1. Introduction to Truths

2. TODAY’S MENU Appetizer: – Truth…does it exist?…. Main Course: – What is Truth? – Absolute and Relative morality Dessert: – P.E.C. Questions

3. What is Truth? A Time To Kill – Clip

4. Plato's Allegory of the Cave

5. ETHICS & MORALITY CONT’D _________________________ is like understanding musical theory and knowing how to read the music. Morality is like playing music and hitting the right notes. ___________________ refers to the stands by which we judge our actions to be good or evil

6. Reality! ________________________ Truths: reality as it exists independent of observer ex.) Earth’s existence Aka Knowable Truths or Absolute truths Subjective Truths: mental representation/ model that we build of the objective world Aka Experiences or relativism Does not equal opinion

7. Validity: How accurate your experience is to the knowable truth Your world view is your subjective truth. Subjective truth may or may not be accurate

8. Water / gravity example

9. TRUTH… How do we reach truth? – Through ____________________ – Becoming more aware of the objective reality (the knowable truths) Does non-material reality exist? – Love? – My husband’s goal is world domination?

10. AN EXAMPLE … Ex. 500 years ago I could I said the sun rises in the East and sets in the West. But you say the sun isn’t moving but the earth is moving and the sun is fixed. Based on my experience and knowledge what you say is difficult to understand yet you may be right. Now we know that the sun being fixed is indeed correct but my theory appeared to be correct based on my experience (subjective reality) Therefore, the truth (objective reality) did not change but our perspective (validity) changed.

11. What we know about God? GOD is… – Love – Justice – TRUTH – If morality is based on truth then morality is objective/absolute NOT subjective – Truth comes from God therefore it cannot be changed

12. Relativism vs. absolute ___________________= always comparing two situations – Uses the word but – “stealing is wrong, but if don’t hurt anyone its okay” Absolutism= not relative, unconditioned – “stealing is wrong” Q:When you watched Million Dollar Baby what was he obligated to do?

13. What would be the relativist response??? eating this mushroom will lead you to experience abdominal pain and maybe even death Who was the first relativist?

14. Some schools of thought atheism (a-without, theism=God) – There are no absolutes knowledge, material realities, non-material realties (God), even morals – because God cannot Be if nothing is absolute ______________________ – no absolutes in human knowledge but there may be in material and non-material realities

15. Some schools of thought Moral relativism- there maybe absolutes in areas such as math ie.) 2+2=4 but not in moral knowledge we know no more absolutes Religious relativism- perhaps in moral knowledge but not in religious knowledge perhaps love

16. Empiricism – moral judgments are only subjective feelings – “Murder is wrong” means to an empiricist “you hate murder” NO!!! Murder is wrong.

17. WHO SAID THAT…. “relativism will damn our souls” – You can’t repent if you don’t believe in sin to repent from, and you can’t believe in sin if you don’t believe in a real moral law, because sin means disobeying. Moral relativism eliminates the law, thus sin, thus salvation….

18. “ Art, like morality consists of drawing a line somewhere.” G. K. Chesterton

19. Christian Morality Pharisees – Legalism approach Jesus – Promote a new way of living- an invitation Morality is not man made – Its origins are in the God’s revelation Moral Theology – Application of morals – Ex.) thou shalt not kill = means abortion too!

20. Here is why else? – It allows us to have _____________________, meaning and coherence in our lives. – As teens, you are in the process of making the moral decisions for yourselves – There are knowable truths of where to draw the line, of what is right and what is wrong. – Our actions speak to who we are…we are Christians…our actions should reflect Christ

21. DON’T IMPOSE YOUR VALUES ON ME! Let’s take a look at how law is created? – A law is enforced only by force – Your consensus really means SOME ppl ex.) lawmakers, majority impose their personal values on others G.K.Chesterton “Once you abolish God, the government becomes god.”

22. -Our Catholic Tradition and Scriptures lead us to discern how God wants us live? -With great power (Free will) comes great responsibility Example? – Driver’s license

23. What is freedom? human potential, the ability and the power to act on your free will. does not equate doing whatever one pleases – Ex.) Your parents go away for the weekend for the first time. Do you adhere to their rules or do you have a house party because you were given freedom?

24. WHO SAID IT… Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought.