NORMS OF

MORALITY

A. NORMS OF HUMAN ACTS

Norms are standard of
measurement to which a
human act must confirm to be
morally good.

FIVE CRITERIA OF
NORMS
1. It must
not subject
to change.

2. It must
accessible
all.

4. It must
apply to all
conditions of
life.

be
to

3. It must be
universal.

5. It must be
a single
standard.

LAW: The Objective Norm

of
Morality
St. Thomas Aquinas
St. Thomas Aquinass
Definition of Law:
Law is nothing other
than a certain dictate of
reason (rationis ordinatio)
for the common good,
made by him who has the
care of the community
and promulgated.

A Summa of the Summa

by: St. Thomas Aquinas
LAW
Is an ordinance of reason
It must always be directed for the common
good.
It must be made by competent authority.
It must be properly promulgated.

KINDS OF LAWS

1. Natural
Law

2. Divine Law
or Eternal
Law

3. Moral Law as
Revealed Law

4. Human Law

(comprising the Old Law

and the New Law, or the
Law of Gospel)

(under which civil law

and church is
ecclesiastical law fall)

NATURAL LAW
The term natural law
refers to moral
insights people are
capable of
knowing by means
of their reason,
and independently of
the verbal revelation
of God.

Natural here means:

1. Not supernatural
2. Not positive
3. Found and derived
from the nature of a
person

Natural Law:
Synonymous to moral law of
nature, natural moral law,
natural ethics, and natural
morality.
Is the law of human conduct
which arises from the full
reality of human nature as
ordered to its ultimate end,
and which is recognized by
means of reason
independent of positive
Christian revelation.

Its Three Essential

Characteristics
1. Natural Law is universal
(Universality).
Its primary principles are selfevident such that it is for all
individuals with fully developed
reason to have an invincible
ignorance of them.
2. Natural Law is one and the
same for all (Unity and
Invariability)
All classes of people possess equal
moral dignity as persons, hence,
they possess equal basic rights.
3. Natural Law is Immutable
(Immutability)
This means that there cannot be
any change in whatever is
fundamentally good or evil.

DIVINE or ETERNAL LAW

St. Thomas Aquinas

According to him, eternal law is
the plan of flowing from
Gods wisdom which directs all
actions and movements.

St. Augustine
According to him, eternal law is the
divine reason and/or the will of God
commanding the preservation of the
natural law and forbidding its
disturbance.

DIVINE or Eternal Law

The divine law which is eternal is deduced from the fact that
the world is ruled by divine Providence.
God is the author of the laws governing the universe. He
designed all the laws of the universe in His own infinite mind.
All laws that govern the universe are independent of
humanity. They are unaffected by human thought for they
are true, even if people do not study them, or agree with
them. They are not debatable issues. They are laws based on
or learned from the state of things in nature s well as in
human nature.
People discover the divine law in:
Physical Laws

Biological laws
Mathematical Laws
Natural Law

MORAL LAW as REVEALEDLAW

Old Law

New Law or Law of

the Gospel

It is the first stage of the

revealed law. Its moral
prescriptions are summed up
in the Ten Commandments.

It is the perfection here on

earth of the divine law
natural and revealed.

1. The Ten
Commandments
2. The Torah

1. The Teachings of
Christ
2. The Beatitudes

HUMAN LAW
Characteristics or
Features:
Human Law is directive
of obligatory, general,
and stable character for
the common good
promulgated by one who
is in the charge of a
sovereign society.

Human law is enforceable.

Human law is concerned
with external conduct only.
Human law is limited to
particular groups of people.
Human law is historically
conditioned.
Human law has
presumptive obligatory
force.

CIVIL LAW
It is the particular application of divine
law to Christian community.

CHURCH LAW
Necessity of Human Law
Church Law is the
particular application of
divine law to the
Christian community.

(According to Church)
1. Revealed Law does not provide
exact rules for every moral problem.
2. Frequently, Natural Law is not so
evident in its particular requirements.
3. Often, there are several possible
ways to comply with an obligation,
but for the sake public order, one
must in pose as binding for all, for
example, traffic rules and rules on
public worship
4. Human Law with its penal
regulation is indispensable means of
education for people.

C0NSCIENCE: The Subjective

Norm of Morality
Conscience is sometimes called
the subjective norm of
morality.
This means that conscience has
the final say in making moral
decisions.
A persons conscience consider all
available data when confronted
with a decision.
It helps a person make the final
judgement on how to act in a
given situation.
Along with law, which is the
objective norm of morality,
conscience helps a person
determine whether one is doing
the right thing or the wrong thing.

Categories of Conscience
1. True Conscience when it deduces correctly
from the principle that the lawful, or it conforms
to what is objectively right.
2. False or Erroneous Conscience when it
decides from false principles considered as true
that something is unlawful. The conscience errs
because of false principles or incorrect reasoning.
3. Scrupulous Conscience one that for little
or no reason judges an act to be morally evil
when it is not.
4. Perplexed Conscience judges wrongly that
sin is committed both in the performance or
omission of an act. One fears that sin is
committed whether it was actually done or not.

5. Lax Conscience judges on insufficient ground that

there is no sin in the fact, or that the sin is not as grave
as it is in fact, or it is insensitive to a moral obligation in a
particular area.
6. Pharisaical Conscience minimizes grave sins but
maximizes small ones.
7. Certain Conscience When without any prudent fear
or error, it decides that the act is either lawful or unlawful;
or if it the person has no doubt about the correctness of
his/her judgement. A certain can be certain but at the
same time erroneous. A certain conscience is not
necessarily right; it excludes all fears of error about acting
rightly.
8. Doubtful Conscience when it fails to pass a moral
judgement in the character of the act due to fear or error,
or if the person is unsure about the correctness of his/her
judgement.

Formation of Conscience
1. Experience is the best teacher. We can always
reflect on our everyday experiences by slotting a short
period of introspection.
2. The Bible is the best source of our faith, we can
always get wisdom from the experiences of the people
of God.
3. Rich heritage of stories, images, language,
devotional practices, and spiritual disciplines
which nurture ones moral vision and practice.

VALUES / VIRTUES
A virtue is a character trait or quality valued as being
good. It is acquired by doing habitual good acts. The
opposite of virtue is vice.
Theological Values
1. Faith is the steadfastness
in belief

2. Hope is the desire of

the Kingdom of heaven and
eternal life as our happiness,
placing our trust in Christs
promises and relying not on
our own strength, but on the
help of the Holy Spirit
3. Charity is a selfless,
unconditional, and voluntary
loving-kindness

Cardinal Values

1. Prudence is the proper

judgement of reasons for action
with regard to appropriateness in
a context.
2. Justice n is the proper
judgement regarding individual
human interests, rights, and
deserts
3. Temperance is practicing
self-control, abstention, and
moderation.
4. Fortitude is the forbearance,
endurance, and ability to confront
fear and uncertainty or
intimidation.

Universal Moral
Values

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Peace
Freedom
Social Progress
Equal Rights
Human dignity

Formation of Moral
Values

1. Doing good acts

2. Develop the habit of
Scriptural reading
3. Avoiding temptations
4. Praying

The Principle of Double Effect

Principle of Double
Effect is the best known
principle.
It is most often used in
the analysis of the moral
aspect of controversial
human acts, and
commonly called upon to
evaluate medico moral
problems.
It is also known as
Voluntary Indirect
Principle

Four Conditions
a. The action itself must be
morally good or at least
indifferent.
b. The good effect must
precede the evil effect or at
least be simultaneous with it.
c. The intention of the agent
should be directed towards
the good effect, never to the
evil effect.
d. Proportionality: the good
effect must be more
important than or at least
equal to the bad effect.

The Principle of Totality

The Principle of Totality rests on the propositions as that the whole
is more important than its parts.
A human being is a substantial whole composed of many integral
elements.
There are times, however, when the actual condition of one part of
an organism constitute a hindrance to the well-being and balanced
functioning of the organism, and even threatens its very existence.
It is within this context that reference is made to the principle of
totality to shed light on the proper course of action to take and to
justify it from the moral point of view.
In this sense, the whole traditional Christian and moral theology
justifies the sacrifice of one part of organ of a person if it threatens
the integrity of the human organism or presents a serious obstacle
to its proper functioning.

Submitted To:

Prof. Emil Atienza

Submitted By:
Caete, Jayzee M.
Cartusiano, Romnick U.
Almoro, Adrian
Section: 2ECE1

Thank You !
God Bless !