tenets of the catholic moral vision

1. happiness

2. love

3. freedom

4. conscience and virtue

5. sin and conversion

6. dignity of the human person

catholic morality and the moral vision

• understanding how society views life tells us something about commonly held values—such as happiness or fun

  • there are many different ways we can look at how we view the world and our actions

• moral vision: a way of seeing the world and human actions

  • the way one acts determines which moral vision one follows (not just what one claims to believe)

• all people, consciously or unconsciously, live by a particular moral code/vision

  • there are many moral visions in our world, and in many cases these moral visions contradict one another

moral visions

utilitarianism

• “the ends justify the means”

• the moral worth of an action is determined by its utility, or its ability to lead to happiness for the greatest number of people or the individual (the outcome of the action)

• no actions are considered “always wrong”

natural law

• the whole universe is governed by reason or rational principle

  • Aristotle, Aquinas and other metaphysicians assert existence of natural law

• humans have reason within them and can therefore know and obey its law

• guides us towards Goodness

• actions must follow reason (do things for right reasons, under the right circumstances, and according to their design)

the absurdist/nihilist response

• holds that happiness is not attainable

• there is no inherent meaning in life beyond sense perception

• ultimately leads to cynical and bitter end to life (from the Catholic perspective)

epicureanism

• ancient philosophy - taught by Epicurus

• the highest good is pleasure, but don’t believe in diving into every pleasure you find (moderation)

• avoidance of pain and the anxiety of losing pleasure = happiness

hedonism

• similar to epicureanism, but to the extreme

• pursuit of pleasure and self-indulgence is chief or only goal of life

• seeks to maximize pleasure and avoid pain in all areas of life (esp. in present moment)

• “I do what I want”

escapism

• belief that happiness cannot be found in this world

• it will be found outside of current mode of life

• “Let’s get outta here!

• Hinduism, Buddhism

• the physical world is evil, Creation=fundamentally bad

• we must escape time and space to find happiness

moral relativism

• there are no absolute moral truths, so happiness can be defined as whatever an individual feels like

• (Theoretically) tolerant of differing views

• “You do you” / “Live and let live”