Which statement about impediments to freedom is NOT listed?

• A. Habit
• B. Duress
• C. Inordinate attachments
• D. Prudent judgment

Answer: (D)

In discussions of freedom in moral theology, certain forces can impede a person’s ability to choose the good. Habit can be an impediment because repeated actions form patterns that push the will toward automatic behavior, reducing deliberate, free choice. Duress represents real external pressure that constrains the will, making choices under compulsion rather than freely chosen. Inordinate attachments refer to excessive bindings to goods (like wealth, power, or even people) that distort judgment and place a tempting priority on those goods over the true good.

Prudent judgment, however, is not an impediment. It is the thoughtful discernment within the virtue of prudence that helps a person decide rightly and act freely. So the statement that is not listed as an impediment is prudent judgment.