(III) THE HUMAN ACT

HUMAN ACT those performed by a person who is acting knowingly, freely, and
willfully.
they are differentiated from acts of man which are instinctive and
are not under the control of the freewill.
Actions, since they are products of our thoughts and desires, reveal our moral
character.
I. ATTRIBUTES OF HUMAN ACT
A. An act is done knowingly when the doer is conscious and aware of the
reason and the consequences of his actions.
B. 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.
C. An act is done willfully when the doer consents to the act, accepting it as
his own, and assumes accountability for its
consequences.
II. KINS OF HUMAN ACTS
A. Eli!i"e# $!"% are those performed by the will but are not bodily externalized
such as the following:
. &i%' ( the tendency of the !ill towards an ob"ect, without considering
whether it is attainable or not. #he ob"ect of wishing includes
the impossible, or that which is remotely possible, such as
winning the lotto.
$. In"en"ion ( the tendency of the !ill towards an ob"ect which is
attainable, without necessarily committing oneself to get it. A
student, for instance, may intend to study without applying himself
to the task.
%. Con%en" ( the acceptance of the !ill to carry out the intention.
&. Ele!"ion ( the selection of the !ill of those means necessary to carry
out the intention.
'. U%e ( the command of the !ill to make use of the means elected to
carry out the intention.
(. Frui"ion ( the en"oyment of the !ill due to the attainment of the
intention.
B. Co))$n#e# $!"% ( the mental and bodily actions performed under the
command of the !ill.
. In"ern$l $!"ion% ( those performed mentally, such as reasoning,
recalling, imagining, and reflecting.
$. E*"ern$l $!"ion% ( those performed bodily, such as walking, dancing,
talking, and writing.
)hilosophers speak of human acts as +,eing fir%" in in"en"ion- ,u"
l$%" in e*e!u"ion..
III. MORA/ ISTINCTIONS
A. Mor$l $!"ion% ( those actions in conformity with the norm of morality. #hey
are good and permissible actions.
B. I))or$l $!"ion% ( those which are not in conformity with the norm of
morality.
C. A)or$l $!"ion% ( those which stand neutral or indifferent to the norm of
morality. #hese acts are neither good nor evil, but they
may become evil because of circumstances. *.e. )laying basketball,
drinking red wine, etcetera.
IMMORA/ ACTIONS
A. An act is intrinsically evil when its wrongfulness is part of the nature of
such act. *.e. +tealing.
B. An act is extrinsically evil when its wrongfulness comes from an outside
factors. *.e. Alms,giving, when it is done for purposes of building one-s
public image.
I0. 0O/UNTARINESS
.oluntariness comes from the /atin 0voluntas1, which means the !ill.
A. 1erfe!" 2olun"$rine%% possessed by a person who is acting with full
knowledge and complete freedom. *.e. 2ating our favorite ice
cream, telling a story to a friend.
B. I)3erfe!" 2olun"$rine%% possessed by a person who acts without full
understanding what he is doing, or without complete
freedom. !hen we perform an act which we dislike.
C. Si)3le 2olun"$rine%% the disposition of a person performing any activity
regardless of his liking or not liking it.
. Positive vol requires performance of an activity, such as taking the
train, going for a walk.
$. Negative vol when it requires the omission of an activity, such as
refraining from talking, not taking prohibited drugs, etc.
. Con#i"ion$l 2olun"$rine%% disposition of a person who is forced by
circumstances to perform an act which he would not do
under normal conditions.
0. IRECT/4 AN INIRECT/4 0O/UNTAR4
ire!"ly 2olun"$ry when the result of an act is primarily intended.
In#ire!"ly 2olun"$ry when the result of an act follows or goes along with
the primarily intended.
A person is accountable for actions directly intended.
A person is accountable for indirectly voluntary acts when:
o #he doer is able to foresee the evil result or consequence though in
a general way3
o #he doer is free to refrain from doing that action which would result
in the foreseen evil3
o #he doer has the moral obligation not to do that which would result
in something evil. 4)aul 5lenn: 6,78
Acts with Double Effect, one good and another evil, is morally
permissible under four conditions:
o #he action which produces double effects must be good in itself, or
at least morally indifferent.
o #he good effect must not come from the evil effect. *t is never
"ustified to do evil in order to attain something good.
o #he purpose of the doer is the attainment of the good effect, with
the evil effect being tolerated as an incidental result.
o #he good effect must outweigh in importance the evil result