Since responsibility depends on the voluntariness present in act, we must inquire in to the factors which affect voluntariness in an action. Factors that influence man’s inner disposition towards certain actions are called “modifiers” of human acts. These are namely: ignorance, concupiscence, fear, violence and habits.
1. Ignorance
- is the absence of intellectual knowledge which a person ought to possess. It is either vincible or invincible.
a. Vincible ignorance – can be easily reminded through ordinary diligence and reasonable efforts. Under of it is the affected ignorance, this is the type which a person keeps by positive efforts in order to escape responsibility or blame.
b. Invincible ignorance – is the type which a person possesses without being aware of it, or, having awareness of it, lack the means to rectify it.
Principles:
1. Invincible ignorance renders an act involuntary.
2. Vincible ignorance does not destroy, but lessens the voluntariness and the corresponding accountability over the act.
3. Affected ignorance, though it decreases voluntariness, increases the accountability over the resultant act.
2. Concupiscence (Passions)
- are either tendencies towards desirable objects, or, tendencies away from undesirable or harmful things. The former are called positive emotions; latter, negative emotions. It is either antecedent or consequent.
a. Antecedent – are those precede an act.
b. Consequent – are those that are intentionally aroused and kept.
Principles:
1. Antecedent passions do not always destroy voluntariness, but they diminished accountability for resultant act.
2. Consequent passions do not lessen voluntariness, but may even increase accountability.
3. Fear
- is the disturbance of the mind of a person who is confronted by an impending danger or harm to himself or loved ones.
Principles:
1. Acts done with fear are voluntary.
2. Acts done out of fear, however great, is simply voluntary, although it is also conditionally voluntary.
3. Acts done because of intense fear or panic are involuntary.
4. 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.
Principles:
1. External actions, or commanded actions, performed by a person subjected to violence, to which reasonable resistance has been offered, are involuntary and are not accountable.
2. Elicited acts, or those done by the will alone, are not subject to violence and are therefore voluntary.
5. Habits
-as defined by Glenn, “is lasting readiness and facility, born of frequently repeated acts, for acting in a certain manner.”
Principle:
1. Actions done by force of habit are voluntary in cause, unless a reasonable effort is made to counteract the habitual inclination.
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Factors that lessen accountability are also called "Modifier of human acts". All these factors affect our mental and emotional state where voluntariness involved in an act is either increased or decreased. It is significant because acccountability in an act is correspondingly increased or decreased.
"Ignorance of the law excuses no one". This implies one should not act in the state of ignorance and one has done wrong may not claim ignorance as a defense.
Passions or Concupiscence are can be positive emotions or negative emotions. In such antecedent it diminished the accountablity of our act because there certain situation that we cannot be control such "love", may induce one make numerous or lengthy phonecalls to his sweeheart. While consequent passion, we do the results of our direct will instead of controlling it, it makes is accontable for a person.
Fear. We do have all fears in life, it depends to us what are they. It is important to have fear especially "fear in our God", because of it there are certain things that we don't want to do because of the fear what are the consequences what will be given to us. Sometimes we panic just like a person jumps on a 10th floor of burning building,panic makes completely obscures our mind, we lose our control then it is consider involuntary.
Violence. Violence is not good because it hurt persons or even kill, btu sometimes we can't control to be violent. Thus, a girl
was force by a guy to have sex with him, the guy want to rape her because of that the girl want to defend herself for not being rape she accidently killed the guy.
Habit. Habits serve our manerisms or the things that we can't rid of in a short period of time. Habits is either good or bad. Habits that are bad consider as immoral actions. Make sure that the habits we have are good so that it will not give us bad consequences.
Ignorance is not an excuse to be free from everything because it is our duty to have knowledge in all the things that are around us. If we are ignorant there is a tendency that we can not do something.
Fear is all about being afraid o someone or something. It can make us forget what is the right thin to do. We can do things that can make us ashamed to ourselves.
We must think many times before deciding to what we should do.
Our actions determine who we are.
From time to time, we are making decisions for our life. We actually derive our actions to these decisions. In every action we so, we should always consider different moral principles. And we should always look into the consequences of every action we do. There are times that after doing actions, we realize that what we did was wrong. With that instance, we try to change ourselves. This will trigger us to change for better. We learn from our mistakes. True enough, experience is the best teacher.
Our professor once told us this “Before doing an action/decision, you should think deeper first before doing it to lessen the risk of having trouble.” I agree with his statement, true enough if we will not plan properly our decisions/actions we might not attain success on that action.So, we should be vigilant enough on what might be the consequences of our actions.
As a citizen of this country, we have rights and responsibilities. So, as part of our responsibility, we should not be ignorant on different social issues/responsibilities concerning us. We all know that there are laws that govern us. Ignorance to these laws is not an excuse for us to be accountable on every action we do. We should be conscious enough on our responsibilities. We are blessed with rights that have corresponding responsibilities.
If someone violated could he used ignorance as an excused? So if it the case I should violate the rules and said I don't know that there is a law like that.
On my personal view being ignorant is not an excuse because usually this word was used by some to scape to the consequences of their actions, they really choose to be ignorant because it is what they want or there is something or someone forcing them.
As I've read the text message I received saying "Life was from B to D, it is from birth to death. So life starts from the day we born to the day we die but what is between B and D is C and it was a choice so our life is a matter of choice". So if you chose to be ignorant just be ready for the consequences.
Issues regarding "will" is a steep battle between emotion and intention. Our emotions sometimes drive us to arrive at a certain action, yet at times, our intentions too manipulate us to exhibit a particular will. Nevertheless, in both situation, we ought to look into our freedom and its associates like rights and responsibilities. Since man innately seek for self-comfort, he recognizes his rights rightaway, that's why he only knows what are his rights. So, he exercise them not bothering to consider his responsibilities, with this, he becomes ignorant. He lacks the ability to recognize the limits on up to where his rights could be accepted and at the climax of this foolishness, we do inflict violence to someone and unconsciously, to ourselves---when it's too late to clean up our own mess.
Knowing our rights doesn't end up on merely exercising them, but it continues as it hitch our obligation to know our limitations and responsibility to own their effects because at the end of the scene, we just can't say "I don't know about it."
Voluntariness is associated to the word voluntarism meaning doing things voluntarily or doing an act without expecting something in return.
When you volunteer your self to do something you have to analyzed first the things that you want to do think first if it is good or bad, if it is moral or immoral.
Everything that we want to do has a corresponding responsibility. Let me site an example, for instance you volunteer yourself to rob a bank for to get a money to save the life of your mother, though you volunteer yourself to do that act and your purpose is good but still you are legally and morally liable.
"We are above the law but we are the follower of the law."
Still why there are people becoming ignorance when we are pertaining to the law? We fret things that are good because we don't want to abide it.Yes,I could say that everything that happens there is a reason behind. There are some instances that we should consider its because of fear, violence and some other habits.
Why there are criminal existing since there is a law that were promulgated once you commit an unusual act there is a possible punishment,why they are not bothering about it? Maybe because there is what we call "reason" that is inevitable for us to blame for it.We are blind for the wrong actions that we had, but what we need to do is to face for the reality and never be afraid because we ourselves makes our own life.
From our discussion, it has been mentioned that there are factors that lessen hte accountability or liability of an act and one of these is ignorance. But how can we explain the quotation " Ignorance excuses no one ", when if we dig deeper this means that no one is above the law?
True enough, we are all governed by law but there are some instances that in commiting an act was lessened the liability.Minority groups for example may not be liable if they violate certain rules line traffic laws because they are not being oriented or aware that there is an existing law like that.But in general, we cant say that we are not aware or we dont have any knowledge of something to be excused and escaped from our mistakes.The bottom line is...
ignorance is not an excuse, beware, be cooperative, be a good citizen, and know the rules because this is our responsibility as a national being .
“Ignorance of the law excuses no one”.
Yes this statement is true but why there are people who are ignorant? Why other people choose to be an ignorant? Sometimes it is good to be an ignorant to the law so that you can escape to the responsibilities and no one can blame you on that. But it is greatly better to have knowledge in the law in order to become a good and moral citizen.
One of the responsibilities of the citizen of a country is to adequate themselves to the different rules and regulations of your country. I f you know all the rules and regulations of your country, you follow it, you don’t violate it, then you are one of the good citizen of your country. And you’re helping in developing of it. And because you have the knowledge no one can cheat you can harm you.
In action wedo, we are liable to whatever will be the result of our act.
When we do things we are responsible for it. We can say that we do a thing that we know the law that governs or bunds our act. ignorance of the law is like ignoring your right to be a member of our society.
We have our freedom to do things which either good or bad. But whataever our actions is still, we are liable to those particular act, And ignorance is is not an excuse to escape the responsibility being committed.
Intentionally or not, you can create your own alibi just to escape the blame of others unless you are sincere and truly no bad intention to do that actions. But there are certain people who lived against the will of God and even violated the laws and policies of the state. These people increase their voluntariness but lessen the accountability depend on the cause of damaged or laws being violated.
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