Notes on Christian Living Education IV

Lesson 13: Morality and Human Acts

Prepared by: Bro. Rusty Dizon, SDB
_____________________________________________________________________________
Let each one of us seek and follow one thing only to learn and discern between good and
evil. -- Socrates
_____________________________________________________________________________
The Nature of Morality
The concept of morality revolves around the problem of good and evil. Its sole basis
is human actions. Human actions are either good, bad or indifferent, depending on
the relationship of the act having moral perfection and fullness required by the
object of the actions. An act is good when it agrees to the dictates of right reason or
the rules of morality. An act is bad when it disagrees with the dictates of right
reason or the rules of morality. An act is indifferent when it stands no positive
relation to the dictates of the right reason or the rules or morality.
Ethics is the normative science which teaches man how to distinguish good from
evil with the special emphasis of overcoming evil and the practice of good. It uses
morality as a tool. Morality is defined as the quality of human acts by which we
judge them right or wrong, good or evil.
The Sources of Morality
The agreement or disagreement of the human acts to the norms of morality must
be known concretely. For this reason we must analyze the human act attending to
the objectiveness of the act itself and the circumstances surrounding it including the
motive of the moral agent.
The sources or principles of morality which are to be discussed are the determinants
of the human acts in connection with the moral character. Human reason evaluates
the goodness and wrongness of the human act by taking into consideration the
object (what of the act?), the end (why of the act?), and the circumstances (who,
where, when, how?) of the act.
I.

WHAT The Object.

The first quality describing the human act. It is like the basic factor of morality,
the substance of the moral act. By our human reason and standards of morality,
we judge a particular act, in itself, as good, bad or indifferent.

Human Acts versus Acts of Man

Human Acts = deliberate free acts (involves intellect and will)
Acts of Man = acts performed either without deliberation or knowledge or free will
= examples:
(1) unconscious acts
(2) involuntary acts
(3) semi-deliberate acts (half asleep)
(4) spontaneous acts
3 Constituents of the Human Acts
1. Knowledge (and Deliberation)
= the advertence of what the moral agent is doing, thinking or willing
2. Freedom
= the absence of constraint from within and outside of man
3. Voluntariness
= a formal quality of human acts whereby any action or omission
results from a principle within the agent, and from some knowledge
which the agent possesses in the end.

VOLUNTARY ACTS

= Human acts which proceeds from the will or intrinsic principle

with some
knowledge of the end.

FREE ACTS = Voluntary acts that is based on a choice of the end or the choice of
the means or both
** Not all Voluntary acts are free
** All free acts are voluntary

Human Acts
Voluntary Acts
Free Acts

CLASSIFICATIONS OF VOLUNTARY ACT

CODE:(FPDEPA) For Peace Depends on Every Persons Act
1. Free and Necessary Acts
= according to which one can or cannot abstain
from it
= example: contemplation of God, to act for survival
2. Perfect V Acts and Imperfect V Acts
knowledge and full consent,

= Act performed with complete

otherwise its Imperfect

3. Direct V Acts (Voluntary in Itself) and Indirect V Acts (Voluntary in its Cause)
Direct VA
= act which is willed as an end in itself
Indirect VA
= act which is desired not as end in itself but a foreseen effect
or sequence of act
4. Explicit/Expressed V Acts and Tacit V Acts
Explicit VA
= consent to action is externally manifested by words or by
signs
Tacit VA = consent to action is given by silence. Silence means Consent
5. Pure/Simple V Acts and Mixed/Conditional V Acts
Pure/Simple VA = that which is willed with full consent and without dislike
Mixed/Conditional
= results when the act to be performed is willed under
certain conditions
= example: amputation of foot
II. WHY The Motive
The purpose or intention is that for the sake of which something is done. It is the
reason behind our acting. Man usually puts an act as a means to accomplish an
end, different from the act itself.
The end or intention can modify human actions in four ways:
a.) An indifferent act may become morally good or evil. (Ex.: To study medicine is
in itself an indifferent action. It becomes good when inspired by the thought
of alleviating human sufferings or making a decent living. It becomes bad if it
is intended to perform illegal or immoral rations.)
b.) An objectively good act may become morally evil. (Ex.: When a person gives
alms to a poor girl with the intention of seducing her.)
c.) An objectively good act may receive more goodness. (Ex.: A person may give
alms not only to help the poor but also for the love of God.)
d.) An objectively evil act can never become good in spite of the good motive.
(Ex. To steal money with the good intention of giving it to charitable
institutions or to the poor, as the legendary Robin Hood did.) As a principle,
we say the end does not justify the means.
III. WHO, WHERE, WHEN, HOW
Circumstances are conditions modifying human actions, either by increasing or
by diminishing the responsibility attending them. They play an important role in
affecting the morality of our actions because mans acts are performed at a
definite time and place, in a particular manner, for a certain reason, etc., all of
which in one way or another, increase or diminish the responsibility of the action.

PRINCIPLE OF INTEGRAL CAUSE

A human act, in order to be morally good, must be perfect according to the three
elements: The object, end, and circumstances. Any deficiency will make a human
act morally evil. This is the principle of integral cause: Bonum ex integra cause;
malum ex quocumque defectu. The gooresults from the whole perfection; the evil
from any defect.
MODIFIERS (IMPEDIMENTS) OF VOLUNTARY ACT
Since knowledge and freedom are necessary conditions for the voluntary act, it
follows that human actions performed without perfect knowledge and full freedom
are not perfect voluntary, and no person can be held wholly responsible for such
actions. Since knowledge and freedom admit various degrees, it follows that moral
responsibility is in proportion to the degree of knowledge and freedom. And so, the
greater the knowledge and freedom, the greater the voluntariness and moral
responsibility
Hence, in order to determine the moral responsibility of human actions, we must
study the various degrees of these components of the voluntary act. We call these
as the modifiers or the impediments of voluntary act.
1. Ignorance

= lack of knowledge which man should have of his moral duties

Positive Ignorance
- lack of knowledge that is required of the person
Negative Ignorance - lack of knowledge for it has no importance to the
person
Degrees of Negative Ignorance:
1.) Invincible Ignorance that which cannot be overcome by the person
because:
a. he does not realize his own state of
ignorance
b. it is almost impossible for him to acquire
proper knowledge of the matter
1st Principle: Invincible Ignorance makes an act involuntary thus
the agent is responsible for the said act.
2.) Vincible Ignorance that which can be removed by ordinary efforts
If hardly any effort is used to dispel ignorance
= crass/supine ignorance
2nd Principle: For as long as all the necessary
effort has been exerted, vincible ignorance may lessen
the degree of culpability of the human act.

3.) Affected Ignorance occurs when a person positively wants to be

ignorant in order
to plead innocent to a charge of guilt (with
malice)
3rd Principle: Affected or Pretended Ignorance does not excuse a
person from his
bad actions; on the contrary it actually increases
their malice.
2. Passion or Concupiscence - strong tendencies towards the possession of
something good
or towards the avoidance of something evil
11 chief passions: love
joy
desire
hope
courage

hatred
sadness
horror or dread
despair
fear
anger

Passions May Either Be Good, Bad, Spontaneous, Premeditated depending on

Circumstances
Good - when ordered by the rational will help man in the practice of virtue or
the attainment
of morally good
Bad - when used by the rational will to accomplish morally evil actions
Antecedent Passions
- passions that are elicited or arise before it is
controlled by the will
- spontaneous
Consequent Passion
- passions that are already passed through the
intellect and controlled
by the will
- premeditated
Principles on Passion
1. Antecedent Passions may completely destroy freedom and
consequently, moral responsibility, when they suddenly arise and impel us
to act before any control of the will is possible. (No culpability)
2. Antecedent Passions do not always destroy freedom for passions
seldom escape the control of reason.
3. Antecedent Passions lessen freedom and diminish the responsibility
of human actions because they tend to blind the judgment of the intellect
and to block the freedom of the will.
4. Consequent Passions do not lessen the voluntariness, but may
increase it, because these passions are deliberately excited and they are
voluntary in themselves.

3. Fear a disturbance of the mind cause by the thought of a threatening evil.

Acts done with fear or in spite of fear fear accompanies an act which in
itself voluntary
Acts done from or through fear or because of fear when a person is
threatened
Principles: Effects of Fear on the Voluntariness of Human Acts
1. Acts done with fear are voluntary (although they may not be
pleasant)
2. Acts done from fear or through fear or disturbance of the mind,
in a certain sense is involuntary for the agent is obliged to choose to
avoid the greater evil. It lessens the voluntariness but it does not
destroy it.
3. Fear considered as an ordinary passion may increase or diminish the
voluntariness of the human acts according to the rules and principles
on the passions
4. Violence
- application of external force on a person by another free agent
for the purpose (Compulsion)
of compelling him to do something
against his will.
Principle:
Physical Actions resulting from violence are involuntary by
themselves.
5. Habits- a constant and easy way of doing things acquired by the repletion of
the same act
**
What is important is the EFFORT of the person to free himself from the
habit
**
Culpability of acts from habit increases or decreases depending upon
the effort exerted
Principles on Habit:
1. Habits do not destroy the voluntariness, and action performed by
the force of habit are imputable to man.
2. If a habit has been contracted absolutely involuntarily and
unintentionally, then the existence of the habit will lack
voluntariness and responsibility as long as the person remains
ignorant of the existence of such a habit.
3. If an evil habit has been contracted voluntarily, but a constant
and constant effort is being made to counteract it, the acts
inadvertently proceeding from the habit are considered
involuntary and not imputable to man.
INDIRECT VOLUNTARY ACTS - act which is desired not as end in itself but a foreseen
effect or sequence of act. This case of acts put the person in moral dilemma.

Two Cases of Involuntary Acts:

1. First Indirect Voluntary Act
effect directly and

- from a good or indifferent action, one evil

necessarily results

Principle:
which flows from

A person is held morally responsible for any evil effect

an action itself directly and necessarily as a natural
consequence, though the evil effect is not directly willed
or intended

2. Second Indirect Voluntary Act

effects result,

- from a good or indifferent action, two

one good and one evil.

Principle:

A human act from which two effects may result, one good

and one evil,

Is morally permissible under four conditions. If any of
these conditions is
violated, the action is not justifiable and should not be
done.
1.) Action morally good/indifferent
2.) Good Effect before/simultaneous evil effect
3.) Motive/Intention attainment good effect
4.) Good Effect more/equally as important evil effect
This principle is otherwise known as the principle of double effect.