The document discusses the concept of ethics and moral philosophy, emphasizing the importance of human acts that are deliberate and aimed at achieving a purpose. It explores various modifiers of human acts such as ignorance, error, and the relationship between freedom and responsibility. Additionally, it categorizes types of ignorance and their implications on the voluntariness of actions, highlighting how emotions and fears can influence decision-making.

1. MODIFIERS OF HUMAN ACTS
Prof. Chris Pelias
Institute of Arts and Sciences
Far Eastern University

2. • Ethics or Moral Philosophy- deals with human
activity in as much as the acts are in conformity
with the natural end. The medium of knowledge
is reason alone, setting out the data of
experience and acquired knowledge.
• Derived from Greek word ‘ethos’- conscience
• Ethics excludes positive revelation of the Old
and New Testaments as source of its moral
knowledge and guidance.
• Ethics is concerned with norms, mores or
traditions and principles of behavior insofar as
these principles are known by reason.

3. • Man’s Natural End
Once a person reaches maturity, he faces a
question for himself: What should I do with my
life? What is my purpose in life?
Thus, his actions are all directed to his goal, his
purpose, his end.
Human actions are characteristically an action
for an end.
The principle of human acts is the end, goal or
purpose.
If no good (real or apparent) is known by reason,
no human act is performed

4. • The will is a blind faculty – no desire unless the
reason shows there is something desirable
“ Nothing enters the mind without passing first
through the senses.” Aristotle
* man’s action is good if it leads him to his end
and bad if it drives him away from his ultimate
end.
2 kinds of good
Apparent Good
Real Good

5. • Attainment of the goal or end- the ultimate end
necessitates acts.
The ultimate end is a fixed principle but the
various means to attain it is not .
Freedom of Choice applies to these means.
Morally good acts are those which are suitable to
the attainment of the end.
Morally bad acts are those unsuitable to the
attainment of ultimate end.

6. • Human Acts
- actions that are free and deliberate
- those that proceeds from the free and conscious acts of
man
- act that is always done for a purpose
- an act that after few deliberation is performed
knowledge of the end and consent of the will
with

7. • - acts that are proper to man as man
• - acts internal or external,bodily or spiritually
performed by a human being
• ACTS OF MAN
- ACTS THAT MAN PERFORM INDELIBERATELY OR
WITHOUT ADVERTENCE
- man’s animal act of sensation (use of senses) and
appetition ( bodily tendencies)

8. - acts done abstractedly or with complete
inadvertence
- acts performed in infancy, infirmity mind or
the weakness of senility
- acts done in sleep, in delirium, in the state of
unconsciousness

9. •
CONSTITUENTS OR ELEMENTS OF HUMAN ACTS
KNOWLEDGE
_ product of the mind after due intellection
_ proceeds from the deliberate will
Kinds of Knowledge
Abstract- purely speculative, knowledge that is not enough for morals
_ it will lead to split level christianity or to legalism
_ Oftentimes children and students are guilty of this
_ Religion and moral values are learned without appreciating it

10. • B. Evaluative knowledge
_ knowledge applied or knowledge of appreciation is
required
_ “what is objectively true must be subjectively true and
meaningful for me”
_ “ True education aims at the formation of the human
person with respect to his ultimate goal and
simultaneously with respect to the good of the society of
which he is a member and in whose responsibilities as
an adult he has to share”

11. • MODIFIERS OF HUMAN ACTS
A. IGNORANCE
_ the absence of knowledge
_ is the absence of knowledge that ought to
be there ( privative)
_ the absence of intellectual knowledge in
man ( negative)
_ negation of knowledge

12. •
Kinds of Ignorance
A. Ignorance in its Object
- Ignorance of the Law – is the ignorance in
the existence of a duty, rule or regulation
ex. A young freshman comes to class with
fever to take an exam in chem not knowing
that a memo has been passed prohibiting
anyone to attend his class with symptoms
manifesting AH1N1

13. •
2. Ignorance of Fact – ignorance of nature or
circumstances of an act as forbidden
ex. Pedestrian violates law not knowing that the
underpass is in use already
B. Ignorance in its Subject
1. Vincible Ignorance (Conquerable Ignorance)
- ignorance that can be supplanted by knowledge by
the use of ordinary diligence
- ignorance is due to lack of proper diligence.

14. Kinds of vincible ignorance
1.1 Simply vincible- some effort has been done but not
enough to dispel the ignorance
1.2 Crass or Supine- result of total or nearly lack of
effort to dispel it
1.3 Affected- if positive effort has been done to retain
the ignorance.
• Past actions cannot be judged with present knowledge

15. 2. Invincible Ignorance- ignorance that
ordinary and proper diligence cannot
dispel.
this is attributable to 2 causes;
(a) the person has no realization of his
lack of knowledge
(b) the person who realizes his
ignorance finds his effort ineffective

16. • C. IGNORANCE IN ITS Result
1. Antecedent Ignorance – that which
precedes all consent of the will
ex. The chef served a poisonous mushroom
not knowing that it can cause the death of its
customers
2. concomitant- accompanies an act that
would have been performed even if the
ignorance did not exist.
ex. A student misses his ethics class but
even if he knows, he will still miss it.

17. 3. consequent- that which follows upon
the act of the will
ex. A doctor suspects that the
patient’s disease is cancerous but
deliberately refrain from making sure,
and does not inform him.

18. PRINCIPLES
1. Invincible ignorance destroys the
voluntariness of the act
2. Vincible Ignorance does not destroy the
voluntariness of an act
3. Vincible Ignorance lessens the voluntariness
4. Affected ignorance is one way lessens and in
another way increases voluntariness

19. ll. ERROR- state of beleiving what is not true
Like ignorance is a privation of right knowledge and true
insight due to false opinions and convictions because of
deficient education, influence of bad company, reading
of misleading books and papers, insidous influence of
mass Media.
Error is positive ignorance. “We all need erasers to our
pencils”.Principle of error follow Principle of Ignorance
lll. Inattention – momentary deprivation of knowledge

20. B. FREEDOM
– Not the power to do what we like, but the the right of
being able to do what we know we ought to do in
relation to our ultimate end.
Responsibility- the ability of an individual to give a fitting
response to a human situation that involves human
needs. Both freedom and responsibility are interlinked
with each other and as such inseparable
– There are many things in man that he would like to do
but he cannot do.
ex. To stay young forever, to know everything

21. • Although his freedom is limited , he is free in his
choices
• His freedom lies on the fact that once he made a
decision no one can make him change his mind
• When he chooses no power whatsoever can
force him to change his choice(dignity of man)
• He can be enticed, induced, persuaded but
never forced.
• His choice is not on his natural end but is free
determine himself towards the end and means
to attain it

22. Impairments to Freedom
1. Antecedent or Inculpable Passion- occurs when it
springs into action unstimulated by the will.
- always lessens the voluntariness of the act and
diminishes responsibility since it hinders reflection of
reason and weakens attention
- the stronger is the passion the weaker is the intellect
and will
- does not destroys the responsibility of the agent since
knowledge and freedom maybe lessened but he is still
the master of his act
•
If passion is so great, as to make control impossible
then the agent is temporarily insane and his act is not
human act but acts of man

23. 2. Consequent passion- follows the free
determination of the act and is freely admitted
and consented to and deliberately aroused.
- the will directly or indirectly stirs them up
- however great does not lessen the
voluntariness since it is willed directly or
indirectly.
ex. Planned revenge or assassination, reading
pornography, singing hymns of praise

24. • 3. Fear- shrinking back of the mind because of an
impending evil
Kinds:
a. Acts done with fear or inspite of fear as when a
person climbs a dangerous mountain at night . Fear in
this case accompanies an act whichin itself is voluntary
b. Acts done from fear and through fear or because of
fear as when a person threatened with a gun yields his
wealth to a thief.
c. fear maybe slight or grave according to the amount
of proximity of the impending evil. The danger of death
or losing a big amount of property are cases of grave
fear.