Circumstances

In the theological context, the circumstances of a voluntary or moral act (also called a "human act") include all those aspects of the action that are distinguishable from the rationally chosen object of the act. In other words, circumstances of an act include "whatever conditions are outside the substance of an act, and yet in some way touch the human act" (Summa Theologica II, Question 7, Article 1), including the circumstantial intentions of the agent and the consequences of the action. More specifically, the circumstances of an action include the place, time, manner, ulterior motives and consequences of the action. Though considered within traditional Catholic moral thought as one of the three "fonts" of morality, i.e., as one of the sources or constituent elements of the moral character of an action (along with the intention and the object of an act), circumstances are only a secondary element of a moral act. That is, circumstances contribute to the moral goodness of an act insofar as they may diminish or increase its goodness, but they cannot make an act that is evil in its object, i.e., intrinsically evil, morally good (see the Catechism, Part Three, Section One, Chapter One, Article 4, n. 1754).

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