Lesson 2

LESSON 2
Characteristics of and
Impediments of Human Activity
 God’s Story
 Finally, you should all be of one mind: share each other’s troubles with mutual affection,
be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil for evil or answer one result with one
another. Give a blessing, instead, this is what you have ben called to do, and so you will
receive the blessing. For if you seek life and want to see happiness, keep your tough
from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. Because the Lord’s eyes are turned
to the just and his ears listen to their appeal. But the Lord frowns on evildoers.
Who can harm you if you devote yourselves to doing good? If you suffer for the sake of
righteousness, happy are you. Do not fear what they fear or be disturbed as they are, but
bless the Lord Christ in your hearts. Always have an answer ready when you are called
upon to account for your hope, but give it simply and with respect. Keep your conscience
clear so that those who slander you may be put to shame by your upright, Christian living.
Better to suffer for doing good, if it is God’s will, than for doing wrong
Peter 3:8-17
SUFFERING FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS’ SAKE
 In this letter, Peter shows us how to be obedient to the will of God
even in the midst of our sufferings. The proper way to respond to
this challenge is to turn away from evil by our perseverance in
good works. These good works must be accompanied by the
purity of our mouths through our kind words. God is willing to show
the truth to those who are willing to follow it. We must always be
reminded of our calling as Christians, for this will help us love our
enemies and do them good when they treat us badly.
HUMAN ACTS
 Human acts are actions done knowingly, intentionally, and freely, like playing, surfing
the internet, reading a book, cheating during tests, or hunting someone. Human acts
are differentiated from acts of human beings, which are mostly physiological and
instinctive, like breathing, digesting, snoring , feeling happy, feeling sad, or falling in love.
Characteristics of Human Acts

1 Knowledge- the person who executes human acts is conscious and is fully aware of the
goodness or evilness of his or her behavior
2. Freedom – the person can excuse human acts because he has an option to do so or
not. It is the ability to act or not to act.
3.Christian Perspective – the person who performs human acts always moves from a certain
vantage point. This is the perspective of human behavior.
MORAL EVALUATION
How do we know if human act is good or bad? We can best answer
this question by reflecting on the three factors involved in any moral
evaluation. The Greek philosopher Aristotle taught that everything is
composed of a pair and principles. The most basic of this principles are
matter and form. Even human act has matter and form. The object of
the act or the very purpose of the action itself is called finis operis and
its constitutes the matter of the human act. This is the factor to
consider in any moral evaluation.
IMPEDIMENTS TO A HUMAN ACT
- Impediments are those factors destroy the integrity of a human act. In other words,
impediments make a person less responsible for his or her deeds. In fact, grave
impediments may even take all responsibility away. Since human acts require
knowledge, freedom, and the Christian perspective, impediments prevent the
person from using well his/or her intellect and will according to truly human
standards.
Four Classical Impediments

1. Ignorance – is the lack or absence of due knowledge.
2. Passion – is an intense emotion which clouds one’s reasoning ability or hinders one’s
capacity to decide properly.
3. Fear – is a stressful condition arising from the threat of an impending future evil. It is
produced by the perceived danger to oneself or someone particularly dear to him
or her.
4. Violence- is the use of force in order to compel a person to act against his or her will.
The presence of force prevents a person to think clearly and hence to decide
freely.
CONTEMPORARY IMPEDIMENTS
Aside from the impediments mentioned above, contemporary times have come up with
other impediments :
Temperament –refers to an inborn or innate disposition towards a certain way of acting or
innate disposition towards a certain way of acting or behaving.
Habit – is easy, pleasurable, and relatively permanent behavior acquired by the constant
repetition of the action concerned.
Upbringing- is conduct that is the result of the influences of the environment during one’s
trainable years. This can start as early as the prenatal environment of the womb. It is really
difficult to move away from the childhood training one has received.
Illness- may be physical or psychological in nature. It can definitely interfere with one’s
decisions and behavior.
 We Remember
Gratitude- is the sense of being aware of the gifts that we receive each day and
appreciative of the generosity of the giver. It is manifested and expressed in the
value of obedience.
Obedience- is the value of carrying out the will of God. It moves our will to respond
to these gifts by developing them, using them well, and putting them at the service
of others.
A human act(actus humanus) is a deed performed knowingly, intentionally, and
freely and for which the person is responsible. An act of human (actus hominis)is a
deed for which the person is not responsible because of the lack of knowledge,
intention, and freedom.

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LESSON 2

Characteristics of Human Acts

Four Classical Impediments

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