TOPIC 5 HUMAN ACTS AND ACTS OF MAN.pptx

Human acts

1. Morality of Human Acts PREPARED BY: TONGIERLYN D. CORDA

2. Objectives: Explain the nature of man & its dignity. Explain the concept of freedom of man and of its human action Differentiate human acts & acts of man Explain the morality of Human Acts Determine the moral determinants of human acts

3. Nature of Man & its Dignity To “will” something, one has “to know” beforehand. Man cannot choose or act unless he knows which is a “better” good. When a person chooses to act according to what he knows is right – He acts freely Only man is capable of acting free – HUMAN ACTS But the intellect does not always determine the will. I n t ellect Will Soul Body Thinking/ knowing the TRUTH Choosing the GOOD

4. When is MAN FREE in his actions? When is an act freely done? Under the control of the WILL - It is the power tending toward, choosing, adhering to & taking pleasure in a GOOD KNOWN BY THE INTELLECT - voluntary We do things because we want to, we own the decision or the action We face the consequence of our actions/decisions – we face it with full responsibility Intellect Will Soul Body Thinking/ knowing the TRUTH Choosing the GOOD

5. Nature of Freedom Proceeds from the intellect and will Based on reason which the will followed When man makes decisions, he is free. Man is accountable for what he is doing because he is CONSCIOUS of what he is doing, why he is doing it & how he is doing it. Leo Lopez DECISION Results in A C T I ON CONSEQUENCES Faced with Sense of r es p ons i b i l i ty

6. “You shal l know th e truth…” Intellect W i l l TRU T H GOOD = = BEING L A W FREEDOM “...an d th e trut h shal l make you free.”

7. Human Acts versus Act of Man Human acts Actions done Consciously and freely by the agent/or by man ESSENTIAL QUALITIES/ Constituent Elements of Human Acts Knowledge of the act Freedom Voluntariness Man takes into responsibility of these actions

8. Human Acts versus Act of Man Acts of Man Actions beyond one’s consciousness; not dependent on the intellect & the will ESSENTIAL QUALITIES of Acts of Man Done with out knowledge Without consent Involuntary Ex: unconscious, involuntary, semi-deliberate, spontaneous actions Acts of man can become human acts when he employs his intellect & will in performing the act.

9. ACTS not morally accountable Acts of persons asleep or under hypnosis. Reflex actions where the will has no time to intervene. Acts of performed under serious physical violence e.g. a hostage obliged to do an evil action. Since the will is constrained, then it is not a moral act which could be evaluated.

10. EXERCISE: Human Act or Act of Man? Looking Seeing Dreaming Day dreaming Hearing Listening Walking Sleepwalking

11. Morality of Human Acts

12. What is Morality? From the Greek word MORES - behavior Refers to the sense of rightness or wrongness of an act. Quality of the human act that is either good or bad, right or wrong based on some norms that are either inherent in the act or are observed due to some individual or social conventional acceptance --- Manlangit

13. A moral act depends on whether or not there is consent by the will. HUMAN ACTS They include… Thought Speech Action

14. What is the basis of Morality? Morality is based in part upon the fundamental conviction that: There is an objective moral law which can be known by the intellect – NATURAL MORAL LAW Some actions are intrinsically evil – not justifiable regardless of the circumstance

15. Basic Inclination of Man based on Natural Law prepared by: Ms. Teresita Dalusong, PTRP, M H PH E d Seek food including the highest good which is God. Preserve himself in existence T o p r es e r v e the spec ies Live in community with other men To use his intellect & will – to know the truth & make his own decisions

16. Which Action is subjected to morality? Human Acts? Acts of Man? All Human act are subjected to morality. Human acts are different from animal act because man by nature acts towards an end. His life has a purpose.

17. Morality and Human Acts Human acts are those that are freely chosen in consequence of a judgment of conscience. They are either good or evil. Their morality depends on: the object chosen, the intention and the circumstances.

18. Moral Determinants of Human Acts HUMAN ACTS are neutral in themselves but they acquire morality when we speak of: OBJECT OF THE ACT CIRCUMSTANCE INTENTION

19. Moral Determinants of Human Acts OBJECT OF THE ACT Substance/nature of the action Good which the will deliberately directs itself OBJECT specifies the “act of the will” Nature of what was done to its distinct species “What was performed by the moral agent?” “ An objec t if the a c t is G o o d when it is in c o n f orm i ty with reason or when it fulfills or fits the demand of reason. Otherwise, the object of the act is evil.

20. Moral Determinants of Human Acts INTENTION/END IN VIEW Motive of the agent – factor which the agent acts; either be morally good or evil Purpose for which a human agent performs the act Concerned with the goal of the activity It aims at the good anticipated from the action undertaken “What specifically does the agent want to accomplish?” Good intention doesn’t make an intrinsically disordered act right The end does not justify the means.

21. Moral Determinants of Human Acts CIRCUMSTANCE Refers to the events, occasions or conditions that make the act concrete Modify acts either by increasing or diminishing of the moral goodness or evilness of an act/ responsibility of the agent Lighten or aggravate the weight of moral accountability of the performer * The circumstance do not change the specific nature of the human act.

22. Moral Determinants of Human Acts HUMAN ACTS are neutral in themselves but they acquire morality when we speak of: OBJECT OF THE ACT CIRCUMSTANCE INTENTION

23. What makes a morally act good or bad? Goodness of object, end or intention & circumstance all together as well as consequence Evil end or intention corrupts the action even if the object is good Avoid concrete acts that are always wrong to choose – object of the act The acts which in & of themselves independent of circumstance & intention are always gravely illicit by reason of their object. Error: to judge only the intention & circumstance

24. JUDGING THE MORALITY OF HUMAN ACTS The moral object can either be g ood bad indifferent (e.g. praying) (e.g. stealing) (e.g. eating) The intention can be either good or bad.

25. There are some actions that are evil by their very nature. (e.g. murder , adultery ). These are never morally allowable, even if the intention and the circumstances are good. JUDGING THE MORALITY OF HUMAN ACTS

26. Moral Determinants of Human Acts HUMAN ACTS are neutral in themselves but they acquire morality when we speak of: OBJECT CIRCUMSTANCE INTENTION CONSEQUENCES

27. Objectives: Explain the nature of man & its dignity. Explain the concept of freedom of man and of its human action Differentiate human acts & acts of man Explain the morality of Human Acts Determine the moral determinants of human acts

28. Human Act as Freely Chosen Human Acts are not merely physical events that come & go, like the falling of rain or the turning of the leaves, nor do they as Karol Wojtyla emphasized in THE ACTING PERSON, “happen” to a person.

29. Human Act as Freely Chosen They are, rather, the outward expression if a person’s choices for at the core of a human act is free, self determining choice, an act of the will, which as such is something spiritual that abides within the person, giving him his identity as a moral being.

30. Although many human acts have physical, observable components, they are morally significant because they embody and carry out free human choices. W e a r e f r ee t o cho o s e wh a t w e a r e t o d o and, by so choosing, to make ourselves the kind of person we are. Human Act as Freely Chosen

31. But we are not free to make what we choose to do to be good or evil, right or wrong. We know this from our own sad experience, for at time we have freely chosen to do things that we knew, at the very moment we choose to do them, were morally wrong. We can, in short, choose badly or well. Human Act as Freely Chosen