Doctrine of vincible ignorance
It is culpable to remain willfully ignorant of matters that one is obligated to know.George Hayward Joyce, “INVINCIBLE IGNORANCE,” ed. James Hastings, John A. Selbie, and Louis H. Gray, Encyclopædia of Religion and Ethics (Edinburgh; New York: T. & T. Clark; Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1908–1926), 403. While invincible ignorance eliminates culpability, vincible ignorance at most mitigates it, and may even aggravate guilt. The guilt of an action performed in vincible ignorance ought to be measured by the degree of diligence or negligence shown in performing the act. An individual is morally responsible for their ignorance and for the acts resulting from it. If some insufficient diligence was shown in dispelling ignorance, it is termed ''merely'' vincible; it may diminish culpability to the point of rendering a sin venial. When little or no effort is made to remove ignorance, the ignorance is termed ''crass'' or ''supine''; it removes little or no guilt. Deliberately fostered ignorance is ''affected'' or ''studied''; it can increase guilt. Ignorance may be: * Of law, when one is unaware of the existence of the law itself, or at least that a particular case is comprised under its provisions. * Of fact, when not the relation of something to the law but the thing itself or some circumstance is unknown. * Of penalty, when a person is not cognizant that a sanction has been attached to a particular crime. This is especially to be considered when there is question of more serious punishment.References
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