Catholic Word of the Day: DETERMINANTS OF MORALITY, 04-09-10

CatholicReference.net ^ | 04-09-10 | Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary

[Salvation]

Featured Term (selected at random):

DETERMINANTS OF MORALITY

The factors in human conduct that determine whether it is good or bad. There are three such determinants of morality, namely the object, the end, and the circumstances.

By object is meant what the free will chooses to do--in thought, word, or deed-or chooses not to do. Be end is meant the purpose for which the act is willed, which may be the act itself (as one of loving God) or some other purpose for which a person acts (as reading to learn). In either case, the end is the motive or the reason why an action is performed. By circumstances are meant all the elements that surround a human action and affect its morality without belonging to its essence. A convenient listing of these circumstances is to ask: who? where? how? how much? by what means? how often?

Some circumstances so affect the morality of an action as to change its species, as stealing a consecrated object becomes sacrilege and lying under oath is perjury. Other circumstances change the degree of goodness or badness of an act. In bad acts they are called aggravating circumstances, as the amount of money a person steals.

To be morally good, a human act must agree with the norm of morality on all three counts: in its nature, its motive, and its circumstances. Departure from any of these makes the action morally wrong.

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

[Salvation]

Key statement:

**To be morally good, a human act must agree with the norm of morality on all three counts: in its nature, its motive, and its circumstances. Departure from any of these makes the action morally wrong. **

[Salvation]

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

 

Contumely	Alienation	Ethics
Quam Singulari	Indissolubility	Celibacy
Comparative Religion	Founder	Edification
Noumenon	Stag	Ecclesia
Eternal City (Rome)	New Earth	Samuel
Benefice	Papal Regesta	Defender of the Faith
Sacrament House	James the Less	Devotion to St. Joseph
Vicar-General	Holy Doors	Te Deum Laudamus
Preconization	Determinants of Morality

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[stuartcr]

The norm of morality has never changed throughout history?

[Tax-chick]

in its nature, its motive, and its circumstances. Departure from any of these makes the action morally wrong

So is it morally wrong to hang my husband's shorts in his closet, if I'm doing it to make him feel guilty about being a slob? Or does the additional motive of wanting the room clean override that?

[Salvation]

LOL! I’m not gonna be the mediator between you and your husband.

[Tax-chick]

If I really feel badly about it, I can confess.

[Mad Dawg]

It’s actually an interesting moral and spiritual question.
It points out how complicated our motives can be.

[Tax-chick]

Laundry is a microcosm of life.

[maryz]

if I'm doing it to make him feel guilty about being a slob?

Oh, I think that could be classed as either admonishing the sinner or instructing the ignorant -- a spiritual work of mercy! ;-)

[Tax-chick]

Oh, good point!

[Mad Dawg]

When I was still in the bidnis AND was a stay-at-home dad, washing diapers seemed to show up in my sermons a lot ....

[Tax-chick]

*Washing* diapers? This was in the 18th Century, right?

[annalex]

The part that possibly changed throughout history is circumstances. For example, taking on multiple wives in absence of definitive moral teaching against poligamy was a moral wrong but it was not as grave as it would be today.

[Mad Dawg]

In those days we were very organic, ceramic, and stuff, so no paper diapers. And we had a Maytag. Which I got to know very well.

[Tax-chick]

At least you didn’t wash them by hand.

[stuartcr]

So circumstances and graveness can change? Still wrong, but not as much because of different circumstances? Sounds like relativity to me.

[annalex]

Well, there are three moral determinants and circumstance is one of them, so when the circumstance changes the moral outcome changes in relation to the other two.

Similarly, when a stool’s surface is positioned level on three legs, and one leg is made shorter, the surface is no longer level in relation to the floor.

[stuartcr]

Yep, pretty much everything is relative to something, even morality.

[annalex]

You are playing with words.

Morality is not relative to anything outside of its determinants. But, naturally, it is relative to its determinants. In the same way the laws of mathematics are relative to the axioms of mathematics, or the laws of physics are relative to the definitions of terms in which they are expressed. For example, you cannot say the the force of the action equals the force of the counteraction (the first law of Newton) unless you understand what “force” means.

[stuartcr]

Aren’t it’s determinants relative to what a person believes? A Chritian’s determinants-the Bible, a Muslim-the Koran, a Jew-the Torah, etc.