What actions am I held morally responsible for?

Cf. Austin Fagothey, S.J.,

Right and Reason: Ethics in Theory and Practice

Human Conduct
 We are capable of performing two general
kinds of actions:
-voluntary acts; -involuntary acts;
Human Acts -“those acts thatActs of Man
a person happens to perform but
-“acts that we consciously control and
that he or she does not consciously control or
deliberately will and for which we are held
deliberately will and for which the person is not
responsible”;
responsible”;

-willed act: an act which proceeds from the will

with a knowledge of the end or goal to which the -acts done in infancy, sleep, delirium, insanity, or
act leads; in a distracted state, e.g., stream of
consciousness;
Elements of Human Acts

1. Knowledge: refers to the intellect’s role or participation in the performance of a human

act; every human act presupposes an awareness of a goal to be achieved, of the means to
attain it, and of its possible direct consequences; the will, being a “blind” faculty can only
act if it is informed by the intellect;

2. Freedom: refers to the will’s ability to choose to perform an act or not; any performance
of a human act presupposes the presence of at least two options from which the will
chooses;
 Three Elements of
Human Acts

3. Voluntariness: the element in human

acts which pertain to their being
knowingly willed, that is, a knowledge
of their end is present and on that basis,
one chooses to do the act; entails a
combination of knowledge and freedom
in the agent;
 Remember…

“The ‘head’ (intellect) without the

‘heart’ (human will) is inutile.”

“The ‘heart’ (human will) without

the ‘head’ (intellect) is blind.”
Voluntariness
&
Responsibility
Am I equally responsible for
all my human acts?
Voluntariness &
Responsibility
• voluntariness = responsibility
➢ One-to-one correspondence
➢ When voluntariness is diminished, moral
responsibility for the act also is
diminished; e.g., murder vs. homicide
➢ When voluntariness increases, so does
the responsibility of the agent;
Voluntariness
• Positive voluntariness vs. Negative voluntariness
➢Choosing to act vs. choosing not to act

❑Negative voluntary acts vs. Involuntary acts

➢Willing not to act vs. NOT willing to act
 Direct and Indirect Voluntariness
Am I morally excused from the unintended effects of my human acts?
 • Actions which are willed for themselves and for
their consequences or effects are directly
Direct Voluntariness voluntary
➢ Ex: Choosing to attend class in order to learn
Indirect Voluntariness

• The unintended but foreseen (or foreseeable)

consequences or effects of directly willed acts
are indirectly voluntary, and thus, are the
agent’s moral responsibility ;
➢ Ex: Being absent from class because one has
chosen to attend a friend’s party;
➢ Ex: Disappointing one’s parents due to not
graduating on time because of negligence of
one’s studies;