Moral Theology- covers the study of man s way to God as indicated by conscience and to follow the law of Christ,

made possible by God s grace. It covers the moral aspect of human acts, physical, psychological and moral freedom. Science of what man ought to be by the reason of what he is Part of theology that searches for the norms of free human conduct in the light of the revelation

It is the speculative and practical science which deals with man s journey to God guided by conscience and the law of Christ and more specifically with man as a pilgrim and as an image of God. (St. Thomas Aquinas) It is the science of what man ought to be by reason of what he is. (M. Oraison) The part of theology that searches for the norms of free human conduct in the light of the Revelations. (Franc Bockle)

 That part of theology which studies man s actions in the light of Christian faith and of reason the guidelines man must follow to obtain his final goal. (Peshke) A speculative science which guides our judgment on the goodness and badness of human acts based on reason alone. Thus, an adequate definition will have the following elements:

Moral Theology
1. it is a SCIENCE concerned about what ought to be 2. NORMS- standard, guidelines 3. JUDGING RIGHT OR WRONG 4. dealing with HUMAN CONDUCT- human acts free and deliberate 5. summed up by RESPONSIBILITY commitment 6. responding to a personal invitation of Jesus

 Dogmatic theology- speculative in character, reflecting on the nature of God, and of his creatures. ex. Dogma of Divine Revelation Moral Theology- practical science drawing from the dogmatic truths the consequences for human actions and guiding men toward the realization of his final goal. Ethics or Moral philosophy excludes positive revelation of the Old and New Testament as source of its moral knowledge and guidance Divine Revelation these are supernatural truths revealed to us by God which we have to believe

 2 Divisions of Moral Theology 1. General or Fundamental M.T.- deals with the general conditions and qualities with which actions must be based in order that it may contribute to final goal. It deals with man s responsibility in the religious realm- faith, hope, charity and worship. 2. Special M.T.- deals with human behavior in the different spheres and situations of life. It deals with responsibility to the created world.

Similarity between Ethics and Moral Theology Both are concerned with human acts Both are concerned with the morality of human conduct Both are essential guiding principles and principles for man s moral life Differences Ethics is universal in its sphere concern with universal norm, conduct, custom common to all men Moral Theology is specific

 Sense of Perception M.T Intuition of the first Principle Philosophy and Metaphysics should be studied in order to appreciate the existence of God Medium of knowledge Ethics = reason MT- Faith End Ethics- Natural end M. T- Supernatural

 Reason

M.T Faith

Purpose of Moral Theology 1. to point out the purpose of Christian vocation 2. to bring faith, truth, and love as Christ did. 3. to develop Christian moral adulthood. Ethics and Moral Theology are both concerned with human activities and actions

 Ethics or Moral Philosophy- deals with human activity in as much as the acts are in conformity with the natural end. The medium of knowledge is reason alone, setting out the data of experience and acquired knowledge. Derived from Greek word ethos - conscience Ethics excludes positive revelation of the Old and New Testaments as source of its moral knowledge and guidance. Ethics is concerned with norms, mores or traditions and principles of behavior insofar as these principles are known by reason.

 Man s Natural End Once a person reaches maturity, he faces a question for himself: What should I do with my life? What is my purpose in life? Thus, his actions are all directed to his goal, his purpose, his end. Human actions are characteristically an action for an end. The principle of human acts is the end, goal or purpose. If no good (real or apparent) is known by reason, no human act is performed

 The will is a blind faculty no desire unless the reason shows there is something desirable Nothing enters the mind without passing first through the senses. Aristotle * man s action is good if it leads him to his end and bad if it drives him away from his ultimate end. 2 kinds of good Apparent Good Real Good

 Attainment of the goal or end- the ultimate end necessitates acts. The ultimate end is a fixed principle but the various means to attain it is not . God is the ultimate end of man Freedom of Choice applies to these means. Morally good acts are those which are suitable to the attainment of the end. Morally bad acts are those unsuitable to the attainment of ultimate end.

 Moral Theology presupposes Ethics and adds another dimension. Revelation- the medium of knowledge is reason enlightened by faith. Catholic moral teaching is based on Revelation, Scriptures and traditions. Revelation is left to the care of the Church and not on one s private interpretation.

 Human Acts - actions that are free and deliberate - those that proceeds from the free and concious acts of man - act that is always done for a purpose - an act that after few deliberation is performed knowledge of the end and consent of the will with

Only for human act a person a person is either praised or blamed - - acts that are proper to man as man - - acts internal or external, bodily or spiritually performed by a human being

 ACTS OF MAN - ACTS THAT MAN PERFORM INDELIBERATELY OR WITHOUT ADVERTENCE - man s animal act of sensation (use of senses) and appetition ( bodily tendencies)

- acts done abstractedly or with complete inadvertence - acts performed in infancy, infirmity of the mind or the weakness of senility - acts done in sleep, in delirium, in the state of unconsciousness Principles of Human Acts 1. Every human act is always done for a purpose. 2. Only by human acts are people praised or blamed. 3. Acts of man may become human acts by knowledge and consent of the human agent. 4. Human acts tend to repeat themselves forming habits.

Identify whether the ff are Human or Acts of Man 1. smiling at someone for whom I feel antipathy 2. listening to soothing music 3. hearing noises in the corridor 4. a woman scream while watching a suspense film 5. studying for the monthly exam 6. putting on sudden breaks upon seeing a child about to cross the street 7. walking briskly to tone up good circulation 8. sneezing after smelling the newly painted wall 9. batting an eye to off set the dust 10.eavesdropping on the party line

 CONSTITUENTS OR ELEMENTS OF HUMAN ACTS KNOWLEDGE _ product of the mind after due intellection _ proceeds from the deliberate will Kinds of Knowledge Abstract- purely speculative, knowledge that is not enough for morals _ it will lead to split level Christianity or to legalism

_ Oftentimes children and students are guilty of this _ Religion and moral values are learned without appreciating it B. Evaluative knowledge _ knowledge applied or knowledge of appreciation is required _ what is objectively true must be subjectively true and meaningful for me

 _ True education aims at the formation of the human person with respect to his ultimate goal and simultaneously with respect to the good of the society of which he is a member and in whose responsibilities as an adult he has to share Evaluative and Speculative Knowledge 1. learning formulas in chemistry 2. sightseeing through a catalogue 3. discussing Principles in Professional Ethics 4. watching how to cook in a television show 5. facing the truth of a painful experience.

 MODIFIERS OF HUMAN ACTS A. IGNORANCE _ the absence of knowledge _ is the absence of knowledge that ought to be there ( privative) _ the absence of intellectual knowledge in man ( negative) _ negation of knowledge

Kinds of Ignorance A. Ignorance in its Object - Ignorance of the Law is the ignorance in the existence of a duty, rule or regulation ex. A young freshman comes to class with fever to take an exam in chem not knowing that a memo has been passed prohibiting anyone to attend his class with symptoms manifesting AH1N1

2. Ignorance of Fact ignorance of nature or circumstances of an act as forbidden ex. Pedestrian violates law not knowing that the underpass is in use already B. Ignorance in its Subject 1. Vincible Ignorance (Conquerable Ignorance) - ignorance that can be supplanted by knowledge by the use of ordinary diligence - ignorance is due to lack of proper diligence.

Kinds of vincible ignorance 1.1 Simply vincible- some effort has been done but not enough to dispel the ignorance 1.2 Crass or Supine- result of total or nearly lack of effort to dispel it 1.3 Affected- if positive effort has been done to retain the ignorance. Past actions cannot be judged with present knowledge

2. Invincible Ignorance- ignorance that ordinary and proper diligence cannot dispel. this is attributable to 2 causes; (a) the person has no realization of his lack of knowledge (b) the person who realizes his ignorance finds his effort ineffective

 C. IGNORANCE IN ITS Result 1. Antecedent Ignorance that which precedes all consent of the will ex. The chef served a poisonous mushroom not knowing that it can cause the death of its customers 2. Concomitant - accompanies an act that would have been performed even if the ignorance did not exist. ex.A nominal Catholic misses Sunday mass but if even if he knows, he will still miss it. 3. Consequent- that which follows upon the act of the will ex. A Catholic suspects that it is a day of obligation but deliberately refrain from making sure, and does not attend the mass.

1. 2. 3. 4.

PRINCIPLES Invincible ignorance destroys the voluntariness of the act Vincible Ignorance does not destroy the voluntariness of an act Vincible Ignorance lessens the voluntariness Affected ignorance is one way lessens and in another way increase voluntariness

ll. ERROR- state of beleiving what is not true Like ignorance is a privation of right knowledge and true insight due to false opinions and convictions because of deficient education, influence of bad company, reading of misleading books and papers, insidous influence of mass Media. Error is positive ignorance. We all need erasers to our pencils .Principle of error follow Principle of Ignorance lll. Inattention momentary deprivation of knowledge

B. FREEDOM Not the power to do what we like, but the the right of being able to do what we know we ought to do in relation to our ultimate end. Responsibility- the ability of an individual to give a fitting response to a human situation that involves human needs. Both freedom and responsibility are interlinked with each other and as such inseparable There are many things in man that he would like to do but he cannot do. ex. To stay young forever, to know everything

 Although his freedom is limited , he is free in his choices His freedom lies on the fact that once he made a decision no one can make him change his mind When he chooses no power whatsoever can force him to change his choice(dignity of man) He can be enticed, induced, persuaded but never forced. His choice is not on his natural end but is free determine himself towards the end and means to attain it

 Kinds of Freedom 1. Physical- freedom from any want of physical bond. It is anything that exists physically that control our actions. ex. Freedom of speech- the ability to say privately and publicly what one thinks and believes. When somebody prevents as to say what we think of them- that somebody becomes the physical bond to our physical freedom. 2. Psychological- is the freedom from any inner forces or inner bonds.

 Ex. Freedom to think what we really want and not accepting decisions from others. Brain washing is against this kind of freedom because we are forced to do something which is against our will and conscience. 3. Moral- the ability to choose between right and wrong and tell the difference between good and evil C. Obstacles 1. Sociological- those that involve evolution and phenomena of human society.

 Includes customs, human traits and social ex. Superstition 2. Psychological- the tendency of being to act in response to any given situation, whether referred to the well-being of the organism or not. It may rise the outside which is perceived by the senses. ex. Habit like drinking, smoking and vices like women 4.Pathological- the person possesses some kind of a disease

 Ex. Disease: psychosis or psycopathy which is the ailment due to the damage of the tissues of the brain, mental and nervous disorder etc. IMPAIRMENTS OR OBSTACLES TO FREEDOM PASSION- it is a movement of the appetite which is produced by good or evil as apprehended by the imagination 2 classes of passion

a. Concupiscible - instinctive passion or developed passions- joy, sadness, desire, aversion, love and hatred regulated by Temperance b. Irascible- aggressive or easily provoked Ex. Hope, desire, courage, fear, anger- regulated by Fortitude -Movements of the passions are frequently called feelings esp. if not vehement

-Concupiscense has no connotation of evil. Man has endowed man with these appetites, which pervades his whole sensitive life. They are instruments for the selfpreservation of the individual. - A man without them would be in no capacity for selfdefense, growth and improvement - Passions becomes destructive & evil if their force is not controlled by reason.

- The whole process of moral education, both in the early & in the maturer years of his life is a process of gaining command over all the movements of the passions. Eventually man becomes the passions of himself.