harmony with the dictates of right reason. EVIL ACTS are those action done by man in contradiction to the dictates of right reason. INDIFFERENT ACTS are those acts that are neither good nor evil. Voluntariness of the Human Acts The concept of voluntariness is important in ethics because only voluntary acts have moral bearing. Categories of Voluntary Actions
Perfect Voluntariness – action
performed with full knowledge and with full consent. Imperfect Voluntariness – action that occur when there is no perfect knowledge or consent, or when either or both of the knowledge or consent is partial. Direct Voluntary – action that are intended for its own sake, either as a means or as an end. Indirect Voluntary – actions that are not intended for its own sake but which merely follows as a regrettable consequence of an action. The Moral Principle Involved in Action Having Two Effects (The Indirect Voluntary Act)
A difficult question sometimes arises as
to whether it would be morally right to do certain actions from which good as well as bad effects follow; meaning is it morally right to do an act which entails good as well as bad consequences? The Action must be morally good in itself, or at least morally indifferent. The good effect of the act must precede the evil effect. The evil effect is morally allowed to happen as a regrettable consequence. There must be a grave or sufficient reason in doing the act. THANK YOU :} The evil effect should not outweigh the good effect or, at least. The good effect should be equivalent in importance to the evil effect.