HUMAN ACT

Human act vs Act of man

Human Act
"Human acts are those of which a man is
master, w/c he has the power of doing or not doing
as he pleases".
•human acts are the acts of the moral agent

Act of Man
"Actions committed by unconscious and
insane persons, infants or those who are
physically force to do something."

According to Rev. Coppens, S.J he says that to know

whether an individual human act is morally good.
Three things are considered
1. The object of the act
2. The end or purpose
3 . It's circumstances
It is intended by the agent is
the second determiner of an
act's morally.
The end or purpose
-The things done, in reality it is not distinct from the act itself, for we
cannot act without doing something, and the thing that is done is the
object of the act.

The object of an act

A time, place and persons have their part in determining the morality of an
individual act.
The circumstances
The object of the act itself. Using the name of God with reverence, sincerely
invoking God's name or the name of the saint.

The end or purpose is the intention of theacting subject, or what inspire the
acting subject.

Circumstances
Including the consequences, refer to the time, place, person, and conditions
surrounding the moral act. They either increase or diminish the moral goodness
or evil of human acts.

Morally good act

It requires the goodness of the object, of the end, and of the circumstances
together. An evil end corrupts the action, even if the object is good in itself.
Moral Development refers to the process through which a human person gains
his/her beliefs, skills, and dispositions that make him/her a morally mature
person. - Kohlberg (2013)

Nature of Moral Development -William A. Kay (1970)

1. Taboo
2. Law
3. Conscience
4. Reciprocity
5. Social consensus
Level 1: Pre- conventional morality
- Lowest level of moral development in Kohlberg’s theory.
- Children don’t have a personal code of morality. Instead, their moral code is
controlled by the standards of adults and the consequences of following or
breaking adult rules.
Stage 1: Obedience and Punishment orientation
It is a matter of obey or you get punished
Stage 2: Instrumental Orientation
Right behavior is defined by whatever the individuals to be his/her best interest.

Level 2: Conventional
- A child’s sense of morality is tied to personal and societal relationships.
- Children continue to accept the rules of authority figures, but this is now
due to their belief that this is necessary to ensure positive relationships and
societal order.
Stage 3: “Good boy, Nice girl” Orientation
Children want the approval of others and act in ways to avoid disapproval.
Stage 4: Law and Order Orientation
The child/individual becomes aware of the wider rules of society, so judgements
concern obeying the rules in order go uphold the law and to avoid guilt.

Level 3: Post- conversational Morality

- This is a level of full internalization. Morality is completely internalized and
not based on external standards.
-According to Kohlberg this level of moral reasoning is as far as most people get.
Stage 5: Social contract orientation
In this level, individuals reason out that values, rights and principles transcend the
law.
Stage 6: Universal, ethical, principle orientation
•Individuals at this stage have developed their own set of moral guidelines which
may or may not fit the law.
•They have developed moral judgements that are based on universal human
rights.
• Faced with a dilemma between law and conscience, the person follows his
conscience.

Development of Conscience-based moral decision

Conscience-based moral decision
- An act of the practical judgement of reason deciding upon an individual action
as good and to be performed and as evil to be avoided. – (Panizo,1946)
- Metaphorically referred to as the “ inner or little voice of God”
- St. Thomas regarding the obligatory force of conscience: “ Every conscience,
whether right or erroneous, whether with reward to acts which are evil
themselves or acts which indifferent, is obligatory, so that he who acts in
opposition to his conscience, does wrong.

Rev. Thomas V. Berg, (2012) defines conscience as follows:

In the
Natural Law tradition, conscience is understood to be a judgement emanating
from human reason about choices and actions to be made, or accomplished, or
already opted for and performed.
Aquinas held that conscience, in the strict sense, was as an act of human reason
called a judgement following upon, and concluding a time of deliberation.

Conscience - is the interior resounding of reason.

The formation of conscience

• First, conscience format begins with the deep-seated decision to seek moral
truth.
• Second, a sound conscience must stand on the firm foundation of integrity,
sincerity, and forthrightness.
• Third, conscience formation is sustained by the habit of consistently educating
oneself by exposure to objective moral norms and the rationale behind those
norms.

Conscience needs a guide

Virtue of Prudence- we mean the virtue as understood within the natural law
tradition. This should not be confused with timidly, “ Covering one’s back” or
dissimulation (hiding the truth) – Berg 2012
Moral” come from the Latin word “Mores” referring to society pattern , standards
,rules of doing things.
Agent comes from Latin “Agree” means to do act.

Moral Agent- is a being who is capable is those action that have moral quality
and which can be property denominated Good and Evil in a moral scene
(Edward 1754)

Those of which a man is Master ,which he has the power of doing or not doing as
he please ”Or those act which proceed from man as a rational being
(Edward 1754)
HARING 1971- “Morality is for person”
- A moral Agent is one who performs an Act in Accordance with moral standard

For St. Thomas, the highest good or end is happiness but the absolutely final end
is God.
First principles- Every agent that performs an action acts for the sake of the end
or purpose to be attained. in other words, a moral agent is purpose driven
Second principles -every agents act for an end
Third principles- Every agent has the power of moving for an end which is
suitable or good for him/her.

Fundamental option is a human person’s basic choice or inner orientation either

for a good life (directed towards others and God) or for a bad life (directed
towards himself/herself and cut from others and God).
Man as a moral agent adopts the fundamental option, a free choice to say “yes”
to God’s invitation to follow his way.
The fundamental option is “the stance or position I decided to take vis-a-vis the
absolute value (God) which then influences ultimately all other individual
actions and decisions”. (Fernandez 1988)
BUBER -if you hallow this world you meet the leaving God.
“Modern Saint”(BRABANDER 1970)
A human person is or becomes what she/he makes himself/herself by choice.
He/She is nothing, no essence, until he/she starts his her “existence” by making
choices (Sarte 2007)
World to come” means “World to come out in this world ”
“CHRISTIANITY IN THE MODERN WORLD ”(FR .RENE DE BRABANDER FORMER
PROFESSOR OF ST LOUIS UNIVERSITY)

ACCOUNTABILITY AND MORAL ACT

Says Fr. Coppens (2017):

When I perform a free act—one which able to do or
not to do, as I choose –the act is evidently imputable to me :
if the thing is blameworthy, the blame belongs to me: if it is
praiseworthy, I am entitled to praise.
Every human act therefore, since it is a free act, is imputable to him who
performs it.
Moral Accountability
"Making judgments about whether a person is morally responsible for his/her
behavior, and holding others and ourselves responsible for actions and the
consequences of actions, is a fundamental and familiar part of our moral
practices and our interpersonal relationships."
"Moral accountability refers to the responsibility individuals have for their
actions and the consequences that result from them.
It is a fundamental aspect of human behavior, as it guides our choices and shapes
our character.
When we act in accordance with moral principles, we are accountable for our
actions, both to ourselves and to others."

3 BASES OF MORAL ACCOUNTABILITY

Voluntariness
Freedom
Knowledge
A human act must be done knowingly.
For you to be morally responsible for
your act, you must, first, have
knowledge, that is, you are in
possession of a normal mind; you are
not insane or totally ignorant, sleep
walking due to somnambulism.

A human act must be done freely. This

happens when you can exercise your
power of choice. Your freedom should
not be impaired by an irresistible force
or uncontrollable fear.
A human act must be done voluntarily
(intentional or negligent). The act must
be voluntary, that it is either
intentional or negligent. An act is
voluntarily intended when it is done

Modifiers of human act

Ignorance is the "absence of knowledge."
Degrees of Ignorance
VINCIBLE
INVINCIBLE

Passion
CONSEQUENT PASSION
ANTECEDENT PASSION
Passion refers to positive emotions like love,
desire, delight, hope, and bravery and negative
emotions like hatred, horror, sadness, despair,
fear, and anger.

Fear is the disturbance of the mind of a

person due to an impending danger or harm
to himself or loved ones. Acts done with fear
is voluntary, but acts done because of intense or uncontrollable fear or panic are
involuntary.
Violence refers to any physical force exerted

DEFINING MOMENTS
REFERS TO A SIGNIFICANT LIFE-CHANGING EVENT OR
MOMENT THAT REVERBERATES THROUGHOUT YOUR
CAREER AND PERSONAL LIFE AND SO CHANGES
EVERYTHING

THE DEFINING MOMENTS OF ST. PAUL

- SAUL THE PROSECUTOR
- THE WALK TO DAMASCUS
- THE LIGHT FROM HEAVEN
- THE PREACHING

- WHAT IS THE CONNECTION TO MORAL AGENT?

- TO BE NO LONGER SLAVES OF SIN
- CHILDREN OF GOD
- TO CONVERT A SINNER TO AN APOSTLE
- BREAK FROM THE PAST
- MAKE A CHANGETHE

DEFINING MOMENT OF ST. AGUSTINE

- TIME IN MILAN
- A SONG OF A CHILD
- A BIBLE PASSAGE
- THE LIGHTENED AUGUSTINE
- TURNED BACK ON SINS
-THE BAPTISM FROM BISHOP AMBROZE
- THE FAMOUS PRAYER.
- CHILD'S SONG
"PICK IT UP AND READ IT, PICK IT UP
AND READ IT."

ROMANS 13:13-14

WHAT IS MORAL CHARACTER?

IS PERHAPS BEST DESCRIBED AS THE TOTALITY OF A PERSON'S DISPOSITIONS OR
CHARACTERISTICS THAT PLAY A ROLE IN HOW THE PERSON, MORALLY SPEAKING,
BEHAVES.

EXAMPLES OF MORAL CHARACTERS

•COMPASSION
- IS DEFINED AS THE FEELING OF LOVE AND CONCERN FOR OTHERS.
•RESPECT
- MEANS TREATING OTHER PEOPLE WITH COURTESY AND CONSIDERATION.
IT ALSO INCLUDES RESPECTING THEIR PROPERTY, THEIR PRIVACY
•GRATITUDE
- SHOWING GENUINE GRATITUDE AND APPRECIATION TO OTHERS.
•COURAGE
A (CAN DO) ATITTUDE
•HONESTY.
•PATIENT.
•HUMBLE.
•LOYAL

WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MORAL ACT AND MORAL CHARACTER?

There are cause-and-effect relationships between these two.
Moral acts are the outcome of moral character.
And an interesting factor that moral actions become moral character.