Objectives Introduction

At the end of the session, the

students can:
Present clearly one’s
understanding of the definition,
elements and modifiers of
Human acts through a video
analysis;
Cite specific ways of living a
good life through a take-away
statement;
Pray for God’s guidance and
inspiration in living a God-
centered life.
BTI
Morally good actions have certain requirements. To be able to
determine in all cases whether a choice being considered is
moral, it is necessary to understand what is meant by the
object, the intention, and the circumstances of a particular
action.
It is good to remind ourselves that only humans are capable of
making moral choices.
This is made possible through the intellect and will. We must
make a distinction between human acts and the acts of
humans.
What makes man accountable of his acts? What makes our
acts so reflective of who we are? In this module, we explore
the difference between human acts and acts of man and
become sensitive, and conscious of all our actions as we relate
with one another.

The pre-service teachers can Activity:

develop & demonstrate the SOPHIE’S CHOICE
following competencies: https://youtu.be/DZ9bht5H2p4

Domain 1. Content Knowledge (The Choice)

and Pedagogy The train she was
travelling in arrived at Capsoul of the Day
1.1.1 Demonstrate content their destination. She
knowledge and its application and her children
within and/or across curriculum disembarked and were
teaching areas. confronted by a German
officer.
The German Officer
said to Sophie: Only one
of your children can Live. The other child will be executed.
He asked her to decide: Which child should live and which
child should die? If you fail to choose she is told, both
children will be executed. She made a decision and had to
live with the consequences for the rest of her life.
 What choice would you make if you had to choose between both of your children?

Would you make a choice or would let the tormentor be responsible.

This question of choice I feel is a very important example of responsibility.

And often the issue of “Sophie’s Choice” comes to mind.

How would you approach this difficulty?

In light of such a tragic and sadistic situation how would you respond?

And just to make the dilemma complete you have guns trained on you the whole time, you
have no ability to do anything but make a choice.

Source
https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/sophies-choice-an-ethical-dilemma.35813/

Acquisition of New Knowledge

Human Act (Actus Humani) are actions that proceed from insight into the nature and purpose of
one’s doing and from consent of free will. Human Act are acts which proceed from insight and
free will. Human Act can also rightly be called personal act. Human acts are actions, physical,
spiritual, internal or external, that proceed from the deliberate free will of man. These are
rational and willed acts, actions that are proper only to man, which man does not share with the
brutes, actions that require man’s rationality.

Distinguish from Acts of Man

Acts of man are man’s actions which man shares with the animal.

These are the acts of perception (sensation), the beating of the heart, blood circulation in
the body, digestion of the goods in the stomach… etc.

Acts of man are actions that proceed without man’s deliberate free will. This is why
actions that happen within the body are not human acts because they occur without the
control of the will and the consciousness of the human mind.
Acts of man do not only mean actions that happen inside the body but also those that
occur outside the body. Actions done by infants, the insane, imbeciles, morons. Actions
that are done when one is asleep (somnambulism) are also acts of man.

Acts of man do not make man responsible for his actions

Man is only responsible for his action if he does the act out of knowledge, freedom and
voluntariness.
 3 ELEMENTS OF HUMAN ACTS
3 ELEMENTS OF (Constituents of Human Acts)
HUMAN ACTS 1. KNOWLEDGE
• Doing an act with knowledge makes the act deliberate.
KNOWLEDGE • The agent or doer has intellectual knowledge of the act,
FREEDOM has awareness of the means to employ as he performs the act,
VOLUNTARINESS and has also the awareness of the end to achieve in his action.
2. FREEDOM
• Every human act is done with freedom.
• An act done with freedom means that the agent does an act under the control of
his will.
• If the agent used his freedom, his will is not affected or influenced by any
constraint either within himself or outside himself.
• He is not forced to do or not to do a particular action.
3. VOLUNTARINESS
This requires the other two constituents (knowledge and freedom).
It is synonymous with human act.
Voluntary act is a willful act.

• Acts of Man (actus hominis) are actions performed without intervention of intellect and
free will.
• It comprises:
• All spontaneous biological and sensual processes, like nutrition, breathing,
sensual impressions.
• All acts performed by those who have not the use of reason, like people asleep,
lunatics, drunken people
• Actions which merely happen in the body or through the body without the
awareness of the mind or the control of the will.
• Any act, thought, or word
That is done with full knowledge & deliberate – ALAM NIYA( at sana alam mo rin)
2. The person is free to do it – HINDI SIYA PINWERSA. (gusto nya talaga!)
3. The person does it intentionally or voluntarily –
NAIS NIYA TALAGANG GAWIN.( manhid kalang talaga)

Knowing & Deliberate

• It means deliberation about the means to perform an action and about the end to be
achieved.
Awareness or conciousness of the conditions and implications of one’s action.

Free Acts

• Freedom is the power to choose between two or more courses of action without being
forced to take one or the other by anything except our own will. Every human act is a
free act for it is under the control of the will.
• Authentic Freedom is not “the right to say and do anything,” but to “do the good and
truth.”

• The whole moral life revolves around the use of freedom.

 • The good use of freedom guarantees man the affirmation of his better self and the
achievement of the purpose of life.
• The abuse of freedom is the origin of man’s guilty conduct.
• True liberty dignifies man; misuse of liberty debases him.

Freedom in Scripture
• Scriptures of the Old as well as of the New Testament evidence the conviction that man
has the freedom to do what is good and to avoid what is evil, and that therefore he is
responsible for his actions.
• Sirach 15:14 ff. Matthew 16:27; 25:31-46
• Deuteronomy 30:15-20 2 Corinthians 5:10
• Isaiah 1:19 ff. Ephesians 5:5
• Jeremiah 11:6-8 Galatians 6:7 ff.

Intentional/Voluntary Acts
• A voluntary act is defined as the act which proceeds from an intrinsic principle with
knowledge of the end.
• A voluntary act proceeds from the will and depends upon the will.
• A voluntary act is a will-act, not only a “willed act”
• When man knows the end of his work to the greatest degree and moves towards it, the
voluntary character of his actions is present to the greatest degree.

Illustration
• A certain NDMU student is aware of the regulations concerning the wearing of ID before
entry & during inside the campus. (Knowledge)
• He/She is free to wear or not to wear the ID before entry & during inside the campus.
(Freedom)
• He/she did not wear the ID and consequently disobeys the regulation of NDMU.
(Voluntariness)

• Human Actions are good (moral) when they have the moral perfections and fullness
required by the object of the actions.
• i.e. When human acts agree with the standards or norms of morality which are
human reason, conscience and natural law.
• Human actions are evil (immoral) when they are
contrary to the moral perfections required by the object The greater the
of the action. knowledge and
• Human actions are non-moral or amoral when it has
no relation to morality. freedom, the
• i.e. When human acts are perform by those greater the
who lack the moral sense of responsibility, like
infants and insane people. voluntariness and
moral responsibility
Principle
“The greater the knowledge and freedom, the greater involved…
the voluntariness and moral responsibility involved,
and conversely.”
 What do you think?
Why only human acts can be judged as moral or immoral?

FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE ESSENTIALITY OF HUMAN ACTS

If the agent has greater knowledge, freedom and voluntariness, the agent has greater
responsibility for the consequences of the act.

In contrast, if the agent has lesser knowledge, freedom and voluntariness, the agent has
lesser responsibility for the act.

MODIFIERS OF HUMAN ACTS

1. IGNORANCE
• One cannot be excused for reasons of innocence out of IGNORANCE.
• Ignorance is defined as the absence of knowledge in a person who is required to
know – to know what he does not know
• Innocence means the absence of knowledge in person who is not required to know
what he does not know
2. CONCUPISCENCE
• Concupiscence belongs to man’s sensory appetites rather than to man’s
intellectual appetites.
• They refer to the emotions and feelings of man in relation to his actions.
• Since emotions and feelings belong to man’s sensory appetites, they are in
themselves irrational
• Concupiscence (passion) are defined as appetites towards the possession of good
and avoidance
3. FEAR
• The shrinking of the mind on account of an anticipated evil or threat
• The emotion that catch impending or anticipated evil and manifest itself in the
desire to get away, avoid, or escape from an impending threat.
• Actions that proceed FROM fear are those that are performed because of fear. It
is fear that causes or moves the agent to perform them.
• Actions that proceed WITH fear are those that are performed with fear as the
accompanying elements.
4.VIOLENCE (FORCE)
• The actual application of force to a person by another for the purpose of compelling
him to do something against his will
• If violence is a threat, then it is not violence at all but fear. So, when an agent does
an act due to threat of violence, the responsibility of the agent should be judged
according to the criteria of fear and not of violence.
• “No matter how violently a person may be treated, his will always remains free, for
physical forces can never reach the intrinsic act of the will. Physical force can
compel a person to do something, but cannot compel a person to will something.”
5. HABIT
• Is defined as a constant and easy way of doing things acquired by the repetition of
the same act.
• Tendencies we have developed in ourselves from repeated acts.
• To determine the degree of responsibility.
• To the extent a person has been taken over by a particular habit, that person has
a decreased amount of responsibility for what he is doing. However, an individual
 is bound to avoid becoming entrenched in bad habits, and is obligated to try to
replace them with good habits.

Q: What is the relevance/significance of knowing all these modifiers of

Human Acts?

Application: Video Analysis ( 50 points) | Assesment: Take away statement ( 15 points)

Watch again the clip on Sophie’s choice: make write a scholarly analysis integrating
your learnings on the Human acts and acts of man. Highlight and elaborate which
modifier of the human act influenced Sophie’s letting go of her daughter.

End your discussion with a take-away statement: What concrete or specific actions can
you give inorder to live a good life? Give three.

References
Primary Sources: Knox, I. (2003). Theology for Teachers. U.P Box 4, Diliman 1101
Quezon City, Philippines. Clarentian Publications Catechism of the Catholic Church
(1994). Manila, Philippines: ECCE Word & Life Publications.

Secondary Sources:

Reyes, R.C, (2009) Revised. Ground and Norm of Morality: Ethics for College Students.
Loyola Heights, Quezon City. Ateneo De Manila University Press

Reyes, R.C, (1089). Ground and Norm of Morality: Ethics for College Students. Loyola
Heights, Quezon City. Ateneo De Manila University Press

Alora, R.A. (2004). A Handbok in Bioethics. 264-A Pablo Ocampo Sr. Ave. Bookmark.Inc
Reyes, J. (2018). Moral Theology, A Basic Study on Christian Morality. Unpublished book

Ethics or Moral Philosophy, Alfredo Panizo, O.P.

Christian Ethics, Karl H. Peschke