Transcript Morality Chapter 7 - Immaculateheartacademy.org

Comunicación y Gerencia
Morality Chapter 7:
Moral Decision Making
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Traditional
Sources
Object Chosen
Good act vs. a Bad act
Intention
Movtive or intention for perfomring the act
We cannot justify an evil act performed for good reasons
(p. 123 ex. Murdering a tyrannical dictator to free a nation
from oppression)
Circumstances
Certain factors increase or diminsh the goodness or evil of
the act
Amount of a theft
Fear, ignorance, pressure
Certain acts are always wrong: blasphemy, perjury,
murder, adultery
Fact Finding
*What are the facts & what is merely
opinion?
*Who performs the action? Who is affected
by it?
*Why does the person intend to do this
action (motivation)
*How will the goals be achieved? (means)
*When & Where will the action happen?
(time & place)
Fact-Finding
What & Who
What questions remind us that moral decision making
occurs only when real people make chocies in concrete
situations: Facts. (p. 126)
Unfounded opinion or observable fact
Who does the action & who is affected by an action
(p. 127)
Also include age differences & cultual
backgrounds
Fact-Finding
Why, How, When & Where
Why Determines if an action is selfish or alturistic: our
Motives (ex. P. 128)
Tells us much about who we are
Moves us from morality as doing to morality as being
How examines goals to be achieved
Are our actions more caring or less caring for the
people involved. (p. 129)
“The end does not justify the means” (#1753)
When & Where: Reflect on the Circumstances; gravity of
the situation (p. 130)
Questions about when & where do not always tip the
scales from right action to wrong, but moral decisons
always occur in concrete reality
Emotions &Consequences
Emotions
•Emotions may cloud moral decision making, but they do
not determine whether a certain act is right or wrongemotions are neither good nor bad, they are reactions, not
intentions. We need to be open to discussing alternatives
and not get into a “yes” or “no”, “I’m right, you’re wrong”
stance
•Consider the consequences/possible effects, but
consequences do not determine whether an act is good or
evil – it’s just the effect and fall out-need to go back to the
original action (“If I didn’t get caught, then it was okay”)
• Vietnam war;
young Vietnamese
girl, Kim Phuc,
running away from
a village in flames,
she herself burning
from napalm.
• 11/11/06 at the
Vietnam Veterans
Memorial
If I could talk face to face with the
pilot who dropped the bombs I
would tell him we cannot
change history, but we should
try to do good things for the
present & for the future to
promote peace.” J. Plummer,
Guideposts 10/97
Discernment: investigating & analyzing
the moral implications of choices we are faced with;
taking whatever steps necessary to help make the
best possible decision
•Talking to Others
•Who are the people from whom I seek counsel?
•Would it be beneficial for me to consult other people
when faced with a difficult decision?
•Consulting the Church
•Check with your thoughts & feelings
Discernment
•Learn from personal experience
•How to act, what’s our limits, goood/bad decisions we
learned from
•Recognize & scrutinize your values
•Prayer /Journey with Jesus
•Pray that his love overwhelms you, pray the Gospels,
hear the words of Jesus & apply them to your lives
•For Christians considering Jesus must color & shape
every step of any process that seeks to make right
judgments
Jesus take the wheel
• Christian discernment implies a life of
faith and a sense of one's relationship
with God in Christ. Discernment
requires a heart ready to listen and
respond in prayer and
reflection. Discernment also requires a
head prepared to learn about options
and carefully select those choices
which will bring greater joy to God, self,
and world.