Ignorance of Law: Types and Justice

Ignorance of Law

• The lack of knowledge about a law can lead to consequences for not following it.
• It's important to be aware of both the existence and content of the law.

Types of Ignorance

• Vincible Ignorance: This type of ignorance can be overcome with reasonable effort.
  • Ignorance is considered culpable (blameworthy) if the individual didn't make a reasonable effort to dispel the ignorance.
• Invincible Ignorance: This type of ignorance can't be overcome by ordinary or proper means.
  • It's considered crass or supine if the person didn't make any effort.
  • It's considered affected if the person actively tried to maintain the ignorance.

Preternatural Gifts

• These gifts were bestowed upon Adam and Eve before the Fall.
• They included:
  • Knowledge: A perfect understanding of truth.
  • Absence of Concupiscence: A lack of inclination to sin.
  • Bodily Immortality: An undying body.

Original Justice

• This doctrine states that Adam and Eve, prior to sinning, were in a state of holiness and justice.
• The Fall of Man led to the loss of original justice, which was later restored through the atoning death of Jesus Christ.

Original Sin

• The Fall of Man resulted in the spread of original sin, which is the loss of original justice.
• It affects all descendants of Adam and Eve.

Sanctifying Grace

• This grace is obtained through Jesus Christ.
• It brings dignity and elevation to humanity.
• It's given through sacraments, particularly the Holy Eucharist.

Hierarchy of Being

• This concept places beings in a hierarchy based on their essence and potential:
  • God
  • Angels
  • Humans
  • Animals
  • Plants
  • Minerals

Human Soul

• The soul is the principle of life.
• It's considered the first act of a physical organic body (primus actus corporis physici organiçi).
• The human soul is rational and immortal, making it the crowning glory and dignity of human beings.

Operari Sequitur Esse

• This principle means that actions follow being.
• The operations of a being reveal its essence.
• The soul's operations include:
  • Nutrition
  • Growth
  • Reproduction
  • Sensation
  • Locomotion (Rational, Moral)
  • Intellection
  • Volition

Individua Substantia

• An individual substance of a rational nature.
• This describes the essence of a human person.

Obediential Potency

• This refers to the natural capacity for receiving knowledge of God that humans possess.
• It's a facility given by God.

Human Person in Experience

• Human beings are social and gregarious by nature, existing in relationships with others.
• We are Trinitarian in origin, emphasizing the importance of relationships.
• Our goal is to seek our well-being and the common good.

Conscious Beings

• We possess self-awareness through our knowing and willing.
• We are capable of understanding the order of things and recognizing God.

Embodied Spirits

• This emphasizes the unity between the body and soul.

GF, BS, PS

• These refer to the Old Testament, Descent to the Dead (Limbo-hell), and Purgatory or Eternal fire.

Holy Spirit

• The Holy Spirit is the Paraclete, a divine person who is the source of sanctification.
• God created humans for a purpose, reflecting the image and likeness of God.
• Humans are capable of self-knowledge and reflection.

Image of God

• The dignity of humans lies in being created in God's image.
• This image is redeemed and sanctified through Jesus Christ.

Intelligent, Transcendent, and Free Body

• Humans are saved by Christ.
• They are made holy.
• They are capable of transcending the material world.

I-Thou Relationship

• Buber's philosophy emphasizes the importance of genuine interpersonal relationships, where individuals view others as capable of feeling and thinking like them.
• This contrasts with an I-It relationship where the other is considered an object.

Moral Good of Human Acts

• Human acts are actions that proceed from the deliberate free will of man.
• They are willed consciously.
• Acts of man are the "acts of sensation and appetition" - these are not deliberate and free.
• Human acts can be good, evil, or indifferent.

Constituent of Human Acts

• Human acts require:
  • Knowledge
  • Freedom
  • Voluntariness

Kinds of Voluntariness

• Perfect and Imperfect:
  • Full knowledge and intention.
• Simple and Conditional:
  • Performed regardless of preference.
• Direct and Indirect:
  • Direct - will aimed at the act itself.
  • Indirect - will aimed at something else, but the act is a foreseeable consequence.
• Positive and Negative:
  • Positive - doing something.
  • Negative - refraining from doing something.

Determinants of Morality

• The morality of a human act is determined by:
  • Object (Finis operis)
  • Intention (Finis operantis)
  • Circumstances
  • Person (who?)
  • Quantity or Quality (what)
  • Place (where)
  • Time (when)
  • End (why)
  • Means (by what means)
  • Manner (how)

Principle of Double Effect

• This principle states that it's permissible to perform an act with morally good and bad consequences, as long as certain conditions are met:
  • The act itself must be morally good.
  • The good effect must come first.
  • The intention must be good.
  • The good effect must outweigh the evil effect.

Principle of Totality

• Every person has a right to maintain their integrity.
• Integrity includes anatomical integrity (all parts of the body) and functional integrity (normal functioning of all parts).
• Interventions can be categorized as major mutilations (rendering the individual unfit) or minor mutilations (lessening the functionality without destroying integrity).

Modifiers of Human Acts

• Modifiers can affect the morality of an act:
  • Ignorance: Absence of knowledge.
  • Considerations: Object, subject, and result of the ignorance.