concrete nature as a desirable good or
undesirable evil.
The Moral Good of Human Acts
THE NATURE OF HUMAN ACTS
• Morality can only be applied to Human
acts. This is to distinguish from Acts of man.
• Acts of Man (actus hominis)- these are
actions that are performed without
intervention of intellect and free will.
• Human acts (actus humani)- these are
actions that proceed from insight into the
nature and purpose f one’s doing and from
consent of free will. In short, they are acts
which proceed from insight and free will
ACTS OF MAN FOR BELMONTE
• The natural acts of vegetative and sense.
However, these acts become human act
when performed under the direction of the
will.
• Acts of persons who lack the use of reason.
Such in the case with children or insane
persons
• Acts or people who are asleep or under the
influence of hypnosis, alcohol, or other
drugs. In this case however, there may still
be some degree of control by the will. Also,
there is indirect responsibility if the cause
of the loss of control is voluntary.
• Quick, nearly automatic reactions, called
primo-primi acts. These are reflex and
nearly instantaneous reactions.
• Acts performed under violence or threat of
violence. This includes physical or in some
cases, moral violence.
Constituents of Human Acts
Knowledge - It is the intellectual constituent of
the human acts. Those actions that are desired
are fruits of knowledge. Those actions may be
judged as moral and immoral
- Importance: Person’s reason cannot will
without knowing what object he is
concerned with, without being master
and therefore, conscious of the act he is
to perform in order to realize the aim,
and without evaluating the action in its
WHAT IF YOU DON’T HAVE ENOUGH KNOWLEDGE OF
THE ACTION?
Ignorance
• Impairments of required knowledge for
an action to be regarded as human act.
• It is classified into two: invincible and
vincible.
KINDS OF IGNORANCE
INVINCIBLE IGNORANCE
- It is which a man is not able to dispel by
such reasonable diligence, as is
consummate with the issue of an act and
with one’s opportunities
o Not intended
o In Morality: NOT CULPABLE
o Wala ka talagang alam
VINCIBLE IGNORANCE
- If it could be removed by reasonable
diligence but is not because of
negligence or bad will. Vincible
ignorance is culpable. Vincible
Ignorance can be simple, crass or supine
and affected
KINDS OF VINCIBLE IGNORANCE
o Simple: the agent has committed a not
serious negligence. It might be a result of
imprudence on the part of the person who
has neglected to enquire sufficiency or has
taken for granted to overcome his/her
ignorance.
o Due to simple negligence
o Crass or Supine: the agent has committed
a serious negligence.
o Affected: Ignorance is kept up intentionally
in this case, so that a person may not be
bound by the law and have a greater
freedom to commit sin.
o inetnional
CONDITIONS TO KNOW THE DEGREE OF
CULPABILITY OF AN AGENT
I. First Condition: The amount of
effort put forth to get proper
information. Consideration is given
to the difficulty that the agent will go
 through in overcoming the
ignorance
II. Second Condition: The importance
of the matter. Knowledge about
how to preserve life is more
important than how to put on an
outfit for a certain occasion.
III. Third Condition: The obligation of
the agent to inquire proper
knowledge on the matter. If the
matter has to do with health, we
understand that ignorance and
neglect of a medical professional
will be more unacceptable than the
ignorance of a medical student.
REMINDERS
Vincible ignorance does not take away the
voluntariness of what is effected by a human act
or its omission, but it diminishes voluntariness,
as long as the ignorance is not affected.
REMINDERS IN GENERAL
• the discussion of Ignorance is only
applicable in the field of morality but never
in the field of the law.
• Ignorance of the law excuses no one.
Freedom
• Freedom means to have options, to have
choices.
• It is an external personal value all human
persons should realize. It can also be an
intrinsic characteristic or capacity of the
will that governs the human person in
selecting different options;
1. Freedom depends on the
available choice present- to
choose among alternative acts; to
choose between committing or
omitting an act.
2. From possible choices, the person
decides on what choice to take
without external influence forcing
him/her to act (or not to act)
Voluntariness
• Voluntariness is a formal quality of
human acts whereby any action or
omission results from a principle within
the agent and form some knowledge
which the agent possess of the end.
• Voluntariness is a characteristic of
human act that is not simply chosen but
desired or willed.
• All acts are human acts and not the other
way around.
SOURCES OF MORALITY
• OBJECT OF THE ACT (finis Operis)
• INTENTION (finis operantis)
• CIRCUMSTANCES
OBJECT OF THE ACT
• Specifies the “act of the will” what was
performed of the moral agent. If the
object is good, the human act is not
necessarily good.
• Ex. Running
• The object of a human acts are classified
into GOOD, EVIL (BAD) or INDIFFERENT
BY THEIR NATURE.
• Indifferent Actions – either
good or evil (pag-upo,
pagtakbo)
INTENTION OF THE ACT
• Motive of an agent, it is a fact which the
agent acts either be morally good or
evil.
• Purpose for which a human agent
performs the act
• It is concerned with the goal of the
activity.
CIRCUMSTANCES
• Refers to the event, occasions or
conditions that may either INCREASE OR
DECREASE the responsibility of the
agent the responsibility of the agent.
• Circumstances answers the question;
who, when, where, with what means,
how.
• Who: The Subject or the person who
does or receives the action
• Where: The setting or place where the
agent performs an action.
• When: The Time of the action was
performed. i.e Sleeping during the class
• Circumstance of Means: The means of
attaining the end
• How: The way the agent manages to do
his act.
• May either increase or decrease
the responsibility of the agent
Morality of Passions
• Passions are feelings, emotions or
movements of sensitive appetite that
incline us to act or not to act in regard to
something felt or imagined to be good
or evil.
• Passions are natural components of
human pysche; they form the
passageway and ensure the connection
between the life of the senses and the
life of the mind.
• Passions remain to be indifferent. They
are neither good nor evil.
Panizo has listed down the principles or criteria
that judge the morality of an act influenced by
passsions:
• Antecedent Passions MAY completely
destroy freedom
o act of man if destroy freedom
o immediate action
• Antecedent Passions do not always
destroy freedom
o if may chance pang
makapagisip
• Antecedent Passions Lessen freedom
and diminish the responsibility of human
actions because they tend to blind
judgment of the intellect
• Consequent passions do not lessen
voluntariness but increase it.
o Ikaw mismo yung nagsimula
para makasakit
o Consequent – after the act
o Antecedent – before the act
Principle of Double Effect
This can only be applied if four conditions are
met:
1. The act may not be evil in itself
2. The evil and the good effect must at least
equally directly proceed from the act; or
else immediate effect must be good
3. The intention of the agent must be good
4. A proportionately grave reason must be
had in order to justify the admission of
the indirect evil effect (Unconcious)
• If the object is evil in itself – not principle
of double effect
• White lies, Bad action but good
intention, then it is still bad
Unit 3: Called to the fullness of Life
(Pursuit of the good)
• Man’s pursuit of the good is originated
in man’s dignity that is given to us during
the creation
• Man is created in the image and likeness
of God. Hence, man is destined to be
with God by following his laws (10
commandments and the beatitudes)
Law Abiding in Truth
LAW – always fight for just and truth
St. Thomas: Laws are to guide man in his journey
from God back to God
In General: Law is an Ordinance of reason
promulgated by competent authority for the sake
of common good
ORDINANCE OF REASON
• Contains decisive command to perform
• Latin “ordinare” – to put order
• Law is good - product of serious
deliberation and discernment. It should
not be based on whim, emotions or
sentiment of individual or political
groups
o Not based on emotions
o Must be reasonable
o Just law > law abiding in truth
PROPERLY PROMULGATED
• Clear communication od the law to all
people concern
• Ignorantia juris neminem excusat
o Ignorance of the law excuses no
one
• In the Philippines, whenever a bill is filed
in congress, different groups stand
regarding the soundness of the bill.
When it becomes a law, its promulgation
takes effect after its publication on major
broadsheets and websites of
government agencies.
FOR THE SAKE OF THE COMMON GOOD
• The good that the law hopes to achieve
• Second Vatican Council and
Compendium of the Social Doctrine of
the Church: Common good is the sum
total of social conditions which allow
people either as groups or individual to
reach their fulfillment more fully and
easily
• Common good presupposes the
promotion of respect for dignity and true
freedom to each freedom
• It must also foster the well-being and
authentic development of the
community itself.

LAW MUST BE MADE BY COMPETENT

AUTHORITIES
• People with legitimate authority have
power to create, propose, suggest,
legislate and implement laws for their
respective communities
• Being competent also implies that the
one who will legislate and promulgate
the laws are those who are
knowledgeable, well-versed and have
spent their whole lives studying and
executing the laws.

The Principle of Subsidiaritity

• Promotes that social matters must ought

to be handled by the smallest. (Ex.
Barangay)
• Those who represent the people must
have lived and experience the lives of
those who they represent in order to
properly address their concerns through
the legislation of appropriate laws
• This is to avoid the practice of
centralization and bureaucracy