Ethics

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.