- Teacher: Kathryn Mckay
Morality is
essentially an attempt to identify what constitutes a good life and how we can
achieve it. We know that living well is not always (or perhaps ever) easy. It
requires knowledge, reflections, and practice. The Catholic tradition has a
long history of assisting in the lifelong process of acquiring knowledge,
engaging in critical reflection, and practicing living well, even in difficult
and challenging situations. In this course we will look at ways Catholic theology
has identified the good, i.e. moral,
life and has provided resources for pursuit of such a life. Themes will include
freedom and authority, conscience and its formation, relativism and legalism,
human and theological virtues, sin and grace, prayer and the moral life, and
the unity of the Catholic moral vision. We will address these topics through
the seven primary virtues in the Catholic tradition. This perspective
emphasizes the fact that morality is about who we are and are becoming, not
simply what we do in particular situations. Since this is an introductory
course, we will not focus on specific areas of morality (e.g., bioethics,
sexual ethics, social ethics, ecological ethics). However, we will apply what
we learn about the framework and unity of the Catholic moral vision to case
studies involving such topic areas.
- Teacher: Sr. Carolyn Roeber