GEC 7

Lesson 5
Human Acts and
Act of Man
Prepared by:
GERRY L. VENTURA, MAED
Instructor
 Objectives:
•1. Describe the concepts of
human acts.
•2. Explain the modifiers of
human act.
20XX presentation title 2
Christian Morality
-is concerned not with acts of
man but with human acts,
that is, actions proper to the
human person.

20XX presentation title 3

The concept of fundamental
option is also taken into
consideration in our lesson.
The sources of morality of human
acts, which help us judge
whether an act is good or bad,
will also be discussed.
20XX presentation title 4
Lastly, the modifiers of the
human acts, which may
render the acts as imputable
to the agent or not, will
likewise be tackled.

20XX presentation title 5

When a human being does such
acts, they are called acts of man but
not human acts. Acts of man,
therefore, are acts shared in
common by man and other animals,
whereas human acts are proper to
human beings.
20XX presentation title 6
 Acts of Human is the immediate
action or the point where one does
it without much thought and this
holds a lot of values within, it
clearly shows the strong morals
developed in him.
20XX presentation title 7
 Human act is more of
conscience involved , where
he knows and understands
the act being performed.

20XX presentation title 8

 Human Acts Acts of Human
• The human activity • Activities of man
of man as man as animal
• Act of rationality of • Acts are not
man deliberately done
• Involves nor voluntary
understanding and • Performed without
free will
the free will of the
agent
20XX presentation title 9
 Human Acts Acts of Human
• “an act which • Includes beating of
proceeds from the the heart,
deliberate free will dreaming,
of man” (Glenn:3) sensations by the
• The agent becomes five sense organs
responsible and • Do not demand
accountable of such responsibility from
act the agent
20XX presentation title 10
 Human Acts Acts of Human
• A human act can be • Amoral acts and
morally good or not subject to
morally evil
morality
• The human act is one
that is proper to a
human being, an act
that proceeds from
the free will of a man.
20XX presentation title 11
 EXISTENCE OF HUMAN ACT-
If there is an act, the agent has
an objective in mind. ¨ For every
act that is done, there is always
a corresponding end, or a goal. ¨
It is this end that gives the act a
reason for its existence.
20XX presentation title 12
HUMAN ACT AND RESPONSIBILITY-
Responsibility is the ability of a person
to respond to a need or problem in a
situation.
That ability to respond is an internal
quality of a person, which is free and
voluntary yet morally obligatory in
himself.
20XX presentation title 13
 COMPARISON OF CHARACTERISTICS OF
HUMAN ACTS AND ACTS OF MAN

• HUMAN ACTS • ACTS OF MAN

• The act must be • They are done
deliberate. indeliberately.
• The act must be free. • They are not done
• The act must be freely acts
voluntary. • The acts are done
involuntarily
20XX presentation title 14
 CLASSIFICATION OF HUMAN ACTS:

A. Elicited Acts – these are human acts

which find their adequate cause in the will
alone.

20XX presentation title 15

1. Wish – the simple love of anything.
2. Intention – the purposive tendency of
the will towards a thing.
3. Consent – the acceptance by the will
of the means necessary to carry out
intention.
20XX presentation title 16
4. Election – the selection by the will of the
precise means to be employed in carrying out
an intention.
5. Use – the employment by the will of powers
to carry out its intention by the means elected.
6. Fruition – the enjoyment of a thing willed
and done.

20XX presentation title 17

 B. Commanded Acts –
human acts that do not find their
adequate cause in the simple-will
act, but are perfected by the action
of mental or bodily powers under
the control of will.
20XX presentation title 18
 1. Internal – acts done by
internal mental powers under
command of the will.

2. External – acts affected by

bodily powers under command
of the will
20XX presentation title 19
 3. Mixed – acts that involve the
employment of bodily powers and
mental powers and choice without being
forced to do so by another person or
situation. It makes the doer the father if
his acts and thus, the doer is responsible.
20XX presentation title 20
 Elements of Human Acts
a. KNOWLEDGE
• An act done is knowingly, when the doer is
conscious (all senses are active, sensory-
perception if functional) and aware of the
reason and consequences on his actions.

20XX presentation title 21

 Elements of Human Acts
B. FREEDOM
• An act is done when the doer acts by his own
initiative for those acts. He can acknowledge
that he has done them because he wanted to and
he can explain why he wanted to do.
Knowledge is supplied by the intellect and it
directs the will to want the object it proposes.
20XX presentation title 22
 Elements of Human Acts
• FREEDOM
• Our freedom is “situated” or limited by the rights of
others, things or persons. Our environment constricts
our freedom. But man remains man despite the
limitations of human freedom. “Man cannot be
reduced to historicity, to his environment, to
determinism” (Emanuel Dy)

20XX presentation title 23

 Elements of Human Acts
•Negative: freedom is the absence of
constriction

•Positive: freedom is the power to be

and to act under free will and choice.

20XX presentation title 24

 FREE WILL AND FREEDOM
WILL- It is a man’s natural tendency of being
attracted to what is good and beautiful and to
be repulsed from what is evil and ugly, after
they have been presented by the intellect. ¨
Will is the counterpart of intellect.

20XX presentation title 25

 HUMAN FREE WILL-
The will is free when it acts without
any pressure from outside. It is free
when it is attracted to or repulses
anything on a natural tendency.
20XX presentation title 26
Free will makes the agent become responsible
and accountable for his act.

Freedom of the will is the “power which men

have of determining their actions according to
the judgment of their reason” - St. Thomas

20XX presentation title 27

 Elements of Human Acts
C. VOLUNTARINESS
• An act is done willfully when the doer
consents to the acts, accepting it as his own,
and assumes accountability for his
consequences. It is naturally inclined to the
good, but man may sometimes deliberately
choose evil.
20XX presentation title 28
Thank you for listening!