CHAPTER 3

FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPT OF ETHICS: CONCEPT OF HUMAN ACT

When a human being does such acts, they are called acts of man but not human acts. Acts of man,
therefore, are acts shared in common by man and other animals, whereas human acts are proper to
human beings. Acts of Human is the immediate action or the point where one does it without much
thought and this holds a lot of values within, it clearly shows the strong morals developed in him. Human
act is more of conscience involved, where he knows and understands the act being performed.

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A. Human Act

 The human activity of man as man

 Act of rationality of man

 Involves understanding and free will

 “an act which proceeds from the deliberate free will of man” (Glenn:3)

 The agent becomes responsible and accountable of such act

 A human act can be morally good or morally evil

 The human act is one that is proper to a human being, an act that proceeds from the free will of
a man.

Act of Man

 Activities of man as animal

 Acts are not deliberately done nor voluntary

 Performed without the free will of the agent

 Includes beating of the heart, dreaming, sensations by the five sense organs

 Do not demand responsibility from the agent

 Amoral acts and not subject to morality

EXISTENCE OF HUMAN ACT- If there is an act, the agent has an objective in mind. ¨ For every act that is
done, there is always a corresponding end, or a goal. ¨ It is this end that gives the act a reason for its
existence.

HUMAN ACT AND RESPONSIBILITY- Responsibility is the ability of a person to respond to a need or
problem in a situation. That ability to respond is an internal quality of a person, which is free and voluntary
yet morally obligatory in himself.
COMPARISON OF CHARACTERISTICS OF HUMAN ACTS AND ACTS OF MAN

Human Acts Acts of Human

1. The act must be deliberate. 1. They are done indeliberately

2. The act must be free. 2. They are not done freely acts

3. The act must be voluntary. 3. The acts are done involuntarily

CLASSIFICATION OF HUMAN ACTS:

A. Elicited acts – these are human acts which find their adequate cause in the will alone.

1. Wish – the simple love of anything.

2. Intention – the purposive tendency of the will towards a thing.

3. Consent – the acceptance by the will of the means necessary to carry out intention.

4. Election – the selection by the will of the precise means to be employed in carrying out an intention.

5. Use – the employment by the will of powers to carry out its intention by the means elected.

6. Fruition – the enjoyment of a thing willed and done.

B. Commanded acts – human acts that do not find their adequate cause in the simple-will act, but
are perfected by the action of mental or bodily powers under the control of will.

1. Internal – acts done by internal mental powers under command of the will.

2. External – acts affected by bodily powers under command of the will

3. Mixed – acts that involve the employment of bodily powers and mental powers.

Elements of Human Acts

a. KNOWLEDGE

An act done is knowingly, when the doer is conscious (all senses are active, sensory-perception if
functional) and aware of the reason and consequences on his actions.

b. FREEDOM

An act is done when the doer acts by his own initiative and choice without being forced to do so by another
person or situation It makes the doer the father if his acts and thus, the doer is responsible for those acts.
He can acknowledge that he has done them because he wanted to and he can explain why he wanted to
do. Knowledge is supplied by the intellect and it directs the will to want the object it proposes.
Our freedom is “situated” or limited by the rights of others, things or persons. Our environment constricts
our freedom. But man remains man despite the limitations of human freedom. “Man cannot be reduced
to historicity, to his environment, to determinism” (Dy, Jr.:159)

Negative: freedom is the absence of constriction

Positive: freedom is the power to be and to act under free will and choice.

FREE WILL AND FREEDOM

WILL- It is a man’s natural tendency of being attracted to what is good and beautiful and to be repulsed
from what is evil and ugly, after they have been presented by the intellect. ¨ Will is the counterpart of
intellect.

HUMAN FREE WILL- The will is free when it acts without any pressure from outside. It is free when it is
attracted to or repulses anything on a natural tendency. ¨ Free will makes the agent become responsible
and accountable for his act.

Freedom of the will is the “power which men have of determining their actions according to the judgment
of their reason” - St. Thomas

c. VOLUNTARINESS

An act is done willfully when the doer consents to the acts, accepting it as his own, and assumes
accountability for his consequences. It is naturally inclined to the good, but man may sometimes
deliberately choose evil.