FDM 202 Ethics and

Accountability in the
Public Service
Chapter 3
Voluntariness and moral principles involved in
actions having two effects

Master in Development Management

Major in Public Management
Dr. Nova E. Arquillano
Associate Professor V
It comes from the Latin word
“voluntas” referring to the will. This
is essential to an act. Without it, act
is a mere act of man.

Voluntariness
Perfect, imperfect, conditional and simple
voluntariness
Perfect Imperfect Conditional
This is present in a person
This is present in a person
This is present in a who is forced by
who acts without fully
circumstances beyond his
person who fully knows realizing what he means to
control to perform an act
and fully intends an act do, or without fully
which he would not do
intenidng the act
under normal condition

Simple
This is present in a
person doing an act
wilfully, regardless of
whether he likes to do it
or not
1.Direct voluntariness. This
accompanies an act which is
primarily intended by the doer,
wither as an end in itself or a means
to achieve something else.

Types of voluntariness
 Indirectly involuntary. A person is accountable for his
actions and their consequences. A person is liable for the
results which are foreseeable b an ordinary act of prudence.
A prankster who shouts “fire” inside a crowded place has a
certainly some inkling that his joke might cause fear,
stampede and injury to people
 Paul Glenn considers a person accountable for indirectly
voluntary results of his acts when:
 1.The doer is able to foresee the evil result of reflect
 2.The doer is free to refrain from doing that which would
produce the foreseen evil
 3.The doer has moral obligation not to do that which
produce an evil effect
 Alfred Panizo cites these principles
 a. A person is held morally responsible for any
evil effect which flows from the actions itself
directly and necessarily as a natural consequence,
through the evil effect is not willed or intended
 b. A human act from which two effect may result
one good and one evil, is morally permissible
under four conditions. If any of these conditions is
violent, then the action is not permissible and
should not be done.
Four conditions
The actions which produce double effects must
1 be good in itself, or at least morally indifferent
The good effect must not come from the evil
2 effect. To do evil in order to achieve smething
good is not justified.
The motive of the doer must be towards the
3 attainment of the good. The evil effect is
permitted only as an incidental result.
4 The good effect must outweigh the evil result
in its importance
2.Indirect voluntariness. An act or
situation which is the mere result of
a directly willed act. Getting a failing
mark is indirectly voluntary on the
part of the student who has willingly
neglected to study.

Types of voluntariness
 Immoral and amoral. Immoral means contrary
to or violative of the rules of right conduct.
Amoral means morally indifferent, i.e., it is
neither good not bad.
 Moral and normal. Moral distinguished from
normal in that the latter refers to physical or
psychological standard and has not reference to
moral rectitude.
 Perversity and peculiarity. Perversity always
involves moral turpitude and responsibility,
whereas peculiarity or anomaly does not.
Moral or normal
 Barry Lee Fairchild. On
August 31, 1995, he became
the eleventh Arkansan put to
death under the state’s modern
capital punishment statute,
despite controversy over the
methods used to extract a
confession that was later
repudiated by Fairchild.
Moral or normal
 Richard Speck. American
mass murderer known for
killing eight female nursing
students in a Chicago town
house in 1966. A
chromosome analysis
performed by Engel revealed
that Speck had a normal XY
karyotype.
Factors that lessen accountabilty
Ignorance
The absence of knowledge which
a person ought to possess
In the realms of morals, everyone
of age and reason is expected to
know at least the general norms
of good behavior
Concupiscence
Tendencies towards desirable
objects, or tendencies away
from harmful things
Man is bound to regulate his
emotions and submit them to
the control of reason.

Fear Violence
Disturbance of the mind of a person A physical force exerted in a person
Habit
who is confronted by an Permanent qualities which
by another free agent for the purpose
impendending danger to himself or dispose a faculty to act
of compeling a person to act against
loved ones readilty and ease
his will
External actions or commanded For as long as habit is not
Distinction is made between an act corrected, evil actions done
actions, performed by a person
done with fear and an act done out by force of the habit are
subjected to violence, are involuntary
or because of fear. voluntary and accountable
and at not accountable