As embodied spirits and

relational beings, we have

natural inclinations towards:

1. The Good/Happiness
2. Truth
3. Preservation of Being
4. Procreation and Marriage
5. Friendship and Life
in Society

These inclinations are the

foundations of freedom and
are cultivated and refined by
cultivating the virtues.
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Freedom: my will to do things I want?!
 FREEDOM
Authentic freedom is not "the right to say
and do anything," but to "do the good" (cf.
CCC 1740). It is to do the good to attain our
natural inclinations. It is not my own individual
private possession though, but a shared
freedom with others in community. It is not
found in prejudice, deceit, or ignorance, but in
truth. Christ's words, "the truth will set you
free" (Jn 8:32), set truth as both the condition
How
forcan I be free iffreedom.
authentic I am “bound“,
morally obliged, to follow the
moral law and dictates of
conscience? (to the fulfillment of
pre-destination)
 Freedom for. authentic freedom
is the freedom for growing as full
persons and children of God,
sharing in the life of Christ our
Liberator through his Spirit. It is the
freedom found in authentic love.
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 Two levels of the individual person's "freedom for"

stand out: 1) the freedom of choice by which I direct
my moral acts, and 2) the fundamental freedom of my
very self. In the first level, we have the freedom to
choose to act in this or that way, to do good or evil. But
by consistently choosing to do the good, we gradually
become free loving persons, the second level (cf. VS 65-
68). This shows how our personal "freedom for" is both
a process and a task. Through our free choices,
striving to overcome the obstacles from within and
 And St. Peter adds: "Live as free
men, but do not use your freedom
as a cloak for vice. In a word, live
as servants of God" (1 Pt 2:16).
 Authentic freedom, therefore,
involves first of all freedom from
everything that opposes our true
self-becoming with others in
community. Such, for example, are
interior obstacles like ignorance,
or our disordered passions, fears,
personality defects, bad habits,
prejudices or psychological
disturbances, and exterior forces,
such as violent force or even the
threat of violence. These
impediments to authentic freedom
are commonly traced to three
sources: biological, which include
inherited handicaps and defects as
well as external substances like
drugs; psychological, or interior
 All these factors diminish our
freedom and thus moral
imputability and our
responsibility (cf. CCC 1735).
But the greatest single
obstacle to authentic
freedom is SIN. Liberation
to true freedom means "first
and foremost liberation from
the radical slavery of sin"
(Instr. on Christian Freedom
and Liberation 23).

 Freedom from Authentic

human freedom has many
aspects. Ordinarily we
become sharply aware of the
value of our freedom only
when we are forced to do
something against our will.
Then we realize how much we
long to be free from things
 Leveling
Terminologies
• Reason – cerebral ability to choose
• Will – the inner power to actualize
the choice.
• Self-Determination – deciding CLICK ME

one’s life’s purpose. Deciding what

 Fundamental Option/
person would bring Existential
him/her the choice –
fullness
the of life.
decision by which a person embraces
his/her self-determination. In the existential
choice a person decides which value he will
adopt as the supreme value of his life. It will
have a decisive influence on the particular
choices a person makes. A good fundamental
option inclines to particular choices of good
 HUMAN ACTS (actus
humani)
ACTS OF MAN (actus
 hominis)
Human acts - are actions that proceed from
insight into the nature and purpose of one’s
doing and from consent of free will; or shorter,
they are acts which proceed from insight and
free will. They can also rightly be called personal
acts.
 Acts of man – which are performed without
intervention of intellect and free will. They
comprise all acts performed by those who have
not the use of reason, like people asleep,
lunatics, all spontaneous reactions which
precede the activity of intellect and will, like first
reactions of anger or sympathy. All spontaneous
biological and sensual processes. Forced acts
also fall into this category.
 HUMAN ACTS (actus humani)
or ACTS OF MAN (actus hominis)
Crime of Passion
Killing a Bad Guy
 What makes our acts good or evil. What
does conscience have to decide on?
 Traditionally three determinants (Tres
Fontes) of every human act have been
highlighted: 1) the act chosen, 2) the
intention, and 3) the circumstances (cf.
CCC 1750-56). The three are dimensions
of the one moral act; hence they must
always be considered together to make
an adequate moral judgment. For to focus
only on the "act chosen" would forget the
personal agent and the context. To stress
only the "intention" neglects the objective
nature of the moral act: a good intended
end does not justify using means that are
evil. Finally, considering only the
 Case
 Lori is an accomplished pianist and she credits her mom
for her success. Lori's mom has worked an extra job since
Lori was young in order to provide for musical training for
Lori. Now, as a senior, Lori has a good chance of winning a
full musical scholarship to college. The one question
remains her government class. A "C" in the course will not
look good on Lori's transcripts. During a key test, Lori
realizes she has studied the wrong material. Lori has never
cheated before, but she can't blow that scholarship now.
Besides, she reasons, she will never take another
government class again. She nudges the foot of her
boyfriend sitting in the row across from her. He moves his
arm so that Lori can see his paper. Quickly she copies the
answers to the first ten problems of the fifty-question test.

 Moral Object
To cheat or not to cheat.
Intention
"I am doing this to pass the test."
 Impairments to Human
Acts
Impairments to Full
Knowledge
 Ignorance (invincible
and vincible)
 Error
 Inattention

Impairments to Full
Consent
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 Passion
 Fear and Social
Pressure
 Violence
 Dispositions and
Impairments to Human
Acts