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Chapter 3
Freedom and the Moral Act
Principles of the Moral Life (that apply to everyone)
Freedom, which makes a person a moral agent
Conscience, which gives us the capacity to discover God’s will as written in our
souls
Law, which should not limit freedom, but allow it to function properly
The importance of the moral life
Right moral conduct perfects the human being, and wrong moral conduct
degrades him.
Good and evil are the most interesting aspects of life
Writings confront the struggle between good and evil
Things and circumstances (wealth, poverty, success, failure, health,
illness, etc.) are important, but do not touch our lives as profoundly as
good and evil.
The study of ethics (The science of good and evil) is the most important of all
forms of knowledge since it places us on the path to true happiness. (Socrates)
Man’s ability to choose good and evil
Every human is a moral being
Capable of doing good or evil, being just or unjust, honorable or
dishonorable.
Only physical good and evil are attributed to animals, not moral good and
evil.
Animals are described in physical terms (a fast race horse of a
hunting dog has a good nose)
No one would accuse an animal of committing sin for a poor
performance
They cannot practice virtue, nor sin
A person (human being) is morally responsible for his/her actions
Responsibility makes sin possible.
He/she acts with thought and deliberation
He/she has intellect and will
Intelligence gives meaning to things
Free will allows for the doing or omitting of actions the intellect has
determined to be good or bad.
Human existence is lived out with two options:
The good that perfects
Evil which degrades
The Human Act, a Moral Act
A moral act is truly human when someone brings it about with knowledge and
free will.
Those actions that lack knowledge or freedom do not fall under the realm of
morality
The insane or the person who is semi-conscious
Acts of a human
Accomplished without knowledge or deliberation (breathing, blinking, etc.)
The human act involves the whole person.
Not just the intellect and will
Virtues, vices, character and interactions with others
“Human acts are moral acts because they express and determine th goodness or
evil of the person who performs them” (Veritatis Splendor, N.71)
Knowledge as a condition for Morality
Man is defined as a rational being so the first requirement for a moral act is that it
be done with knowledge
Degrees of knowledge
Full knowledge involves clear and deliberate knowledge of the morality of
an action.
Full knowledge presumes two things:
That the agent knows clearly what he is doing.
(Sins do not occur in the state of sleep or semi-consciousness)
The agent is aware of its moral dimension
Know the act is good or evil
Does not need to know the act “offends God”
It is enough to know that the act is prohibited or seriously
wrong
Partial knowledge
Clouded by some obstacle that interferes with correct judgment
Prescribed medications or psychological alterations due to
fear or depression