2. FREE WILLY!!
Man’s free will distinguishes him from the rest of creation;
-our capacity to reason, understand and discern good
from evil, and freely act on these things.
The concept of free will is easily misunderstood:
The freedom to do whatever one wants,
whenever one wants == FALSE.
When we take objective truths and consider them subjective, we
are in danger of justifying evil behavior.
Relativism: There are no such thing as moral decisions,
just options of personal preference.
3. THE FREEDOM TO DO WHAT ONE OUGHT
Good moral acts lead us to a truer sense of freedom.
Bad moral acts make us slaves to sin.
Staying within the moral law may seem restrictive at first, but this
really sets the stage for a greater sense of freedom.
Analogies: English language; getting license; playing piano.
4. #WHATSAYJESUS
“If you continue in my word,
you are truly my disciples,
and you will know the truth,
and the truth will make you free.”
“…everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.”
John 8
5. FREEDOM IN THE MORAL LIFE
Being a faithful disciple of Christ:
-Does not make us less free; rather,
-It gives us greater freedom as it liberates us from the sinfulness that
seeks to enslaves us;
-Thereby allowing us to fulfill the purpose for which we were created;
-And to achieve true happiness.
6. THE THROW DOWN -- GOOD VS EVIL
The struggle of good and evil has been the great drama of history.
We recognize it in nearly all great literature, all profound
philosophical thought, and by the development of laws.
Socrates called the science of good and evil the most important of
all forms of knowledge because it places us on the road to true
happiness. His student, Plato, called moral knowledge “the rule of
human life.”
These guys believed that living virtuously was the whole point of
education – the perfection of man.
Living the moral life has also always been a struggle
even for the most devout Christian.
7. THE THROW DOWN -- GOOD VS EVIL
Many of the greatest saints write about dealing with strong
temptations to sin.
“Lord, make me chaste…but not yet.”
So what do we do to fight the good fight?
Ephesians 6:14-19
Strength comes in prayer, Scripture, and the Sacraments.
What Sacraments are particularly helpful?
Reconciliation and the Eucharist.
8. THE MORAL LIFE…WHY BOTHER?
Motivations for following the moral law:
The perfect motivator:
Love of God and neighbor
The imperfect motivator:
Fear of God and punishment
While love is a more perfect motivator then fear, both are incentives
grounded in a belief in the moral truths revealed by Christ and
taught by the Church.
God prefers obedience out of love, but accepts obedience motivated
by fear of consequences too.
Usually it’s some combination of the two.
9. BOTHERING CONTINUED
Christians believe that they are adopted sons or daughters of God
who have been redeemed out of love by what Jesus accomplished
on the cross.
They have decided to live forGod and believe that God has set down
a moral law – what ought to be done or avoided.
A non-believer also recognizes a moral code that exist as rational
moral principles which apply to everyone.
The Natural Law is written on the human heart—part of our
nature.
Malum in se – evil in itself.
Christian morality entails the whole person as intelligent, free, and
thus, responsible for their actions in an authentic human existence.
10. THE MORAL ACT
Not all actions are moral acts. Moral acts are those actions that
result from deliberate, free choice between good and evil, or varying
degrees of goodness.
Examples of non-moral acts: breathing, walking, yawning: simply
physical actions that are not the result of deliberate choice.
A moral act must be (1) premeditated and freely chosen.
It also (2) must involve moral content. Some choices are morally
indifferent. Moral acts proceed from decisions between good and
evil or different degrees of goodness.
11. THE MORAL ACT
Moral actions are (3) personal – they say something about the
person:
Deliberation involves the intellect;
And free choice involves the will.
The intellect and will are the two primary faculties of man’s soul;
and the soul is reflected in the body.
Since man is comprised of body and soul, moral actions express and
determine the goodness or evil of the individual that performs them.
Our morality determines our character!
12. THE MORAL ACT
“For better or worse, moral acts contribute toward forming our
character and our virtue…
Moral acts express and influence our dispositions and our free will
because our actions, dispositions, and will are interrelated.
Every moral act we commit leaves us either better off or worse,
more virtuous or less virtuous, closer to God or further away from
God.
It never leaves us exactly the same.”
pg 43
14. MORAL RESPONSIBILITY
Knowledge and responsibility are
directly related.
Knowledge of act : Responsibility
Knowledge of act : Responsibility
The more/less knowledge one possesses, the more/less morally
responsible one is.
15. GOT GUILT?
Number from 1) to 4) – who is most guilty? And why?
1) being the least guilty, 4) being the most
A) A lawyer who commits perjury
B) A lone witness to an auto accident who injures a victim
by accidentally giving improper first aid
C) A two-year-old who takes his brother’s toys
D) A medical resident who gives a wrong prescription after
working thirty-six hours straight.
16. MORAL RESPONSIBILITY
Well formed Christians have the greatest responsibility because they
have the most knowledge of right and wrong; good and evil.
This doesn’t only apply for culpability of sin --
Greater knowledge also increases the virtue of a good action.
Makes sense right? More responsibility usually gets more $$$ in the
working world.
What about a lack of knowledge?
With ignorance we have to make our
first distinction.
17. IGNORANCE
There are three forms of ignorance:
Invincible Ignorance: When we do not know
something that was impossible for us to know.
Vincible Ignorance: When we do not know
something that we ought to know.
Concomitant Ignorance: When we do not know
something but we would have done it anyway
had we known.
18. INVINCIBLE IGNORANCE
The person makes a decision to act out of ignorance but in good
conscience -- having taken every precaution to inform himself.
If fully informed, the person would have not performed the act.
Responsibility is diminished or minimized by lack of knowledge.
Invincible ignorance = Not culpable (or at least minimally culpable)
19. INVINCIBLE IGNORANCE
St.Thomas Aquinas’ example:
A hunter in the woods thinks he is shooting a deer and has taken
every precaution to make sure he is making the right decision
to shoot. But he shoots and kills a man which he would have
not done had he known it was a man and not a deer. The
hunter is responsible for the death of another but his
responsibility is minimized because he could not have
known it was a man beforehand.
20. VINCIBLE IGNORANCE
The person makes a decision to act out of ignorance without
attempting to find out what the result might be.
Not in good conscience -- not having taken every precaution to be
fully informed.
Responsibility is retained because the person could have overcome
their ignorance.
Vincible Ignorance = Fully culpable for act
21. VINCIBLE IGNORANCE
St.Thomas Aquinas’ example:
In this case the hunter does not bother trying to find out if the
object is a deer or a man and he shoots anyway. In killing
the man, the hunter’s responsibility is increased because
he could have put in the effort to find out if it was in fact a
deer he was shooting or not. His will was not fully informed,
but he did not allow this to alter his decision, therefore, he is
more responsible for the killing.
22. CONCOMITANT IGNORANCE
(not in book)
The person performs an act out of ignorance but they would not have
changed their decision had they been more informed to what they
were doing.
Responsibility is retained because the person would have chosen the
act fully informed.
Concomitant Ignorance = Fully culpable
23. CONCOMITANT IGNORANCE
St.Thomas Aquinas’ example:
The hunter thinks he is shooting a deer, but shoots and kills his
enemy. In this case, the hunter killed out of ignorance but
would have still chosen to kill his enemy if he had been
informed that it was his enemy.
24. MORAL RESPONSIBILITY
So we see that the only acceptable form of ignorance is invincible
ignorance
--one who seeks the truth and follows that truth
as best he understands it –
It is only invincible ignorance that acts in good conscience, fully
informed to the extent that is possible.
25. What do we have the obligation to do if we suspect an action might be
wrong, but we’re not 100% sure?
We have the obligation to resolve all doubt by gathering the
correct information. We cannot just act and then claim ignorance.
26. MORAL RESPONSIBILITY
“Imputability and responsibility for an action can be diminished or
even nullified by ignorance, inadvertence, duress, fear, habit,
inordinate attachments, and other psychological or social factors.”
CCC 1735
see chart
27. FACTORS THAT LIMIT RESPONSIBILITY
Factor Definition Example
Ignorance Not knowing something. A person who has never
heard the Gospel
Inadvertence Not noticing something. Speeding because of not
seeing a speed limit sign that
lowered the speed limit.
Duress Being put under force. Being forced to drive a get-
away car at gunpoint.
Fear Being afraid of something. Lying about cheating for fear
of getting expelled.
Habit Acting in an almost involuntary
way because of having done the
same thing repeatedly.
A new lie told by a
pathological liar.
Inordinate attachment Desire for something that goes
beyond reason.
An alcoholic who continues
drinking even though he
wants to stop.
28. How does our society show its belief that we are responsible for our
actions? Examples?
We give medals and prizes for outstanding achievement, such
as the Medal of Honor, the Nobel Prize, and the Academy
Award. We also punish people who break the law.
29. MINI REVIEW
Why do Christians have a greater responsibility for their moral
behavior than others?
A Christian ought to know best what he or she should do and
avoid more so than someone who has not received Christian
moral formation.
30. MINI REVIEW
The three types of Ignorance are?
Invincible, Vincible, and Concomitant
The only one that acts in good conscience is?
Invincible ignorance.
31. Moral Responsibility is determined by what two factors?
Knowledge and Freedom
“By free will one shapes one’s own life. Human freedom is a
force for growth and maturity in truth and goodness; it
attains its perfection when directed toward God…” CCC1731
Remember: Human freedom is not absolute, but limited to those
things that are good. We cannot do anything we want
without consequences.
One needs to nurture his or her freedom by freely choosing actions
that contribute to his or her virtue as a person.
The goal is self-mastery which will liberate us from our inordinate
passions.
32. FREEDOM AND RESPONSIBILITY
The very purpose of freedom is to choose and perform those good
actions which will lead us to God, the ultimate source of all true and
lasting happiness.
There is no such thing as freedom that is independent of
responsibility.
Simply demonstrated, parents will give more freedom to a child that
proves themselves responsible. The child who responsibly exercises
the freedom given by his or her parents is given more freedom.
Likewise, the more responsible we become by habitually choosing the
good, the more freedom (self-mastery) we attain.
33. NOT SO FREE
Mitigation of responsibility is also related to freedom in that the less
freely a person commits an act, the less responsible they are for it.
Ex. Someone threatens your life if you don’t help them steal
something. You are still participating in the theft, but acting out of
fear. You are less responsible for stealing because you are not free in
your choice to participate.
34. Josh’s friend offers
him a copy of last
year’s English test. He
debates about
accepting it.
Technically, it would
be cheating, but there
is no guarantee that
the questions will be
the same as last year.
What decision makes him/her
the most free? (using the
Christian understanding of
freedom)
What good would he/she
then be free to pursue?
If he/she were to make the
opposite choice, are there
any factors limiting moral
responsibility?
35. Julie has been smoking
pot at least once a month
for the past two years.
She just got a job offer,
and there is a drug testing
on Monday. However,
there is a big party
Saturday night, where
there is bound to be pot.
She is trying to figure out
a way to still smoke on
Saturday and pass the
drug test.
What decision makes him/her
the most free? (using the
Christian understanding of
freedom)
What good would he/she
then be free to pursue?
If he/she were to make the
opposite choice, are there
any factors limiting moral
responsibility?
36. Charlie’s friend has
been sending him links
to look at
pornography. His
friend says that it is
the mature thing to do
and “not a big deal.”
Charlie is torn, and his
reasons to resist are
growing slim.
What decision makes him/her
the most free? (using the
Christian understanding of
freedom)
What good would he/she
then be free to pursue?
If he/she were to make the
opposite choice, are there
any factors limiting moral
responsibility?
37. Melanie has been dating
her boyfriend for a year.
He’s been asking to have
sex with her, and tells
her that if she really
loved him, then she
would. She had wanted
to wait until marriage,
but now is questioning
the point of waiting.
After all, she loves him,
and she doesn’t want to
lose him.
What decision makes him/her
the most free? (using the
Christian understanding of
freedom)
What good would he/she
then be free to pursue?
If he/she were to make the
opposite choice, are there
any factors limiting moral
responsibility?
38. GOD RESPECTS OUR FREEDOM
How can an all-good and all-powerful God allow evils like famine,
genocide, AIDS, and war to prevail in this world? How could God
allow for the existence of Hell?
The great gift of freedom carries with it the potential for evil as well.
God has taken a certain risk in creating us with free will.
God, who gave us life, hopes we willfully cooperate in his plan of
creation, but remember we suffer the consequences of Original Sin.
The freedom to choose to cooperate with God’s moral law and
seek the good necessarily entails the option to reject God or be
indifferent to him.
39. “Out of respect for the freedom he grants us, God neither
forces us to make the right choices nor prevents us from
making wrong choices. Otherwise, we would not be free.
Evil in the world, even that which reaches monumental
proportions, is the bitter fruit of our evil choices. We cannot
blame God for the evils that find their origins in our abuse of
freedom.” Textbook pg 47
God’s grace is not imposed on us, but freely offered and must be
freely accepted. If accepted, grace enlightens us to know what is
right and strengthens our will to do what is right. God’s grace
supplements our flaws as fallen people enabling us to
follow God’s law and plan for our lives.
40. THE MORAL CONSCIENCE
Latin for “with knowledge” ( = moral responsibility for actions
committed in light of the conscience)
Practical judgment of right reason made by the intellect regarding
the good or evil of a particular act in light of objective moral
standards—the moral law.
Not a feeling or a hunch, nor is it about a theoretical situation, it’s a
practical judgment of an actual situation; practical moral
deliberation.
It is a tool of the intellect using reason to discern the goodness or
evil of an action.
41. THE MORAL CONSCIENCE
The existence of the conscience is found in the Bible and realized in
human experience. Examples? (Regrets over previous choices)
Moral theology maintains that we all are constantly asking ourselves
“Is this the right thing to do?” or “Is this act morally correct?”
We may ignore or be blinded to our asking of this question
because of strong passions, weak will, or apathy, but the
question is still there in the depth of our soul—part of human
nature.
OT says that God interacts with us in our conscience – “When he
listens to his conscience, the prudent man can hear God speaking.”
CCC 1777
The conscience is developed and must be formed according to
objective moral truths.
42. DEVELOPING THE CONSCIENCE
A well-formed conscience is steeped in objective truth, which must
be obeyed and applied accordingly.
The conscience cannot be the source of its own moral truth—if it is
then it is prone to error and the person themself becomes God, the
creator of right and wrong.
So we have an obligation to (in)form our consciences well;
And we have an obligation to follow our consciences faithfully.
If we don’t follow what our conscience says, then we incriminate and
condemn ourselves by making choices that our conscience tell us are
immoral. We know its wrong, but do it anyway.
It is important that we inform our conscience well because we are
obligated to follow it.
43. CONSCIENTIOUSNESS
Because we are obligated to follow our conscience in moral
decisions, it would be an injustice to force someone to act against
their conscience or prevent them from acting according to their
conscience.
In order to function properly, the conscience must be habitually
enlightened by moral truth according to the guiding light of the
Commandments and Christ’s teachings.
It can get it wrong! Someone can act “in good conscience” but
poor judgment. One can be blind to the truth through habitual sin
or simply refusing to acknowledge moral truth.
44. FORMATION OF CONSCIENCE
A conscience that is properly formed knows not only what the moral
teachings of Christ and his Church are, but also how to apply them
to concrete, real-life situations.
Better formation of conscience, the more reliable the conscience
will be. Never complete, always informing – an ongoing duty.
How is a conscience formed (or informed)?
Parents, teachers, priests, and other influential people help in
conscience formation. From them, and through the
natural law within us, we learn the basics of right and wrong.
We are further enlightened by the Commandments and
teachings of the Christ and the Church (Magisterium)
45. FORMATION OF CONSCIENCE
Also recommended to proper formation of conscience and living
according to conscience is:
-A sincere prayer life: God reveals his will to you;
-Frequent and honest self-examination which leads to
sincere repentance;
-Frequent reception of the Sacrament of Reconciliation;
-Avoidance of bad habits that will eventually numb the
conscience to wrongdoing so it does not function properly;
-Seek spiritual direction if necessary.
46. WHY IS PRAYER IMPORTANT
Studying the information of the faith gives us knowledge…
…But only prayer gives us a sharing in Christ’s life.
47. FREE WRITE
“Conscience is a precious but delicate guide. Its voice is easily
distorted or obscured.To dictate conscience is to silence and,
eventually, to destroy it. Conscience must be listened to and
listened to sensitively. It needs to be interrogated, even to be cross-
examined.
And only those who habitually interrogate their conscience and are
ready to pay heed even to its awkward answers, will not cheat their
conscience or be cheated by it.”
- Cormac Burke
48. CONTRIBUTIONS TO POOR FORMATION OF CONSCIENCE
“Ignorance of Christ and his Gospel, bad example given by others,
enslavement to one’s passions, assertion of a mistaken notion of
autonomy of conscience, rejection of the Church’s authority and
her teachings, lack of conversion and of charity: these can be at the
source of errors of judgment in moral conduct.”
CCC1792
49. IN SUM?
“It is man alone who has freedom. …With this powerful
gift of freedom and the help of God’s grace, man can
transform the world into a haven of justice, charity, and
peace, or he can destroy himself.” - p. 55