PHILO 031 ETHICS

LESSON 2

VOLUNTARINESS OF HUMAN ACTS

I. DEGREES OF VOLUNTARINESS

A. Perfect and Imperfect

 Perfect – When the agent fully knows and fully intends the act.
Ex. Telling a lie to your parents

 Imperfect – When there is some defect in the agent’s

knowledge, intention, or both.
Ex: Adding details in narrating an event

B. Simple and Conditional

 Simple Voluntariness – Is present in a human human act

done, whether the agent likes or dislikes doing it.
Ex: Washing the dishes after the family meal.

 ConditionalVoluntarinesss – Is present in the agent’s wish to

do something other than that which he is actually doing , but
doing with dislikes.
Ex: Washing the dishes with a wish of just
watching TV.

C. Direct and Indirect

 Direct Voluntariness – Is present in a human act willed in

itself.
 Indirect Voluntariness – Is present in that human act which is
the foreseen result of another act directly willed.

A HUMAN ACT THATIS DIRECTLY WILLED IS CALLED

“VOLUNTARY IN SE” ( DIRECT VOLUNTARINESS )
WHILE THAT WHICH IS INDIRECTLY WILLED IS
CALLED “ VOLUNTARY IN CAUSA “ ( INDIRECT
VOLUNTARINESS )

 Consider this classic examples:

A father kills a rabbit for dinner. He directly wills the act of
killing as a means to an end to be achieved. He also directly
wills the dinner asa an end to be achieved by this means.
( There is direct voluntariness in every aspect of the act.)
 Suppose that the rabbit is a pet of his children. It gave them
pleasure every time they played with it. The father knows that
if he will the rabbit , it will cause his children “sorrow” .
Nevertheless, he kills the rabbit to have something to eat for
dinner.
( There is indirect voluntariness in the “ sorrow experienced
by the children” .)

The father direct act of killing the rabbit is called voluntary in

se while the result , “sorrow of his children”, which he does
not directly will , is called voluntary in causa.

D. Positive and Negative

 Positive Voluntariness – Is present in a human act of doing,

performing. It is present in an act that the agent is “ ought to do
and is doing it” .
Ex: A student attends class on his schedule time.

 Negative Voluntariness - Is present in a human act of

omitting, refraining from doing it. It is present in an act that the
agent is “ not ought to do but is doing it” .
Ex: A student deliberately misses class.

E. Actual , Virtual, Habitual, Interpretative

 Actual Voluntariness ( INTENTION ) – Is present in a

human act willed here and now.
Ex: The “ I DO” vows of man and a woman during
the marriage rites.

 Virtual Voluntariness ( INTENTION ) - Is present in a

human act done as a result of ( or in virtue of ) a formerly
elicited actual intention even if that intention be here and now
forgotten.
Ex: The faithfulness of the husband/wife with
his/her spouse throughout their married life.

 Habitual Voluntariness ( INTENTION ) – Is present in a

human act done in agreement with, but not as a result of, a
formerly elicited and unrevoked actual intention.

Consider this example:

You make an intention to be baptised in a Catholic
religion. Years passed by, you did not realize it nor you
revoked it. One day, you become seriously ill, fighting
for your life. A priest came over and baptized you in your
unconscious state. Here, the act of receiving baptism is in
agreement with the actual intention once made and
unrevoked. You posses the HABITUAL
 VOLUNTARINESS for the act of receiving the sacrament
of baptism.

 Interpretative Voluntariness ( INTENTION) - Is that

voluntariness which, in the judgement of prudence and
common sense, would be actually present if the opportunity or
ability for it were given.

Common this example:

The small boy who has to be carried literally to school
and kept there against his will, has an INTERPRETATIVE
INTENTION of going to school. For parents and teachers know
that, if the boy could but realize the value of schooling, he
would certainly will to attend.

II. INDIRECT VOLUNTARINESS

 Indirect Voluntariness, or voluntariness in causa, is present in

that human act which is an effect , foreseen or foreseeable, of
another act directly willed.
 When we bring together “ indirect voluntariness” and
“imputability, that is as worthy of praise/blame .
Reward/punishment, two ethical questions on responsibility
( a. First Question ) and permissibility of the act( b. Second
Question ) are raised:

A. When is the agent responsible for the evil effect of a cause

directly willed?
B. When may one perform an act, not evil in itself , which has
effects good and evil.

A.PRINCIPLE OF INDIRECT
VOLUNTARINESS ( 1ST QUESTION)

 The agent (doer of the action ) is responsible

(imputable/punishment) for the evil effect of a cause
directly willed when the following conditions are met:
a. When he can readily foresee the evil effect , at least in
general way.
Ex: The rabbit was the pet of the children , ( the
foresee the evil effect) that if he is going to kill the
rabbit, the children would naturally experience
unhappiness
b. When he is free (freedom )what to refrain form doing
what causes the evil the evil effect.
Ex:
c. When he is bound to refrain from doing what causes
the evil effect.
Ex: Suppose that the rabbit was the pet of the children
, Now it is very clear that the ( bound to refrain
 ) father is fully responsible for the sorrow (the evil
effect ) of the act of killing the rabbit.

B.PRINCIPLE OF DOUBLE EFFECT

( SECOND QUESTION)
 The agent may lawfully perform( when we are
permitted to do an act) an act which has two effects,
“one good and one evil”, when the following conditions
are met:
Ex: Therapeutic Abortion ( good= pregnancy , evil =
Abortion)
a. When the evil effect does not come before the good
effect so as to be a means to it.
Ex: Save the life of the mother
( The mother has a great chance of surviving rather
than the child )
The doctors will perform the act , primarily for the
good effect, and that is to save the life of the mother.

b. When there exits a reason , proportionately grave or

weight, which calls for the good effect.
Ex: The grave reason is ( If the abortion will not be
performed , both lives will be lost and that is the life
of the mother and the life of the child )
c. When the agent intends the good effect exclusively,
and merely permits the evil effect as a regrettable
side-issue
Ex: Casualty of the War , There’s is nothing else we
can do about it , since the act is done for the primarily
for the good effect. Then that even effect becomes
regrettable side issue.

So when am I permitted to do a particular act? The principle of double

effect enable you to decide what you’re going to do with that particular
situation.

 From these two principle , we are deduce the following thoughts

the performance of any act:

 We must do good; we must avoid evil.

 We must never do what is evil, even though good may be

looked for and intended as a result of it.