MODULE 2
Human Person as Moral Agent
Thales (ancient philosopher from the
ancient Greek City of Miletus) now Turkey
- “the most difficult thing to do in life is
to know oneself.”
Avery Dulles (Jesuit prof. in contemporary
ethics and a Catholic Theologian)- “human
person is full of mystery.” A mystery is an
occurrence or a being that is difficult to
comprehend because it has no clear
explanation. Like the origin of the human
world or person.
NECESSARY ELEMENTS OF A MORAL
AGENT
Human person according to:
Karl Rahner (Jesuit priest and theologian of
the 20th century)-is a union of body and
soul. They are not the same but always
together. Separate them then the person
will cease to exist.
 Body- visible realities in a person
like the eyes or limbs; while.
 Soul- spiritual part, the invisible
part, like the mind.
Although the term ‘soul’ is purely
conceptual, nonetheless,
Aristotle and Aquiñas (two great western
philosophers)- “soul is really existing, and
the one that animates the body.”
Aristotle- “body becomes the extension
of the soul,” i.e., through the body, soul is
being expressed or even felt. In this sense,
the body becomes the door where the soul
interacts or communicates with the physical
world.
Aquiñas- “soul is in the human mind.”
That’s the reason why the human mind has
the functions of:
1. seeking the truth due to his or her
capacity to reason out, and
2. choosing the good due to his or her
free will.
A. THINKING BEING
Human person is a thinking being.
-attribute w/c makes the person diff. from
other beings.
-Power bestowed to everybody to figure out
problems, discover laws within nature,
improve one’s life as human beings, form
and articulate language, express emotions,
and dream dreams. A power that assists a
person to communicate, feel and
progress.
B. FREE BEING
All social scientists admit that a person, as
a rational being, does have a certain
amount of freedom (limited, not
absolute), which enable him or her to
choose. This ability is known as.
Free will- faculty of the human mind that
enables the person, to choose among many
options, most especially to choose between
good and evil.
Without free will, it is impossible to decide
and do what is right and avoid what is
wrong.
Frederic Skinner (20th century behavioral
psychologist and empiricist)- “freedom is
an illusion.” i.e., it is not true that a person
is free, it is just a concept in the mind, it is
not tangible. “Things not tangible, do not
exist.”

Some people believe that human person’s
freedom is limited because of the ff:
1. Human person is an embodied
spirit.
Person is both matter and spirit.
Matter exists within the boundary of
time and space unlike the spirit. i.e., a
person lives only for a specific time
and in a certain location. No person
can live in this world eternally. A
person dies at a certain point in time.
No person can be in the same place
at same time.
2. Human person is restricted by his
or her behavior.
Psychology is the science of human
behavior and the study of the human
mind. Human behavior can either be
physical or emotional. Behaviors
are any actions or mannerism of a
person as a response to his or her
own feelings, other persons’
behaviors, and environment. e.g., a
physical behavior is talking at full
volume. Nobody is restricted from
talking loudly except when you are in
the library. Because the person may
disturb the people quietly studying
there. To get angry is an emotional
behavior. Anybody has the right to
express his or her anger to anybody,
as long as, it does not result to
violence, such as hitting the face of
another person. From the examples,
human person is not totally free to do
what he likes to do in all situations.
3. The person’s present concrete
situation.
When a person’s present situation
restricts him or her to do something
he likes. e.g., a person wanting to be
a valedictorian, but is lazy to study,
so it is impossible for him or her to
get high grades.
4. Due to a person’s habits.
Habits are things a person repeatedly
do. Sometimes harmful, sometimes
not. Nonetheless, habits affect greatly
the person’s choices. E.g., smoking,
if the person is addicted to it, his or
her desire to quit will be hampered.
5. Due to the person’s motivations.
There are many reasons why a
person does something, e.g.,
smoking, maybe because of curiosity
or stress. The person’s motivations
restrict him or her to choose freely
and clearly.
6. The concept of predestination.
Predestination is a religious teaching
that everything happens to a person
is caused by a powerful force outside
himself or herself. There are forces
outside the person that guide his or
her direction in life. Forces that
influence him or her to act or not to
act on a certain situation, such as the
person’s belief that all occurrences in
his or her life are fixed and designed
by a Supreme Being. This influences
the person’s ability to choose freely.
Human Person is Free
Jean Jacques Rousseau (18th century
Swiss-born rationalist philosopher) -human
freedom refers to the ability of human
beings to act differently and do anything
they want.
Thomas Hobbes (English materialist
philosopher- “freedom is an act based on
self-interest.”
Thomas Aquinas (angelic doctor of the
Catholic church)- “freedom as an act
based on the person’s ability to decide
for himself and make a choice.”
In modern times, human person is
considered free because of the ff:
1. The person’s openness to the
possibility that anything can
happen to him or her every day.
“aha” experience. The truth is,
nobody knows what will happen to
him or her the next day. Yet, he or
she is free to accept or ignore that
reality.
2. Due to human person’s
experience of responsibility.
Any person experiences that in
everything he or she has willingly
done, in words or in deeds, it always
entails responsibility. Responsibility
is a person’s obligation to do the
things that he or she is supposed to
do and accept the consequences of
his or her actions. In such case, the
person chooses to be or not to be a
responsible person.
3. Due to immediate experience of
making decision or choice.
Sometimes there are people who
say, “I don’t like to choose or decide”
or “I can’t make a choice or
decision.” No one can escape from
making a choice or decision.
Everybody chooses or decides. Not
to choose is a “choice,” not to decide
is a decision.
4. Due to rewards and punishment.
Many times, a person may notice, if
he or she does good things, he or
she receives a reward. If he or she
does bad things, he receives a
punishment. So, the person chooses
between doing good or bad,
because of reward and punishment
he or she will get. Thus, freedom
determines or shapes the person’s
life.
The Human Person as Moral Agent
A tract on human acts is necessary,
but it does not lead to the thought that
morality is only a matter of actions, as if,
because of the trees one will miss the
forest. The person is more than the sum of
his actions. In truth, more than an embodied
spirit, with the ability to reason out and
make a choice, the person is also a social
being. A being that interacts with other
beings including his or her environment. It is
his or her very nature. From infanthood to
adulthood, the person never misses to
interact. The person is more than his brain,
freedom, body, and spirit. The human
person is also a social being. He either
affects or be affected by others in society.
For this reason, the person must assess
first his or her action or behavior in society,
if it is appropriate or inappropriate; good or
bad; right or wrong.
The capacity of the human person to
discern what is ‘good and bad,’ ‘right or
wrong,’ ‘appropriate or inappropriate,’ and
be responsible for one’s actions or
behaviors are the basis for which human
person is called a moral agent.
 All actions of the human person can
be called “human acts.” But the concept
here is restricted to those actions that
proceed from reason and freewill. Acts for
which the human person is responsible.
In Christian ethics, under the
influence of Thomas Aquinas, there are two
types of actions which are being tackled,
they are the “act of man or actus
hominis” and the “human act or actus
humanus”.
1. Actus Humanus or “human act”-
“human actions that one does
consciously and wilfully or
deliberately.” Nobody forces the person to
act. He or she alone does the action with
all his or her knowledge and with full
freedom. Thus, the person is morally liable
or accountable for her own actions
because it is resulted from his own
discretion or choice. For this reason, the
action has a moral significance. Like
looking lustfully to a woman or killing
intentionally a person.
 
Under this type of action comes a more
complex act known as “forced act.”
Forced act- action which is not wilfully or
deliberately committed by the actor itself. A
third party compels the person to act
against his or her will or desire.
2. Actus hominis or the “act of man”- an
involuntary action of the person, thus it
is regarded as “amoral” or “neutral”. It is
not “willed” nor “desired.” It is not “yearned”
nor “prayed for” to happen. It just happens
to us from “dusk to dawn” spontaneously or
instantaneously. Thus, it entails no
responsibility or accountability on the part
of the one carrying out the action. It
means, that the person is not responsible
for his or her action. i.e., the action is
neither ethical (an action which conform to
standards) or unethical (an action which
does not conform to standards). E.g., in the
mastication of the food inside our stomach,
we don’t need to command our stomach to
act neither willed it to happen, since it will
act by itself. Other examples are
“somnambulism” or walking while sleeping,
which is a behavior disorder. Thus, these
actions are things that happens to a
human person involuntarily or not
deliberately. But mind you, there are “actus
hominis” that becomes human acts when
they are intentionally used, such as, using
the sense of sight when a man is looking at
a woman lustfully. 
However, modern ethicist will not
just center on human actions as the main
culprit in the spread of “good and evil” in
this world, but on human behaviors (i.e.,
the way one conduct itself) and human
nature (i.e., what a human person in itself).
“Human persons as Moral agents have a
moral responsibility not to initiate or
start groundless harm to other people, to
society and environment” (Haring, 1978).
With an exception, children as well
as adults with mental disabilities, are not
considered moral agents. Moreover, adults
with full mental capacity are not held full
responsibility for their actions in extreme
circumstances, like if the adult is being held
hostage or being forced to act against his or
her will. Thus, only people who can
intentionally, consciously, or deliberately do
good things to others or harm others are
responsible or accountable for their
behavior or actions.
 Hence, we can also ask, do
commercial and industrial establishments
have moral agency? As humanoids with
artificial intelligence progresses in the field
of robotic technology, do they have moral
agency? How about dogs, dolphins, and
monkeys, do they have moral agency, in
fact, there are socially intelligent animals.

Ethicists today are facing more and more

challenging questions that need a lucid and
precise solution in the coming years. And
they will need to mull over moral agency as
it applies to these circumstances.

Everyone is called to be a good person

and ‘bringer’ of goodness
spontaneously and constantly to
everybody in society. Of course, it is not
an easy task. And not just to obeying
and following stiff rules and regulations.
Thus ‘good’ behaviors must become a
habit to everybody.