The Objective Norm of Morality LAW The Objective Norm of Morality

Definition Law is an ordinance of reason for the common good, promulgated by those who are in charge of the community. This definition illustrates the following properties of law.

Definition Laws are an ordinance of reason Laws have obligatory force and not merely a recommendation / suggestion Laws are based on the insights of reason; they are supposed to protect objective values and are not something capricious stemming from the arbitrary will of authority. Good and evil have a foundation based on the truth. It is an evil to kill another person, not just because it is prohibited by law but because every man has the right to live. In the final analysis, laws should correspond to God’s will, who is the creator and knower of all that aids our human life. God is not arbitrary, but knows and indicates what is permitted or prohibited, because he knows what aids or harms man. THINGS ARE WRONG NOT BECAUSE THEY ARE FORBIDDEN, BUT THEY ARE FORBIDDEN BECAUSE THEY ARE WRONG.

Definition Laws exist for the common good Laws seek a society for all citizens, so they try to secure those conditions that promote the common good. Laws can only be enacted for the common good and not for the private good of a few citizens. Law is a reasonable requirement of the legitimate authority to protect the dignity of man and the social order.

Definition Laws are passed by those responsible for the care of the community Laws are executed by the one who has the power to do so: that is, by legitimate authority. Only legitimate authority can make and pass laws.

Definition Laws must be officially promulgated. “Promulgation” – the official publication of a law so that it can come to the knowledge of the subjects. Promulgation is necessary in order that a law becomes obligatory.

Contribution of Moral Laws They provide the objective criteria for our own conscience to judge what is morally good or evil. They help our moral development, especially in the formation of our conscience. They offer the needed moral stability in our lives They challenge us to stretch for an ideal beyond our limited experience, and correct our moral misconceptions in the process. CFC 849 By explicitating the moral memory and value-experience of the community, moral norms afford us a broader basis for judging than our own limited moral experience. Things do not become good or evil because we would like them to be, or because society says that something is acceptable or unacceptable. Moral laws help in the formation of conscience by expressing typical patterns of moral behavior and human values. If conscience is sincere, it listens to those teachers who instruct on what is to be done. Laws provide consistency in our lives by acting as a constant and reliable point of reference. Universal negative moral laws indicate the minimum below which moral acts cannot sink. It would be humanly impossible to decide every moral issue “from zero,” i.e., with no precedent or guide. Positive laws stretch us in view of an ideal, or correcting us by illuminating our faults.

Kinds of Law Eternal Law Natural Law Positive Law Divine Positive Law Ecclesiastical Positive Law Civil Positive Law Evangelical or New Law

Eternal Law The plan of divine wisdom as directing all acts and movements. (St. Thomas Aquinas) The universal law whereby God directs and governs the universe and the ways of the human community according to His plan of wisdom and love. Properties of Eternal Law Eternal and unchangeable Absolutely universal Examples: Physical laws such as the laws of cohesion, gravity, inertia, etc.; growth of plants, animals follow the guidance of instinct; earth turns upon its axis. a)  Eternal and unchangeable: existed from all eternity b)  Absolutely universal: rules all things and actions. There is no limit to the breadth of its application to corporeal and spiritual, to rational and irrational creatures.

Natural Law The rational creature’s participation in the eternal law. St. Thomas Aquinas It is the Eternal Law as known to man by his reason. There is a way human life should be lived and this “should-ness” is grasped by reason. Fundamental Expression of Natural Law Do good, avoid evil. It refers to the human participation in God’s Eternal Law. Man knows naturally, by the light of his understanding, that there are some things evil in themselves, and some things which are necessarily good. Natural Law involves a recognition of the objective nature of the moral order, grounded in God’s providence, and which is accessible to human understanding and obedience through the use of reason

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 God’s will. No human authority may give a dispensation from it. Recognizable It is knowable by all persons using their critical reason. a)  Universal: It binds every man at all times and in all places in its essential characteristics common to all. b)  Unchangeable: There is a constant in human nature which remains throughout all historical and cultural change. Yet in the moral sphere, as in every other, men have to learn by trial and error and by patient scientific effort. ·        it is grounded in our very nature as human persons created by God (example are existential ends e.g., self-preservation, self-perfection, procreation and education of children, concern and care for the spiritual and material welfare of one’s fellow-man; social fellowship for the promotion of the common good; union with God through worship of him). c)   Obligatory and Indispensable: It imposes upon men the moral obligation to follow it as a necessary condition to attain the last end or happiness. It also means that no dispensation from natural moral law is possible, at least not from the side of human authority. Since human nature and the ultimate end, from which natural law derives, are not created and set up by man but by a power superior to him, natural law likewise exists independent of man’s assent. Natural law is identical with God’s will. Evidently man has no authority over a law of this status. d)  Recognizable: It cannot fail to be known and it cannot be forgotten by man; it is impressed in his reason. Thus it is knowable by all persons using their critical reason, independent of their religion.

Positive Law Laws created by human beings which can enjoin specific obligations upon individuals. Divine Positive Law Laws legislated by God and found in the Bible Ecclesiastical Positive Law Laws emanating from the legislative power of the Church. They are principally found in the Code of Canon Law Civil Positive Law Laws legislated by a legitimate government.

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. a)  Enforceable: Without the coercive power of the law, the law-abiding subjects would be placed at a serious disadvantage, exposed to exploitation by those who are lawless, and ultimately impelled to abandon the law themselves. This must result in the collapse of the legal order. b)  Concerned with external conduct only: Human authorities are not able to judge internal dispositions c)   Limited to particular groups of people, in contradistinction to natural law, which is universal. d)  Historically conditioned: e)  Has presumptive obligatory force: Presumption favors the duty to obey the law. On the other hand, if a law is recognized as certainly unjust or detrimental, it does not oblige, at least as a rule.

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

References Bretzke, James T. A Morally Complex World. Jesuit Communications Foundation, Philippines. 2004. Fernandez, Aurelio and James Socias. Our Moral Life in Christ. Princeton, New Jersey: Scepter Publishers, Inc., 1997. Panizo, Alfredo. Moral Philosophy. Manila: UST Publishing, 1964. Peschke, Karl. Christian Ethics. Manila: Logos Publication, 1996.