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The good life: Our search
for happiness
We cannot locate the good anywhere because it
is in all things without being something itselfno where do we find the good, we find only
good things
 Plato thought that the closest we come to the
good is in contemplation, in contemplation we
bask in the good and it enters into our knowing
 Plato had high regard for philosophers because
he thought that as contemplatives of the good,
philosophers were closest to the good
 They have chosen the happiest life and are
happy because they know how to act in
accordance with beliefs; they make true
choices about the value and worth of their
actions, while all other people are ruled by
feelings not truth
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Plato had to struggle against sophism- a movement that threatened to undermine
all morality
Sophists proclaimed there could be no truth; all so called truth is no more than an
opinion
If there is no truth than there can be no such thing as a universal moral codemoral values are just opinions, and life is ruled by basic needs and desires
This movement caused the state to deteriorate to a near-total moral collapse- it
was ruled by private pleasure of greed, drink, food, sex
Plato looked for something that could stem this flood of social disorder and found
that is was reason (which finds the good that pervades everything.

Agreed with Plato that
all people aspire to some good and seek to be happy,
 that philosophers were the most likely to succeed in the search for
happiness and the good, and
 the search for happiness and good has more to do with acting intelligently
that with following one’s inclinations.

However Aristotle considered Plato’s idea of the good too
abstract- he said people do not find the good; they find a good
 The good is to be found in God, and is inscribed by him into the
nature of each thing- good is within all things!
 To search for the good is to go to each thing and discover its
potential, asking: What is the purpose or aim of this thing? How
can we best achieve this aim or goal?
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Incorporated Aristotle’s teachings into theology.
His two major works “Summa contra Gentiles” and
“Summa theologica” reflect the impact Aristotle's
thinking has upon him
Like Aristotle, Aquinas insisted that the ethical comes
from the end that is inscribed in the nature of all
creatures
What something is for is at the core of what something
is, and at a person’s core is a desire for the good
Equated God with the highest good, and his faith in the
immortality of the human soul and the resurrection of
Christ allowed him a vision of life with a much more
refined notion of the end of human beings
Aquinas added that human happiness was not exhausted
with the good life lived on earth to Aristotle’s idea that
happiness connects to a good life lived by a virtuous
person
 Aquinas’s
ethics operated on two levels:
 He followed Aristotle closely and also believed people live
the good life by using their intelligence and other capabilities
such as their senses, desires, and physical abilities
 To know how to use one’s intellectual and sensual capacities,
one must follow the natural law which he described as
“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
 1)
prudence- how to reason well in moral decision making
 2) temperance- how to remain moderate in the exercise of
the emotions
 3) fortitude- how to be courageous in the face of life’s
difficulties
 4) justice- how to act well in relation to others
Traditionally these have been called the cardinal virtues
(cardinal: from the latin cardo, meaning hinge). These values
are the “hinges” supporting human life.
 God’s
self gift to us in Jesus and the Holy Spirit changes the
way we define what is good
 Virtues of faith, hope and charity are introduced here, and
the initiative for these virtues does not lie within us it comes
from God
 For example:
Charity- is first of all God’s love for us, because God loves us we
can then love others
 Faith- is first God’s self revealing action before it becomes a virtue
in us
These virtues begin as a pure gift, and our response is to accept it,
give it thanks and praise, and live in accordance with the gift

 Kant
lived in the period of the
“Enlightenment”, a time characterized
by the sweeping away of any authority or
religion that could not justify itself in
the court of reason
 There were no kings, priests, bible’s,
churches…unless they could prove by
reason that they had a right to have
authority
 Only reason had authority….it is in this
context Kant sought to find an
unassailable ground for ethics
 Kant
rejected the ethics that emphasized
happiness as a by product of doing good, such as
Aristotle and Aquinas had suggested
 Kant’s argument was that people will do good
because it is their duty, this is how people of
reason act.
 They must live autonomously and find reason for
doing good in themselves…all other goods in life,
such as intelligence and love, are of lesser value
than the good will, they are only a means by which
to obtain it.
 However,
Kant believed that humans could not achieve the
supreme good in this life, and as a result acknowledged the
immortality of the soul
 Therefore: there must be a life beyond this life
 Kant’s God was a good who is also held to duty  he must
make certain humans can indeed achieve the supreme good
 In contrast to Aristotle & Aquinas : The supreme good is not
the self gift of God’s love to us, but a necessary condition of
reason. Faith, hope, and charity lose their place in this
theory.
 Levinas
places the infinite Good, who is God, at the
heart of ethics
 For Levinas, the good comes as a call, a vocation, it
does not come from one’s self

ie: The ethical experience of the beggar in Chapter 1.
When we face a beggar we must respond, even if we chose
not to help them, the appeal follows us
Levinas appreciated comforts in life, but was very aware of
the danger of being totally absorbed in caring for one’s
self. It is the other who awakens me to the highest good.
 Teleological:
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natural ethics
Catholic ethical theory frequently turns to Aristotle’s
teleological approach, as reflected in the work of Aquinas
For instance: Aquinas begins with questions about human
happiness, then explores human actions, how evil enters into
them, how they are influenced by passions, and how they
gradually become habits and virtues. He then explores human
action from the perspective of God’s self gift
Deontological: obligation (In chp 8)
 The role of obligation in our decision making, what we must
do in a given situation, how we make a moral judgment
 The role of laws and rules for human behavior in particular
circumstances, the norms for human action
 Impact of the gospel (In chp 9)
 Considers the impact of the gospel on us and our actions
 The gospel proclaims that the son of God has entered human
history as a man to open up possibilities for actions that are
motivated by God’s love in our hearts

The standards of excellence of the “good life”
a) There are no recipes
- God created us unique and so our person vocations are unique
and irreplaceable. Therefore, there are no recipes that
would serve each person in achieving their particular aim of
life. However knowing the great tradition of human wisdom
about a life of excellence helps. The Church places
emphasis on the communion of the saints to provide us with
examples to help each one of us plan our own path in life.
1.
b) Standards of excellence
-Standards of excellence are sets of best practices. Just as it is possible to
become a chess master, it is possible to set certain standards of excellence
within the human life.
c) The study and practice of virtue
-A virtue is a kind of excellence and put into practice virtues become the
strengths and solidity of our character. For example a just person is one who
consistently acts justly, not just someone who has a just disposition. There
are many virtues that catholic tradition recommends including the cardinal
virtues temperance, prudence and justice
-touches mainly on three essentials in life: food, drink, sex
-temperance is not about finding a middle ground, rather it means
“I should take proper care of myself, I must preserve myself”
- The passions of human life are powerful forces and should not only
be seen as something to repress, rather temper-> that is, using
these passions for human growth
- Our enjoyment for these things is one of the prime forces behind
self preservation, they are part of our desire to exist.
- Hence temperance is positive and life affirming
- Intemperance is destructive and selfish, and means using these
forces of self preservation for their own sake. Intemperance
abuses food, sex and drink to a point where they are not there for
self preservation but objects of addiction.
 Properly
defined, chastity means living in such a way that our
own needs, desires, agendas, and impatience do not get in
the way of letting gift be gift, other be other and God be
God. Obviously this depends on proper respect and waiting.
 For example, sex is only chaste when it does not short-circuit
full respect, like it may through prematurity, force or unfair
pressure
 Chastity is 90% about waiting and means the integration of
sexuality within the person. It includes an apprenticeship in
self mastery.
2) The role of the other in attaining the good life
- I cannot live the good life by myself
- Aristotle realized this and wrote that friendship is not only a
feeling of attachment for another but a virtue
-
Solicitude: the other, not as a friend, but as an ethical approach
Anxious concern for the other
The experience of the other is not only from friendship, but from
the appeal of a needy other, someone we may not like
The ethical life is about giving and receiving, is lived with and for
others, and we cannot live without solicitude; regard for the other
3) The good life needs just institutions
- Institutions are stable sets or systems of meanings, beliefs and values
- Over time, the values of food, shelter, health, education, economy and
religion became stabilized in social institutions
- Ethics is interested in the way these promote and stabilize our search
for the good
- Institutions are the backbone of common good as in them we find our
values, beliefs and practices
- They are spaces in society for acting together and where justice and
equality play a central role
- However they are as good as the people who are part of them and who
are willing to put their efforts in them…ethics is tied to institutions
because we are responsible for making them life giving and just,
changing them when they become destructive, and protecting them
when they become attacked
Chastity- the integration of sexuality with the person, includes an
apprenticeship in self-mastery. Every baptized person is called to
lead a chaste life, each according to his particular state of life.
 Happiness- the gospels speak of happiness in terms of the
beatitudes- blessedness. God has placed the desire for happiness
in the human heart in order to draw us to the One alone who can
fulfill it. We find happiness in life by living the good life; that is,
life in the way of Christ.
 Institutions- Social constructs that give structure and form to a
community’s set of values , beliefs and meanings. For example
educational institutions give concrete structure and form to the
value of learning.

 Solicitude-
anxious concern for another
 Temperance- restraint of human passions and appetites in
accordance with reason; self control of the body.
 Virtue- human virtues are firm attitudes, stable dispositions,
habitual perfections of intellect and will, that govern our
actions, order our passions and guide our conduct according
to reason and faith.
CHAPTER 8:NORMS OF MORAL
LIVING
Norms and Obligations
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Societies set up governing institutions and delegate lawmakers to make and
enforce laws and rules to protect those things that the people of that society
consider to be important for the common good.
With norms come obligation and duty: Laws do not invite us to seek the common
good; they command us to do so. “You shall…” or “You shall not…”
What Are Norms?
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Moral Norms are criteria of judgment about the sort of person we ought to be,
and the sorts of actions we ought to perform.”
Criteria are standards that serve as guides for action.
Norms have 4 characteristics that prompt this feeling of obligation.
1. Norms are declared by an authority
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Some norms come from God ( Ten Commandments),
some come from humans (civil law)
Our obligation to these authorities is derived from the
power that has been given to them through election,
delegation, ordination and so on.
Positions of leadership empower these persons of
authority to make laws, set rules and prescribe
behaviours.
2. Norms must be rational
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For norms to become obligatory, they must be
reasonable.
If a rule is reasonable and is explained
rationally, it creates a sense of obligation to
obey it.
If an appropriate rule is explained and
justified, you feel impelled from within to follow
it.
Kant: Duty and obligation are rational. Reason
is the prime source of obligation.
3. Norms Involve Our freedom
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A norm obliges us, in our freedom, to act in a certain way, addressing
our sense of responsibility.
Because moral norms promote and protect values, they guide us and
they seek our assent.
There are 5 ways in which moral norms function to assist
our freedom:
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1) Norms impart wisdom: By transmitting the moral wisdom of the past, they put us in touch with the
experience of those who have gone before us. This can protect us from some error and hurt.
2)Norms provide security: Because we are a nurtured species, we rely on easily learned rules to give us a
measure of comfort when we do things for the first time as we mature.
3)Norms help us make decisions with speed and accuracy: If moral norms are known and appreciated,
we waste less time and get the right thing done by following the norm.
4)Norms are helpful for examining our conscience: To examine our hearts honestly, we need some criteria
to judge our actions.
5) Norms function to unify a people: A sense of purpose and common goals are main ingredients of
community. Norms promote and protect values that unify a people by enabling them to live in harmony.
4. Norms direct our inclinations and desires
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Norms are guides that help us steer through the maze of human inclinations and
desires.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines passions as “emotions or
movements of the sensitive appetite that incline us to act or not to act in regard
to something felt or imagined to be good and evil.”
Passions are a gift from God; they are a part of who you are.
Passions and Inclinations
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Passions are feelings, desires or emotions (love, hatred, sadness, fear and anger)
Morally speaking, passions are neither good nor evil. They become morally good or evil
only when governed by reason.
“Passions are morally good when they contribute to a good action, evil in the opposite
case.”
Norms are guides that help us steer through the maze of human inclinations and desires.
Laws:5 Requirements For a Law
1. Lawmaker
 God’s law (eternal law)—revealed through the Bible and sacred texts. Also revealed through us
(natural law). Since we are made in the image of God, God’s law is also written in our capacity to
reason, in our passions and inclinations and in our actions and relationships.
 Human law—has its own legislators, such as federal and provincial government.
2. A Specific Directive of Action
 Laws tend to be very specific, spelling out exactly how the subjects of the law are to act.
3. The Common Good
 Catholic social teaching-without denying the rights of individuals-holds that laws are primarily
intended to give shape to the common good (which refers to the general well-being of all society).
It includes such things as peace, security, protection of the law and good order.
4. A Specific Group of People
 Laws that are set up to help specific groups of people
 Laws function within an institutional framework. They address the people who
participate in these institutions of society and the church.
5. Obligation
 As humans we are obliged to maintain and sustain the common good (rational
thinkers)
 So important is the common good, that we are morally obligated to chose the
means necessary to achieve it. Therefore, if a law contributes to the common
good, we are obligated to follow it.
Rules
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Rules are not strictly legislated but are nevertheless obligatory guidelines for
action. Rules indicate how we ought to behave in certain situations.
Sometimes when there is conflict between rules it is quite easy to distinguish
which must be followed.
However, in many cases, it is difficult to make such a judgment, as in situations
of war and medical practice.
Absolute Rules VS. Generally Binding Rule
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Generally apply under all
circumstances.
Examples: “You shall not murder”,
always be just, love God and
your neighbor as yourself, be
honest, do good and avoid evil,
etc.
These rules are guides to action.
They do not enter into detail as to
what you must do in particular
situations.
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Apply in all circumstances unless
there is another compelling rule in
conflict with this rule.
Example: Follow the rule “do not
lie” depending on what you
understand to be a lie. You would
not intentionally deceive a person
who has the right to the truth, but
you would not tell a thief about
the whereabouts of valuables in
your home.
Maxims
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A maxim is a general truth, or a rule
of conduct; they offer guidelines or
advice.
They come from customs of the past,
culture, and from communities or
institutions.
Ex: “People who live in glass houses
should not throw stones”
Moral Principles
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Moral Principles are basic truths we use to determine rules of conduct. In
moral reasoning, principles enable us to measure our moral obligation or
to figure out how we ought to act in particular situations.
They touch on every aspect of our lives where ethics and morality are at
stake.
Natural Law
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Catholics refer to “natural law” when
they seek to determine whether a
certain action is right or wrong.
Natural law, as a principle for moral
action, affirms that we have the
capacity to figure out what is good.
The law is written within us in our
capacity to reason.
Thomas Aquinas: 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.
Natural Law: Key Thinkers
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Jacques Maritain: “Natural Law is made manifest to practical reason in certain judgments, bu
these very judgments do not proceed from any conceptual, discursive, rational exercise of
reason. They proceed from…inclination.”
Thomas Aquinas: “The rational creature by its very rationality participates in the eternal
reason, and because of this participation, has a natural inclination to the actions ‘rooted in
reason’.
Augustine: “that which is not just seems to be no law at all”
The Prudent Person
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Human morality originates in a moral person who acts according to the good.
To act according to these norms, laws, rules and principles to consider also
requires prudence.
The prudent person has the ability to make good choices, who has an almost
instinctive inclination towards goodness.
Prudence seeks out right reason. It evaluates motives for action. It judges how to
make justice and love of God in real day-to-day activities.
Gyges Ring
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An exchange takes place between
Socrates and Glaucon where
Glaucon wants to prove that, “no
one is just of his or her own free will,
but only under compulsion.”
If both the just and the unjust were
given the freedom to do whatever
they wanted, the just would follow
the same road as the unjust. He used
the story of Gyges.
Gyges was a Sheppard in the
service of the ruler of Lydia. One
day, he finds a magic ring and
decideds to keep it.
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While waiting to speak at a monthly council
meeting he gave the ring a twist and
discovered that the ring had the power to
make him invisible and visible as he
pleased.
He used the ring’s magic to seduce the
queen, kill the king and take over the
kingdom.
Glaucon argued that if there were two such
rings, one worn by a just person and the
other by the unjust, they both would end up
acting in the same way.
The one wearing the ring would step
beyond society’s rules and do as he or she
please as there would be no social
compulsion to the right thing.
Key Terms
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Common good: The general well-being of all within society
Norm: Norms are guides for action. They come in the form of laws, rules,
principles, commandments and maxims. They come with varying degrees of
obligation.
Law: The judgment of a lawmaker about the means necessary to promote
and protect the common good.
Rule: A prescribed guide for conduct or action.
Key Terms
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Maxim: A general truth or rule of conduct.
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Obligation: Something you are bound to do by duty; your responsibility.
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Inclination: Natural disposition towards a perceived good. Related to
passions.
Passion: Feelings, desires, or emotions. Morally speaking, they are neither
good nor evil in themselves, but are morally good when they contribute to a
good action, and morally evil when they contribute to evil action.
Key Terms
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Proverb: A brief, popular saying or adage containing a nugget of
wisdom.
Natural law: The original moral sense which enables people to
discern by reason what is good and what is evil, what is true and what
is a lie.
Moral principle: Basic truths used to determine rules of conduct. In
moral reasoning, principles are used to measure moral obligation or to
determine how to act in particular situations.
CHAPTER 9-LIVING IN PRAISE AND
THANKSGIVING
*The previous chapters emphasized what we must do as we strive to live ethically and morally. This chapter emphasizes
what God brings to the relationship and our response to God and to God’s personal call to each one of us. It represents
a considerable enrichment of how we understand ourselves as ethical and moral beings
The ethics of the beatitudes
What do the beatitudes say about ethics and morality? They are about God’s
way of being with us and God’s abundant generosity. What is the orientation
the beatitudes give to us?
1)
We are called to recognize that all is God’s gift
The beatitudes call us to acknowledge that everything comes out of God’s
goodness and abundance
 Everything begins with His love
 Our Catholic religion is based upon what God has done for us, and only then what
we do in response to His love
 Of all the gifts, Jesus is the greatest gift. This sets the tone for the whole message
of Jesus

2)
We are called to repent and believe the good news:
 Our
first response to the beatitudes is repentance, or what the Christian
tradition calls conversion
 In Mark’s gospel, Jesus says that the kingdom of God has come near. This is
the time of God’s generosity. The people are asked to “repent and believe
in the good news”
 To repent or convert is to let go of one’s previous way of living and looking
at life
 Accept God’s generosity and love and make these the starting point of your
life
3)
We are called to live a life of praise and thanksgiving
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Our second response to this generosity is to live a life of praise and thanksgiving
If the beatitudes are about God’s goodness, we should first thank God
liturgy and participation in liturgy are important for Catholic life. The gift of God’s life and love
needs to be received and celebrated.
4) We are called to live generously
• Our third response is an ethics, the motivation for which is radically different from that discussed
in the previous two chapters
• It is not an ethics of obligation. It is an ethics of response- gospel ethics or eschatological ethics
• It is living God’s gift and responding generously with what I can give, acting not out of fear but
out of love by God’s grace
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**The Gospels present us with two versions of the beatitudes. In
chapter 5 you were presented with Matthew’s beatitudes. Chapter 9
explores Luke’s version of the beatitudes and what they mean for our
vocation to happiness**
The beatitudes are the Christian blueprint for the building of the
kingdom of God on earth
Matthew’s beatitudes (don’t have to study this)
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Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled
Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God
Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven
Blesses are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against
you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in
the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Luke’s beatitudes (Luke 6.20-26) (don’t have to study this either)
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Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God
Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled
Blessed who you who weep now, for you will laugh
Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you,
and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for
joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did
to the prophets
But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation
Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry
Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep
Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the
false prophets
Whom is jesus addressing in the beatitudes?
*refer to pg. 166
for more pts; only need to know 3 each for test*
Matthew:
Luke:
• The Sermon is addressed to those who have welcomed • The poor are the real poor, those who have to
Christ and belong to the community of disciples: first
“crouch” for their living (beggars)
the disciples, then the crowd who has come from all
• The hungry are the poor who have no food and no
the regions of Israel
way to sustain themselves
• Poor in spirit: someone who is poor within, knowing
• Those who weep are the rejected and the distressed
him/herself to be totally dependent upon God to live
because of their poverty
and grow; a humble person; a person who is not
attatched to the things of this earth
• Mourners: those afflicted with intense sorrow, keen
suffering or a great loss. Spiritual sufferers are those
who mourn for their own sins and for the sins of others
A liturgy of thanks and praise
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Liturgy, charity, spirituality and vocation is central to our response to
God’s generosity
The word “liturgy” originally meant a “public work” or a “service in
the name of/on behalf of the people”.
the liturgy is a participation in Christ’s own prayer addressed to the
Father in the Holy Spirit. In the liturgy, all Christian prayer finds its
source and goal
What happens in these symbolic actions that are, at once, God’s work
and our work, Christ’s prayer and our prayer?
A LITURGY OF THANKS AND PRAISE
CONTINUED…
1) God gathers us
 Even
though liturgical encounters seem to take place through our initiative, it
is God who desires to meet us
2) God and creation exchange gifts
 The
invitation to gather at liturgy is to make possible an exchange of gifts.
God shares with us the gift of creation, life, death, resurrection of Jesus and
the Holy Spirit. Our part of this exchange is to receive these gifts, offer
God praise and thanksgiving, to allow ourselves to be transformed by the
love of God and so to be agents of transformation in the world
3) The mystery of God’s love is made known through ritual, symbol and word

In liturgy, the interaction with God happens sacramentally. It uses language, rituals and
symbols. We encounter God in the proclamation of the Word of God.
4) The liturgy achieves our salvation

If our greatest beatitude is to be in the presence of God or to see the face of God,
liturgy enacts and makes real this being with God on earth. Our liturgy on earth is an
anticipation of and participation in the heavenly liturgy. God’s interaction with us in the
liturgy is a foretaste of our interaction in the fullness of life, in the resurrection (therefore,
the Eastern Church uses visual symbols to help the congregation celebrate what they call
heavenly liturgy). We consider liturgy to be part of the work whereby we become whole
human beings. This salvation is not just for individuals and their personal relation to God;
it is a salvation intended for the world. Liturgy is to make us agents of love and
reconciliation for the world.
5) Liturgy promotes moral living
 In
liturgy, ethics and morality are nourished and receive their highest
motivation. Liturgy empowers us to act in accordance with the gifts of
creation and the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Ethical and moral
actions become ways of giving thanks and praise, celebrations of the gift of
God. We become generous in our moral life because God is generous
Important points


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**The original Greek word that is used in the beatitudes is makarios, which
means both “blessed” and “happy.” **
The beatitudes respond to the natural desire for happiness. This desire is of
divine origin: God has placed it in the human heart in order to draw man to
the One who alone can fulfil it
The ethical aspect of the beatitudes is more evident in Matthew’s version
than in Luke’s. Luke is more concerned to show God’s generosity. Matthew is
more insistent that this generosity also has ethical repercussions. The
beatitudes are invitations to be poor in spirit, peacemakers, meek, to
hunger for justice as a response to God’s generosity
Chapter 9 glossary

Beatitudes: Blessings found in both Matthew 5 and Luke 6 that
summarize much of Jesus’ teaching about the kingdom of God. They
have 3 parts:





(1) the invocation or blessing word
(2) the group addressed
(3) the conditions of the blessing
Charity: The power of God’s love working through us. This love
incorporates action on behalf of the needy.
Spirituality: The pattern of how faith is translated in action.


Liturgy: In Christian tradition it means in the participation of the
People of God in the ‘work of God’. The liturgy is the highest
exchange or interaction between the work of God and our work. We
call the actions in which this encounter occurs sacramental. The official
worship of the Church as the Mass, Sacraments, Liturgy of the Hours.
Devotional prayer, such as Stations of the Cross and the Rosary also
contribute to moral living, as they flow out of liturgy or lead into it.
Vocation: A calling to a state of life: marriage, ordained ministry,
consecrated life, single state. It is a calling by God to live a life of
love in a unique and graced way.
Bioethics and the Principle of double effect
(note taken in class)


The ethics of life is the study of the ethical and moral questions
involved in the application of new biological and medical findings
There are several principles that must underline all debates about
bioethical issues
1.
2.
God is the author of life. Humans are made in the image of God, thus human life has
profound dignity. It is sacred and deserves respect
We cannot do something evil to obtain a good end
3.
Sometimes neutral actions result in both good and bad effects. The principle of Double
Effect says that given certain circumstances we may engage in such neutral actions
a.
b.
c.
d.
The action must be either good/ neutral
The good cannot be obtained by means of evil
The evil effects must not be intended
The good effects must be sufficiently desirable for allowing the evil effect to take place. In other
words, there must be a proportionally grave reason for allowing the evil to occur
4. Principle of totality- a pat exists for the god of the whole (i.e. a limb may be
amputated in order to save a person’s life)
5.
A person must use ordinary means to preserve his/her life
 Ordinary
means=medicines, treatments, operations that offer a reasonable
benefit that can be obtained and used without excessive pain, expense or
inconvenience. A person is not ethically required to use extraordinary means
to preserve life
6.
Every human life is valuable- from the moment of conception to the
moment of death. Everyone has the right to the minimal medical care
required to live a productive, healthy life
Bioethics #2

1.
2.
3.
4.
Bioethics addresses moral issues related to health care and medicine. The
fundamental principles underlying all medical ethical decisions are:
Life is a gift of inestimable value. All reflection on moral issues that relate
to the lab or hospital should begin and end with a conscience
Science must be used to benefit people. Science must operate with a
conscience
Human beings are a unity of body and spirit. An intervention on the
human body affects not only the tissues, organs and their functions, it also
involves the person himself
What is technically possible is not for that very reason morally admissible.
Not every medical advancement necessarily serves us for the better
Bioethics #2 continued…

A new and distinct human life begins at the moment of conception.
Information from modern science affirms that right from fertilization
the adventure of human life begins. Questions about the beginning of
life and abortion are not just scientific but are philosophical and
moral. What constitutes a human person is a philosophical and moral
question