Morality of Human ActsGeraldine S. Canete, RN, MANAdapted from the lecture of:

Ms. Maria Teresita B. Dalusong, PTRP, MHPEd

Objectives:

• Explain the nature of man & its dignity.• Explain the concept of freedom of man and of

its human action• Differentiate human acts & acts of man• Explain the morality of Human Acts• Determine the moral determinants of human

acts

Nature of Man & its Dignity

• To “will” something, one has “to know” beforehand.• Man cannot choose or act unless he knows which is a

“better” good. • When a person chooses to act according to what he

knows is right – He acts freely• Only man is capable of acting free – HUMAN ACTS• But the intellect does not always determine the will.

Intellect

Will

Soul

Body

Thinking/ knowing the TRUTH

Choosing the GOOD

When is MAN FREE in his actions?

When is an act freely done?1. Under the control of the WILL - It is the power tending

toward, choosing, adhering to & taking pleasure in a GOOD KNOWN BY THE INTELLECT - voluntary

2. We do things because we want to, we own the decision or the action

3. We face the consequence of our actions/decisions – we face it with full responsibility

Intellect

Will

Soul

Body

Thinking/ knowing the TRUTH

Choosing the GOOD

Nature of Freedom• Proceeds from the intellect and will• Based on reason which the will followed • When man makes decisions, he is free. • Man is accountable for what he is doing because he

is CONSCIOUS of what he is doing, why he is doing it & how he is doing it.

Leo Lopez

DECISIONResults in

ACTION CONSEQUENCESFaced with

Sense of responsibility

“You shall know the truth…”

Intellect Will

TRUTH GOOD= =BEING

LAW

FREEDOM“...and the truth shall make you

free.”Leo Lopez

Human Acts versus Act of Man• Human acts• Actions done Consciously and freely by the

agent/or by man • ESSENTIAL QUALITIES/ Constituent Elements

of Human Acts 1. Knowledge of the act2. Freedom3. Voluntariness

• Man takes into responsibility of these actions

Human Acts versus Act of Man

• Acts of Man• Actions beyond one’s consciousness; not dependent

on the intellect & the will• ESSENTIAL QUALITIES of Acts of Man– Done with out knowledge– Without consent– Involuntary

• Ex: unconscious, involuntary, semi-deliberate, spontaneous actions

• Acts of man can become human acts when he employs his intellect & will in performing the act.

ACTS not morally accountable

• Acts of persons asleep or under hypnosis.

• Reflex actions where the will has no time to intervene.

• Acts of performed under serious physical violence

• e.g. a hostage obliged to do an evil action. • Since the will is constrained, then it is not a

moral act which could be evaluated.

EXERCISE: Human Act or Act of Man?

• Looking• Seeing• Dreaming• Day dreaming• Hearing• Listening• Walking• Sleepwalking

Morality of Human Acts

What is Morality?• From the Greek word MORES - behavior• Refers to the sense of rightness or wrongness

of an act.• Quality of the human act that is either good or

bad, right or wrong based on some norms that are either inherent in the act or are observed due to some individual or social conventional acceptance

• --- Manlangit

A moral act depends on whether or not there is consent by the will.

HUMAN ACTS

They include…

1) Thought 2) Speech 3) Action

What is the basis of Morality?

• Morality is based in part upon the fundamental conviction that:

1. There is an objective moral law which can be known by the intellect – NATURAL MORAL LAW

2. Some actions are intrinsically evil – not justifiable regardless of the circumstance

prepared by: Ms. Teresita Dalusong, PTRP, MHPHEd

Basic Inclination of Man based on Natural Law

1. Seek food including the highest good which is God.

2. Preserve himself in existence3. To preserve the species4. Live in community with other men5. To use his intellect & will – to know

the truth & make his own decisions

Which Action is subjected to morality?

• All Human act are subjected to morality. • Human acts are different from animal act

because man by nature acts towards an end. His life has a purpose.

Human Acts? Acts of Man?

Morality and Human Acts• Human acts are those that are freely

chosen in consequence of a judgment of conscience.

• They are either good or evil.• Their morality depends on: the object

chosen, the intention and the circumstances.

Moral Determinants of Human Acts

• HUMAN ACTS are neutral in themselves but they acquire morality when we speak of:

1. OBJECT OF THE ACT2. CIRCUMSTANCE3. INTENTION

Moral Determinants of Human Acts

1. OBJECT OF THE ACT- Substance/nature of the action- Good which the will deliberately directs itself- OBJECT specifies the “act of the will”- Nature of what was done to its distinct species- “What was performed by the moral agent?” - “An object if the act is Good when it is in conformity

with reason or when it fulfills or fits the demand of reason. Otherwise, the object of the act is evil.

Moral Determinants of Human Acts

2. INTENTION/END IN VIEW- Motive of the agent – factor which the agent acts; either

be morally good or evil- Purpose for which a human agent performs the act- Concerned with the goal of the activity- It aims at the good anticipated from the action undertaken- “What specifically does the agent want to accomplish?”

• Good intention doesn’t make an intrinsically disordered act right

• The end does not justify the means.

Moral Determinants of Human Acts

3. CIRCUMSTANCE - Refers to the events, occasions or conditions that

make the act concrete- Modify acts either by increasing or diminishing of the

moral goodness or evilness of an act/ responsibility of the agent

- Lighten or aggravate the weight of moral accountability of the performer

* The circumstance do not change the specific nature of the human act.

Moral Determinants of Human Acts

• HUMAN ACTS are neutral in themselves but they acquire morality when we speak of:

1. OBJECT OF THE ACT2. CIRCUMSTANCE3. INTENTION

What makes a morally act good or bad?

1. Goodness of object, end or intention & circumstance all together as well as consequence

2. Evil end or intention corrupts the action even if the object is good

3. Avoid concrete acts that are always wrong to choose – object of the act

4. The acts which in & of themselves independent of circumstance & intention are always gravely illicit by reason of their object.Error: to judge only the intention & circumstance

JUDGING THE MORALITY OF HUMAN ACTS

The moral object can either be good (e.g. praying)bad (e.g. stealing)indifferent (e.g. eating)

The intention can be either good or bad.

• There are some actions that are evil by their very nature.

(e.g. murder, adultery).

• These are never morally allowable, even if the intention and the circumstances are good.

JUDGING THE MORALITY OF HUMAN ACTS

Moral Determinants of Human Acts

• HUMAN ACTS are neutral in themselves but they acquire morality when we speak of:

• OBJECT • CIRCUMSTANCE• INTENTION• CONSEQUENCES

Objectives:

• Explain the nature of man & its dignity.• Explain the concept of freedom of man and of

its human action• Differentiate human acts & acts of man• Explain the morality of Human Acts• Determine the moral determinants of human

acts

Human Act as Freely Chosen

• Human Acts are not merely physical events that come & go, like the falling of rain or the turning of the leaves, nor do they as Karol Wojtyla emphasized in THE ACTING PERSON, “happen” to a person.

Human Act as Freely Chosen

• They are, rather, the outward expression if a person’s choices for at the core of a human act is free, self determining choice, an act of the will, which as such is something spiritual that abides within the person, giving him his identity as a moral being.

• Although many human acts have physical, observable components, they are morally significant because they embody and carry out free human choices.

• We are free to choose what we are to do and, by so choosing, to make ourselves the kind of person we are.

Human Act as Freely Chosen

• But we are not free to make what we choose to do to be good or evil, right or wrong.

• We know this from our own sad experience, for at time we have freely chosen to do things that we knew, at the very moment we choose to do them, were morally wrong. We can, in short, choose badly or well.

Human Act as Freely Chosen