Glossary of Moral Terms:

1. Morality- from “mors”, “mores”, literally, custom, quality of the goodness or

badness of human acts; a person's response to the incredible, freely
given love and his gift of salvation offered to us through our Lord
Jesus Christ

2. Ethics- “ethos”--characteristic way of doing things; what one ought to do

or ought not to do

3. Moral person- one who correctly judges between right and wrong and
consequently acts on what is virtuous

4. Immoral person- one who does not act in conformity with accepted principles of
right or wrong

5. Amoral person- one who is not concerned with any moral standards at all; such a
person does not accept any concept of right or wrong

6. "Right" and "wrong"- words used to describe actions that conform or don't conform to a
moral standard. Actions are also described by words like good,
righteous, praiseworthy, decent, generous, bad, evil, heinous,
callous and selfish

7. Moral relativism- the idea that there is no one standard of moral behavior applicable
to everyone at all the time. Actions are judged right or wrong
depending on a society's or individual's code of behavior

8. Moral subjectivism- an extreme version of moral relativism: the idea that actions are
right or wrong according to each individual's code of behavior

9. Moral absolutism- the idea that there is one universal standard of moral behavior, with
no exceptions to at least some moral principles

10. Moral principle- a rule or generalization about a kind of action, e.g., "never
murder," "don't steal," or "don't lie"

11. Teleology- also consequentialism; the idea that the ultimate grounds for
judging an action right or wrong are the good and bad non-moral
effects or state of affairs it produces for another person or persons.

12. Deontology- also nonconsequentialism; the idea that consequences are not the
ultimate grounds for determining right and wrong; God's
commandments, duty or certain rules developed by persons are
13. Permissible- what we are allowed to do, morally speaking

14. Impermissible- what we are not allowed to do, morally speaking

15. Conscience- a judgment of reason whereby the human person recognizes the
moral quality of a concrete act that he is going to perform, is in the
process of performing, or has already performed; enjoins a person
at the appropriate moment to do good and to avoid evil; the inner
voice of God

16. Virtue- moral goodness, excellence; a habitual and firm disposition to do

the good

17. Natural Law- order found within nature and reason; reason reflecting on human
experience discovering moral value

18. Utilitarianism- the idea that considers what act can give the greatest
happiness (utility) to a person

19. Freedom- the ability to choose to do the good

20. Responsibility- being accountable for one's action; being able to take blame for
one's action or to impute blame on other people for their actions.

21. Acts of man- acts that are involuntary, such as breathing, coughing, digesting,
and snoring

22. Human acts- acts that are freely chosen in consequence of a judgment of
conscience, and thus can be morally evaluated; also voluntary acts:
they are either good or evil. Must be both free and conscious

23. Sin- an offense against God who is Love; a failure in genuine love for
God and neighbor caused by a perverse attachment to certain
goods

24. Fundamental option- basic intention of a person in response to God's love which has
affected a person's innermost being; a choice which arises from
such a personal depth that it can significantly reverse or reinforce
the fundamental direction of one's life

25. Original sin- the negative situation of humankind; also refers to the inner
longing of a person/people for something more than an imperfect
life
26. Grace- a gift or favor from God given out of his free will and not because
one has earned it. It sums up the type of relationship God has with
humanity with special attention to the fact that this relationship is
loving, generous, free and totally unexpected and undeserved.

27. Conversion- a radical change in the convert's existence; a moving away from
sin or death towards grace, love and life