Today’s Lesson #11 shows how the modifiers of human acts affect the morality of our actions.

We shall have an inventory activity to know how far you have gone with regard to this topic. (See activity 1)

Activity 1: What I Know Chart, part 1 (3 mins)

*The third column is left blank at this time.

What I Know Questions: What I Learned (Activity 4)

What are the modifiers of human act?

Does ignorance diminish the culpability

of an act? Justify.

How does an act become a habit?

A. MAIN LESSON
Activity 2: Content Notes (13 mins)

Modifiers of Human acts are the factors that affect the essential elements of human acts, in a sense that if the
agent has greater knowledge, freedom and voluntariness, the agent has a greater responsibility for the
consequences of an act. In contrast, if the agent has lesser knowledge, freedom and voluntariness, the agent has
lesser responsibility for the act.

Modifiers of Human acts:

1. Ignorance – is the absence of knowledge that a person ought to possess.
a. Vincible ignorance – it is the lack of knowledge that a rational person is capable of acquiring by making
an effort.
b. Invincible ignorance – it is the lack of knowledge that a person has no way to obtain.

2. Passion or concupiscence – is either tendencies towards desirable things, or tendencies away from undesirable
things.
a. Antecedent passion – is/ are those that precede an act. ( 1. For example. The
antecedent passion for music adds to the natural inclination of a person for
music, thereby lessening the voluntariness and making it easier for her to learn
music or a musical instrument. The natural inclination and the passion for music
see to it. Similarly, a husband who loves his wife passionately has no problem
deciding to love her. There is certainly no culpability here but the merit is less.) or
(Ex 2.when a delicious food is served at the table, it spontaneously causes
appetite and the desire to eat.
b. Consequent passion – is/ are those that are intentionally aroused and kept. (Ex.
when a person deliberately provoking hatred in his heart in order to carry out his
intention to kill another person.)

3. Fear – is the disturbance of the mind confronted by an imminent danger or harm to himself or to his loved ones.
a. Acts done with fear- (eg. Even if Felix is afraid to use a gun and it was his first time to shoot a person, he shot
the intruder of their house and foiled the robbery attempt.)
b. Acts done out of fear – (eg. With the robber poking a gun on him, Felix was forced to give all the cash
collections in exchange for the life of his wife and child)
o Principles governing fear:
- Acts done with fear are voluntary; the person acts in spite of fear and is thus in control of his/her
behavior; the person is morally responsible.
- Acts done because of fear are involuntary. The person is not morally accountable for his/her
action. https://www.bartleby.com/essay/The-Morality-of-Human-Act-PKY7S2L3RYYS

4. Violence – refers to any physical force exerted on a person by another free agent for the purpose of compelling
the person to act against his will.
 5. Habit – is a lasting readiness and facility, born of frequently repeated acts, for acting in a certain manner, a
repetition of the same act.
a. Vice – it is a repetition of the same act (habit) that is evil.
b. Virtue – it is a repetition of the same act (habit) that is good.

Activity 3: Skill-building Activities (18 mins + 2 mins checking)

A. Developmental Activity ( 8 mins.)

Instructions: Give one example or situation to the following modifiers of human acts inside boxes # 2 & 3.
(See examples in box # 1)

Modifiers of human acts Situation or Example

Box # 1

Ignorance Answer: A lumad or Indigenous person violated traffic rules in the city.

Box # 2 Answer:

Fear

Box # 3 Answer:

Habit

Score:____________
B. Formative Assessment (10 mins.)

Direction: Read the following statements, then write whether you agree or disagree, and state your reasons in
doing so.

Statements Agree/Disagree Reason/s

The agent is not responsible when

the action is done out of fear.

The agent is fully responsible when

it is done from vice.

The agent will be fully responsible

when he is under physical violence.

Score: ______________

Note: Check your answers against the Key to Corrections found at the end of this SAS. Write your score on your
paper. (You can also check or consider your answers as long as your ideas are closely related to the given)

2. Activity 4: What I Know Chart, part 2 (2 mins)

3.
Note: This serves as your review and summary of what was learned from the session. You have to monitor how
your knowledge has changed by reviewing the questions in the What I Know Chart from Activity 1.

Instructions: Write your answers to the questions based on what You now know in the third column of the
chart below.

What I Know Questions: What I Learned

(Activity 4)

What are the modifiers of human

act?

Does ignorance diminish the

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 culpability of an act? Justify.

How does an act become a

habit?

Activity 5: Check for Understanding (5 mins)

Given Principle: “The greater the knowledge and freedom, the greater the voluntariness; and the greater
the voluntariness, the greater the moral responsibility” (Alfredo Panizo)

Question: What is the connotation of the above principle? Answer this in relation to human act or its modifiers.

Answer:__________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Note: (Key to Correction for this test should only be in the Teachers’ Guide and not in the SAS)

C. LESSON WRAP-UP

1) Activity 6: Thinking about Learning (5 mins)

Directions: Read the short and tragic story below that happened during the Covid-19 outbreak, then answer
the questions that follow.

Story: My name is Adrian Franco and I am an OFW here in Thailand. I am writing this post for my sister who is
currently a frontliner working as a nurse at East Ave Medical Center in Quezon City. Our family is in Bataan and my
sister rents a small apartment by herself in Muñoz Qc to support her child who stays with our parents in the province.
Yesterday, she was told that a neighbor is clamoring that she be expelled from the apartment for fear of contaminating
the community with her line of work. My sister has not gone home to her child and our family since the lockdown was
imposed and instead chose to adhere to the call of duty - caring for the sick even if it means putting her life on the
frontlines of Covid-19. It is disheartening to know that the very people you swore to serve and protect are the same
ones who will discriminate and would wish to render you homeless in the middle of this global battle. My sister is not
asking for anything more than a small house she can call home after a full day's work where she can rest for a few hours
before she heads back to serving again with a strong heart and mind despite all the uncertainty every single human being
in the world is facing today.

(By Catalina Ricci S. Madarang, March 27, 2020 - 4:07 PM. Displaced by COVID-19 pandemic:
Tragic tales of discrimination against health workers and frontliners.
https://www.interaksyon.com/trends-spotlights/2020/03/27/165228/displaced-by-covid-19-pandemic-tragic-tales-of-
discrimination-against-health-workers-and-frontliners/

Questions:

1. Was there a justification of action done by a neighbor of Adrian Franco’s sister? Why?

2. Did he/she (neighbor) act with fear or out of fear? Whether or not he/she is morally responsible explain your
answer using the modifier of human act.

Answers:
1._________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________

2._________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________

NOTE: Mark your place in the work tracker below which is simply a visual to help you track how much work you
have accomplished and how much work there is left to do. This tracker will be part of your activity sheet.

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 FAQs:

How do you stop or control violent behaviour?

- Answer: Be supportive and respectful to others or those who have this kind of behaviour.
If a person is acting aggressively, reinforce alternative good behaviours that you should praise

immediately.

How can I control my anger?

Answer.
- You must seek positive ways to resolve problems. Arguing is healthy as long as it does not turn
violent. It increases your ability to reason out. Just control your feeling since anger cannot solve the
problem. It will only disturb your life.

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KEY TO CORRECTIONS
Activity 3.
Part 1.
Answers(You may have related examples/situation)

Modifiers of human acts Situation or Example

Box # 1 Ignorance Answer: A lumad or Indigenous person violated traffic rules in the city.
Box # 2 Fear Answer:. A waiter in the restaurant did not issue a receipt to a customer because he was
not told to do it, and he feared of losing his job.
Box # 3 Habit Answer: . Any habit like lying, cheating, stealing, keeping things to yourself, and the like will
only threaten your pursuit of genuine happiness.

Part 2.
Answers:

Statements Agree/Disagree Reason/s

The agent is not responsible when the

agree The action is involuntary
action is done out of fear.

The agent is fully responsible when it

agree The action is done voluntarily
is done from vice.

The agent will be fully responsible

disagree Because he was doing against his will
when he is under physical violence.

Activity 5.
Given Principle: “The greater the knowledge and freedom, the greater the voluntariness; and the greater
the voluntariness, the greater the moral responsibility” (Alfredo Panizo)

Question: What is the connotation of the above principle? Answer this in relation to human act or its modifiers.

Answer: Yes, because the more you know and understand with greater freedom, the more you
can act voluntarily. And if you have greater voluntariness, the more you are responsible to your action.
This is human act where you do something with knowledge, freedom and consent. Hence, responsibility
is very much demanded.

Note: (Key to Correction for this test should only be in the Teachers’ Guide and not in the SAS.
Besides, the teachers may have other possible answers which are directly related to the given. In short, no fix answer. )

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