LESSON 5: IMPEDIMENTS TO HUMAN ACTS
VIOLENCE
• bar one’s faculties (mind) from performing a
human act
• reduce quality & judgement/morality of human
acts
• CULPABLE – deserving blame
1. IGNORANCE
• lack of pertinent information
• willful lack of initiative to understand whole
picture
• unconsciously violates rules; unaware
a. INVINCIBLE – total ignorance; unintentional
b. VINCIBLE – dispelled/removed or learned
through ordinary efforts
➢ CRASS (LACK OF EFFORT) – exerts little
effort to dispel ignorance
➢ AFFECTED – asserting ignorance to plead
innocence; pretended
MORALITY OF ACTIONS DONE UNDER
IGNORANCE
Wrong actions under:
• INVINCIBLE are NOT CULPABLE
(unintentional total ignorance)
• CRASS IS CULPABLE but can be LESSENED
(exerted little effort)
• AFFECTED IS CULPABLE (could increase
since pretended)
2. CONCUPISCENCE
• inordinate passion hinders correct reasoning
• PASSIONS - emotional elements: pride, anger,
love, joy
• passions push to do certain act without
intervention of reasoning/mind
a. ANTECEDENT (ante = before) –
spontaneous; sudden/abrupt
b. CONSEQUENT (consequent = after) – aware
of inordinate passion & still chooses to proceed
with act
MORALITY OF ACTIONS DONE UNDER
CONCUPISCENCE
Bad actions under:
• ANTECEDENT is STILL CULPABLE (can be
lessened/negated, abrupt & intentional)
• CONSEQUENT is TOTALLY CULPABLE
3. FEAR
• Threatened by impending danger
• Limit one’s will, act based on instinct to survive
a. LIGHT FEAR – light danger
b. GRAVE FEAR – serious danger, life & death
choices
MORALITY OF ACTIONS DONE UNDER FEAR
Bad actions under:
• LIGHT & GRAVE are CULPABLE (can still
choose what to do, consequence affects
decision)
Ocampo, Akina pogi
4.
• (physical attack) physical force upon resisting
person
• Reaction of who is being attacked is judged
a. SELF-DEFENSE – protect oneself; no intention
to kill but defend oneself
MORALITY OF ACTIONS DONE UNDER
VIOLENCE
• NOT CULPABLE if defending oneself
• CULPABLE if you intend to kill your
perpetrator (can be lessened)
5. HABIT
• Firm & stable behavior of acting; unconscious
a. VIRTUES – good habits
b. VICES – bad habits
MORALITY OF ACTIONS DONE UNDER BAD
HABIT
• CULPABLE (lessened only if person exerts
utmost effort to free himself from vicious habit)
S-T-O-P PRINCIPLE (good practice in dealing with
passions/dilemmas/problems in life)
• S – Search for the fact/s (study issue behind
problems)
• T – Think of alternatives (if action is not
clear/sure)
• O – Others are to be considered for advice
• P – Pray for guidance and wisdom
(enlightenment)
One should apply STOP if they are doubting,
confused, emotionally disturbed, things are unclear,
etc.
GENERAL MORAL PRINCIPLE: one should not
act/decide if one is doubting, confused, etc.
DOUBLE EFFECT
• actions having 2 effects (good & bad)
PRINCIPLES OF DOUBLE EFFECTS
One is allowed to do act under ff. conditions:
1. Act is good/at least morally indifferent
2. Evil effect must not precede good effect or
happen simultaneously (good before bad)
3. Sufficient reason to do act (escape
death/danger)
4. Intention of agent is honest
LESSON 6: SOCIAL NORMS
SOCIAL NORMS
• Mores; unwritten rules of behavior in a
group/society
NORMS OF MORALITY
• standards, human acts are based to determine
their goodness/badness
• PROXIMATE - is applicable to the acts,
• ULTIMATE - guarantees validity of prox. norm
PROXIMATE NORM
• arises from human nature
• immediately find out if action is good or bad
• Subjective
• CONSCIENCE – prox. norm of morality
CONSCIENCE
• (CONSCIENTA) latin, “joint knowledge”
“knowledge with”
• (CCC) practical judgement of reason allowing
person to recognize moral quality of an act
• God’s voice; most secret core
• Inner voice summoning us to love the good &
avoid evil; “do this, do not do that”
MOMENTS OF CONSCIENCE
1. ANTECEDENT– judges before act is done
2. CONSEQUENT– judges after act is done;
moral assessment
- padalos-dalos/darusudos
FORMS OF CONSCIENCE
1. CORRECT– good act indeed good, bad act
indeed bad
2. FALSE– good act as bad, bad act as good
3. SCRUPULOUS– afraid of committing errors
(ex: going to mass even if sick)
4. LAX– excusing oneself from every mistake
committed
5. CERTAIN– firm judgement that one is not in
error; making sure that he will not commit any
mistake
6. DOUBTFUL - judgement is suspended
because of uncertainty of goodness/badness of
action
LEVELS OF CONSCIENCE
1. INSTINCTIVE –fear of punishment/desire for
reward
- natural level; normal for children
2. MORAL/PHILOSOPHICAL – operates from
judgement/awareness of inner
goodness/badness of act
3. CHRISTIAN – Christian faith illumines what is
truly worthy of being a person; moral striving to
holiness
GENERAL NORM: ALWAYS FOLLOW YOUR
CONSCIENCE
CHALLENGES TO THE FORMATION OF
CONSCIENCE
The Formation of Conscience (McTavish)
1. EXTREME RELATIVISM – everybody decides
acc. to what he thinks is good without
consulting knowledgeable people
2. MISINFORMATION – statements are not
guaranteed that it is the truth
3. INDIVIDUALISM – drive towards one’s own
satisfaction, disregarding other people; “my
world and mine alone and outside of me is not
significant”
Ocampo, Akina pogi
FORMATION OF CONSCIENCE
1. PRAYER
– (Lipio) prayer is of vital importance, must be
faithful with the Lord
– good prayer life, moral conscience formed
– prayer is not purely spiritual, has connection
to concrete events of life
2. LISTENING TO THE PREACHING OF THE
GOSPEL
– preachers provide assistance in events of
personal lives
– realize actions about what Jesus tells them in
the gospel
3. ROLE OF THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY
– (Gaudium et Spes) Christians are enjoined
with the rest of humans
– to form conscience, key is Christ & His spirit
– formative process: faith & thru prayer, Word of
God, teaching of the Church, responsiveness to
gifts of Holy Spirit
4. MULTI-DISCIPLINARY APPROACH
– other fields of science (psychology,
economics, civil laws, natural sciences, etc.)
LESSON 7: ULTIMATE NORM
ULTIMATE NORM
• objective
• laws, decrees, ordinances; divine aspects of
reality
NORMS WHICH GOVERN HUMAN CONDUCT
LAW
• community standards to live a morally upright life
• standards of life, promote genuine human
development
1. ETERNAL LAW
• divine reason; God’s divine plan for all
• commandments 1-3
THREE CHARACTERISTICS OF ETERNAL LAW
1. ETERNAL – has no beginning & end; all
creatures from beginning to end
2. IMMUTABLE – not subject to change
3. ABSOLUTELY UNIVERSAL – all creatures
2. NATURAL LAW
• light of understanding placed in us by God, light
of reason
• discovered through experience & reasoning
• commandments 4-10
FOUR CHARACTERISTICS OF NATURAL LAW
1. UNIVERSAL – all creatures/places
2. RECOGNIZABLE – notice natural law through
observations, interactions, etc
3. OBLIGATORY – must obey it
4. IMMUTABLE – not subject to change
3. POSITIVE LAW
• published, specific laws derived from natural &
eternal law
contributes to damage on development if doesn’t
respect natural law
CATEGORIES OF POSITIVE LAW
1. DIVINE POSITIVE LAW - God-given law, all
creatures or specific group; Divine means God
(Ex. 10 commandments thru Moses)
2. HUMAN POSITIVE LAW – ordinance of
reason, common good (Ex. ordinances in
certain place, Civil & Ecclesiastical Law/law of
Church)
TERMS REGARDING HUMAN POSITIVE LAW
• ORDINANCE – decree/command, not a
request; obedience
• REASONABLE – based on reason/not
emotion
- must be:
➢ just/fair
➢ honest (in harmony with higher laws)
➢ possible for fulfillment/attainment (realistic)
➢ relatively permanent (change if no longer
effective)
➢ must be promulgated
• COMMON GOOD – serve interest of majority
• COMPETENT AUTHORITY – authors law
must be knowledgeable, just, wise, respectable
OTHER DESCRIPTIONS OF POSITIVE LAW
• TERRITORIAL/CONTEXTUAL – depends on
place/time
• RELATIVELY PERMANENT – continues until
changed by another
TWO GENERAL APPLICATIONS OF THE NORMS
OF MORALITY
1. NORMATIVE MORALITY – universally
implemented; freely embraced by all
individuals
2. DESCRIPTIVE MORALITY – specific place,
time, etc. (ex. not allowed to eat meat for
Muslims)
LESSON 8: UNDERSTANDING THE TEN
COMMANDMENTS
• God revealed plan thru 10 cmdmts.
• Moses started at Mount Sinai, received 10
cmdmts.
10 COMMANDMENTS
• guidelines on living harmoniously
• covenant between God and His people and
promises connected
• (God/Yahweh) God of their forefathers
(Abraham, Isaac, Jacob)
Ocampo, Akina pogi
MORAL RESPONSIBILITY OF A CHRISTIAN (2
DIMENSIONS)
1. towards God (vertical bar – loving rs with God
& His sovereignty)
2. towards others (horizontal bar – human’s
responsibility towards others
SUMMARY OF 10 COMMANDMENTS
• 1-3 duties towards God
• 4-10 obligations toward ourselves and others
➢ 4th child to parents & vice versa
➢ 5th,6th,7th actions
➢ 8th words
➢ 9th,10th desires
MORAL RESPONSIBILITY TOWARDS GOD IN
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
FIRST COMMANDMENT (I, The Lord, am your
God… You shall not have other gods besides
me. (Exodus 20:2-4))
• rejects the submission of Christians to other
“gods”’
• God’s gracious answer, salvific plan
• Catechism for PH Catholics – knowing true
God is liberating, sets people from
restlessness in searching for true contentment
• God gave 10 cmdmts. to Israelites to proclaim
Him as true God for all
• Prophet Amos – proclaimed Him as God of
all, realized by coming of Jesus (savior of all)
CONTEXT:
• Problem of identifying who is God of all (sun,
mood, Pharoah, animals)
• all people search for meaning of life (true
contentment) and immortality
• Israelites worshipped golden calf
VIOLATIONS AGAINTS FIRST COMMANMENT
1. INDIFFERENCE – outright neglect, neither
accept or reject God’s love
2. INGRATITUDE – failure to respond to His love
3. LUKEWARMNESS – refusal to recognize His
sovereignty
4. HATRED TOWARDS GOD – grave violation,
opposite of love for God; denying existence,
goodness, sovereignty
5. SUPERSTITION – belief on things but rooted
on unknown reasoning
6. POLYTHEISM – more than one God
7. DIVINATION – reliance on horoscopes,
astrology, etc.
8. idolatry, magic, irreligion, atheism, and
agnosticism
Is it really sinful to make or carve an image/statue?
BOOK OF EXODUS (25:10-22)
• Follow-up reminder of 1st cmdmt:
not making graven image/statues and worshipping
them as God (doesn’t prohibit people from making
statues)
1. ADORATION – praise/worship reserved only
for God
2. VENERATION – for all sacred images, respect
to sacred images
SECOND COMMANDMENT (You shall not take
the name of the Lord, your God in vain (Exodus
20:7))
SANCTITY OF THE NAME
• (Israelites) has great value
• identity/dignity of the person
• (YHWH) too holy to be uttered, used Adonai
(Lord), Eli
VIOLATIONS AGAINST THE SECOND
COMMANDMENT
1. PROFANITY – false representation of God;
discredit is true nature & divinity (using His
name to curse)
2. PERJURY – willful & voluntary; telling
something with intention of not fulfilling it;
fabricating the truth (eluding punishment)
3. BLASPHEMY – casual use of God’s name in
interjections & curse
THIRD COMMANDMENT (Remember to keep
holy the Sabbath day . (Exodus 20:8-11))
• time for God
• respect for human person
• by worshipping God as a community, as His
people & giving them time to rest
➢ 2nd Plenary Council of the PH (PCP-11) -
all of life is worship
➢ St. Paul- pointed out in his letter
➢ No dichotomy between Worship and Rest
VIOLATIONS AGAINST THE THIRD
COMMANDMENT
1. anything that does not glorify God & respect
dignity of others
2. Resting is not only limited to rest from physical
work but also mental
FOURTH COMMANDMENT (Honor your father
and your mother. (Exodus 20:12))
• respecting one’s parents or elders
• FAMILY – most fundamental agent of
socialization
• moral duty towards parents – fully
submitting, extends to their old age
• parents are innately good (concerned for
wellbeing of children)
• active obedience
Ocampo, Akina pogi
FIFTH COMMANDMENT (You shall not kill.
(Exodus 20:13))
THE PRIMACY OF LIFE
• importance & dignity of human life
• no one has right to take life from own self or
others
• humans are created in image of God
VIOLATIONS AGAINST THE FIFTH
COMMANDMENT
1. MURDER & WILLFUL ABORTION
2. EUTHANASIA – aids ailing person to die
3. SUICIDE - grave offense
SIXTH COMMANDMENT (You shall not commit
adultery. (Exodus 20:14))
FAMILY AND MARRIAGE
• SACRAMENT OF MARRIAGE - brings
together husband & wife into bonds of
everlasting love
• EXPRESSION OF LOVE – sexual intimacy,
companionship, shared vision
• TRUE LOVE – mutual trust & contentment
• Marriage is best described in Hebrews 13:4
VIOLATIONS AGAINST THE SIXTH
COMMANDMENT
1. ADULTERY – (applies only to married) one or
both have sexual relations with others
2. FORNICATION
3. Premarital-sex, masturbation, rape,
bestiality, paresthesia, pornography,
homosexuality, prostitution, lesbianism,
annal sex, adultery, extra-marital sex,
concubinage, polygamy, polyandry and
Incest.
VALUES OF SEXUALITY
1. MODESTY – sense of shame in realm of sex
2. CHASTITY – cleanliness in one’s sexual life
3. MASTERY OF SEXUALITY – proper
development of sexual energy
SEXUALITY AND MARRIAGE
• SEX/SEXUALITY - whole composition of man
to be male or female
• SEXUAL LOVE – willed by creator, human
value, wholly good (between husband & wife)
• PURPOSES OF SEXUALITY
➢ procreation
➢ companionship
➢ Education/formation of children
• MONOGAMY – intended nature of family