Transcript Principles of Catholic Moral Theology

Character
“Character is what you do
when no one is looking”
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Character
Moral: The word ‘morality’ is from the Latin mores: character.
Character is one’s moral identity: the kind of person you have made
yourself to be by the moral choices that you make.
Note: Your choice of university is not a ‘moral choice’, your
choice of toothpaste brand is not a ‘moral choice’. The choice
to lie is a ‘moral choice’.
Morality is not about choices that promise to bring about an
external state of affairs most conducive to the quality of life one
desires for oneself or others.
Rather, it is about the making of character.
We determine our character, our moral identity, by the
free choices that we make, and our very destiny (eternal
life) is determined by the kind of persons we’ve made
ourselves to be.
Your character is more intimately yours than anything else
you may have.
Character vs. Personality
Character is not the same as personality.
You can have a great personality, but
depraved character, like serial killer Ted
Bundy on the left.
You can also have a grumpy, or bland
personality, but saintly character.
Much of our personality is determined,
either inherited or environmental.
But character is entirely ours.
Ted Bundy- serial killer
Choice
(the relationship between what I choose and what I am)
doing & being
Moral Choice
I choose to lie
Character
I become a liar
(even a nice liar with a great personality)
I choose to steal
I become a thief
(even a nice thief)
I choose to kill
I become a killer
(even a nice killer)
I choose to gossip
I become a gossip
(yes, even a nice gossip)
Man is an artist who sculpts his
own moral identity, the kind of
person he is or is becoming. By
my own choice, I become either a
good person, fully orientated
towards “the good” (God, who is
the Supreme Good), or an evil
person, that is, a person deficient
in my relationship to the entire
spectrum of human goods.
Myers-Briggs Personality Test
You did not shape your own personality. Much of it is
determined by our genes and environment. Each human being
is unique, and no personality test can fully express who you
are. But they can tell us a great deal about ourselves, help us
to become aware of things we might not be explicitly aware of,
and they are often useful.
Try the following test:
, and record your type.
Character Strengths
1. Try the Via Signature Strengths Questionnaire at
2. Print out your results that show your character strengths.
3. Take a look at all 24 strengths in the pdf entitled 24 Character
Strengths. Consider what the test ranks as your top five.
4. Answer the following questions:
a. What are your top five character strengths?
b. In terms of the four cardinal virtues, is your top strength
under prudence, or justice, or temperance, or fortitude?
Explain.
c. What have you learned about yourself in doing the survey?