Human Acts

We have two kinds of morality side by side: one which we preach but do not practice
and another which we practice but seldom preach.”
–Bertrand Russell
“We have two kinds of morality side by side: one which we preach but do
not practice and another which we practice but seldom preach.”
–Bertrand Russell
What constitutes human acts?

Knowledge
Freedom
Voluntariness

An act is a human if it is done

knowingly
freely
and
voluntarily
 HUMAN ACTS
1. Knowledge
sufficient & prior understanding of the nature &
consequence of the act
right/wrong; good/bad; beneficial or harmful
motives or intentions of the act
“Ignoratia legis neminem excusat”

2. Freedom
 choices are available
 freedom of choice
 freedom to commit or omit the act
 freedom from & freedom to

There is no free choice without understanding.

There is no freedom without knowledge.
3. Voluntariness
 willful, deliberate, or intentional commission or omission of an
act
 freedom to commit or omit the act

There is no free choice without understanding.

There is no freedom without knowledge.

Type of Voluntariness
direct
indirect
perfect
imperfect
conditional
simple
 Types of voluntariness
Direct voluntariness is present in an act which is intended in itself either
as an end or as a means to an end.
A man who works hard to buy a car intends the act of working as
a means to being able to buy a car.
Indirect voluntariness refers to a situation or consequence which is
indirectly willed.
A person who smokes indirectly willed lung cancer as a
consequence of his act. A person is responsible for an act done under
indirect voluntariness.
Perfect voluntariness accompanies an act that is done with knowledge
and willfulness of the consequence of the act.
Telling a lie is perfectly voluntary. A lie is a pre-meditated act
with the intention to deceive or mislead, to conceal the truth under the
cloak of deceit.
 Types of voluntariness
Imperfect voluntariness occurs when a person does not fully know and
intend the act.
A person who surrenders his cellphone to an armed robber under
grave threats does so under imperfect voluntariness.
Simple voluntariness is present when a person willfully performs an act
that he either likes or dislikes.

Positive simple voluntariness entails the commission or

performance of an act such as cleaning the house, studying, or
taking a bath.
Negative simple voluntariness requires the omission or non-
performance of an act like smoking, using prohibited drugs, or
spreading fake news.
 Types of voluntariness

Conditional voluntariness occurs when a person performs an act under

circumstances beyond his/her control.
A pilot who makes an emergency landing on the sea under
extraordinary circumstances beyond his control does so with conditional
voluntariness.
 Human Acts Vs Acts of Man

A human act is knowing, free, voluntary.

If any or all of these three constituents are missing such
act is called an act of man.
There is no moral responsibility arising from an act of man.
 Agency, Responsibility, & Accountability
Moral agency refers to the person’s performance an act
knowingly, freely, and voluntarily. To act knowingly, freely, and voluntarily
denotes authorship of an act. An actor who acts knowingly, freely, and
voluntarily is a moral agent.
Moral responsibility follows necessarily from moral agency. Without
moral agency, there is no moral responsibility. The word “responsibility”
means quite a number of things.
 We can also talk about the responsibilities of parents to their children and vice
versa.
 A person who returns a lost item to its rightful owner is said to have acted
responsibly.
 On seeing that the roads are wide and well-paved, we may ask on who might be
responsible for the project
 We may also say that a thief is responsible for his irresponsible conduct
The notion of moral responsibility specifically refers to the
imputability of an act to the doer of such act- the moral agent- which
involves the concept of guilt and innocence, praise and blame.
 Moral accountability follows from moral responsibility. When one
is morally responsible for an act, consequently, he/she is accountable for
it, that is, he/she is under obligation to give account for his/her action
and is subject to punishment or reward.
 MODIFIERS OF HUMAN ACTS

Human actions are not always fully knowing, free, and willful.
Human acts may be influenced by emotions or sentiments. Hence they are
called modifiers of human acts:
1. ignorance
2. concupiscence (11 human passions)
3. fear
4. violence
5. habit
1. Ignorance is defect, absence, or lack of knowledge. Ignorance is either
vincible (simply vincible, crass, affected) or invincible.
Vincible ignorance refers to the absence of knowledge which can
be corrected by simple diligence. Moral responsibility applies to a human
act modified by vincible ignorance.
Invincible ignorance is the absence of knowledge which no amount
of diligence can dispel. This type of ignorance is caused either by the
person’s ignorance of his own ignorance or his total inability to overcome.
Since invincible ignorance is unconquerable, it does not result in moral
responsibility.
2. Concupiscence refers to the eleven human passions, namely, love,
hatred, joy, grief, desire, aversion, hope, despair, courage, fear, anger.
Passions are either antecedent or consequent.
Antecedent passions arise naturally without intentional
stimulation of our affects. (without moral responsibility)
Consequent passions are those that are deliberately nurtured and
retained by the will. (with moral responsibility)
3. Fear Fear, one of the passions under concupiscence, but is given
special attention because it affects the will in terms of committing and
omitting an act. Fear is defined as the “shrinking back of the mind from
danger.” A person who is confronted with an evil that he cannot avoid
experiences fear. A sailor, who is caught in the midst of a storm in the
middle of the ocean, yet continues to sail toward his destination, acts
with fear. A sailor, who is caught by a storm and decides to sail back,
acts from fear. A young lady who was ordered to surrender her cellphone
at gun point, acts out of grave fear. Acts done with and from fear are
voluntary. Any evil that arises from these acts is not totally excusable.
However, acts done out of grave fear releases a person from moral
responsibility.

4.Violence refers to the employment of external force to coerce a

person to commit an act against his will.
5. Habit refers to “lasting readiness and facility, born of
frequently repeated acts.”
A person who is accustomed to telling the truth will find it
difficult to lie. Similarly, a person who is accustomed to falsehood will
find it difficult to be truthful. Acts done out of the force of habit are
voluntary and are, therefore, culpable.
 Moral Quality of Human Acts

The moral quality of an act or simply the morality of an act is

determined by a moral standard. Thus we speak of:
 a good or evil act
 right or wrong act
 beneficial or harmful act
 acceptable or unacceptable act
 moral or immoral act
 ethical or unethical act
 Determinants of Morality
 the act itself
 the end or motive of the agent
 the circumstances of an act

a. The act itself is good or evil, right or wrong, beneficial or harmful,

acceptable or unacceptable.
b. The end refers to the agent’s motive or purpose for doing an act.
Motive gives meaning to the act. But a good motive must be paired with a
good means. Does the end justify the means?

 A good act accompanied by a good motive is meritorious and

praiseworthy.
 A good act performed under an evil motive becomes evil.
 An evil act performed under an evil motive is gravely evil and
condemnable.
c. The circumstances of an act (who, what, where, with whom, why,
how and when) may be mitigating, aggravating, justifying, or exempting.

Who – doer and receiver of an act (relations, minor, adult, superior,

subordinate, status)
What – nature of an act (quality & quantity)
When – temporal context (war time, peace time, solemn or ordinary occasion)
Where – place context (home, church, street)
Why – motive
With whom- accomplice (how many, status of people involved)
How- manner by which the act is committed (dastardly, brazenly)
Conscience
The word “conscience” is derived from the Latin “conscientia”
which means “trial of oneself” both in accusation and defense. Moral
thinkers hold different views on conscience as a norm of morality. Some
say conscience is subjective and therefore cannot be a norm of morality
for all. Others regard conscience as a legitimate norm of morality. Among
those who acknowledge the normative power of Bonaventure and Aquinas.
Bonaventure divides conscience in two parts. The first is an innate
and unerring power for discovering moral principles. This part cannot be
lost no matter how morally corrupt a person becomes. The second part
involves the application of moral principles to specific or general
situation. This part is innate but is subject to error due to ignorance and
faulty judgment. Bonaventure puts conscience within the domain of
practical reason.
Aquinas defines conscience as a practical judgment of reason
which requires the commission of a good act and the omission of an evil
act.
 Conscience in the Bible

“I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be
their God, and they will be my people.” (Jer. 31:33)

“They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts,
their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes
accusing them and at other times even defending them.” (Rom 2:15)
States of Conscience
Different persons have different states of conscience. Every
person, too, will have, at different times and circumstances, a particular
state of conscience. The following are the different states of
conscience:

True or correct conscience judges good as good and evil as evil.

Erroneous or false conscience judges what is good as evil and what is evil
as good.
Certain conscience is subjectively sure and has no fear of being in error.
It is said that a certain conscience must be followed.
Doubtful or dubious conscience is hesitant and admits the possibility of
error. It is not morally permissible to act under the state of a doubtful
conscience. Doubt should be dispelled first by certitude.
Scrupulous conscience is a rigid and overly meticulous conscience, one
that strictly demands solid proofs of rectitude before it acts.
Lax conscience is an erroneous conscience which looks at immoral acts as
permissible and something grave as not serious.
 Conscience in the Bible

“I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be
their God, and they will be my people.” (Jer. 31:33)

“They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts,
their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes
accusing them and at other times even defending them.” (Rom 2:15)