1 - The Nature of Human Acts Flashcards
An act which proceeds from the deliberate free will of man
Human Act (Actus Humanus)
An act that proceeds from the knowing and freely willing human being
Ex: listening to a talk, studying this PDF
Human Act (Actus Humanus)
These are man’s animal act of sensation (use of the senses) and appetition (bodily tendencies) done without advertence and the exercise of free choice
Ex: actions done in infancy (peeing), in sleep, in delirium, etc.
Act of Man (Actus Hominis)
It is to be noted that an act of man can become a human act by
the advertence and consent of the agent.
Human acts are
moral acts
For human acts, man is responsible, and they are
imputed to him, as worthy of praise or blame, of reward or punishment
Human acts tend to repeat and form habits in man, which in turn
unite into his character.
Thus, a man is what
his human acts make him
2 Classifications of the Nature of Human Acts
- Based on Complete/Adequate Cause
- Based on the Relation of Human Acts to Reason
There are some acts that begin and are perfected in the will itself, and the rest begin in the will and are perfected by other faculties under control of the will.
Based on Complete/Adequate Cause
These are those that find their adequate cause in the will (the deliberate will) alone
Ex: your intention to study in your room
Elicited Acts
These are those that do not find their adequate cause in the will-act but are perfected by the action of mental or bodily powers under orders from the will.
Ex: using your mind, eyes, etc. in studying
Commanded Acts
Refers to the simple love of anything
The first tendency of the will towards a thing, whether realizable or not
Every human act begins with the ___ to act
Ex: I do so long to see you tonight
Wish
The purposive tendency of the will towards a thing regarded as realizable, whether the thing is actually done or not
Ex: I will see you tonight.
Intention
The acceptance by the will of the means necessary to carry out intention
It is the further intention of doing what is necessary to realize the main intention
Ex: If I will see you tonight, I consent to how really to see you.
Consent
The selection by the will of the precise means to be employed in carrying out an intention
Ex: I will select riding my bike to see you tonight.
Election
The employment by the will of bodily or mental powers or both to carry out its intention by the means elected
Ex: to actually see you, I will command my mental and bodily powers to carry out my intention.
Use
The enjoyment of a thing willed and done
The will’s act of satisfaction in intention fulfilled
Ex: I will experience this the moment I will actually see you.
Fruition
Acts done by internal mental powers under command of the will
Ex: effort to remember, effort to control anger
Internal
Acts affected by bodily powers under command of the will
Ex: eating halo-halo, writing your answers
External
Acts that involve the employment of bodily and mental powers
Ex: solving a math problem
Mixed
Human acts are either in agreement or disagreement with the dictates of reason, and this relationship constitutes the morality of human acts
Based on the Relation of Human Acts to Reason
When human acts are in harmony with the dictates of right reason
Good
When human acts are in opposition with the dictates of right reason
Evil
When they stand in no positive relation to the dictates of reason
Indifferent (Amoral)
These refer to the essential elements or qualities for an act to be human
These qualities are knowledge, freedom, and voluntariness
Constituents of the Human Acts
A human act proceeds from the deliberate will; it requires deliberation
Deliberation means advertence, or ____ in intellect of what one is about and what this means. Deliberation means _____.
Thus, no human act is possible without ____.
Knowledge
A human act is an act determined (elicited or commanded) by the will and by nothing else.
It is an act that us under control of the will, an act that the will can do or leave undone
Freedom
A human act to be ____, simply means it must be a will-act.
This is to say that there must be both knowledge and freedom in the agent or the doer of the action
Voluntariness
