Religion Reviewer

Nature of Man and its Dignity

 To will something, one has to know
 Man cannot choose or act unless he knows which is a better
good
 When a person chooses to act according to what he knows is
right - He acts freely
 Only man is capable of acting free - HUMAN ACTS
 But the intellect does not always determine the will

When is man free in his actions?

1. Under the control of the WILL - GOOD KNOWN BY THE
INTELLECT - voluntary
2. We do things because we want to, we own the decision or the
action
3. We face the consequence of our actions/decisions - We face it
with full responsibility, knowing the TRUTH, CHOOSING THE
GOOD

Nature of Freedom
 Proceeds from the INTELLECT AND WILL
 Based on REASON which the WILL FOLLOWED
 When man makes decision, he is free
 Man is accountable for what he is doing because he is
CONSIOUS of what he is doing, why he is doing it, and how he
is doing it
Results in
DECISION ACTION CONSQUENCES

Faced with

SENSE OF
RESPONSIBILITY
“You shall know the TRUTH…”

TRUTH BEING GOOD

LAW

INTELLECT WILL

FREEDOM

“...and truth shall make you free.”

Human Acts vs. Act of Man

 Human Act
 Actions done CONSCIOUSLY and FREELY
 Essential Qualities/Constituent Elements of Human Acts
1. Knowledge of the act
2. Freedom
3. Voluntariness
 Man takes into responsibility of these actions

 Acts of Man
 Actions beyond one’s consciousness; not dependent on the
intellect and the will
 Essential Qualities/Constituent Elements of Acts of Man
1. Done without knowledge
2. Without consent
3. Involuntary

A moral act depends on whether or not there is consent by the will

Human Acts include:
1. Thought
2. Speech
3. Action

ALL HUMAN ACTS are subjected to morality.

Man by nature acts towards an end.
Man’s life has a purpose.
HUMAN ACTS are neutral in themselves but they acquire morality
when we speak of:
1. OBJECT OF THE ACT
2. CIRCUMSTANCES
3. INTENTION

Moral Determinants of Human Acts

1. Object of the Act

- Substance/nature of the action
- Good which the will deliberately directs itself
- OBJECT specified the “ACT OF THE WILL”
- “what was performed by the moral agent?”

2. Circumstances
- Refers to the events, occasions, or conditions that
make the act concrete
- Lighten or aggravate the weight of moral accountability
of the performer
- The circumstance do not change the specific nature of
the human act

3. Intention/End In View
- MOTIVE of the agent - factor which the agent acts;
either be morally good or evil
- PURPOSE for which a human agent performs the act
- Concerned with the GOAL of the activity
- “What specifically does the agent want to accomplish?”
- Good intention doesn’t make an intrinsically disordered
act right
- The end does not justify the means