CHAPTER 2

Human Per son as^Moral Agent

Learning Objectives
At the end of this chapter, the learners are expected to:
1. define the human person,
2. explain the different attributes of the human person,
3. compare and contrast "actus hominis" and "actus, humanus," and
4. assess the human person as a moral agent.

Thales, an ancient philosopher from the ancient Greek City of Miletus (now Turkey), claims
that the most difficult thing to do in life is to know oneself. Why? As what Avery Dulles (1918 - 2008
A.D.), a Jesuit professor in contemporary ethics and a Catholic Theologian once says, in effect, the
human person is full of mystery. A mystery is an occurrence or a being that is difficult to comprehend
because it has

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no clear explanation. Like the origin of the human world or person. But the human person is moved by
this mystery the yearning to know, explore and understand himself or herself. ' .

Necessary Elements of a Moral Agent

The human person according t(^KarinRahner^l904 - 1984 A.D.), another influential Jesuit priest
and theologianof the 20tircentury, is a union of body and soul. The body is thevisible realities in a
person like the eyes or limbs, while the soul_ i s the spiritualjparMh^mvisihlej^axlJi^^
Juenot the^sarnpbut always together. Separate them then me person will
cease to exist. Although the term 'soul' is purely conceptual,
nonetheless, two great western philosophers, Aristotle (384 -322 B.C.)
and Aquinas / (1225 - 1274 A.D.), claim that the soul is really existing,
and the, one that animates the body. Aristotle even adds that the body
becomes the extension’orthe soul, that is, through the body
the”souTis^bekig expressed^or even felt. In this sense, thejjody
becopjes-the-deGr~^yJiere the soul mteract^rxo^nunicates withthe
physicalworlJ
Wl^reas,^qum^s ^at^/~tt^7^ejpIaLe~nLLhe soul is in
dtehumanjrtodHffiat's the reason whTthTfmSS&nffi^ has the functions
of:
1. seeking the truth dhe to his or her capacity to reason out, and
2. choosing the good due to his or her free will.
A. Thinking Being
The human person is a thinking being: This is obvious to everybody. This attribute
makes the person different from other beings. It is a power bestowed to everybody to figure
out problems, discover laws within nature, improve one's life as human beings, form and
articulate language, express emotions and dream dreams. It is a power that assists a person to
communicate, feel and progress.
B. Free Being
All social scientists admit that a person, as a rational being, does have a . certain amount of
freedom, which enable him or her to choose. This ability is known as free will. It is the faculty
of the human mind that enables the person, to choose among many options, most especially to
choose between good and evil Without the person's free will, it is impossible for him or her to
decide Znd do what is right and avoid what is wrong. However, freedom is limited nd not
absolute. In fact, a famous 20"' century behavioral psychologist and mniricist (a person who
believes that real things are tangible, thus concepts Pnot real) Frederic Skinner (1904 -1990
A.D.), says, freedom is an illusion.

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 In other* words, it is not true that a parson is free, it is just a concept in the mind, it is not
tangible. All things that are not tangible for Skinner do not exist. ' f (

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Some people believe that human person's freedom is limited because ’of the following reasons-
_______________________ ' • - ?./;

1. ^Human p

^he boundary of time and space

IC op 11 IL. Ill oil lip] P person l|ves

only for time and in a

certain