CHAPTER 3

THE HUMAN ACTS

 ATTRIBUTES OF HUMAN
Human acts are thoseACT
performed by a person who
is acting knowingly, freely, and willfully. These
actions are deliberate, intentional, or voluntary.
They are differentiated from acts of man which
are instinctive and are not under the control of
the freewill.
An act is considered a human act, when it is
done knowingly, freely, and willfully.
 ATTRIBUTES OF HUMAN
ACT
1.An act is done knowingly when the doer is
conscious and aware of the reason and the
consequences of his actions. Every normal person
of age is presumed to act knowingly. However,
children below the age of reason, the senile and
the insane - are considered incapable of moral
judgment.
 ATTRIBUTES OF HUMAN
ACT
2. An act is done freely when the doer acts by
his own initiative and choice without being
forced to do so by another person or situation. An
action done under duress and against one's
freewill is not a voluntary action. A person is not
acting freely when he gives up his money to a
robber who threatens him with a knife.
 ATTRIBUTES OF HUMAN
ACT
3.An act is done willfully when the doer
consents to the act, accepting it as his own, and
assumes accountability for its consequences. An
act which lacks of any of the abovementioned
attributes is either imperfectly voluntary or
involuntary.
 KINDS OF HUMAN
1.Wish is the tendency ofACTS
the Will towards an object, without
considering whether it is attainable or not. The object of
wishing includes the impossible, or that which is remotely
possible, such as winning the lotto.
2.Intention is the tendency of the Will towards an object which
is attainable, without necessarily committing oneself to get it. A
student, for instance, may intend to study without applying
himself to the task.
 KINDS OF HUMAN
ACTS
3. Consent is the acceptance of the Will to carry out the
intention. A student shows consent to the act of studying when
he accepts the reasons and accountability for undertaking the
act.
4. Election is the selection of the Will of those means necessary
to carry out the intention. The student, for instance, may elect
to stay in the library to study his lesson, or seek a friend to help
him.
 KINDS OF HUMAN
5. Use is the command ofACTS
the Will to make use of the means
elected to carry out the intention, such as when the student
makes up his mind to stay in the library to study.
6. Fruition is the enjoyment of the Will due to the attainment of
the intention. The student may feel satisfied about the prospect
of learning the lesson and being prepared for the class.
 KINDS OF HUMAN
ACTS
Human acts are either elicited or commanded acts.

B. Commanded acts are the mental and bodily actions performed under
the command of the Will. These are either internal or external actions.
 KINDS OF HUMAN
Internal actions are thoseACTS
performed mentally, such as
reasoning, recalling, imagining, and reflecting. External actions
are those performed bodily, such as walking, dancing, talking,
and writing. All external actions derive themselves from the
internal acts, since every deliberate act is first thought of and
decided mentally. Thus, philosophers speak of human acts as
"being first in intention, but last in execution”. (Paul Glenn,
Ethics: A Class Manual in Moral Philosophy, p.7-8).
 MORAL DISTINCTIONS
On the basis of their conformity or non-
conformity with the norm of morality, human acts
are either moral, immoral, or amoral.
1.Moral actions are those in conformity with the
norm of morality. They are good and permissible
actions, such as working, studying, paying debts,
telling the truth, loving someone, etcetera.
 MORAL DISTINCTIONS
2. Immoral actions are those which are not in
conformity with the norm of morality. They are
evil and prohibited actions, such as cursing,
cheating, stealing, lying, etcetera.
3.Amoral actions are those which stand neutral or
indifferent to the norm of morality. These acts are
neither good nor evil, but they may become evil
because of circumstances.
 INTRINSIC AND
EXTRINSIC EVIL

Immoral acts are either intrinsically or extrinsically evil. An act is

intrinsically evil when its wrongfulness is part of the nature of such act.
The act of stealing, because it consists in depriving someone of his
property against his will, is intrinsically evil.
 INTRINSIC AND
EXTRINSIC EVIL

An act is extrinsically evil when its wrongfulness comes from an outside

factor. The act of alms-giving, though good in itself, is extrinsically evil
when it is done for purposes of building one's public image. This
indicates that actions which are themselves good or neutral may become
evil due to external factors, whether this be the motive of the person or
the circumstances of the act.
 VOLUNTARINESS

Voluntariness, or volition, comes from the Latin "voluntas",

which means the Will. An act is voluntary because it is done
under the control of the will. Voluntariness is either perfect or
imperfect, either simple or conditional.
 VOLUNTARINESS
1.Perfect voluntariness is possessed by a person who is acting
with full knowledge and complete freedom. We act with perfect
voluntariness when, for instance, we are eating our favorite ice-
cream, or when we are telling a story to a friend.
2.Imperfect voluntariness is possessed by a person who acts
without full understanding what he is doing, or without complete
freedom. We act with imperfect voluntariness when we perform
an act which we dislike.
 VOLUNTARINESS
3.Simple voluntariness is the disposition of a person performing
any activity regardless of his liking or not liking it. Simple
voluntariness is either positive or negative. It is positive when
the act requires the performance of an activity, such as taking the
train, going for a walking, or caring for a sick person. It is
negative when it requires the omission of an activity, such as
refraining from talking, or not taking prohibited drugs (Paul
Glenn: 13-18).
 VOLUNTARINESS

4.Conditional voluntariness is disposition of a person who is

forced by circumstances to perform an act which he would not do
under normal conditions. A person who gives up his money to the
robber is acting with conditional voluntariness.
 DIRECTLY AND INDIRECTLY
VOLUNTARY
The result of an act which is primarily intended
is said to be directly voluntary. The result of an
act which follows or goes along with the
primarily intended act is indirectly voluntary. A
student watches a movie is to entertain himself
(directly voluntary), but, in so doing, he misses
school (indirectly voluntary). Or a couple enjoys
walking in the park (directly voluntary) which
causes them to be mugged (indirectly voluntary).
 DIRECTLY AND INDIRECTLY
VOLUNTARY
A person is accountable for actions directly
intended. Is he also accountable for those indirectly
willed acts or consequences? A person is accountable
for indirectly voluntary acts when:
1.The doer is able to foresee the evil result or
consequence though in a general way;
2.The doer is free to refrain from doing that action
which would result in the foreseen evil;
3.The doer has the moral obligation not to do that
which would result in something evil. (Paul Glenn:
18-19).
 DIRECTLY AND INDIRECTLY
VOLUNTARY
Acts with Double Effect: Alfredo Panizo cites these
principles (Ibid: 38-39):

1.A person is held morally responsible for any evil

effect which flows from the action directly willed and
as a natural consequence of such action, though such
evil effect is not directly willed nor intended.
 DIRECTLY AND INDIRECTLY
VOLUNTARY
2.A human act with double effect, one good and
another evil, is morally permissible under four
conditions. A violation of any of these conditions
makes an act unjustifiable. These conditions are:
1)The action which produces double effects must be
good in itself, or at least morally indifferent.
2)The good effect must not come from the evil effect.
It is never justified to do evil in order to attain
something good.
 DIRECTLY AND INDIRECTLY
VOLUNTARY
3)The purpose of the doer is the attainment of the
good effect, with the evil effect being tolerated as an
incidental result.

4)The good effect must outweigh in importance the

evil result.
These principles apply to "therapeutic abortion”, a
medical process intended directly to saving the life of
the mother with the sad result of aborting the fetus.
 THANK
YOU FOR
LISTENING
 ACTIVITY # 3
• What are the attributes of a human act?
• What is the difference betw een intrinsic and
extrinsic evil?
• Give an example of conditionally voluntary act.
• Give an example of perfectly voluntary act.
• Give an example of an imperfectly voluntary act.