The Objective

Norm of Morality:

LAW

St. Thomas Aquinas:

LAW is

A decree or ordinance
of reason
Directed towards the
common good
Promulgated by
competent authority,
i.e. one who has the
care of the community.

LAW

AN ORDINANCE OF REASON
PROMULGATED
FOR THE COMMON GOOD
BY ONE WHO HAS CHARGE OF THE SOCIETY

ORDINANCE or Decree
Obligatory force & not merely as
recommendation or suggestion.
It is a decisive command to be
performed or to avoid the
performance of something.

ORDINANCE of REASON
It must be based on the insights of
reason into what is truly good.
It is the basis of any law. Any law
not dictated by reason cannot be a
true law.

Six qualities of a reasonable law.

Just
Honest
Useful
Possible of
fulfilment
Relatively
permanent
Promulgated.

ORDINANCE OF REASON

W ORDERS AND DIRECTS HUMAN ACTS TOWARDS THEIR EN

LAW FLOWS FROM REASONABLE WILL:

OM THE ILLUMINED UNDERSTANDING OF THE WILL OF AN EN

REASON RECOGNIZES WHAT IS

GOOD
GOOD IS WHAT WE OUGHT TO
FOLLOW

COMMON GOOD

Laws can only be

enacted for the
common good & not
for the private good of
a few citizens.
The aim for the
development of all
and not for a chosen
few. It should need to
be concerned for the
attainment of
universal happiness.

PROMULGATED FOR THE COMMON GOOD

W IS MADE KNOWN TO THOSE WHO ARE BOUND BY

LAW IS NOT MEANT TO IMPOSE HARDSHIPS

OR NEEDLESS RESTRICTIONS
TRUE LAW TENDS TO MAKE MEN GOOD,
LIBERATES MEN FROM PERVERSE AND MISTAKEN
JUDGEMENTS
LEADS THEM TO THEIR ULTIMATE END

PROMULGATed:
The official publication of a LAW so
that it can come to the knowledge
of the subjects.
Necessary in order that a law
becomes obligatory.
A law must be made known to
whom it binds. It must be published
in such a manner that it can be
known readily, though each subject
need not be given personal notice.
Knowable in manifestation.

ENACTED BY A COMPETENT
AUTHORITY
Laws can only be enacted by those
in charge of the community as a
legitimate authority.
Laws are enacted by a competent
authority of legislative body and
finally approved by anyone who has
the care of the community (such as
the president; prime minister)
Authority may be single individual or
a body passing laws by joint action.
Authoritative in source.

Relevance or Importance of
Moral Norms / LAWS: (CFC 849)
1. Provide the objective criteria for our
own conscience to judge what is
morally good or evil.
2. Help our moral development, especially
in the formation of our conscience.
3. Offer the needed moral stability in our
lives.
4. Challenge us to stretch for an ideal
beyond our limited experience, &
correct our moral misconceptions in the
process.

CLASSIFICATION OF LAWS:
A. ACCORDING TO IMMEDIATE AUTHOR
DIVINE LAWS
HUMAN LAWS
B. ACCORDING TO DURATION
TEMPORAL LAWS
ETERNAL LAWS
C. ACCORDING TO MANNER OF PROMULGATION
NATURAL LAW
POSITIVE LAW
D. ACCORDING AS THEY PRESCRIBE OR FORBID AN ACT
AFFIRMATIVE LAWS
NEGATIVE LAWS
E. ACCORDING TO EFFECT OF VIOLATION
MORAL
PENAL
MIXED

KINDS or Classes of LAW:

ETERNAL LAW
NATURAL LAW
HUMAN LAW
DIVINE LAW

CLASSES OF LAW

ETERNAL LAW
GODS ETERNAL PLAN AND PROVIDENCE FOR
CREATION
ETERNAL LAW APPLIES TO ALL CREATURES
AND DIRECTS THEM IN HARMONY WITH THEIR
NATURE

ETERNAL LAW
It is the plan of God in creating
the universe & in assigning to
each creature their specific
nature.
The universal law whereby God
directs & governs the universe &
the ways of human community
according to his plan of wisdom
& love.

Eternal Law.
A type of DIVINE WISDOM
The Creator, therefore, has in Himself
the type of what creatures are to
do to attain their END & PURPOSE.
St. Augustine describes it as Gods
divine reason and will commanding
that the natural order of things be
preserved and prohibiting that the
natural order of things be disturbed.

Eternal Law.
Examples: Physical laws such as the the
laws of cohesion, gravity, inertia, etc.
Growth of plants
Animals follow the guidance of instinct
Earth turns upon its axis.
Properties of Eternal Law
Eternal and unchangeable
Absolutely universal

MAN ALONE MAY REFUSE THE DIRECTION OF ETERNAL LA

AS A BODILY BEING
MAN ACTS IN ACCORDANCE WITH PHYSICAL
LAWS
IN MATTERS THAT LIE UNDER MANS FREE
CONTROL

NATURAL LAW

THAT MORAL ORDER

DIRECTIVE, ORDERING MAN TOWARDS ULTIMATE EN
ICH ARISES FROM THE NATURE OF MAN AND CREATI
AND WHICH CAN BE RECOGNIZED BY MANS REASON

IT IS ALSO DIVINE NATURAL LAW

CAUSE ITS ORIGIN IS ULTIMATELY TRACED BACK TO THE WILL OF G

NATURAL LAW
I. PHYSICAL LAWS & their properties The
nature of all created things which is the
principle of their movements & actions.
II. MORAL ORDER the universal natural
moral laws built into human beings by
God when creating them & are made
accessible to the light of reason
(discern what is good & what is evil).
- It binds man to seek the good fitting
his rational nature.

NATURAL Moral LAW:

It is the eternal law as knowable by
sound human reason without the aid
of supernatural revelation.
The basic precept:
DO GOOD, AVOID EVIL.

Natural Moral Law is

recognized by all men
regardless of creed, race,
culture, or historical
circumstances.
Morality written in mans heart.
Law of reason
Compelling the individual to be
true to his nature as rational
human being.
Pagpapakatao

Natural Moral Law is

the human participation in
Gods wisdom.
Man knows naturally, by the
light of his understanding,
that there are some things
evil in themselves, & some
things which are necessarily
good.

The inclinations of human

nature & the Natural Law:
1. The inclination to the good.
2. The inclination to selfpreservation.
3. The inclination to sexual
union & rearing of
offspring.
4. The inclination to
knowledge of the Truth.
5. The inclination to live in
society.

Properties of Natural
Law

Universal
It binds every man at all times and
in all places
Unchangeable
There is a constant in human nature
which remains throughout all
historical and cultural change.
Obligatory and Indispensable
Natural law is identical to Gods
will. No human authority may give
a dispensation from it.
Recognizable
It is knowable by all persons using
their
critical reason.

HUMAN positive LAW

Contains regulations promulgated by
legitimate human authority.
STATE (civil laws) - Constitution
& CHURCH (ecclesiastical laws)
Canon Law
Intended to preserve peace &
harmony
Directing each members of the society
to work towards the common good.

HUMAN LAW
LAWS ENACTED BY CHURCH OR STATE
ECCLESIASTICAL LAW
CIVIL LAW

A HUMAN LAW DERIVES ITS BINDING FORCE

FROM NATURAL LAW AND ULTIMATELY FROM ETERNAL
LAW
A CONCRETE AND DETERMINATE APPLICATION OF
NATURAL LAW.

PROPERTIES OF HUMAN LAW

Enforceable
Has the coercive power of the law

Concerned with external conduct only

External compliance with the law suffices to
secure the social order and the common good.

Limited to particular groups

Human laws oblige only those who are members
of the community for which the laws are
enacted.

Historically conditioned
Human laws change as societies and
civilizations change

Has presumptive obligatory force

Presumption favors the duty to obey the law.

Fallible

Human Laws must:

Conform with Divine
Laws
Promote the common
good
Just & not
discriminatory
Dynamic
Practicable

Just Law
Generally, an unjust law does
not oblige.
Conditions of a Just Law
1.
2.

3.

It must promote the common

good
The burdens which the law
imposes on society must
reflect an equality of
proportion.
It must not exceed the power
of its human authors.

DIVINE positive LAW

The norms contained in the
word of the Holy Scripture
(Bible) as revealed divine law.
They may spell out
obligations of natural law in
order to clarify them, e.g. the
10 Commandments.
Direct us towards our proper
end.

DIVINE positive LAW

Evangelical or new law: The
law of the Spirit.
It is called the law of love
because it makes us act out of
love infused by the holy
spirit, rather than from fear; a
law of grace because it
confers the strength of grace
to act by means of faith and
sacraments;

DIVINE positive LAW

Evangelical or new law: The law of
the Spirit.
A law of freedom, because it sets us
free from the ritual and juridical
observances of the old law, inclines
us to act spontaneously by
prompting of charity, and finally, lets
us pass from the condition of a
servant to that of a friend of Christor even to the status of son and
heir(ccc1972)