Ethical Problem No.

Q1. Is the act of Boboy Mark considered as a human act or acts of man? Justify your
answer.

The act of Boboy Mark which includes keeping a knife under his pillow is clearly a ‘Human Act’.

By definition, human acts are actions done intentionally, free, and deliberate of a person using
our intellect. These are action that a man properly masters for he does them with full knowledge
and of his own will.

In other words, human acts are:

 Acts which proceed from a deliberate freewill.

 A man is fully responsible with the consequences of his acts.
 Involves a man’s responsibility and accountability of the results of his/her actions.

To consider something a ‘human act’, it must follow the attributes of a human act:

1. Knowledge. An act is done knowingly, when the doer is conscious and aware of the reason
and the consequences of his actions.
2. Freedom. An act is done when the doer acts by his own initiative and choice without being
forced to do so by another person or situation.
3. Voluntariness. An act is done willfully when the doer consents to the acts, accepting it as
his own, and assumes accountability for its consequences.

In the absence of these characteristics, actions are to be considered as ‘acts of man’ which are
instinctive and involuntary actions that include physiological in nature such as the blinking of the
eye.

Considering these three characteristics, Boboy Mark clearly has knowledge of his act being
aware/conscious of what he’s doing. He also has freedom in keeping a knife under his pillow as
it is his choice and no outside force or situation pushed him to do so. Moreover, the voluntariness
is present as he done his act because of his reason of “personal protection” therefore proving that
it is indeed a ‘human act’.

Q2. Does the act of Boboy Mark constitute voluntariness? Explain.

Voluntariness is when an act is done willfully when the doer consents to the acts, accepting it as
his own, and assumes accountability for its consequences. And in this situation, Boboy Mark is
aware of the situation that’s why he chose to do the act of hiding the knife under his pillow. It is
his intention to do his act in order for him to be prepared when there is an unusual incident to
arise.

Q3. Does the act of Boboy Mark constitute freedom? Explain.

Freedom is when an act is done when the doer acts by his own initiative and choice without being
forced to do so by another person or situation. This is possible if the act is being performed in
accordance with his will. Boboy Mark, being aware of his actions and intention, also had his
freedom in doing his act. This is because there is no outside coercion or force present that
contributes to his will. Besides, he has a lot of choices on what to do based from the situation, but
he chose to keep a knife under his pillow, and he is responsible to that. He can acknowledge that
he has done them because he wanted to and he can explain why he wanted to do them (personal
protection).
Ethical Problem No. 2

Q4. Would it have been right to remove the infant’s organs, thereby causing her immediate
death to held other children?

Baby Theresa’s situation of having anencephaly:

 Important parts of the brain – the cerebrum and the cerebellum – are missing, as well as
the top of the skull.
 There is, however, a brain stem, and so autonomic functions such as breathing and
heartbeat are possible.
 About 300 each year are born alive, and they usually die within a few days.
 At least 2000 infants need transplants each year, and there are never enough organs
available.

In relative with utilitarianism, removing Baby Theresa’s organs would be the better choice. It may
cause her immediate death but based on statistics, they knew that she will eventually die after a
few days. Would you let your child live for how long – a few hours, a few days, weeks? Why? Are
we to consider letting her live just to breathe? To produce heartbeat? Then after a few days would
kill her eventually? While the fact of breathing and heartbeat is possible, these very things would
be the cause of her suffering while we are letting her live. Let us also consider the fact that it
would as well benefit a lot of infants who need organ transplants.

Q5. If you were Baby Theresa’s parents, will you do the same? Why/Why not?

Yes. After discovering the fact that my child has anencephaly, the best thing to do is to accept the
fact that my child would eventually die as per statistics. I might hold her in my arms, but I won’t
let her suffer more difficulties especially in that health of not living with a conscious life. To do that,
the physicians would need to remove my child’s organs immediately before it deteriorates.
Knowing that this act is for the benefit of a lot of infant, it may cause sadness, but at the very end
of the day, you knew that this is the better choice and it is for the welfare of Baby Theresa and
other people as well.

The decision would benefit:

 Baby Theresa. Knowing that she won’t live that long, and that, even if she could, she
would never have a conscious life.
 Other children. Her organs – kidneys, liver, heart, lungs, and eyes will go other children
who could benefit from them knowing that a lot of them needs transplant each year despite
of not having enough organs.

Q6. Does a convincing lie work better than a truth? (Jakob the Liar)

To tell a false statement is one thing, and to tell a convincing lie is another. Especially if it is done
for the betterment of a large group of people. In the situation of Jakob, what he did is to plant
hope to other people and uplift their spirit. What he did is to tell a convincing lie in order for this to
happen. He might be the one in danger if these people would find out about the truth, but it is his
choice, knowing that it would eventually have respective consequences. The important thing is
that he kept this secret and became responsible for doing the act.

A convincing lie does work better than a truth. If it doesn’t, then it is not convincing enough to
work. This is not to create a false statement and eventually create a chaos, but it is to tell other
people something that would uplift their behavior. This act would eventually create a domino effect
within the community and therefore producing positivity throughout. There may be the truth, for
sure but it is one’s choice if he/she would tell a convincing lie or the truth per se. As long as you
are responsible enough for your action and for its consequences, then who are we to judge your
existence as a person.