eee 4 Moral Accountability Human acts, because they are voluntary, are accountable acts. Actions are imputed on the doer as its principal cause and, therefore, deserving of either reward or punishment. The Subject of Human Acts The subject of a human act is any person who is capable of acting intelligently and freely. Like the ship captain who assumes full re- sponsibility for the ship and its cargo, a person is accountable for his decisions and actuations. A person is either guilty or innocent, de- serving or undeserving of punishment. Business organizations, institutions, associations, or unions which are constituted by law as juridical person are also subject of human acts. Like the individual person, these organizations can sue and be sued for their actions. Sanctions and Penalties The penal laws of the country provide for a system of punishment for wrongdoings, ranging from fines to imprisonment. The capital punishment or death penalty is reserved for “heinous crimes”. Unless also prohibited by the laws of the land, no punishments are imposed on immoral acts. However, immoral acts carry with them the burden of guilt, remorse and shame. The Scriptures speaks of death as the punishment for sins. It means both physical and spiritual death. The medical science traces many illnesses to immoralities and spiri- tual disorientation. Evil acts and habits cause suffering and unhappi- Ress, not only to the victims, but to the perpetrator and his relatives. The shamefulness of such actions is shared by all the members of theEthics Second Edition Chapter 4 4 family of the guilty. And there is the risk of being ostracized, losing a job, or being abandoned by loved ones. ‘The Modifiers of Human Act A voluntary act is under the control of the intellect and will of / person. There are, however, factors that may influence the intellect and will so that actions are not perfectly voluntary. These factors are called modifiers of human. Because they interfere with the applica. tion of the intellect and will, they either reduce or increase account: ability. The moral axiom is: The greater the knowledge and the freedom, the greater the voluntariness and, therefore, the accountability (Panizo: 38) The following are the modifiers of the human act: (1) Ignorance, (2) Passions, (3) Fear, (4) Violence, and (5) Habit. 1, Ignorance Ignorance is the absence of knowledge which a Person ought to possess. A lawyer is expected to know th e law; the doctor, the cure of illnesses; and the manager, his business Operations. In the realm of morals, everyone normal person who has attaine: » d the age of reason, approximately seven (7) years old, is expected to know the general norms of proper conduct and behavior, Ignorance is either vincible or invi one which can easily be corrected thi knowing the time or the incible. Vincible ignorance is rough ordinary diligence, Not name of a seatmate is vincible ignorance. Invincible ignorance is one which is not easily remedied, because the person is either not aware of his state of ignorance, or, being aware ofFthics Second Edition Chapter 4 i oe it, does not have the means to rectify such ignorance. The waiter who minated food without being aware of the fact has invin- serves conta! about the cible ignorance. The police may have invincible ignorance perpetrator of a crime. ‘A vincible ignorance which is intentionally kept in an effort to escape responsibility is called affected ignorance. An employee acts with affected ignorance when he refuses to heed the instruction of his supervisor. A moral axiom that states “/gnorance of the law excuses no one” means one should not act in the state of ignorance and one who has done wrong may not claim ignorance as a defense. A driver who does not know the traffic rules deserves a heavy penalty. Principles: 1) Invincible ignorance renders an act involuntary. A per- son is not morally liable if he not aware of his state of ignorance. Persons in this situation are said to be “acting in good faith”, and their wrongdoings are regarded as “hon- est mistakes”. Such is the case of a hunter who acciden- tally shot a farmer whom he mistook for a boar. Vincible ignorance does not destroy, but lessens the voluntariness and the corresponding accountability over an act. Oncea person becomes aware of his state of igno- rance, he should make an effort to remedy it. To act with- out being sure of relevant facts is to act imprudently. A doctor may be guilty of gross negligence when he pre- scribes the wrong medicine to a patient. 3) Affected ignorance, though it decreases voluntariness, increases the accountability of an act. Because affected ignorance interferes with the intellect, it decreases voluntariness. But because it is maliciously kept, it in- creases accountability. A person who prefers to remain ignorant in order to escape responsibility does not deserve kindness. 4)Ethics Second Edition Chapter 4 36 2, Passions Passions, or concupiscence, are psychic responses. They are ei- ther tendencies towards desirable objects, or tendencies away from sitive emotions, such undesirable objects. The former are considered po: u as love, desire, delight, hope and bravery. The latter are negative emotions, such as hatred, horror, sadness, despair, fear and anger. her antecedent or conse- ural reaction to an object It precedes any act, ssion when we feel In relation to actions, passions are eitl quent. Antecedent passion comes as a nati or stimulus without being aroused intentionally. thus it is called “antecedent”. It is antecedent pa happy in the company ofa friend. Consequent passion, on the other hand, is the result of an act which causes it to be aroused. Reading pornography, for instance, arouses sexual desires. In themselves, passions are not evil. However, because they pre- dispose a person to act, they need to be subjected to the control of reason. Principles: 1) Antecedent passions do not always destroy voluntariness, but they diminish accountability over an act. Antecedent passion weakens will power without completely blocking it. Thus, the so called “crimes of passion” are voluntary. 2) Consequent passions do not lessen voluntariness, and may even increase accountability. This is because consequet | passions are the direct result of the will consenting to them, instead of subordinating them to the control of reason. 3. Fear Fear is the disturbance of the mind of a person who is confrontEthics Second Edition Chapter 4 eh by a danger to himself or loved ones. There is a difference between acting with fear and acting out of ' fear. Some actions which are difficult or dangerous are done with ‘fear. New experiences such as embarking on a long trip, being left alone in the dark, or speaking in front of a crowd, make some people nervous and fearful. These actions are done with fear. It is acting out of fear, when fear causes a person to act, like to jump from the top floor of a burning building. Principles: 1) Acts done with fear are voluntary and are accountable. 2) 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 fac- ulties. It is, however, conditionally voluntary, because if it were not for the presence of a danger, the person would not have acted. Intimidating or threathening a person with harm is an unjust act. Legally and morally speaking, actions done out of fear because an unjust situation are invalid acts. Thus, contracts entered into by a party because of fear is null and void (Paul Glenn: 41-42). 4. Violence Violence is afiy physical force exerted on a person by a free agent for the purpose of compelling said person to act against his will. In- sults, torture, isolation, starvation, and mutilation are examples of violence.Ethics Second Edition Chapter 4 38 Principles: d acts, performed by a person 1) External, or commande: y asonable resistance has subjected to violence, to which re been offered, are involuntary and not accountable. 2) Elicited acts, or those done by the will alone, are not sub- ject to violence and are therefore voluntary. Active resistance should always be exerted to ward off any unjust aggressor. However, if resistance is impossible, or if there is a serious threat to one’s life, a person confronted by violence can always offer internal resistance by withholding consent. This is cnough to save one’s moral integrity (Panizo:37). The Will is a spiritual faculty is not within the reach of violence. There are thousand martyrs who had suffered death instead of sur- rendering their will to their tormentors. We may not be too harsh on those whom we consider villains or weaklings, those who succumbed to the vile wishes of their oppressors. “Violence of force”, says Ber- nard Haring, “in any instance, if bound up with the refined cruelty of present-day methods of psychological torture, can constitute a seri- ous temptation and often also contribute towards a notable diminu- tion of inner freedom”( Haring: 108). 5. Habits Habit is the readiness, born of frequently repeated acts, for acting in a certain manner. Habits are acquired through the repetition of 4 act over a period of time. They are either good or bad. Habits become like second nature, moving one to do something with relative ease without much reflection. They are difficult to overcome. 4 Principle: Actions done by force of habit are voluntary in causé,Ethics Second Edition Chapter 4 9 unless a reasonable effort is made to counteract the inclination. Habits are voluntary in cause, because they are the result of previ- ously willed acts done repeatedly over a period of time. Thus, every action resulting from habit partakes of the voluntariness of those pre- vious repeated acts. However, when a person exerts consistent ef- forts to counteract the habit, the actions resulting from such habit are regarded as acts of man and, therefore, not accountable. Poverty Poverty is never an excuse for committing a crime just as wealth does not justify abuses. But there is a correlation between poverty and crimes. People who are dirt poor and starving are unlikely to think about their morals Nobody deserves to be poor. Poverty is a social evil which must be corrected by the State. It becomes an act of injustice by the State that fails to look after the welfare of the people, neglecting their eco- nomic needs. Action and Emotion Manis nota robot devoid of feelings. Every human act involves a person emotionally. Thus, we pray fervently, we work earnestly, we play eagerly, we eat heartily, or we live happily. The Decalogue en- joins us to love God “with all our heart and with all our soul”. Emotions are natural and beneficial. The positive tendencies of love, kindness, humility, reverence, and justice express approval of what is good and worthy in an object. The negative tendencies of ers and hatred express disapproval and repudiation of evil as such.Ethics Second Edition Chapter 4 4 Refinement of Emotions Emotions, however, need to be subjugated to reason because un. bridled passions could lead a person to his perdition. One must leam to rein his emotions and work them to his advantage. ; “It is evident”, says Bernard Haring, “that education, through proper discipline and cultivation of emotional life (in which we in. clude the cultivation of the values of character and disposition), is in many ways more significant than the tense straining of will power” (The Law of Christ, I-199). Moral perfection comes from within. Filipinos speak of a good person as possessing “mabuting kalooban”. He is one who is mapagmahal, matulungin sa kapwa, at may-takot sa Diyos. Reading: The Virtue of Temperance Pope John Paul II Virtue is not something abstract, detached from life, but, on the contrary, it has deep “roots” in life itself, it springs from the latter and forms it. Virtue has an impact on man’s life, on his actions and behav- ior. It follows that, inall these reflections of. Ours, we are speaking not so much of the virtue of man as a living and acting “virtuous: m: we are speaking of the prudent, just and Courageous man, and fi all precisely today, we are speaking of the “temperate” (or sober") man | The term “temperance” itself i i | what is “outside man”, We say, infact thats ene ‘9 ee j who does not abuse food, drinks, Pleasures, who doe: ot drink aloo | hol to excess, who does not deprive snot drink aloo” himself of conscii . ° f use of drugs, etc. This reference to elements external to mans bestEthics Second Edition Chapter 4 ee basis, however, within man, It is as if there existed in each of usa “higher self” and a “lower self”. In our “lower self”, our “body” and everything that belongs to it is expressed: its needs, its desires, its passions of a sensual nature particularly. The virtue of temperance guarantees every man mastery of the “lower self” by the “higher self”. Is this humiliation of our body? Ora disability? On the contrary, this mastery gives higher value to the body. As a result of the virtue of temperance, the body and our senses find the right place which per- tains to them in our human condition. : of himself. One in whom the “heart”. A man sily realize what a A temperate man is one who is master revail over reason, will, and even himself. If this is so, We can ea: | value the virtue of temperance has. Itiseven hat man may be fully man. It is enough to look at someone who, carried away by his passions, becomes a “vic- tim” of them — renouncing of his own accord the use of reason (such as, for example, an alcoholic, a drug addict) — to see, clearly that: to be a man” means respecting one’s own dignity, and therefore, among others things, letting oneself be guided by the virtue of temperance. passions do not p' who can control fundamental and radical indispensable, in order t