Ethics

Human Act:
Adequate cause: . These internal mental acts are also acts commanded by the will.
Under the head of “Adequate Cause” we therefore consider:

(A) Elicited Acts

(B) Commanded Acts

-Voluntariness; kinds
-Indirect voluntariness

Now the moment we bring together the matters of indirect voluntariness and
imputability, two supremely important ethical questions present themselves. The
questions are:

I. When is the agent (doer, actor, performer) responsible for the evil effect of a cause
directly willed?
II. When my one performs an act, not evil in itself, which has two effects, one good, one
evil?

i. The First Question: When is an agent responsible for the evil effect of a cause directly
willed? –
*The agent is responsible for such an effect where three conditions are fulfilled, viz.:

(1) The agent must be able to foresee the evil effect, at least in a general way.

(2) The agent must be free to refrain from doing that which is the cause of the evil effect.

(3) The agent must be morally bound not to do that which is the cause of the evil effect.

proceeding from a single cause. This brings us to the Second Question.

i. The Second Question: When may one perform an act, not evil in itself, from
which flow two effects, one good, one evil? —
* One may perform such an act when three conditions are fulfilled, viz.,

(1) The evil effect must not precede the good effect.
(2) There must be a reason, sufficiently grave calling the for the act in its good effect.

(3) The intention of the agent must be honest, that is the agent must directly intend the
good effect and merely permit the evil effect as a regrettable incident or “side issue.” To
explain these conditions in detail:

Ex. Ectopic Pregnancy