The Modifiers of Human Acts

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The ideal ideal is is for man to act deliberately deliberately,, that is, with perfect voluntariness. This is not always always possible though. Oftentimes, a certain degree of doubt or reluctance accompanies an act.  At other times, emotions emo tions hold sway, sway, propelling action  with the swiftness of an impulse.

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Factors that influence mans inner disposition towards

certain actions are called modifiers of human acts. They affect the mental or emotional state of a person to the extend that the voluntariness involved in an act is either increased or decreased.  We cite this principle: the greater the knowledge and the freedom, the greater the voluntariness and the moral responsibility.

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 Authors point to the following as modifiers of human acts: Ignorance Passions Fear  Violence Habit

IGNORANCE y

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Ignorance of the law excuses no one. This implies that one should not act in the state of ignorance and that one who has dome a wrong may not claim ignorance as defense. Ignorance is the absence of knowledge which a person ought to possess. A lawyer is expected to know his law... the doctor, his medicine

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Ignorance is either vincible or invincible.  Vincible ignorance is the kind of ignorance that can easily be reminded through ordinary diligence and reasonable efforts. The ignorance of a visitor regarding a particular address in a certain place is vincible since he can easily  ask for information from a policeman pedestrian.

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Invincible ignorance is the type which a person possesses  without being aware of it or having awareness of it, lacks the means to rectify it. The ignorance regarding missing objects and persons is often invincible . Sometimes, too, a person acts without realizing certain facts. Thus, a cook might be unaware that the food he is serving is contaminated.

 Affected ignorance, is the type by which a person keeps by  positive efforts in order to escape responsibility or blame.

PRINCIPLES

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Invincible ignorance renders an act involuntary.  A  person cannot be held morally liable if he is not aware of his state of ignorance.  A waiter who is not aware that the food he is serving has been poisoned cannot be held for murder.

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 Vincible ignorance does not destroy, but lessens the  voluntariness and the corresponding accountability  over the act.  A person who becomes aware of the state of ignorance he is in has the moral obligation to rectify it by  exercising reasonable diligence in seeking the needed information. To act with vincible ignorance is to act imprudently.

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 Affected ignorance, though it decreases voluntariness, increases the accountability over the resultant act. Insofar as affected ignorance interferes with the intellect, it decreases voluntariness. But in so far, that it is willed to persist, it increases accountability. Certainly, refusing to rectify ignorance implies malice.  And the malice is greater when ignorance is used as an excuse for not doing the right thing.

PASSIONS y

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Passions or concupiscence are either tendencies towards desirable object or tendencies away from undesirable or harmful things. The former are called positive emotions; the latter, negative emotions.

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The positive emotions include love, desire, delight, hope and bravery. The negative emotions include hatred, horror, sadness, despair and fear and anger.

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Passions are psychic responses.  As such, they are neither moral or immoral. However, man is bound to regulate his emotions and submit them to the control of reason.

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Passions are either antecedent or consequent.  Antecedent are those that precede an act. It may  happen that a person is emotionally aroused to perform an act. Antecedent passions predispose a person to act.

PRINCIPLES

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 Antecedent passions do not always destroy   voluntariness, but they diminish accountability for the resultant act.  Antecedent passions weaken the will power of a person  without, however, completely obstructing his freedom. Thus the so called, crimes of passions are voluntary. But insofar as passions interfere with the freedom of  the will, ones accountability is diminished.

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Consequent passions are those that are intentionally  aroused and kept. Consequent passions, therefore are said to be  voluntary in cause, the result of the will playing the strings of emotions. Thus a young man may deliberately arouse himself  sexually by reading pornographic magazines. Or a victim of injustice may intentionally nurse his resentment towards his tormentor.

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PRINCIPLE: Consequent passions do not lessen  voluntariness, but may even increase accountability. This is because consequent passions are the direct results of the will which fully consents to them instead of subordinating them to its control.

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FEAR 

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Fear

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is the disturbance of the mind of a person who is confronted by am impending danger or harm to himself or loved ones. Distinctions is made however between an act done  with fear and an act done out or because of fear.

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Certain actions which by nature are dangerous or risky  are done with varying degree of fear. Climbing a cliff, flying an airplane through a storm, diving for pearls, or arresting a notorious killer- are examples of act performed with fear. In these cases, fear is a normal response to danger. Such actions are voluntary, because the doer is in full control of his faculties and acts inspite of fear.

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But acts done out of fear are entirely different. The child reads his book out of fear of the mother; the employee volunteers to work overtime out of fear being fired by the boss. ; a friend stops smoking out of  fear of contracting cancer.

PRINCIPLES

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 Acts done with fear are voluntary.  A person acting  with fear is acting freely inspite of his fear and is in full control of himself.  Acts done out of fear, however, great, is simply   voluntary although it is also conditionally voluntary. It is simply voluntary because the person remains in control of his faculties, including that of moderating fear. It is also conditionally involuntary because if it  were not for the presence of something feared, the person would not act or act in another way.

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 Acts done because of intense fear or panic are involuntary. Panic completely obscures the mind. In this mental state, a person is not expected to think sensibly.

VIOLENCE y

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 Violence refers to any physical force exerted on a person by another free agent for the purpose of  compelling said person to act against his will. Bodily torture, maltreatment, isolation and mutilation  are examples of violence against persons.

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PRINCIPLES External actions are commanded actions, performed by a person subjected to violence, to which reasonable resistance has been offered are involuntary and are not accountable. Elicited acts or those done by the will alone are not subject to violence and are therefore voluntary. The  will insofar as it is a spiritual faculty is not within the reach of violence.

HABITS y

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Habit as defined by Glenn, is lasting readiness and facility, born of frequently repeated acts, for acting in a certain manner. Habits are acquired inclinations towards something to be done. They assume the role of a second a second nature, moving one has them to perform certain acts  with relative ease.

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PRINCIPLE  Actions done by force of habit are voluntary in cause, unless a reasonable effort is made to counteract the habitual inclination. Habits are either good or bad. We speak here of  bad habits which lead to immoral actions. Habits are voluntary in cause, because they are the result of previously willed acts done repeatedly as a matter of act.