THE HUMAN ACT

ETHICS CHAPTER 3
 ACTIONS
They are products of our thoughts and desires,
reveal our moral character. What we are and
what becomes of us as persons depends on our
choices and actuations.
ATTRIBUTES OF HUMAN ACT
Human acts are those performed by a person who
is acting knowingly, freely, and willfully. These
actions are deliberate, intentional, or voluntary.
They are differentiated from acts of man which are
instinctive and are not under the control of the
freewill.
ATTRIBUTES OF HUMAN ACT
An act is considered a human act, when it is done
knowingly, freely, and willfully.
1. An act is done knowingly, when the doer is conscious
and aware of the reason and the consequences of his
actions. Every normal person of age is presumed to act
knowingly (moral agent). However, children below the age
of reason, the senile and the insane – are considered
incapable of moral judgement – they are what we called
moral patient.
ATTRIBUTES OF HUMAN ACT
2. An act is done freely when the doer acts by his
own initiative and choice without being forced to do
so by another person or situation. An action done
under duress and against one’s freewill is not a
voluntary action. A person is not acting freely when
he gives up his money to a robber who threatens
him with a knife.
ATTRIBUTES OF HUMAN ACT
3. An act is done willfully when the doer consent to
the act, accepting it as his own, and assumes
accountability for its consequences.
An act which lacks of any of the above mentioned
attributes is either voluntary or involuntary.
 KINDS OF HUMAN ACT
A. Elicited acts – are those performed by the Will but are not
bodily externalized such as the following:
1. WISH – is the tendency of the will towards an object, without
considering whether it is attainable or not. The object of
wishing includes the impossible, such as winning the lotto.
2. Intention – is the tendency of the will towards an object
which is attainable, without necessarily committing oneself to
get it. A student may intend to study without applying
himself to the task.
 KINDS OF HUMAN ACT
3. Consent – is the acceptance of the Will to carry
out the intention. A student shows consent to the act
of studying when he accepts the reasons and
accountability for undertaking the act.
4. Election – is the selection of the Will of those
means necessary to carry out the intention. The
student, for instance, may elect to stay in the library
to study his lesson, or seek a friend to to help him.
 KINDS OF HUMAN ACT
5. Use – is the command of the Will to make use of
the means elected to carry out the intention, such as
when the student makes up his mind to stay in the
library to study.
6. Fruition – is the enjoyment of the Will due to the
attainment of the intention. The student may feel
satisfied about the prospect of learning the lesson
and being prepared for the class.
 KINDS OF HUMAN ACT
B. Commanded Act – the mental and bodily actions
performed under the command of the Will. These
are either internal or external actions.
Internal Actions are those performed mentally,
such as reasoning, recalling, imaging, and reflecting.
 KINDS OF HUMAN ACT
External Actions are those performed bodily such
as walking, dancing, talking, and writing. All
external actions derive themselves from the internal
acts, since every deliberate act is first thought of and
decided mentally, Thus, philosopher speak of
human acts as “being first in intention, but las t in
execution”. (Paul Glenn, Ethics: A Class Manual in
Moral Philosophy p.7-8)
 MORAL DISTINCTIONS
1. Moral Actions – those in conformity with the
norm of morality. They are good and permissible
actions, such as working studying, paying debts,
telling the truth, loving someone, etc..
2. Immoral Actions – those which are not in
conformity with the norm of morality. The are evil
and prohibited actions, such as cursing, cheating,
stealing, lying, etc..
 MORAL DISTINCTIONS
3. Amoral Actions – those which stand neutral or
indifferent to the norm of morality. These acts are
neither good or evil, but they may become evil
because of circumstances. Playing basketball
becomes morally wrong when it causes a student to
miss his class.
 MORAL DISTINCTIONS
The adjectives ethical and unethical are respectively
synonymous with right and wrong, proper and
improper. They best describe actions in relation to
professional standards rather than in relation to
moral laws. A doctor who reveals information about
his patient is unethical but not necessarily immoral.
 INTRINSIC AND EXTRINSIC EVIL
Immoral acts are either intrinsically or
extrinsically evil. An act is intrinsically evil when its
wrongfulness is part of the nature of such act. The
act of stealing, because it consists in depriving
someone of his property against his will, is
intrinsically evil.
 INTRINSIC AND EXTRINSIC EVIL
An act is extrinsically evil when its wrongfulness
comes from an outside factor. The act of alms-
giving, though good in itself, is extrinsically evil
when it is done for purposes of building one’s public
image. This indicates that actions which are
themselves good or neutral may become evil due to
external factors, whether this be the motive of the
person or the circumstances of the act.
 VOLUNTARINESS
Voluntariness or volition, comes from the Latin
“voluntas” which means the Will. An Act is
voluntary because it is done under the control of the
will. Voluntariness is either perfect or imperfect,
either simple or conditional.
1. Perfect Voluntariness – it is possessed by a
person who is acting with full knowledge and
complete freedom.
 VOLUNTARINESS
2. Imperfect voluntariness – it is possessed by a
person who acts without full understanding what he
is doing, or without complete freedom. It is
imperfect involuntariness when we perform an act
which we dislike.
3. Simple voluntariness – it is the disposition of a
person performing any activity regardless of his
liking or not liking it.
 VOLUNTARINESS
Simple voluntariness is either positive or negative,
it is positive when the act requires the performance
of an activity, such as taking the train, going for a
walking, or caring for a sick person. It is negative
when it requires the omission of an activity, such as
refraining from talking, or not taking prohibited
drugs.
 VOLUNTARINESS
4. Conditional voluntariness – it is the disposition
of a person who is forced by circumstances to
perform an act which he would not do under normal
conditions. A person who gives up money to the
robber is acting with conditional voluntariness.
 DIRECTLY AND INDIRECTLY
The result of an act which is primarily intended is
said to be directly voluntary. The result of an act which
follows or goes along with the primarily intended act
is indirectly voluntary. A student watches a movie is to
entertain himself (directly voluntary), but, in so doing,
he misses school (indirectly voluntary). Or a couple
enjoys walking in the park (directly voluntary) which
causes them to be mugged (indirectly voluntary)
 DIRECTLY AND INDIRECTLY
A person is accountable for actions directly intended. Is he also
accountable for those indirectly willed acts or consequences? A
person is accountable for indirectly voluntary acts when:
1. The doer is able to foresee the evil result or consequences
though in a general way.
2. The doer is free to refrain from doing that action which would
result in the foreseen evil
3. The doer has the moral obligation not to do that which would
result in something evil.
 DIRECTLY AND INDIRECTLY
Acts With Double Effect:
1. A person is held morally responsible fro any evil
effect which flows from the action directly willed
and as a natural consequence of such action, though
such evil effect is not directly willed nor intended.
2. A human act with double effect, one good and
another is evil, is morally permissible under four
conditions.
 DIRECTLY AND INDIRECTLY
A violation of any of these conditions makes an act
unjustifiable.
1. The action which produces double effects must
be good in itself, or at least morally indifferent.
2. The good effect must not come from the evil
effect. It is never justified to do evil in order to
attain something good.
 DIRECTLY AND INDIRECTLY
3. The purpose of the doer is the attainment of the
good effect , with evil effect being tolerated as an
incidental result.
4. The good effect must outweigh in importance the
evil result.
These principles apply to “therapeutic abortion”, a
medical process intended directly to saving the life of
the mother with the sad result of aborting the fetus.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF HUMAN ACTS
Because human acts come from the intellect and
the will, they express the thoughts and desire of a
person, revealing his moral character. Hence, people
are judged by their actions like tress by their fruits.
We condemn a person for his evil deed or praise him
for doing what is good.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF HUMAN ACTS
We often hear people say that they “condemn the
sin but not the person” or suspect. The statement is
probably acceptable if it means we should not rush
to judge the guilt of a suspect. But the statement is
wrong if it means we should not blame people for
their evil deeds, no matter how unfortunate are
these acts. This is to condone evil.
 MORAL SENSIBILITY
Moral Sensibility is our response towards what is right or
wrong. Some people have strong aversion towards wrongdoings,
while some are dismissive of them. Some are intolerant and stern,
while others are tolerant and accommodating.
Persons who are liberal and open-minded are inclined to accept
evil as a normal occurrence, giving in to such thought as “ganyan
kasi tao lamang”, “kasi bata pa”, “kasi walang aral”, or “kasi
masama ang gising”.
People who are intolerant and strict are inclined to punish
people “para matuto”, “para di umulit”, or “para magbago”.
 MORAL SENSIBILITY
Moral sensibility may be compared to the sensitivity to pain.
Some endure pain longer than others can. Sensitivity to pain is a
good thing because it warns us about a danger. A moderate moral
sensibility may be good to us too. It is moral sensibility which
objects to an indecent behavior or an obscene movie. It is moral
sensibility which prevents us from making a fool of ourselves.
We use to call moral sensibility as “delicadeza”. When a person
is not scandalized by what is wrong, when he does not recoil
from what is outrageous, when he is not ashamed of his vices – he
is devoid of moral sensibility, he is ”manhig”.
 MORAL SENSIBILITY
A person who lacks moral sensibility is inclined to
act accordingly to his self-interest. He would readily
steal to enrich himself, or even commit murder to
arrogate power. Adolf Hitler is one such dangerous
and wicked person.
 ACTIVITY 3
1. What are the attributes of a human act?
2. What is the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic evil?
3. Give an example of conditionally voluntary act.
4. Give an example of perfectly voluntary act.
5. Give an example of imperfectly voluntary act.
6. Should a drunken man be made accountable if he accidentally burn a
house? Elaborate your answer.
7. What moral principle is involved when a car driver who is involved in an
accident is charged with “reckless imprudence causing damage to property?
8. Why is it importance to cultivate moral sensibility?
 PARA SA KABATIRAN NG LAHAT:
1. Sagutin ang mga katanungan ayon sa iyong pagkakaunawa sa aralin.
2. Huwag gumamit ng google o mangopya sa sagot ng iba.
3. Ang mga halimbawa na inyong ilalagay sa NO. 3-5 ay dapat magmula
sa iyo, hindi sa libro at hindi sa output ng kaklase mo.
4. Dahil ang katanungan ay English, dapat ang kasagutan ay nakasulat
din sa wikang English. Hindi tatanggapin ang Tagalog o Taglish man.
5. Ginamit ko lamang ang wikang Filipino upang inyong maintindihan
ang panuto, hindi upang maging dahilan na ang inyong mga sagot ay
maisulat sa wikang Filipino.