Chapter IV

HUMAN ACTIONTo do is to act and to act is to do an activity that is proper to us as human beings who are intelligent and free.

HUMAN ACTIONActs of Man (Actus hominis) are indeliberate actions done everyday of our lives. Human Acts (Actus humani), on the other hand, are actions of man done deliberately.

y THIS does not

y the object of

solicit moral judgment

moral evaluation.

Constituents of Human Acts1. KnowledgeFrom Latin scire (to know) and Greek gnosis (gnosis-knowledge). Human persons alone have the capacity to know the nature of their actions and its end or consequences. Man cannot make decision or choices without having a sufficient knowledge of the action.

Constituents of Human Acts2. FreedomIt From Latin libertas (Liberty). A human act is determined by the will to do or not to do. Freedom is what one ought to do. is contradictory to licentiousness where doing refers to what man wants to do. Therefore, freedom is doing the good and not the bad because man ought to do the good only.

Constituents of Human ActsOld Testament:Man was created by God in His image and likeness. So, he is also capable of free choice.We have the freedom to choose life (Deut. 30: 15-20) y Prophets reminded the people not to abuse freedom (Is. 19ff, Jer. 11: 6-8; Ezek 18: 21-28)y

New Testamenty : Jesus implies freedom when he

said: How often would I have gathered your children . and you would not (Mt. 23: 37)y With freedom, we are

responsible beings! Man is responsible fro what he had done because he is free to do it (Mt. 16:27; 2 Cor 5: 10; 1 Cor 6:9ff; Gal 6:7ff; Rom 7: 1-6).

Constituents of Human ActsChurch teaching: God willed that man might of his own accord seek his creator and freely attain his full and blessed perfection by cleaving to him (GS 17)

Constituents of Human Acts3. VOLUNTARINESSFrom Latin voluntas (freewill). The human act is willed by the human person who is conscious and free. No one coerces the human person in doing such action. (Christian Ethics, 1997) A voluntary act is That which proceeds from its end with the knowledge of such end without impelling power over the agent

Modifiers of Human ActsThe more perfect the constituents, the higher the culpability. On the contrary, the weaker the constituents, the lesser the culpability

y Culpability is from the Latin

culpa (sin/fault) and habere (to have). Ergo, the capability to have fault or sin. y The elements that lessen the constituents of human acts are called . They modify the constituents and therefore render the act less human and, as a result, less culpable.

modifiers

- It is an absence 1. Ignorance of knowledge

It is distinguished from innocence. Innocence is absent of knowledge not due to a being. While, ignorance is absent of knowledge due to a being.

Kinds of Ignorance1. Invincible ignorance (unconquerable) is the type of ignorance which cannot be dispelled, or knowledge that is lacking and cannot be acquired because it may be impossible for the person to remove his/her ignorance because he/she has no way of suspecting that he/she is ignorant.

Kinds of Ignorance 2. Vincible ignorance is a type of ignorance which can and should be dispelled. It implies culpable negligence.

Vincible and Invincible IgnorancePrinciples: * Invincible ignorance eliminates responsibility or culpability. * Vincible ignorance does not eliminate moral responsibility but lessens it.

2. Conc

isc nc /P ssion

: Latin terms con (with) and cupire (to desire). Etymologically means with desire". These are disordered passion. The Church catechism teaches that concupiscence is the stain of original sin . St. Thomas defined it as The movement of sense appetite from the knowledge of good and evil accompanied by a physical change (Aquinas, 2003).

Modifiers of Human Acts2. Concupiscence/PassionAntecedent Consequent

precedes the action of y follows the free the will and induces the determination of the will to consent. This will; it comes after the takes place in will freely admitted or involuntary consented or aroused movements. it;

Modifiers of Human ActsPrinciples:Antecedent passiony

May completely destroy freedom, and consequently, moral responsibility, when they suddenly arise and compel us to act before any control of the will is possible. Ex. Sudden feelings of joy, hatred, grief, etc. as reactions to news and objects presented to the senses.

Consequent passion,however great, does not lessen the voluntariness but may increase it because these passions are deliberately excited and they are voluntary in themselves.

y .

Modifiers of Human Acts

Thus, man must exercise mastery over his passions, through attentive moral education, self-control, and self-discipline

Modifiers of Human ActsTwo kinds of Passion: Concupiscible simple good (love, desire, joy) and evil (hatred, aversion, sadness) which can be acquired or rejected without difficulties. * It does not connote evil; it is God who endowed us with these appetites, designed for self-preservation of the individual and the human race. * It may become destructive or evil when it is not controlled by reason. Irascible difficult good (hope, courage) and evil (despair, fear) which can be acquired or rejected with a degree of arduousity.

Modifiers of Human Acts3. Fear - An agitation of the mind brought about by an apprehension of an impending evil (Aquinas, 2003).y Principle: Actions that are performed because of fear,

however great the fear may be, are voluntary (at least conditionally, and so, are imputable.

Modifiers of Human Acts4. Violence/Coaction - Violence imposed upon the person to submit to another s will which is against one s will (Bockle, 1998). This could be external or internal violence, e.g. torture..

Modifiers of Human ActsSituations to resistance against violence: Internal resistance of the will is essential for violence; external resistance is not always called for. External resistance may be required if: a) there is hope that the force be repelled by counteraction; b) there is the danger of making internal consent; c) there is a need to prevent others from thinking that consent has been given.

Modifiers of Human ActsViolenceAbsolute violence is when the will totally resists against it. Relative violence is when the will weakly or deficiently resist to violence. Absolute violence excludes any voluntariness, while relative violence does not impair it, but lessens Its voluntariness

Modifiers of Human Acts5. Habit - St. Thomas dubbed habit as man s second nature (ST II-II). It renders the act less knowledge and voluntariness on our part which accounts the act less humanhabit of backbiting, the habit of cheating or the habit of doing nothing.

Modifiers of Human ActsHabitConstant exercise of good acts results to good habits or virtue. Constant exercise of bad acts results to bad habits or vices.

HabitPrinciple: A deliberately admitted habit does not lessen voluntariness, and actions resulting from it are also voluntary at least in their cause. He may not be free by force of habit, but still responsible for his actions if he consents by free decision to that habit; e.g. habits of drinking, smoking, etc.

Species of Morality 1. GoodMoral : actions which are in conformity to the objective and subjective norms of morality. 2. Bad/Immoral: actions which are not in conformity to the objective and subjective norms of morality.