Human Acts and Responsibility

Human Acts and Responsibility
Learning Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, the learners are expected to;
a. Define human act, act of man, and responsibility,
b. Distinguish the difference between human act and act of man,
c. Identify the different factors that affects the deliberation of human acts,
d. Classify the twelve stages of human act.
A human act is defined as an act done with full knowledge and full deliberation. Any act
done without full knowledge and full deliberation is called Act of Man. Responsibility is
consequent upon human acts but not acts of man. The degree of responsibility depends on the
degree of knowledge and deliberation. Factors that affects knowledge and deliberation will
therefore affect responsibility.
Factors are as follows:
1. Ignorance
Absence of knowledge affects responsibility and accountability. There are two (2) kinds
of ignorance: vincible and invincible.
Vincible ignorance is the absence of knowledge which due diligence can compel.
Vincible ignorance does not absolve a person completely of responsibility. His
responsibility depends upon the amount of knowledge at the moment he performs the
act.
3 Kinds of Vincible Ignorance:
1. Supine or gross- ignorance occur when scarcely any effort has been exerted.
Ex. A person who does not know the time of the day or the week.
2. Crass- ignorance occurs in a person who ought to know but does not.
Ex. An engineer who does not know strength of materials.
3. Affected- ignorance occurs when a person deliberately refuses to know in order to
give ignorance as an excuse.
Ex. One who refuses to know the law in order to give ignorance an excuse.
Invincible ignorance is the absence of knowledge which no amount of diligence can

compel.
Examples: A person who lack knowledge regarding the new ethical consideration of
the use and disconnection of the respirators in persons who are considered clinically
dead.
CIVIL VS. MORAL RESPONSIBILITY
Ignorance of the civil law is not an excuse. The knowledge of civil law is obligatory,
otherwise, they would give ignorance of the law as an excuse, and that can spell a breakdown
of law and order.
Civil responsibility is a matter between a citizen and the civil authority, and therefore
some transparence is required.
Moral responsibility is a matter between a person and God who sees whether the
person is vincibly or invincibly ignorant, and therefore ignorance of the moral law can absolve a
person moral responsibility.
2. Concupiscence
An impulsive tendency towards a sensible good or away from a sensible evil.
2 kinds of Concupiscence
1. Antecedent- the characteristic of an act that arises without the command of the will.
An act of antecedent concupiscence is unfree and is therefore an act of man. Here, a
person is exempted from responsibility.
2. Consequent- Consequent concupiscence is a human act. A person incurs full
responsibility for acts under this kind.
Example: An arousal on hatred upon seeing an enemy is antecedent, but fanning of

the hatred
in order to make it more intense becomes consequent.
3. Fear
This factor can either be antecedent or consequent. The reason is that, a person can act
through fear or out of fear, in which case, he is not free, and therefore not responsible
for his act.
Example: A bank teller who is a victim of hold-up. Under normal circumstances, he

would not hand-over the money in his custody except to the properly authorized person
only. However, at the point of a gun, he could panic and hand it over to the gunman.
Most hold-up victims act out of fear, rendering their actions to become acts of
man. When the fear is so great as to remove all freedom, the person is completely
absolved from guilt, accountability and responsibility.
4. Violence
This is the use of force to compel a person to act. It is evident that the acts of violence
done on a person are acts of man and the victim involved is freed from all responsibility.
FREEDOM
Special attention must be devoted to freedom because the degree of responsibility

depends on freedom. The classical concept of freedom is the existence of choice or options.
This means that one, has an option to do or not to do, to choose or not to choose, etc.
When there is only one option, there is no freedom. When one chooses, one must have
at least two (2) options to choose from.
Until freedom is translated into an act, it is a misnomer. This condition poses a great
ethical consideration. Ethics must consider this aspect of freedom which might have been
overlooked in the past. We are no longer living in a black and white world where the lines and
choices are clear cut. There are now gray areas which could recast our views on ethics.
Questions:
Is a person under the influence of liquor or drugs considered free?

If he is not, are the acts he performs imputable to him?
Is he responsible for those actions committed under the influence or liquor or drugs?
St. Thomas Aquinas lists twelve (12) stages in every person’s decision to perform a
human act. These twelve stages involve both a person’s intellect and will.
INTELLECT WILL
1.Apprehension of end 2.Wishing of end

3.Judgement and attainability 4.Intension of end
5. Deliberation of means 6. Consent to means
7. Practical Judgement of Choice 8. Choice
9. Command 10. Use
11. Intellect 12. Fruition

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Human Acts and Responsibility

Factors are as follows:

3 Kinds of Vincible Ignorance:

Invincible ignorance is the absence of knowledge which no amount of diligence can

Example: An arousal on hatred upon seeing an enemy is antecedent, but fanning of

Example: A bank teller who is a victim of hold-up. Under normal circumstances, he

Special attention must be devoted to freedom because the degree of responsibility

Is a person under the influence of liquor or drugs considered free?

1.Apprehension of end 2.Wishing of end

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