Understanding Volition and Morality: Human Actions and Ethics

Volition

Knowledge can be an asset to a person, and if so, they tend to possess it intentionally. However, knowing is insufficient; the will is decisive in personal life. The will's existence is the power to will and act. Intellectual knowledge seeks the good, as the object level involves volitional good for humans to be the proper object of goodwill.

Will depends on intellectual activity because to desire something, we must grasp it as good, hence the intellect's superiority. However, once this principle is established, the will takes precedence over understanding because personal fulfillment depends on it. The best person acts rightly, and it is the will that moves the mind to think of an object.

In short, the will decides specifically human activity. This desire can be effective if translated into action aimed at possessing good, or ineffective if it doesn't translate into action.

Volition is the intention of obtaining something, consent to the means to do so, choosing effectively, enforcement through one's powers, and the enjoyment of what is possessed. However, the human will does not arise solely from decisions but also from involuntary reactions (habits). Human action must be free, as freedom is the ability to self-determine.

This should not be confused with inner versus outer freedom. Inner freedom is the absence of coercion, and outer freedom is self-mastery over various psychic determinisms, whether intellectual or emotional. Consequently, without all-encompassing freedom, ethical and moral life, which qualifies humans as responsible beings, is meaningless.

Furthermore, it is clear that the only thing that can determine the will is its own object, so goods from partial experiences cannot determine it.

Consequently, without all-encompassing freedom, ethical and moral life, which qualifies humans as responsible beings, is meaningless. Furthermore, it is clear that the only thing that can determine the will is its own object, so goods from partial experiences cannot determine it.

Morality

Humans have a permanent structure that characterizes them, yet they are in a process of continuous change because life is a succession of activities. The fundamental structure does not vary, but actions are constantly changing.

Morality is the property of conscious and free acts that are judged as good or bad; it classifies human actions. Morality has a basic rule: the opinion of practical reason rectified by moral principles. Without moral principles, it would lack guidance because practical reason guides action and determines the ethical rightness of the act to be performed.

Ethical evaluation depends on three factors: the object of the action, the intention, and the circumstances surrounding the action. Moreover, consciousness is a trial. If the act is right, it is justified; if not, it is a fault. Aquinas says that humans must enlighten their conscience with moral principles that lead it to judge according to the demands of personal fulfillment.

Habits are qualities acquired through the repetition of acts that incline the powers to act in a certain way. They are acquired through practical reason, which governs action, and the will, which decides and executes it.