State defining moments in your moral formation
Explain the relationship between moral acts and character
INTRODUCTION
How does the moral agent, the human person, develop his/her moral character This is the concern of this Lesson.
ACTIVITY
Share an experience that shaped your values and moral formation. It may be a conversation that determined your career, an event that changed the course of your life or anything else that you believe has determined what you have become.
ANALYSIS
What you shared is called defining moment in one's life. What is meant by defining moment?
Meaning of Defining Moment
What is meant by the defining moments in one's life. Defining moment refers to a significant life-changing event or moment that reverberates throughout your career and personal life and so changes everything.
The following quotation explains defining moment further:
You make thousands of decisions every day.... Each choice shapes what is to come in some small way, but occasionally, of moment can change who we are and what we value, With reverberations throughout our careers and personal lives.
While it's still up for debate exactly how much of our morality comes from personal experiences, many of us can think of at least one experience that has defincd us and our beliefs.Lain Hensley, chief operating officer at Odyssey Teams, recalls the fear and loneliness he felt when he was diagnosed with cancer, for example. His illness exposed weaknesses in his lcadership and as a result, he writes, he has become "a better man, husband, father, employer, speaker and friend." Other influential moments can come down to a single conversation....
The Defining Moments of the Saints
St. Paul's defining moment was when suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him on his way to Damascus. When he and his men were very near the city, they were suddenly surrounded by a light so bright that it knocked Saul to the ground. "They heard a voice from heaven that said: "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?' And Saul said, 'Who are you, Lord? And He said, 'I am Jesus, Whom you are persecuting; but rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.' (Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 9). From that time on, Paul preached Jesus to all men, the one whose followers he persecuted and became one of greatest disciples of Jesus.
St. Augustine's defining moment came while spending time in Milan in 386 A.D. Here is the story of his conversion:
While outdoors, he heard the voice of a child singing a song, the words of which were, "Pick it up and read it. Pick it up and read it." He thought at first, that the song was related to some kind of children a game, but could not remember ever having heard such a song before.
Then realizing that this song might be a command from God to open and read the Scriptures, he located a Bible, picked it up, opened it and read the first passage he saw. It was from the Letter of Paul to the Romans, Augustine read:
Not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual excess and lust, not in quarreling and jealousy. Rather put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh. (Romans 13:13-14) While he read the scripture, Augustine felt as if his heart were flooded with light. He turned totally from his life of sin. He was baptized by Bishop Ambrose during the Easter Vigil, April 24, 287 Later, St. Augustine wrote his faimous prayer: "You have made as for yourself, Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest You,"
Relationship Between Moral acts and Character
The following cssay serves as good explanation of the relationship between moral acts and character:
This essay examined the question of whether moral character is necessary for moral behavior. I argued that moral character is relevant to moral behavior in two important ways. First, given that I am already aware of what I ought to do (i.e. of what the "moral' action is), moral character facilitates doing that action. The person who has moral character does moral actions more readily - more easily and more willingly than one who does not. I also argued that moral character matters in a second, much more fundamental way: the person who has moral character is able to recognize what is moral and occasions for moral behavior in a way that those who lack moral character cannot. Those who lack moral character often fail to act morally because they simply fail, in many instances, to recognize the morally relevant aspects of the situations they find themselves in (Knobel, 2019)
1. Illustrate this with a diagram. Do you agree with this?
Watch your thoughts;
they become your words.
Watch your words;
they become your actions.
Watch your actions;
they become your habits.
Watch your habits;
they become your character
Watch your character:
they become your destiny. - Lao-Tzu
2 Show the relationship of individual acts and moral character by means of a mathematical formula. e.g. individual moral act + individual moral act + individual moral act = moral character. Improve on the given formula.
3. Based on the narration of St. Paul's and St. Augustine's conversion can we say one's defining moment is one's moment of conversion?
CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING
Define defining moment in a person's life.
Explain the relationship between moral acts and moral character
REFLECTION
What was a defining moment in your life? What do you do to form your moral character?
SUMMARY
Defining moment refers to a significant life-changing event or moment or conversion in a person's life.
A person who has moral character does moral actions more readily and more willingly than one who does not. Therefore, it is good to develop moral character.
It is, therefore, best for all persons to develop moral character. Moral character is formed by repeatedly doing moral acts.