CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................................1

I. WHAT IS MORAL THEOLOGY?...............................................................................................2

1.1. NATURE OF MORAL THEOLOGY.............................................................................................2

1.1.1. Moral Theology as Expression of The Moral Law, God’s Commandments,

Church’s Laws and Canon Law....................................................................................................3

1.1.2. Moral Theology as Expression of Duty.........................................................................3

1.1.3. Moral Theology as Expression of The Virtue...............................................................3

1.1.4. Moral Theology as Expression of The Virtue...............................................................4

1.1.5. Servais Pinckaers’ Definition of Moral Theology........................................................4

1.1.6. Prümmer’s Definition of Moral Theology....................................................................5

1.1.7. Our Own Definition of Moral Theology.......................................................................5

1.2. OBJECT AND METHODS OF MORAL THEOLOGY..................................................................6

II. WHAT IS MORAL PHILOSOPHY?.......................................................................................7

2.1. DEFINITION..............................................................................................................................7

2.2. SUBDIVISION OF MORAL PHILOSOPHY..................................................................................8

2.3. METHODS.................................................................................................................................8

III. DISTINCTION BETWEEN MORAL THEOLOGY AND MORAL PHILOSOPHY.........9

3.1. THE AREA OF BELONGING.....................................................................................................9

3.2. THE AUTHORITATIVE SOURCE................................................................................................9

3.3. THE AREA OF APPLICATION.................................................................................................10

3.4. THE METHODOLOGY.............................................................................................................10

CONCLUSION.....................................................................................................................................11

BIBLIOGRAPHY.................................................................................................................................12
 INTRODUCTION

Both reason and faith help man to understand himself, to know who he is and where

he wants to go. In fact, these two elements help in the achievement of his final end, which is

happiness and consequently they condition his daily behavior and relationships with others in

the society. Faith and reason belong to different realms of application; theology and

philosophy. Theology has to do with divine; so human life and interaction is regulated at the

light of revelation. Philosophy on the other hand is concerned with human reason, which is

the light with which, man gives himself through thinking process an orientation to his life.

That which concerns the moral conduct, both philosophy and theology have in their part a

branch called moral theology and moral philosophy. The problem that arises from this

junction is of course that of the relationship between the two. What is moral theology? What

is moral philosophy? What makes distinction between the two as far as both have to do with

the human conduct in the society?

 I. WHAT IS MORAL THEOLOGY?

I.1. NATURE OF MORAL THEOLOGY

There is a difficulty to give an exact definition of the concept of moral theology, in the

sense that his object is not very clear and not really palpable. To limit ourself just to the aspect

of human acts brings some confusion and misunderstanding. One may ask, which human act

is it all about? The one done? The one to be done? Or the one man is doing actually? This

difficulty presented since the beginning of this part of theology pushes father Prümmer 1 to

contend “It is very hard to get a real definition of moral theology from the ancients. As for the

moderns, their definitions are often obscure or incomplete”2.

This difficulty to have a unified definitions does not mean that there is one. Instead,

different moral theologians tried to define moral theology according to the goal to attain.

Therefore, the concept of moral theology is to be understood according to the perspectives to

author want to stress on it. Thus, moral theology will be understood in the perspective of law,

duty, values and beatitudes.

1
Fr. Dominic M. Prümmer, O.P. (1866–1931) was a Dominican priest, canon lawyer, and theology professor at
the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. He authored several books among which the Handbook of Moral
Theology, which is a masterpiece in the area of moral theology.
2
S. PINCKAERS, O.P., The sources of Christian Ethics, M.T. NOBLE, O.P., tr., The Catholic University of
America Press, Washington, D.C. 1995,1.
 I.1.1. Moral Theology as Expression of The Moral Law, God’s Commandments,

Church’s Laws and Canon Law.

Here there is an intrinsic relation between law and moral. The good behavior is that

which respects the law in place, as expression of God’s will. So, man, who respects moral

laws and all its obligations is considered as a good man and has a good conduct in the society.

In this sense, “Christian ethics is the branch of theology that studies human acts insofar as

they are subject to the moral law, to its imperatives and the obligations determined by these,

in the light of revelation.”3. In others words, moral is studied with the lenses of canon law.

I.1.2. Moral Theology as Expression of Duty

Moral theology encompasses the respect of the law from the reason and the light of the

individual conscience. In fact, in this sense man know what it is right to do and apply himself

to fulfill it. Knowing the right thing to do, becomes an imperative imposed on thyself by the

self. Morality is understood in the Kantian perspective of the categorical imperative.

“Christian ethics is that branch of theology that studies human acts in order to conform them

to duty and to the norms imposed on us by reason and by the will of God, in the light of

revelation.”4

I.1.3. Moral Theology as Expression of The Virtue

This indicates that morality has a deep link with virtue. In fact, a good man, is one

who constantly practices virtue. Short say, a good man is a virtuous man. This constant

practice of virtue is for the achievement of a final end, which is a happy life, a beatitude with

God. Human conducts therefore, pursue that end and are directed towards it. “Christian ethics

is that branch of theology that studies human acts in order to direct them to the attainment of

true happiness and to the ultimate end of the person by means of the virtues, and this in the

light of revelation.”5
3
S. PINCKAERS, O.P., The sources of Christian Ethics,4.
4
Ibid.,5.
5
Ibid.
 I.1.4. Moral Theology as Expression of The Virtue

This conception of morality as the expression of values is link to the Max Scheler’s

thought6. Morality is the exhibition of certain values, which regulate the harmony in the

society. “Christian ethics is a branch of theology that studies human acts in order to conform

them to the values contributing to human enrichment, and this in the light of revelation” 7.

I.1.5. Servais Pinckaers’ Definition of Moral Theology

From all these limited definitions above, Servais Pinckaers, proposes a more

encompassed one, which takes in consideration all the aspects and means to live morally as

suggested in the preceded one. He is of the view, that moral theology, also called Christian

ethics “is the branch of theology that studies human acts so as to direct them to a loving vision

of God seen as our true, complete happiness and our final end. This vision is attained by

means of grace, the virtues, and the gifts, in the light of revelation and reason.”8

In this definition, the moral ethics consists of the harmony of the human acts with

God’s will in view of an eschatological happiness with Him. The means at man’s disposition

to achieve it are grace, virtues and gifts of the holy spirit. There is then something spiritual

and mystical that acts in man, giving him the strength to be capable of that. That is why, one

will simply put that “moral theology is a systematic reflection on the Christian moral life” 9.

Through faith, man knows, who he is called to be, i.e., child of God. As such, he is called to

life of eternal happiness with God and moral theology will help him in that enterprise.

I.1.6. Prümmer’s Definition of Moral Theology

According to father Dominic Prümmer, moral theology is to understand in a double

sense. On one hand it is nothing more than a theological reflection of human behavior 10. On

6
Cf. S. PINCKAERS, O.P., The sources of Christian Ethics,7.
7
S. PINCKAERS, O.P., The sources of Christian Ethics,7.
8
Ibid., 8.
9
W.E. MAY, An Introduction to Moral Theology, Our Sunday visitor Publishing, Huntington 2003, 27.
10
Cf. D.M. PRÜMMER, O.P., Handbook of Moral Theology, G.W. SHELTON, S.T.C., tr., Kennedy α Sons, New
York 1957, 3.
the other hand, moral theology is a science and as such, it is “that part of theology which by a

series of practical judgments directs human acts towards their supernatural end under the

guidance of revelation”11. In others words, theology is a science, that directs human acts

towards its ultimate end, which is the union with God. So, human acts under the lenses of

revelation, should be in harmony with God’s will.

I.1.7. Our Own Definition of Moral Theology

From the previous considerations on the subject, we discover that moral theology is

first of all a science in the area of theology. Theology as ‘talk about God or divine reality”.

Then, we also notice that moral theology has to do with the human conducts, which in our

view has four dimensions: God, the self, others and environment. Equally, this human conduct

has a finality, a goal. It is not just for its own sake, but in achievement of God’s fulfillment for

the whole humanity, i.e., the final union of man with God in the eternal felicity. And finally,

the realization of this is possible through the collaboration of human efforts and God’s grace.

The human effort is determined by man’s capacity of living a virtuous life and the respect of

the divine and moral laws, which constitute for him as Christian an imperative imposed on

him by his own conscience.

From this preliminary, we define moral theology as the science in theology that studies

human conducts in relation to God’s will as be expressed both in the revelation and human

reason, insofar as it guarantees a harmonious relationship with God, the self, the others beings

and the nature, in order to achieve the ultimate happiness with God through the means of

laws, virtue and grace.

I.2. OBJECT AND METHODS OF MORAL THEOLOGY

From the above, we noticed, that the object of Moral Theology is human acts in

relation to God’s will. Concerning methods used in that discipline, D. Prümmer is of the view

11
D.M. PRÜMMER, O.P., Handbook of Moral Theology, 3.
that there are three methods, which are speculative, casuistic and ascetic 12. The speculative

method considers judiciously the various moral truths, proving and defending without

ignoring completely their practical application 13 through deductive and inductive approaches.

The casuistic method is mainly concerned with passing judgement on individual moral cases.

This has to do with the application of the laws. The ascetic one has for its chief subject the

practice of the virtues as the means of achieving Christian perfection. 14 Father Prümmer

concludes saying that, “The best method is one which makes use of all three without

sacrificing either clarity or brevity”15.

II. WHAT IS MORAL PHILOSOPHY?

II.1. DEFINITION

Also called ethics, Moral Philosophy as Lewis Vaughn put it is the philosophical study

of morality16. He pursues saying that “Morality refers to beliefs concerning right and wrong,

good and bad— beliefs that can include judgments, values, rules, principles, and theories.” 17

These beliefs, guide our daily actions, define our values, and make us who we are. In other

words, moral philosophy helps to answer the question: ‘How ought we to live?’

Another fact of ethics, it is present in our life and we cannot avoid it, our actions,

feelings, behaviors and thought are constantly modified and adapted according to what it is

good or bad, right or wrong in this or that situation. Furthermore, family, cultural and society

norms we inherited are in constant conflict with that of another one, and there is call to

evaluate, to deliberate, to judge the soundness, the goodness or the badness of our intention or

12
Cf. D.M. PRÜMMER, O.P., Handbook of Moral Theology, 3.
13
Cf. D.M. PRÜMMER, O.P., Handbook of Moral Theology, 3.
14
Ibid.
15
D.M. PRÜMMER, O.P., Handbook of Moral Theology, 3.
16
Cf. L. VAUGHN, Beginning Ethics: An Introduction to Moral Philosophy, W.W. Norton and Company, Inc.,
New York 2015, 12.
17
Ibid.
our character. Shortly saying ethics is part and parcel of our life, because we are involved in

ethics, we do ethics18.

Moreover, moral philosophy helps us to ask question about the greatest good, our final

goal in life, virtues we should cultivate, duties we should fulfill, value we should put on

human life, and notions such as the common good, justice, and rights. Therefore, one of the

most important aspects of moral philosophy to help each individual to develop his moral

outlook on life19, that is, it helps to differentiate what does and does not matter from a moral

point of view. And most importantly, moral philosophy helps the individual to regulate his

relationships with other human being, with nature, with other things of value and etc.

From all these above, we can simply define moral philosophy, as the philosophical

study of morality, which is nothing than something about human character and his action.

Why philosophical, simply because, it is a branch of a whole area called philosophy, which as

Paul Glenn defines it

II.2. SUBDIVISION OF MORAL PHILOSOPHY

Philosophers have distinguished three areas of application of moral philosophy, mainly

meta-ethics, normative ethics and applied ethics. Meta-ethics deals with questions concerning

the nature of values, the source of ethics’ rules and how we learn them. Concerning normative

ethics, it is more about standards that give human acts. Standard here is to understand as the

ideal way of behave in such circumstances. Applied ethics has to do with particular moral

problem, such what justifies Israel to kill Palestinian? Was it right for Russia to attack

Ukraine?

II.3. METHODS

Surprisingly, there is no definite methods in moral philosophy. How to do moral

philosophy constitutes in itself a question in moral philosophy, whose answers are not
18
Ibid.
19
Cf. J. WOLFF, An Introduction to Moral Philosophy, W.W. Norton and company, Inc., New York-London
2018,2.
accepted by all20. However, there exists some common methodologies in use in moral

philosophy such as logical principles of reasoning; formal techniques of argument; thought

experiments and moral intuitions; and specific methodological devices like universalization.

III. DISTINCTION BETWEEN MORAL THEOLOGY AND MORAL

PHILOSOPHY

Although, moral theology and philosophy have to do with human acts, especially the

way each should conduct or behave in the society for a harmonious life, there is of course

some distinctions between the two, which are the followings;

III.1. THE AREA OF BELONGING

The first distinction between the two is the area of belonging, one is to theology and

the second to philosophy. Theology and philosophy are two distinct sciences with their object

of studies and modus operandi. Theology simply put is a science of God, while philosophy as

love of wisdom is a rational investigation into the reality. The first one has in its core faith or

revelation, while the other reason.

III.2. THE AUTHORITATIVE SOURCE

The authority of the moral principles drawn from the two sciences differs. Moral

principles from theology come from divine. It consists “in a set of moral rules which flow

from divine commands. The divine will is the necessary and sufficient source of the truth and

authority of moral rules.”21 Consequently, theological ethics is connected with the simple

divine command theory of moral requirements 22. In this sense, what is right or wrong, bad or

good depend on what proscribes or prescribes the divine will. However, what is wrong or

right is independent of God’s will and can differ in a particular context. So, moral philosophy
20
Cf. J. WOLFF, An Introduction to Moral Philosophy, W.W. Norton and company, Inc., New York-London
2018,8.
21
P. BYRNE, The Philosophical and Theological foundations of Ethics, Palgrave Macmillan, London 1992, 145.
22
Cf. Ibid.
steps in. The sources of morality in moral philosophy fluctuate according to the schools of

thought and most often based particular doctrine attached to distinct philosophers.

III.3. THE AREA OF APPLICATION

Moral theology also called Christian ethics is by the fact of its designation an address

to Christians. It gives standards to behave as good Christian in order to expect a beatific life

with God in the future or the life after. It has an eschatological perspective. Christians should

then conform their life to God’s will by obeying the laws and commandments and live in

harmony with Him. Christians living so will have eternal life.

On the other hand, moral philosophy is addressed to all whether Christian or not. It

suggested how to live a worthy life and to be happy. In fact, as Aristotle contends in

Nicomachean Ethics, happiness is that which every body through his or her action tends to. It

is the final end of each human being. Moral philosophy through its various perspectives helps

each and every one to fulfill it. It is not just for few but all.

III.4. THE METHODOLOGY

Another point of divergence is the methodology in usage. From the above, we saw

with father Prümmer that moral theology makes use of three methods, speculative, casuistic

and ascetic. In the moral philosophy, there is no a defined method. The methodology depends

on the case of study or the situation. Furthermore, a same situation can be viewed in different

perspectives according to the various schools of thought. Moreover, the distinct feature in

moral philosophy is the principle of universalization, i.e., the moral principle should be

universal, applied and valid to all in all places and circumstances. Each rule stated should

carry that intrinsic value in order to be accepted as such.

CONCLUSION
 The present work aimed at giving the distinction between moral theology and moral

philosophy. We first of all presented the two disciplines distinctively by defining them, and

showed their object of study, the modus operandi. Concretely, we saw that moral theology is a

part of the whole theology, which deals with human acts in conformity with God’s will as be

expressed by the revelation. And that moral philosophy, as a branch of philosophy studies

human conduct in the society as conditioned by morality under the light of human reason as

universally acceptable. From there, we draw a kind of comparison between the approaches,

and observed prime facie that both belong to different area. One to theology and one to

philosophy. Secundo, they differ two in the way of operating and also in their authoritative

source; one is revelation and another one is reason. Differences lie too at the level of

methodology. However, it is good to mention, that despite those differences moral theology is

a prolongment of moral philosophy. With moral theology, humans fulfill their destiny in God,

which is the beatific life after death. What beautiful, if we know that, after this life, something

beautiful is waiting for us as a reward of our right conduct on earth. Moral theology is

therefore, a better accomplishment hic et Nunc of human’s final end, which is to rest in God

as integration in his divine life for the endless cheerfulness.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
BYRNE, The Philosophical and Theological
foundations of Ethics, Palgrave Macmillan,
London 1992.

MAY William E., An Introduction to Moral Theology, Our

Sunday visitor Publishing, Huntington 2003.

PINCKAERS Servais, O.P., The sources of Christian Ethics, M.T.

NOBLE, O.P., tr., The Catholic University of
America Press, Washington, D.C. 1995.

PRÜMMER Dominic M., O.P., Handbook of Moral Theology, G.W.

SHELTON, S.T.C., tr., Kennedy α Sons, New
York 1957.

VAUGHN Lewis, Beginning Ethics: An Introduction to Moral

Philosophy, W.W. Norton and Company,
Inc., New York 2015.

WOLFF Jonathan, An Introduction to Moral Philosophy, W.W.

Norton and company, Inc., New York-
London 2018.