Unit II.

The Human Person deliberate and involve involve the use of

the use of intellect and intellect and free will
A. Personhood reason • these actions are done
The Human Person – a being that has certain capacities • any activity that unconsciously and
or attributes such as reason, morality, proceeds from the without reason
knowing and freely • example: an insane
consciousness/self-consciousness, and being part of a
willing human being person who attacks a
culturally established of social relations such as kinship,
that has the full nurse cannot be held
ownership of property or legal responsibility. character of human act liable for his actions
Other Terms of Personhood – individuality, identity, • acts performed only by
personal identity, personality, selfhood, individuation a human being and
thus is proper to man
Personhood • not every act that a
human being does is a
- “the criteria for being a person which are distinctively human act.
designed to capture those attributes with the when a human being
subject of most humane concern of ourselves does such acts, they
and the source of what we regard as the most are called acts of man
important and most problematical in our lives” but not human acts.
Harry G. Frankfurt
- the status of being a person
Human Acts – neutral but acquire morality when we
- defining personhood is a controversial topic in
speak of elements
philosophy and law, and is closely tied to legal
and political concept of citizenship, equality, - are moral acts because they express the good or
and liberty. evil when someone is performing them
A person is… Morality of Acts – are defined by choices one makes in
accordance with authentic good, which is based on
R – ational
eternal law that has a desire for God as our end goal
S – entient
Elements of Human Act
L – iving
1. Object of the Act
B – eing • it is that which the action of its very nature
tends to produce
B. Human Acts and Acts of Man
• it is the effect which an action primarily and
Knowledge – a human act is done with knowledge, directly causes
doing an act with knowledge makes the act deliberate • result of the act without taking into account the
circumstances or end
Freedom – an act done with freedom means that the • answers “What”
agent does an act under the control of his will 2. Circumstances surrounding the Act
Moral Conscience – a person’s judgment about a given • These include all the particulars of the concrete
action’s ordering to man’s ultimate end based on the human action which are capable of affecting its
person’s knowledge of the action, its end, and morality.
circumstances • They are such things as:
a. Persons involved (who)
- each person draws from various sources for this b. Time (when)
knowledge, such as common sense, basic c. Place (where)
science, history, law, experience, & religion d. Occasion (how)
• Which are distinct from the object, but can
Human Acts Acts of Man
• actions that are • actions that do not change or at times even completely alter its
moral tone
3. End or Intention that the one performing the Act Degrees of Positive Ignorance:
has in mind 1. Invincible/Inculpable Ignorance – which
• the purpose that prompts one to perform such cannot be expected by due diligence; makes
an act an act involuntary
• “why” 2. Vincible ignorance – can be expected by
• Every human act, no matter how trivial, is done due diligence; lessens but does not destroy
with some intention. voluntariness
• it is the reason for which the agent performs a 3. Affected Ignorance – people refuse to
particular act acknowledge the connection between their
• it is the effect that the agent subjectively wills in actions and the consequent suffering of
his/her action their victims
- many times this form involves people
Determinants of Morality
masking the reality of their activities by
- a human act is said to be morally good when it carefully calculated knowledge
is good in its object, circumstances, and also in - person intentionally decided to be
the intention, for it is believed that an action is ignorant
good when each of these three factors is
conformed to order (bonum ex integra causa)
- if even one of these determinants is contrary to Six Ethics of Life
order, the action will be bad, at least in part
Before you pray – Believe
(malum ex quocumque defecto)
- “an action is good when good in every respect; Before you speak – Listen
it is wrong when in any respect”
Before you spend – Earn
Modifiers of Human Act
Before you write – Think
- things that may affect man’s knowledge,
freedom, and voluntariness in the performance Before you quit – Try
of act, which make them less perfectly human Before you die – Live
- a.k.a. obstacles
- these can impact people’s understanding of and
freedom associated with their actions
1. ignorance
2. concupiscence
3. fear
4. violence
5. habit

Ignorance – one’s lack of knowledge of his moral duties.

The absence of intellectual knowledge in man

Kinds:

a. Negative Ignorance – the absence of knowledge

a person is not expected to possess
e.g.: a nurse who does not know how to
perform a major surgical operation
b. Positive Ignorance – the absence of knowledge
which a person ought to know
e.g.: Ph History teacher’s lack of knowledge
about who Dr. Jose Rizal is.