Voluntary and Involuntary Origin

" (p.58). Children and animals are capable of voluntary action, such as eating, running, communicating, but they are not capable of choice, for choice begins to enter into the moral realm. Choice is an action of a creature that can reason because logic is a necessary ingredient for choice.

             Only when logical creatures lack knowledge or are under duress do they move away from choice and voluntary action to involuntary action. Aristotle states his point quite clearly when he says, ".actions done under constraint or due to ignorance are involuntary" (p.52). An action is involuntary when the source of initiative comes from outside, Aristotle use the example of a person carried away by the wind, he is obviously not responsible for his action of moving, this would be an example of involuntary action due to constraint. .

             However, when involuntary actions begin to involve ignorance, Aristotle states the only type of valid ignorance is that in which the agent is unaware of the affect of his action on the thing or person affected. Aristotle would say a drunken man is acting in ignorance, while a man unaware of social customs is acting due to ignorance. Here is also where the distinction between involuntary and non- voluntary action is drawn.

             The distinction is found in a man's reaction to his involuntary action. Aristotle feels that an involuntary action due to ignorance is only when the action brings regret or sadness in is aftermath. As he says of the man who feels no remorse, ".nor yet was he an involuntary agent inasmuch as he feels no sorrow" (p.55), this man would be called a non- voluntary agent. .

             Non-voluntary action is when the action causes no regret or pain from its consequences. Actions could range from throwing cargo off a ship in a storm to a serial killer's rampage of murder. These are actions performed under constraint but constraint in such a way that voluntary action is still possible.

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