The Moral Good of Human Acts: 2.

Acts of persons without the use of reason

Human Act (children, insane persons)
3. Acts of people asleep or under the influence
Dignity of Human Person lies in: of hypnosis, alcohol, or other drugs
1. Being created in the image and likeness of 4. Quick, nearly automatic reactions (primo-
God primi acts / reflexes)
2. Spiritual faculties or activities 5. Acts performed under serious physical or
- Understanding (knowing: intellect) moral violence
- Free choice (free will)
Free will – subject of our human acts Inadvertence – POV of carelessness, you do not
know what you are doing (momentary
Human acts forgetfulness)
- acts that are freely chosen in consequence of a
judgment of conscience Ignorance
- voluntary and moved by the will - lack of knowledge a person is ought to
- the choices performed as free persons have
- Freely choosing to shape our lives and action in Erroneous knowledge – wrong info
accord with the truth Lack of knowledge – complete unknowing
- Choices are dependent upon the moral
judgment (decision making must be anchored Effect of ignorance
with the truth, truth resides in intellect) You will have no responsibility/ culpability
if you keep hiding behind the mask of ignorance
Conscience – is subjective
- must be based on standard of morality 3 Types of Ignorance
- Standard of morality for believers = God
- Standard of morality for atheists = Golden Invincible
rule (Don’t do to others…) - no amt of effort or diligence would be
enough to remove it
Decision making = use intellect and will - it is impossible to see things from your
simultaneously (no separate use) perspective
- it is beyond our control
Will directs intellect to know (thru research), - one can’t take full blame of it
Intellect will direct will to choose what it Vincible
wants. (Must be subject to absolute good) - you could have remove it and yet you
didn’t do anything about it
Acts of Man - imputable regardless of crime / doing
- performs without being master of them through /act
his intellect and free will. In principle, acts of Concomitant
man are not concern of morals because they - coincidence wherein you do not know
are not voluntary of
- yawning, heartbeat, reflexes, digestion, - in coincidence, there is partly
delivery, senses invincible ignorance
- whether or not the coincidence exists,
Human Acts you’re not going to contest it
- voluntary
- controlled by intellect and will 3 Kinds of Vincible Ignorance
- 100% culpability Simple
- little effort is done to remove ignorance
Acts of Man - slight negligence
- involuntary - people who would disregard traffic
- intellect and will has no control rules
- not concern of morals - BAD
- culpability is low Crass / Supine
- blame is lesser - lack of effort is done due to laziness
- gross negligence
5 Classification of Acts of Man - surgeon leaving a pair of scissors
1. Natural acts of vegetative and sense inside wound
faculties (digestion, heartbeat, growth, - WORSE
corporal reactions, visual or auditive Affected
perceptions)
 - deliberately willed / wanting to be A. Circumstance of Person
ignorant B. Circumstance of Place
- has something to do with procedures C. Circumstance of Time
- WORST D. Circumstance of Manner
- E. Circumstance of Means
Freedom F. Circumstance of Thing
- power to do an action at one’s own
responsibility Circumstances changes the species of morality.
- real freedom is by having responsibility
- your freedom stops when the freedom The closer to first 3 commandments the worse it
of another person begins is.

2 Aspects related to Human Acts Factors that Affect the Circumstances

1. Voluntary Acts · Ignorance
- things you do with full consent and · Intent
attention · Duress
- nobody forced you to do it · Fear
2. Consent · Psychological and Social Factors
- giving yes to an action
- no full consent if forced The good can be bad or better, but the bad
cannot be good. It is always bad, it only varies in
Sources of Morality and Morality of Passions degree.

Morality – human behavior considered from the Intention – motivation and goal behind the act
point of agreement w/ reason - why you are doing what you are doing

DO GOOD, AVOID EVIL Indifferent action + Good intention = Good

Indifferent action + Bad intention = Bad

Human action relates to: Good action + Good intention = Good

 Individual Good action + Bad intention = Bad
 Society
 God Bad action + Good intention = Worse
Bad action + Bad intention = Worst
Sources of Morality:
 Object Chosen Good act = if object chosen, intention, and
 Circumstances circumstances are leading to goodness
 Intention
The end does not justify the means.
Object chosen – a good toward which the will
deliberately directs itself Evil act: An evil action can corrupt a good
Indifferent – neither good nor bad (ex: writing) intention

The object is what you are doing. One may not do evil so that good may result from
it.
According to St. Thomas:

Object can be good, bad, or indifferent = objective Morality of Passions

morality
No circumstance can make a wrong action
right.
Circumstances – increases or decreases the
goodness or evilness of an act
- cannot change morality of an act
Passions
- emotions or movements of the sensitive
appetite that incline us to act or not to act in regard
to something
- natural components of the human psyche
- form the passageway that ensure the
connection between the life of the senses and the
life of the mind

Six Circumstances that Affect the Morality of our Sense knowledge

Actions - everything that we know passes through our
senses
- passes through intellect and tells us what to
feel
Authentic freedom – our choice must be
Sense appetite may be PLEASANT or towards the good
UNPLEASANT – the freedom to choose what is good acdg.
to the truth and beatitudes
Body + Irascible + Concupiscible
= PASSIONS God’s rules – limit our freedom since we are
(must be controlled by reason) not absolutely free

Concupiscible
- simple inclination w/ respect to sensible Law Abiding in Truth: The True Value of
object Law

Irascible Just law

- Inclination in virtue of an arduous object
CONCUPISCIBLE
- the one that the soul uses to pursue objects
that are suitable to the senses and to avoid those
which are not
- good or bad experience
- experiences attraction or repulsion towards
an object
Attraction towards object (good):
Love – good as such
Joy – present good
Desire – absent good
Repulsion away from object (evil):
Hatred – evil as such
Sadness – present evil
Aversion – absent evil
IRASCIBLE
- the soul wants to overcome something
arduous
- can experience attraction or repulsion too
Good that is difficult attain:
- no present good is difficult to attain
Hope – absent but attainable good
Despair – absent but unattainable good
Evil that is difficult to avoid:
Anger – present evil
Courage – threatening but conquerable evil
Fear – threatening but unconquerable evil
Freewill – ability to choose our own actions at our
own responsibility
Self determination – we have the power to select
our own thoughts, words, and deeds
 ordinance of reason
 properly promulgated
 decreed by competent authority
 for the sake of the common good
ORDINANCE – oridinare ; ordinantia
(to put in order)
– contains decisive command to perform
– a product of careful and serious
deliberation
– not based on whim, emotions or sentiments
of an individual or group
PROPERLY PROMULGATED
“ignorantia juris neminem excusat”
Ignorance of the law is not an excuse
DECREED BY COMPETENT AUTHORITY
Only persons w/ legitimate authority
have the power to create and implement laws
for their respective communities
FOR THE SAKE OF THE COMMON GOOD
Law must benefit the people not only a
few
Common good – sum total of benefits by
individuals from gov’t and from the nation as
a whole.
Moral laws – gives direction to man’s
activities towards the ultimate end
why we need to conform: moral laws are
directions of obligations
Natural Law: Human Being’s Participation
in Eternal Law
– involes both instinct and reason

(Our freedom is limited) Inclination – recognize what is good

Reason – know how to pursue good
First Precept of the Natural Law: The Laws of Nations
DO GOOD AND AVOID EVIL – universally recognized
– governing the conditions of human
4 Main Instincts relations
● Shared with other beings
 Preserve self Positive Human Law
 Preserve species – supreme authority endowed w/ sufficient
● Unique to human power and force to maintain order and punish
 Know truth crime
 Live in society
Laws are there to make sure we do not abuse our
The whole of creation is made in the governance freedom
of God, who works out in His purpose. That
purpose is the eternal law. Positive Divine Law
– laws revealed to us by God Himself through
Eternal law – scheme or plan in the mind of God sacred scriptures
when He created, and by which He governs and – 10 commandments
judges His creation. – both the ultimate truth about human nature (that
man is created in the divine image) and the broad
The universe has a purpose and a structure. general principles that should govern human
conduct
The sub-rational universe obeys this eternal law
and conforms to this scheme automatically. The content of this positive law falls into 3
classes (for catholics):
Sub-rational universe – environment,  Towards God
animals  Towards the sacraments
Rational universe – humans  Towards our fellowmen

Rational universe conforms to it of free volition, or duties = responsibility

by free volition revolts from it, at these points
where there is scope for freedom of choice. 2 Greatest Commandments
Love God w/ all your heart, soul, and strength.
If we go against our nature = sinful Love your neighbor as you love yourself.

We are human beings = act as human beings Ecclesiastical Law

– Laws in Church
Code of the Canon Law
– Entrusted to the church to preserve, to
interpret, and to proclaim the revealed truths
of God

Elements of Church
 Human
Body on itself can’t think of its own = soul is the  Divine
one that keeps us alive
Conscience: Man’s Sanctuary

Conscience – a judgment of reason whereby the

human person recognizes the moral quality of a
concrete act
– is a practical judgment

Natural law = the norm and standard of conduct
that God demands from men
It is the eternal law as that applies to man
directing his actions as a free voluntary agent
The natural law is nothing other than the eternal
law as it concerns men
synderesis – incite to good, murmur at evil
Conscience = application of general laws to
specific case
= do not create but follow rules
(based on what you live by)

What we follow
 Right – truth
 Wrong – not truth
Types of Conscience
 Right Conscience
- judgment is based on true principles,
decides in conformity with the truth
Standard of morality = God
 Erroneous Conscience
- judgment is based on false principles
 Certain Conscience
- you know when you are doing right or
wrong
- not necessarily right
- no doubt about the correctness of
his/her judgment
 Doubtful Conscience
- moral dilemma naturally occurs
- suspends judgment if act should be
ommitted or should be performed.
Types of Erroneous Conscience
 Scrupulous Conscience
- tends to see sins when there are none
- an action is sinful based on weak or
insufficient reasons
 Perplexed Conscience
- one fears that sin is committed
whether it was actually done or not
- judges wrongly that sin is committed
both in performance or omission of an
act
 Lax Conscience
- fails to see a sin when actually there is
one
- tends to minimize its seriousness
- tries to justify actions even when it is
wrong
Moral life should be in sync with faith
Obedience to conscience = judged before the
throne of God (whether heaven or hell)
Gaudium et Spes
Heaven = Union with God
Hell = Total rejection of God’s love
Obstacle to Following Christ: Sin
Soul – gves life to body
body without soul = corpse
Soul dies with mortal sin.
Physically dead but the soul is not (if didn’t
commit mmortal sin)
Physically alive but soul is dead (in stake of
mortal sin)
Feed the soul with the eucharist
Bathe the soul with confession
Rightness or wrongness of an action depends if
God approves (good) or does not (bad) = based
from sacred scriptures
sin – offense against God
– sets itself against God’s love for us and
turns our hearts away from it
– love of oneself even to contempt of God
Anything that we put before God becomes our
idols.
A sin is a refusal to give God our obedience and
love. We owe our obedience and loyalty to God
and God alone.
sin = “missing the mark”
Sin of omission – failing to do what God has
commanded
Sin of commission – doing what God has
forbidden
Venial sins are less serious than mortal sins.
Mortal sin – destroys charity in soul
– a “death-dealing” sin
– turns man away from God by
preferring an inferior good to Him
What makes a sin mortal?
 serious matter
 full knowledge and intention
 with complete consent
Venial sin – weakens charity
– impedes the soul’s progress
– merits temporal punishment
Ways of Being an Accessory to Another’s Sin
 By Counsel
 By Command
 By Consent
 By Concealment
 By Partaking
 By Provocation
 By Praise
 By Silence
 By Defense of Evil Done
 The Spirit Configures Us to Christ Through
Virtues
Virtue – habit or permanent disposition which
inclines a person to do good and to avoid evil
(habit is permanent, or stable and not easily
altered condition)
Opposite of virtues = vices
Types of Virtues
 Human or Natural Virtue
- may be acquired through human effort or
practice by consciously developing a
certain good habit
 Supernatural or Infused Virtue
- directly infused by God into our soul
without any effort on our part, given at the
moment we are baptized
Properties of Justice Given:
 refers to another person
 not a gift but a right
 demands what is exact, no more no
less
The virtue of Justice perfects our will.
FORTITUDE
– the virtue that, in the face of the
greatest evils, restrains the passion of
fear and confidence within the bounds of
right reason
– policemen, soldiers
Fortitude is a special virtue; it is the virtue of
courage in adversity

Theological Virtues – virtues directly related TEMPERANCE

to God – disposes us to control our desires and
The object of theological virtues is God especially to use rightly the things which
From Greek word “theo” which means God appeals to our senses

 Faith – I believe God food and sex = abstinence

 Hope – I trust God
 Charity – I love God Goal:
 Selfless
Supernatural Moral Virtues / Cardinal Virtues  Self-preservation
These are given as seeds, you have to cultivate
them, work on it
 Prudence
 Justice
 Fortitude
 Temperance
(ordered accdg to importance)

PRUDENCE
– directs everything
– virtue that disposes practical reason
– street smart
– power to make right judgment
– the mean of other virtues

JUSTICE
– the perpetual and constant will to
render to each one his right
– giving to one what he deserves