Modifier of Human Acts

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Created time @March 13, 2023 8:01 AM

Modifiers of Human Acts

The factors that affect the essential elements (K-F-V) of human acts.

Affects the levels or degrees of responsibility of doing the act by influencing the
elements of human acts.

Human acts - knowledge, freedom,

1. Ignorance
Absence of knowledge in a person who is required to know what he does not know.

Ex: People from the cordillera went to manila and chew dental nut, then he was
arrested because it is not allowed. It’s ignorance because a person must know
the rules/law in a place.

Innocence is absence of knowledge in a person who is not required to know what

he does not know.

Ex: A teacher gets angry to nursing student when ask about political science
subject. It’s innocence.

Three Standpoints of Ignorance:

a. Ignorance from the standpoint of object

It is the thing which a person may be ignorant.

e.g. law, fact, and penalty

What is the main cause of ignorance?

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 b. Ignorance from the standpoint of subject

Ignorance on the part of the person by whom ignorance exists.

Agent itself choose to be ignorant

Types:
b.1. Vincible Ignorance

is the conquerable ignorance and therefore a vincibly ignorant person is

capable for deciding of his actions.

e.g. Illegal parking

Degrees of Vincible Ignorance:

b.1.1. Crass or Supine - the result of a total lack of effort to dispel

ignorance.

Ex: surprise quiz, then after the quiz teacher saw the scores are
very low

b.1.2. Simple - person attempts to exert effort, but fails to dispel his
ignorance.

Ex: browsing notes, average notes

b.1.3. Affected - Agent exerts efforts to retain his ignorance as a pretext

of guilt or remorse.
e.g. duty of the student.

Ex: expected to have a surprise quiz but still choose to not review.

c. Ignorance from the standpoint of the act

consideration of the ignorance with reference to the acts that are performed in
ignorance.

e.g. speaking/discussing things you do not know

Kinds of Ignorance from the standpoint of the Act:

c.1 Antecedent Ignorance - precedes to all consent of the will; (freedom of

choosing whether to be ignorant or be not)

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 c.2. Concomitant Ignorance - agent is not culpable of his action because it
is involuntary. In other words, it is not a human act, but acts of man. (e.g.
Should business Admin. students learn teachings of medicine?)
c.3. Consequent Ignorance - agent has the knowledge of his ignorance, but
chose to be ignorant. (e.g. exam/quiz)

Culpable = not responsibility

Consequent - can be dispel

2. Concupiscence and Passion

Refers to the emotions and feelings of man in relation to his actions. It is man's
appetites rather than man's intellect.

Concupiscence is the appetite of man towards possession of good and avoidance

of evil.

Passion is the action cause by irrational appetite of man.

Types of Passion:
a. Concupiscible - produces good actions
b. Irascible - produces bad actions

Both are actions wherein caused by our appetite/emotion that will affect the action
of demands.

3. Fear
The emotion that apprehends evil and manifests itself in the desire to get away,
avoid, or escape from the occurring threat.

subjective from 1 person to another.

fear can affect our actions, but there is still ‘consent’ or choice

Situation: Your friends plan to try skydiving, but you chose not to, because you are
afraid of heights.

Question: Did you act voluntarily? Considering that your fear influenced your
decision of doing the act? "Acts done by fear are VOLUNTARY"

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 4. Violence
Application or use of physical power or external force on a person by another for the
purpose of compelling him to do something against his will.

Question: Is violence tantamount to threat?

application of physical force - punching, slapping, kicking

2 types: compel and physical force

Compel = pinipilit

Tantamount = equal/the same

Similarity - compel

Diff: threat can be physical or mental; violence pure action

5. Habit
Constant and easy way of doing things acquired by the repetition of the same act.

Question: Are actions made by habits, voluntary or involuntary?

"Habits can be either voluntary or involuntary"

hobby can comes from habit, vv

Ex: involuntary - sleep walking, infants copy their parents action

Norms of Human Acts

Two Norms of Human Acts

1. Law
rule of action or a principle of conduct which directs things towards a definite goal.

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 (we act because of the laws we have)

for the maintenance of peace and order of society.

Ex: In Pangasinan, some municipalities arrest you for not wearing helmet, some
arrest you for wearing helmet.

Conditions of Laws:
a. Law is an ordinance

it is an advice, counsel, or suggestion given to the people

must be follow/obey

b. Law is an ordinance of reason

law is intelligent direction and decision, it is planned and formulated reasonably.

law goes to a process

c. Law is promulgated

law is useful and obeyed.

d. Law is promulgated for the common good

purpose is for the common good or the welfare and benefit of all.

e. Law must come from one who has charge or care of community or society.

"councilors" or "legislators", people gave them power and do authority to govern

them.

Classification of Laws:

1. From the standpoint of the legislator

Two Types:
1.1. Divine Laws

laws authored by God

10 commandments/bible, Islam; “blood is life”

1.2. Human Laws

laws authored by man

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 Types of Human Laws:
a. Civil Laws - enacted by the state

no parking, rights of the accuse

b. Ecclesiastical Laws - enacted by the church

interpretation from the divine law; “you should not eat life”

2. From the standpoint of duration

Two Types:
2.1. Eternal Laws

God's divine plan for all things and God's direction in all things for their
proper order, purpose, or end. (e.g. law of gravity, inertia, earth turns upon
its axis)

exist forever, cannot be change/alter

2.2. Temporal Laws

laws promulgated by man, particularly civil laws which applicability is

subject to time when needed.

3. From the standpoint of the mode of promulgation

Two types:
3.1. Natural Law

eternal laws apprehended by human reason.

3.2. Positive Laws

From Latin word ponere "placing an object somewhere". Which also means
to publish or to put down in writing.

e.g. Newton's Law of gravity Speed of Light

2. Conscience
man's practical judgement of reason deciding upon an individual's actions as good
and to be performed or as evil and to be avoided.

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 KINDS OF CONSCIENCE:
a. True/Correct Conscience

the reality of what is good is good and what is evil is evil.

thought to use/feeling/reason

doing what you know is good

true - ex: robbing

b. Erroneous/False Conscience

not in line with reality, what is good is bad and what bad is good.

Two Kinds:

1. Inculpable

agent is not at fault of false conscience.

2. Culpable

agent is at fault of false conscience.

c. Certain Conscience

agent is assured and unwavering. No doubt or fear is present of being in error.

d. Doubtful Conscience

agent is hesitant and characterized by awareness of the possibility of error.

e. Scrupulous Conscience

agent is extremely careful and always afraid in error.

ex: perfectionist

f. Lax Conscience

agent does not care of what is right or wrong.

ex: insanity

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 Determinants of Morality
What is Morality?

the quality of goodness or badness of human acts based on how these acts are
related to their norm.

DETERMINANTS OF MORALITY

are the factors that link human acts with their norms.

When can we say an act is immoral/moral?

1. The end of the Action

Natural purpose of the act

Natural purpose: to help;

intention: magkautang ng loob para pagnagelection iboboto sya

2. The end of the agent

the aim or intention of the doer of the action.

act can be immoral when the intention is immoral.

3. Circumstances
Condition which are not essential parts of the acts but which happen to affect its
morality.

end of act, agent, situation must be good

Types of Circumstances:

a. Aggravating Circumstances

increase the seriousness or level of the offense.

b. Mitigating Circumstances

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 lessen the gravity of the crime but does not remove the crime committed.

c. Justifying Circumstances

the act itself is right. Thus, there is no criminal and there is no crime.

ex: self-defense

d. Exempting Circumstances

removes the responsibility and punishment of doing the

action.

ex: president can remove a punishment of a person

💡 TAKE NOTE:
The general rule of determinants of morality
- For an act to be good, all three determinants must be good.
a) Purpose
b) Intention
c) Circumstances are Justifying/Exempting
“moral goodness is perfection”

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