IMPUTABILITY- is the quality by which an act may be ascribed to a person as its author or

owner. It implies that the act committed has been freely and consciously done and may,
therefore, be put down to the doer as his very own.
===Meaning to say, for every actions you have done, you are accounted for it. Liable for it.
MORAL- thinking and doing good deeds.
RESPONSIBILITY- is the obligation of suffering the consequences of your actions.

CHAPTER III: IMPUTABILITY AND MORAL RESPONSIBILITY

HUMAN ACTS and ACTS OF MAN

Human Acts
Acts that we do with the use of free will and
intellect. They are done freely, deliberately,
and voluntarily.
These are actions that are proper to humans,
thus the crucial element of willful consent
and knowledge of the action must be present
(Living a Christian Moral Life, 2013).
Example: studying, working, eating healthy
foods
Acts of Man
Acts that we do without free will and
intellect; some are done by instinct.
The actions are performed without
conscious deliberation or knowledge and
with the absence of a free will. Acts of man
constitute unconscious and involuntary
actions.
Example: breathing, digestion, circulation of
air in the body
These are natural processes within the body
that continue to function without the use of
free will and reason. They just happen
naturally as automatic responses to
situations (Living a Christian Moral Life,
2013).

ESSENTIAL QUALITIES / CONSTITUENTS OF HUMAN ACT.

1) Knowledge
 It asks the questions: Do you know exactly what you are doing? or Do you do the
act intentionally? He/she must have full knowledge and consent of his/her action.
2) Freedom of Will
 If you do something of your own free will, you do it by choice and not because
you are forced to do it.
3) Voluntariness
 It asks the question: Are you willing to do the act? and do you know what you are
doing and where your action is leading into? He/she wills to perform the act with
the understanding that he/she knows consciously where his/her actions are leading
into.

MODIFIER / IMPEDIMENTS TO A HUMAN ACT

 Refers to things that affect man’s knowledge, freedom and voluntariness in the
performance of an act, making them less perfectly. Also called obstacle of human acts that
affects or prevent the clear knowledge of the object of the act.

5 IMPEDIMENTS TO A HUMAN ACT

1. Ignorance- is define as the absence of knowledge in a person who is required to
know, to know what he does not know.
(Innocence- It means the absence of knowledge in person who is not required to
know what he does not know.)
a. Invincible ignorance - when one is totally ignorant of the things surrounding
his/her action and there is no way to remove/dispel it.

Ex: person who is illiterate --one who does not know how to read and write,
who is caught jaywalking.

b. Vincible ignorance - One is pretending to be ignorant since he/she just wants

to gain the approval of the other for his/her wrong action.

Ex: a student who pretends not to know the school’s policy on a proper
haircuts to excuse him/her when confronted by the guards.

i. Antecedent ignorance- When ignorance comes before the will can decide on the
morality of an act.
ii. Concomitant ignorance- the action is performed in ignorance and with
ignorance.
iii. Consequent ignorance- It happens when a person exerts little effort to know
something. Giving the wrong medicine to an ill. Supine or crass a sick person may
result in the sickness of the ignorance person getting worse.

2. Concupiscence or passion- A situation where one’s inordinate passion hinders one to

exercise correct reasoning, thus also affects his/her action and emotions.

a. Antecedent concupiscence- Antecedent concupiscence is present before any

act of the will is made due to suddenness of the passion in surging forth
uncontrolled.

b. Consequent concupiscence - are those that are intentionally aroused and kept.

3. Fear – Is the apprehension of an impending danger and prompts the agent to shrink
from the threatening evil. Considered as one of the passions, Fear is given due to
importance because it is a common passion.
4. Violence – is the exercise of an outside physical force exerted upon a resisting person
to compel him to act against his will.
5. Habit – is a firm and stable behavior pattern of acting with erase and readiness as a
result of acts frequently repeated.

Virtues- Good moral habits, the 7 virtues are: faith, hope, charity, justice, temperance,
fortitude and prudence.
Vices- Bad moral habits, the 7 capital vices are: pride, anger, gluttony, lust, avarice or
covetousness, envy and sloth.