Ethics

Definition, object, importance, and division of Ethics as the practical philosophical science of the morality of human conduct.

The nature of the human act as an act of the will performed with knowledge and freedom; its essential elements and distinction from mere acts of man.

Voluntariness as the defining quality of the human act; perfect and imperfect voluntariness; the conditions required for a fully voluntary act.

The factors that modify the voluntariness and moral character of human acts: ignorance, passion, fear, habit, and violence — and how each affects responsibility.

The meaning of end or purpose in human action; the distinction between end of the work and end of the agent; the ordering of proximate ends to an ultimate end.

The existence and nature of an ultimate end for human life; happiness as the universal aim; why only God — the Infinite Good — can fully satisfy the human will.

Law defined and classified: eternal law, natural law, positive divine law, and human law; the binding force of each and St. Thomas's definition explained.

Conscience as the proximate norm of human acts; its nature, kinds, and binding force; the duty to follow a certain conscience and to resolve a doubtful one.

The meaning of moral good and evil; the remote norm of morality as right reason conforming to human nature; refutation of utilitarian, hedonist, and relativist theories.

The three determinants of the moral character of a human act: the object, the end or intention, and the circumstances — and how each contributes to moral evaluation.

Merit and demerit as properties of human acts; the conditions required for meritorious action; moral imputability and the basis of reward and punishment.

Sanctions as the consequences of moral acts; the existence and necessity of sanctions; the inadequacy of temporal sanctions and the requirement of eternal sanctions.

The nature and foundation of rights; natural and positive rights; the conditions for a valid right; the inalienable rights of the human person.

Duties as the correlatives of rights; their foundation in law and nature; the classification of duties and their binding force on the human conscience.

The duty of religion as the moral obligation to acknowledge God's sovereignty; the virtue of religion, its acts, and the absurdity of indifferentism and atheism.

Worship defined and divided into internal and external, private and public; the obligation of external worship and its expression in prayer, sacrifice, and vow.

Man's duties of self-perfection: to cultivate the intellect by seeking truth and avoiding error; to form the will by virtue; to care for spiritual integrity against sin.

Man's duties towards his bodily life: the obligation to preserve life and health; the prohibition of suicide, mutilation, and reckless endangerment; temperance.

The virtue of charity as the foundation of neighborly duties; love of neighbor grounded in love of God; the order of charity and the duty of beneficence and fraternal correction.

Justice toward the neighbor's body, soul, and property; the prohibition of murder, calumny, and theft; restitution, contracts, and the full range of duties arising from commutative justice.

Society defined as a stable union of persons for a common end; its essential elements, necessity, and the authority required to direct it to its purpose.

Marriage as a natural institution; its properties of unity and indissolubility; the ends of marriage; the invalidity of divorce and the philosophical case for permanence.

The natural authority of parents over children and the correlative duties of education; children's duties of obedience and piety; the family as the primary social unit.

The state as a natural and necessary society; the origin and limits of civil authority; citizens' duties to the state; the principle of subsidiarity and the common good.

The morality of labor; the rights and duties of workers and employers; just wage, private property, and the principles underlying Catholic social teaching on economic life.

The Church as a perfect and independent society; its divine origin and authority; the proper relationship between Church and State and the principle of their respective autonomy.

The natural law as the foundation of international law; the rights and duties of nations toward one another; the moral basis for treaties, diplomacy, and world order.

The moral conditions for a just war; the rights and limits of belligerents; the duty to seek peace and the conditions under which armed force may be morally employed.