The goodness of a moral act is assessed based on three conditions: object , intention (or end as

expressed by Saint Thomas Aquinas), and circumstances. Saint Thomas thinks that the morality of a
human act depends mostly on the object, which is chosen logically by someone who uses their will and
intellect on purpose. Aside from the intention and the situation, the object is the most important way to
tell if an action is good or bad.

Since the purpose of a human action depends on what it is, one needs to be wise when deciding
if that action can be sent to God. If it can, God will use the action to make the person perfect in the way
that God intended. The object includes the desire for the perceived good. God says that there are things
that are "inherently evil and can't be ordered" because they go against the good nature of a person.
Murder, genocide, abortion, euthanasia, suicide, mutilation, physical and mental torture, living and
working conditions that aren't up to par, being locked up or sent away without a reason, slavery,
prostitution, and trafficking are all examples.

In any action a person takes, the end is the first goal of the intention and shows what the action
is for. The intention is an action of the will toward the goal of the activity. The intention is a key part of
figuring out how moral an action is. Since God is our ultimate goal, we decide that an action is good if it
brings us closer to God. If we want to please God, we will do good and right things. For example,
someone gives money to people who are poor. The giving of alms is the proximate and what a person
hopes to achieve by giving alms is the remote end. The remote end could be praise and self - interest, or
it could be love and kindness. A good intention does not make a disordered action (such as lying), good.
On the other hand, a bad intention (such as pride) can turn a good act (such as giving to charity) into
something bad. Saint Thomas says that people often do good things, but they don't help them spiritually
because they don't have a good will. Even if someone steals to feed the poor, their heart isn't in the
right place, even if their intention is good.

Circumstances are secondary elements of a moral act. They add to or take away from the moral
good or bad of what people do. They also make a person less or more responsible. Circumstances can
make a bad act more acceptable or less bad, or they can make a bad act worse by making the
consequences worse. For example, the effects of stealing can be worse or less bad depending on what is
stolen, who does it, and where it happens. Circumstances, on the other hand, don't change how moral
an act is; they don't make an evil act good or right. No matter how dire it is, it is always wrong to steal.

On the other hand, bad things can happen when good things are done. For example, when a
firefighter is slacking off and doesn't answer a call for help. When a husband lies to his wife about his
extramarital affairs, the circumstances can make the person feel more guilty. When someone tells a
white lie to keep a coworker from getting fired, the circumstances can make the person feel less guilty.
So, to understand the moral quality of what people do, we need to know what happened.

For example, Denise is a scholar student during her highschool years. Given by the chance, she
was given an opportunity to receive scholarship to college now that she is a senior if she can pass the
exam required for her to become a full scholar. Denise finds out during the test that she has been
studying the wrong things. Denise has never cheated before, but she can't lose the opportunity now.
She moves her bestfriend's foot as she sits in the row across from her. She moves her arm so Denise can
see the paper in his hand. She quickly writes down the answers to the first ten questions of the fifty
question test. The moral object is to cheat or not cheat. The intention is, for her to pass the test, and the
circumstance is when she copies from her bestfriend.