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    Lesson 4 - The Human Act As Knowingly Done - Ignorance

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    This document discusses the human act as knowingly done. It describes three key principles: [1] Invincible ignorance renders an act involuntary, [2] Vincible ignorance lessens voluntariness and accountability, and [3] Affected ignorance decreases voluntariness but increases accountability. It also explains that reason and impartiality are minimum requirements for morality, as moral judgments must be based on objective reasoning rather than bias.

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    Lesson 4 - The Human Act As Knowingly Done - Ignorance

    Uploaded by

    je
    205 views13 pages
    This document discusses the human act as knowingly done. It describes three key principles: [1] Invincible ignorance renders an act involuntary, [2] Vincible ignorance lessens voluntariness and accountability, and [3] Affected ignorance decreases voluntariness but increases accountability. It also explains that reason and impartiality are minimum requirements for morality, as moral judgments must be based on objective reasoning rather than bias.

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    lesson 4 _ The Human Act as Knowingly Done_ignorance

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    This document discusses the human act as knowingly done. It describes three key principles: [1] Invincible ignorance renders an act involuntary, [2] Vincible ignorance lessens voluntariness and accountability, and [3] Affected ignorance decreases voluntariness but increases accountability. It also explains that reason and impartiality are minimum requirements for morality, as moral judgments must be based on objective reasoning rather than bias.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    205 views13 pages

    Lesson 4 - The Human Act As Knowingly Done - Ignorance

    Uploaded by

    je
    This document discusses the human act as knowingly done. It describes three key principles: [1] Invincible ignorance renders an act involuntary, [2] Vincible ignorance lessens voluntariness and accountability, and [3] Affected ignorance decreases voluntariness but increases accountability. It also explains that reason and impartiality are minimum requirements for morality, as moral judgments must be based on objective reasoning rather than bias.

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    Lesson 4: The Human Act as Knowingly Done

    With the completion of this self-learning


    module, you should be able to:

    1. Describe knowledge as an essential


    attribute of human act.
    2. Cite and explain the principles related
    to ignorance as a modifier of knowledge.
    3. Interpret what it means by saying
    reason and impartiality are the minimum
    requirements of morality.
    Ignorance: Modifier Of Knowledge
    Another essential attribute for human act is
    knowledge. It means that you should be
    sure that you know what you are doing.

    To will something, one has to know


    beforehand. Man cannot choose or act
    unless he know which is a better good.

    When a person chooses to act according to


    what he knows, he acts freely.

    What can make man know what he is doing


    is his reason.
    We are familiar with the saying,

    “Ignorance of the law excuses no one”.

    This implies that one should not act in


    the state of ignorance and the one who
    has done wrong may not claim
    ignorance as a 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; and
    the manager, his business operations.

    In the realm of morals, every one of age


    and reason is expected to know at least
    the general norms of good behavior.
    Ignorance is either:

    1. Vincible or
    2. Invincible.

    Vincible ignorance can easily be removed


    through ordinary diligences 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
    or pedestrian.
    Invincible ignorance is the type which a
    person without being aware of it, or having
    awareness of it, lacks the means to rectify it.

    The ignorance regarding missing persons or


    objects is often invincible. Thus a cook might be
    unaware that the food he is cooking is
    contaminated.
    Under the category of vincible
    ignorance is affected ignorance.

    This is the type which a person keeps


    by positive efforts in order to escape
    responsibility.

    It is affected ignorance when an


    employee refuses to read a memo
    precisely so that he may be exempted
    from its requirements.
    Principle I:

    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.
    Principle II:

    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.

    A waiter who suspects that the food he is serving has


    been laced with poison has the moral obligation to
    ascertain the fact or at least forewarn the guests about
    the suspicion.
    Principle III:

    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 insofar as it
    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.

    Thus a child who refuses to be guided by his parents


    has only himself to blame for his wrongdoing.
    Reason and Impartiality

    Reason plays a vital role in Ethics as moral


    truths are truths of reason.

    A moral judgment is true if it is espoused by a


    better reason than the alternatives.

    If someone tells us that a certain action is


    immoral, we may ask why it is so and if there
    is no reasonable answer, we may discard the
    proposition as absurd.
    Reason and Impartiality

    Impartiality involves the idea that each


    individual’s interests and point of view are
    equally important.

    It is a principle of justice holding that


    decisions ought to be based on objective
    criteria, rather than on the basis of bias,
    prejudice or preferring the benefit to one
    person over another for improper reason.

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