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Catholic Word of the Day: ETHICS, 03-12-10
CatholicReference.net ^ | 03-12-10 | Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary

Posted on 03/12/2010 8:53:15 AM PST by Salvation

Featured Term (selected at random):

ETHICS

The science of human conduct as known by natural reason. It is a normative science because it determines the principles of right and wrong in human behavior. It is also a practical science because it does not merely speculate about moral good and evil but also decides what is right or wrong in specific human actions.

Also called moral philosophy, the purpose of ethics is to study this fact of human experience, that people distinguish right from wrong and have an instinctive sense of what they should do. The subject matter of ethics, therefore, is human conduct; its point of view is that of rightness and wrongness.

Although related to other human and social sciences, ethics is different from them by its unique point of view, namely the word ought. It is also different from moral theology by restricting itself to native reason as opposed to revealed religion.

Ethics is a science, not in the sense of the experimental sciences, but as a philosophical science that assumes certain postulates from philosophy and from them derives practical conclusions. It borrows three main premises from natural philosophy: the existence of a personal God, the freedom of the human will, and the immortality of the soul. Implicit in these premises is the idea that a good moral action is done freely by humans, in conformity with the mind and will of God. It is good precisely because it leads a human to the goal or destiny set by God in a future immortality. Ethics comes from the Greek ethos, which denotes a fixed custom and is often used to mean a person's character.

All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.


TOPICS: Apologetics; Catholic; History; Moral Issues; Theology
KEYWORDS: catholic; catholiclist
An appropriate word for all times and all people and all places.
1 posted on 03/12/2010 8:53:15 AM PST by Salvation
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To: Salvation

Based on this word of the day, they need to EX-Communicate all congress people who are pro-abortion! TODAY! NOW!


2 posted on 03/12/2010 8:55:24 AM PST by princess leah (1)
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To: princess leah

I thought of that right off the bat too!


3 posted on 03/12/2010 8:56:00 AM PST by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: JRandomFreeper; Allegra; SuziQ; BlackVeil; Straight Vermonter; Cronos; SumProVita; ...

Catholic Word of the Day – links will be provided later by another FReeper.

 

Contumely

Alienation

Ethics

 

 

 

Catholic Word of the Day Ping!

Please send me a FReepmail if you would like to be on the Catholic Word of the Day Ping List.


4 posted on 03/12/2010 8:58:06 AM PST by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: Salvation

bookmark


5 posted on 03/12/2010 9:49:21 AM PST by GOP Poet (Obama is an OLYMPIC failure.)
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