatural end
moral theology
The doctrine or system by which actions are judged to be good or evil.
morality
The essence of a being considered as the principle of its activity and defining its particular characteristics
nature
Standards of conduct that are universal rather than conditioned by culture or personal preference.
objective morality
that toward which the will directs itself. This is distinct from the intention that a person has when performing the act.
object
This separated mankind from God, darkened the human intellect, weakened the human will, and introduced into human nature an inclination toward sin.
original sin
Knowledge that is incomplete due to the presence of some obstacle interfering with a moral judgment
partial knowledge
an act may be performed, even if accompanied by an unintended bad effect, if the act itself is good or indifferent, the good effect far outreaches the bad effect, and the intention of the act is the good effect.
principle of double effect
The ability to discern the most suitable and moral course of action
prudence
The intellectual power or faculty which is ordinarily employed by man in adapting thought or action to some
end; the guiding principle of the human mind in the process of thinking.
reason
Moral standards that are not universal but are decided upon by the individuals involved
subjective morality
Lack of knowledge for which a person is morally responsible due to lack of diligence
vincible ignorance
A habitual and firm disposition to do good.
virtue
