The Nature of Human Acts

Question 1

• an act which proceeds from the deliberate free will of man
• an act that proceeds from the knowing and freely willing human being
• Example: listening to a talk, studying this PDF

Answer 1

Human Act (Actus Humanus)

Question 2

• 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
• example: actions done in infancy, in sleep, in delirium, etc.

Answer 2

Act of Man (Actus Hominis)

Question 3

It is to be notes that an ___ can become a ___ by the advertence consent of the agent

Answer 3

act of man
human act

Question 4

human acts are ____

Answer 4

moral act

Question 5

For human acts, man is ____, and they are ____ to him, as worthy of praise or blame, of reward or punishment

Answer 5

responsible
imputed

Question 6

____ tend to repeat and form habits in man, which in turn, unite into his character

Answer 6

Human Act

Question 7

Thus, a man is what his ____ make him

Answer 7

human act

Question 8

There are some acts that ____, and the rest ___.

Answer 8

• begin and are perfected in the will itself
• begin in the will and are perfected by other faculties under the control of the will

Question 9

• these are those that find their adequate cause in the will (the deliberate will) alone.
• example: your intention to study in your room

Answer 9

Elicited Acts

Question 10

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
- example: using your mind, eyes, etc. in studying)

Answer 10

Commanded Acts

Question 11

• 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

Answer 11

Wish (Elicited Act)

Question 12

• the purposive tendency of the will towards a thing regarded as realizable, whether the thing is actually done or not

Answer 12

intention (Elicited Act)

Question 13

• 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

Answer 13

Consent (Elicited Acts)

Question 14

the selection by the will of the precise means to be employed in carrying out an intention

Answer 14

Election (Elicited Acts)

Question 15

the employment by the will of bodily or mental powers or both to carry out its intention by the means elected

Answer 15

Use (Elicited Acts)

Question 16

• the enjoyment of a thing willed and done
• the will’s act of satisfaction in intention fulfilled

Answer 16

Fruition (Elicited Acts)

Question 17

acts done by the internal mental powers under command of the will

Answer 17

internal (commanded acts)

Question 18

acts effected by bodily powers under command of the will

Answer 18

external (commanded acts)

Question 19

acts that involve the employment of bodily and mental powers

Answer 19

Mixed (commanded acts)

Question 20

human acts are either in ____ or ____ with the dictates of reason, and this relationship constitutes the ___ of human acts

Answer 20

• agreement
• disagreement
• morality

Question 21

when human acts are in harmony with the dictates of right reason

Answer 21

good

Question 22

when the acts are in opposition with the dictates of right reason

Answer 22

evil

Question 23

when they stand in no positive relation to the dictates of reason

Answer 23

indifferent

Question 24

• these refer to the essential elements or qualities for an act to be human
• these qualities are knowledge, freedom, and voluntariness

Answer 24

Constituents of the Human Acts

Question 25

• human act proceeds from the deliberate will; it requires deliberation
• thus, human act is possible without ____

Answer 25

Knowledge

Question 26

means advertence, or knowledge in intellect of what one is about and what this means. It means knowledge

Answer 26

deliberation

Question 27

• a human act is an act determined (elicited or commanded) by the will and by nothing else
• it is an act that is under control of the will, an act that the will can do or leave undone
• such an act is called a free act, this, every human act must be free

Answer 27

Freedom

Question 28

• it must be will-acted
• this is to say that there must be both knowledge and freedom in the agents or the doer of the action

Answer 28

Voluntariness