Download What Makes Human Acts Good or Bad

Unit: Being A Moral Person
Name: _________________
What Makes Human Acts Good or Bad?
In groups you will read the article: What Makes Human Acts Good or Bad? Then as a group, you will
work together to answer the questions and fill in the blanks below.
Jesus said, “If you love me, ___________________________________.”
Human Acts
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A human act is one the proceeds from __________________ and ___________________.
If knowledge or freedom is lacking then the act is not fully __________ and not fully
______________.
Therefore, digestion, growth, movement of blood are not under the control of our _______ and
are NOT __________ acts.
A fully human act is either morally good or morally evil. Then, how do we know whether a given
human act is good or evil?
The Sources of Morality
1. _____________: the action (Ex: lying, praying, stealing, helping the blind cross the street, etc.)
 For an act/object to be moral, it must _________________________________.
2. ______________________________: things such as the person involved, the time, the place,
and the occasion, which are distinct from the object, but can change/alter the moral tone.
 Circumstances can make an otherwise __________ action __________. They can
______________ or _________________ the guilt/blameworthiness of an act.
 But they cannot change an evil act into a good one.
3. _______________________: or end or purpose of a human act
 Every act, no matter how ____________, is done for some ____________.
(Ex: The Sunday driver who blocks traffic seems to be driving aimlessly has a purpose:
joy of just driving around and looking.)
 For a human act to be morally good the __________ or doer must have a good
______________  want to accomplish something good.
 Some actions, like ________________ and ________________, are always ___________
and no __________, no matter how noble, can make them good.
 For our actions to be good our intention must be good.
Unit: Being A Moral Person
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Name: _________________
(Ex: it is good to help the poor, but if I donate out of vanity or revenge, then it is not a
good act even though, incidentally, the poor are helped.)
Provide another example of a seemingly good act with the wrong intention.
We need to avoid the error of thinking that:
________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
This is because the noblest intention cannot make an intrinsically evil action a good
action. For example:
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What is the meaning of the idea that “the ends justify the means”? Why is it flawed?
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What examples are there of this idea in society today?
As Catholics, we should know that the morality of every human act is determined by the object,
circumstances and intention. If any one of these three is evil, then the human act in question is
___________________________________________.
Unit: Being A Moral Person
Name: _________________