Two Types of Human Actions

1. Human Act (actus humaini) – An action that is performed with the use and consent of our thinking (intellect and judgment) and our willing (doing); also called “personal acts”. • Above: elder brother; bored teen-ager. 2. Acts of Humans (actus hominis) – Actions that happen without the intervention of our thinking and willing. These include: a. Biological processes – like digestion, breathing, etc. b. Actions performed without, or a physically impaired use reason and intellect – like people asleep, lunatics, drunk or drugged people. c. Spontaneous reactions that precede any intelligent and willful activity – like the first reaction of anger or joy or sadness, etc. d. Forced acts carried out against a person’s personal decision and will. The Human Act Up Close Two Components of the Human Act 1. The Intellectual Component – An action may be said to be a human act if the person uses his intelligence in order to know or recognize a particular object or action. We cannot will to do something without knowing what it is, or what it’s for. A human act is something we do consciously. We know what we’re doing and why. We also know the object of our action, that is, the person or thing that receives our act. 2. The Volitive Component – Volitive, from the Latin, voluntas, “will”. Every voluntary act of persons is directed towards what s/he thinks is “good”. (This includes people with impaired conscience or morals.) Human acts are willed, deliberate, purposeful acts done with freedom. Two Kinds of Voluntary Acts and Their Effects Acts 1. Perfectly Voluntary Act – An act that is performed with full attention and full consent of the intellect and the will. 2. Imperfectly Voluntary Act – An act that is performed in which either or both the attention and the consent of the doer are imperfect or impaired. Two possibilities: a. Imperfect attention and consent: A drunk pissing in public; a drug addict murdering his family while loaded. b. Full attention but imperfect consent: A soldier being tortured and eventually confessing army secrets. 3. Voluntary Active Act – An act in which committing something creates an effect. 4. Voluntary Passive Act – An act in which the effect is attained by a person’s choice not to act. Two types: a. Positive Passive Act: When the omission of an act prevents evil from happening. • A priest keeping quiet about a person whose confession he heard while his parishioners talk about her; • A student who keeps his eyes on his own paper during a test despite the temptation to look around. b. Negative Passive Act: When the omission of an act results in evil. • Not confessing that you know the rapist or drug dealer at large; • Keeping quiet about first-hand information about fraternity-hazing, drug users and pushers. Effects 1. Directly Voluntary Effect – The effect of an action is directly voluntary when the deed is in itself the intended goal (when deed and goal are one and the same); OR if the deed is intended for another willed goal. 2. Indirectly Voluntary Effect – The effect is indirectly voluntary if the effect is merely permitted or allowed to happen as an inevitable result of another intention. Transition to “Freedom” There is still one vital prerequisite to actions of human beings in order that we may say they are human acts, and in order that we may judge whether a certain human act is moral or not. Without this prerequisite, this essence of the human person, we cannot be fully held responsible for what we do. But because we believe that we are responsible for our voluntary acts, we presume there is this one prerequisite that makes us thus accountable, and this is the prerequisite of FREEDOM.