Mid-Term Examination Review

Your midterm examination will have two parts and will last the full class period (1 hour, 15 minutes). The first part will contain five multiple choice questions and two short answer questions (for a total of 20 points). This section should take you roughly 20 minutes. The second part will contain two essay questions. This section should take you roughly 40 minutes (so that leaves you 15 minutes to get acclimated to the test and to proofread it once you have finished). Each essay question will ask you to cite at least two sources from your readings. As a general strategy for review, I would suggest looking over your class notes and the class handouts, as well as your quizzes and any notes you have taken on your readings. The exam covers only the required and not the supplementary readings.

The following list of topics for review reflects the division of your examination.

Possible Topics for Multiple Choice Questions and Short Answers:

• Four sources for ethical thinking in the Catholic tradition (scripture, reason, tradition, and experience); examples from the cases we discussed in class
• Themes from Genesis 1-3, Exodus 20 (order from chaos, goodness from nothingness, human dominion over and responsibility for creation, the harmony and subsequent disharmony of human relationships; law and obedience as expressions of love)
• Balance between marriage and family and discipleship in Matthew 5; 19; 25:14-46; Luke 14:25-33, 18:18-30, 20:27-40
• Benedict XVI on the two dimensions of love and the relationship between love and service
• Augustine on the goods of marriage; Paul VI on the unitive and procreative dimensions of marital love
• Augustine on the nature of the chief good and its relation to lower goods
• Augustine on the cardinal virtues as expressions of love
• Aquinas on virtue (especially the relation between the cardinal and the theological virtues)
• Aquinas on the connection between virtue and law; various kinds of law
• Conscience in Gula (capacity, process, and judgment), John Paul II (as law, witness, inner dialog and capacity) and Häring (as unity of personality in wholeness and integrity)
• The idea of “basic freedom” (or “fundamental option”) in John Paul II and Josef Fuchs
• The elements of a moral act according to John Paul II

Sample Essay Questions:

1. Writers in the tradition of Catholic moral theology return often to the theme of human nature. What are human beings, most basically? What is the character of human destiny? Do our natural capacities intend any particular form of life, or are we ultimately free to choose, without any external restrictions, how to live? What is the proper way to understand freedom? Are properly ordered actions essential to a good and fulfilling human life, or does living a good life consist mainly in attitudes and dispositions? Answer this question by comparing two of the following on these questions: Augustine, Aquinas, John Paul II.
2. We have examined the role of reason as a source for moral knowledge. Examine the following statement from “Consideration Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions Between Homosexual Persons” by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith: “The principles of respect and non-discrimination cannot be invoked to support legal recognition of homosexual unions. Differentiating between persons or refusing social recognition or benefits is unacceptable only when it is contrary to justice. The denial of the social and legal status of marriage to norms of cohabitation that are not and cannot be marital is not opposed to justice; on the contrary, justice requires it” (par. 8). Recall that Augustine says that justice is “serving only the loved object, and therefore ruling rightly.” Is the Congregation’s sense of justice in accord with “right reason”? Why or why not? How does it compare with Augustine’s sense of justice? What do you judge to be the proper connection between reasoning rightly and pursuing justice?
3. We have examined how tradition functions to interpret scripture and experience to produce concrete norms for moral behavior in the Christian community. Based on your readings, select two of the following authors—Matthew, Luke, Augustine and Aquinas, Pope Paul VI or Pope Benedict XVI—and answer the following questions. Is married life the norm for the Christian community? Is the tradition (as passed on in these thinkers) clear about the value of marriage, or is it ambivalent? How is marriage related to the natural goods of human life? How is it related to the highest good?
4. You have examined different understandings of the nature of moral acts and the models of moral decision-making that emerge from these understandings. Taking Pope John Paul II’s description of moral action as expressed in Veritatis Splendor (par. 74, 77-78), state whether you agree or disagree with his statement that “the consideration of these consequences, and also of intentions, is not sufficient for judging the moral quality of a concrete choice. The weighing of the goods and evils foreseeable as the consequence of an action is not an adequate method for determining whether the choice of that concrete kind of behavior is ‘according to its species’ or ‘in itself,’ morally good or bad, licit or illicit” (par. 77). If you agree, state what you think a “concrete kind of behavior” actually means. Provide at least one concrete example. If you disagree, state what you think is necessary to specify whether an act is good or evil.
5. Catholic feminists and other Catholic moral theologians frequently examine the problem of conscience as this relates to the teaching authority of the church. In your judgment, how should a Christian understand the role of conscience in the moral life? What exactly does conscience do in thinking through moral problems and acting on the conclusions one has reached? What, if any, obligation has a Christian to educate his or her conscience? What are the proper authorities to which one should turn if one wants to inform conscience and, more importantly, why do you consider these particular authorities the proper ones? Are there any real tragic conditions or situations in life where conscience is likely to be overwhelmed, or at least challenged with respect to discerning the good? Use two of the following to help you answer these questions: Cahill, Gula, Häring, or John Paul II.