The Meaning of

Human Act
Prepared and Presented by: Zea Oryza May H.
Diaz
Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, students can..
 Explain the meaning of the human act, the morality,
and the accountability of the human act.
INTRODUCTION

Not all acts of the human person as a moral agent are

considered human acts. Some may be classified as acts of
humans.
ACTIVITY!!!!
Classify the items either as human acts or acts of man.
ACTIVITY!!!!
Classify the items either as human acts or acts of man.
Imitate me if Human Imitate me if Acts of
Act is your answer! man is your answer!

1. Breathing
Acts of man
ACTIVITY!!!!
Classify the items either as human acts or acts of man.
Imitate me if Human Imitate me if Acts of
Act is your answer! man is your answer!

2. Blinking
of the eyes
Acts of man
ACTIVITY!!!!
Classify the items either as human acts or acts of man.
Imitate me if Human Imitate me if Acts of
Act is your answer! man is your answer!

3. Observing
a diet
Human Act
ACTIVITY!!!!
Classify the items either as human acts or acts of man.
Imitate me if Human Imitate me if Acts of
Act is your answer! man is your answer!

4. Dilation of
the pupils
of the eyes
Acts of man
ACTIVITY!!!!
Classify the items either as human acts or acts of man.
Imitate me if Human Imitate me if Acts of
Act is your answer! man is your answer!

5. Perspiring
Acts of man
ACTIVITY!!!!
Classify the items either as human acts or acts of man.
Imitate me if Human Imitate me if Acts of
Act is your answer! man is your answer!

6. Tutoring the
slow learners
Human Act
ACTIVITY!!!!
Classify the items either as human acts or acts of man.
Imitate me if Human Imitate me if Acts of
Act is your answer! man is your answer!

7. Preparing for
the board exams
Human Act
ACTIVITY!!!!
Classify the items either as human acts or acts of man.
Imitate me if Human Imitate me if Acts of
Act is your answer! man is your answer!

8. Jerking of
the knee
Acts of man
 Act of Man versus Human Act
According to Fr. Coppens, (2017), “Human
acts are those of which a man is a master, which
he has the power of doing or not doing as he
pleases.”
In the words of Panizo, (1964) “human acts
are those acts which proceed from man as a
rational being.”
 Act of Man versus Human Act
Hence, “actions committed by unconscious and insane persons,
infants, or by those who are physically forced to do something, are
not considered as human acts but acts of man.” Likewise, “actions
which merely happen in the body or through the body without the
awareness of the mind or the control of the will are also acts of
man.”
 The Determinants
of the Morality of Human Act
Rev. Coppens, S.J. says that to know whether an individual human
act is morally good, three things are considered. These are called
the determinants of morality, namely,
a) the object of the act,
b) the end, or purpose,
and c) its circumstances.
 The Determinants
of the Morality of Human Act
For an act to be morally good, all three determinants must be
without a flaw, according to the received axiom: "Bonum ex integra
causa, malum ex quocumque defectu” -- "A thing to be good must
be wholly so; it is not vitiated by any defect.”
 The Determinants
of the Morality of Human Act
The object of the act
The object of any action is its essence which makes an action – what it
is. That object can be something good, bad or indifferent. Lying and telling
the truth are examples of two actions that are distinguished from each other
according to moral criteria.

The following principles apply to the object of every action

• An action whose object is bad 
• An action that is good 
• An action that is indifferent 
 The Determinants
of the Morality of Human Act
The end, or purpose of Human action
It refers to the purpose the person had in mind while doing the act.
Certain principles can be deduced based on the purpose in mind when
performing the act.
 
• An action that is indifferent due to its object may
become good or bad because of the purpose.
• An action that is good because of its object may
become better or less good or even bad because of
the purpose.
• An action that is evil by its object may become more
wrong or perhaps less wrong but never good by its
purpose.
 The Determinants
of the Morality of Human Act
Circumstances of a human action
Circumstances refers to such things, as the act being done at a particular
time, in a particular place, by a particular agent, in a particular manner.
Moral circumstances are the criteria for assessing the
goodness or badness of a human action. Moral
circumstances may increase the goodness or
badness of a human action.
 The Determinants
of the Morality of Human Act
• Aggravating moral circumstances - It increases
the goodness or badness of an action.
• Extenuating moral circumstances - It decreases
the amount of badness of an action.
• Specifying moral circumstances - It makes an
indifferent act become good or bad.
 The Determinants
of the Morality of Human Act
Analyzing the morality of the human act is a complex
task since it is affected by so many conditions which
are within and without. Most of the moralists agree that
to judge the goodness or badness of any particular
human act, these three elements must be weighed from
which every act derives its morality.
 KEY TAKEWAYS
• A human act is an action that is considered to be carried out voluntarily, whereas an
act of man is an involuntary action.
• A human act is an act on which an individual can make a conscious decision whether
or not to carry out that act. An act of man is the natural act of vegetative and sense
faculties such as digestion, the beating of the heart, growing, bodily reactions, and
visual or auditory perceptions.
• For an individual human act to be moral, its object must be free from all defects it
must be good, or at least indifferent. The end or purpose intended by the agent for
that act must likewise be good.
• Circumstances surrounding human activities such as time, place, person, and
conditions surrounding the moral act may either increase or diminish the moral
goodness or evil of a human act. • A morally good act requires the goodness of the
object, of the end, and the circumstances together. An evil end corrupts the action,
even if the object is good in itself.
Thank you!!