Understanding malitia shifts the conversation about ethics from "education" to "character." If all wrongdoing were just a lack of data, more "awareness" would solve every social ill.
In our daily lives, we often attribute wrongdoing to a lack of information or a momentary lapse in judgment. We say, "I didn't know," or "I wasn't thinking." But what happens when someone knows exactly what the "good" choice is—and chooses the opposite anyway? malitia
Unlike sins of (where we don't know better) or sins of passion (where our emotions overwhelm our reason), malitia is characterized by "willing viciousness". It is a sin committed out of a certain "malice" or a habit of vice. Unlike sins of (where we don't know better)
The individual is not being coerced or blinded; they are acting freely. they are acting freely.