Making Moral Decisions Chapter 2 Making Moral Decisions

Prudence: “Right Reason in Action” Prudence: one of the Cardinal Virtues, also known as “Wise Judgment” How is honesty related to prudence – particularly self-honesty? Discernment: A decision-making process that attends to the implications and consequences of an action or choice.

The STOP Sign Method Search out the Facts Think about Alternatives and Consequences Others – Consult them and consider how your actions will affect them Pray for Guidance

S: Search Out the Facts “The object, the intention, and the circumstances make up the ‘sources,’ or constitutive elements, of the morality of human acts.” 3 Major Aspects of Every Moral Question: Moral Object (What?) Intention / Motive (Why?) Circumstances (Who? Where? When? How?)

Moral Object How do we know whether what we want to do is good or evil? Sources of Knowledge: Human Reason (Intellect) Conscience Sources of Guidance (Parents, Bible, Church, etc.) Other? Some actions are intrinsically evil – always wrong because they go against God’s will and destroy human good.

Moral Object In simple terms, the moral object is the thing that we do – the action. Actions: Express who we are Make / Form us into who we are becoming Impact the world around us Can we think of examples of how actions do each of these things?

Intention Answers the question, “Why would I do this?” Refers to the “goal” of an action. Often referred to as the subjective dimension of morality Two rules for governing intentions: Keep the Intention Good The End Does Not Justify The Means

Intention – Principle of Proportionality Proportionality: If the end to be achieved is clearly so good that it outweighs the harm done by the bad means, then the means could be justified. Do you agree with out textbook, that an action can never be moral if the means are immoral? Could the principle of proportionality ever be morally helpful?

Intention – Principle of Proportionality Proportionality: If the end to be achieved is clearly so good that it outweighs the harm done by the bad means, then the means could be justified. Do you agree with out textbook, that an action can never be moral if the means are immoral? Could the principle of proportionality ever be morally helpful?