Norms of Morality

ETERNAL LAW
NORMS OF PARTICIPATION OF CREATURES IN

ETERNAL LAW
MORALITY NATURAL LAW AS THE ESSENTIAL

NEED TO BECOME A PERSON
PROPERTIES OF NATURAL LAW
CONTENTS OF NATURAL LAW

Morality is a universal phenomenon. We learn the good and bad such as the
truth and lie. Norms in general is the standard measurement. It is an
instrument which the quality or quantity of thing is determined.
The norms of morality are the standards that indicate he rightfulness or

wrongfulness, the goodness or evilness, he value or disvalue of thing.
RICHARD M. GULA defines norms of morality as “the criteria of judgment

about the sorts of actions we ought to perform”.
Judges in a contest follow a given criteria for deciding the winner. In like
manner, for us to decide what action is good or bad, we need a criteria, a set
of principles from which we deduce our conclusion.
Morality may then defined as the quality of things manifesting their conformity or non conformity with the norm
or criteria. Conforms is good to bad. That which do not conform is evil or immoral.
The remote norm f morality is Natural Law. The proximate norm of morality is Conscience. Both natural law
and conscience are rooted on Eternal Law, the ultimate norm. Thus, there is only one norm which is Eternal Law.
ETERNAL LAW
 Is the plan of God in creating the universe and is assigning to each creature therein a specific
nature.
 St. Thomas Aquinas states that it is “the exemplar of divine wisdoms directing all actions and
movements”.
 According to St.Agustine “it is the divine reason or will of God commanding the natural order of
things be preserved and forbidding that it be distributed”.
 It provides for the cosmic order where every creature stands different and independent but not
apart from the unified purpose of creation. There is harmony in diversity in the universe so that
the early Greeks referred to it as “cosmos”, meaning beautiful.
PARTICIPATION OF CREATURES IN ETERNAL LAW
Science speaks of natural law as the physical laws or properties governing. For
example the movement of atoms and molecules , of chemicals , of plants and of
animals, including man himself.
Man, however, on account of rational nature, manifests a new dimension in the
cosmic order. A moral order whereby man becomes self-conscious of natural
moral laws binding him to seek the good “fitting” his rational nature.
We discern what is good and evil. The function of natural law is to imprint on
us the divine light. Therefore , evident that the natural law is nothing else than
the rational creatures participation of the eternal law.
NATURAL LAW AS THE ESSENTIAL NEED TO
BECOME A PERSON
Natural law is recognized by all men regardless of creed, race, culture, or historical
circumstances. Philosophers agree that an inner force compels man towards good and away
from evil. In this sense they speak of morality as being written in the hearts of men.
Stewart Dugald regards the natural law as the “original principle of our constitution “.
George Berkeley calls it the “eternal laws of reason” or the “Will of God”.
Paul Tillich elaborates that what we call “will of god” is actually our “essential being with its
potentialities, our nature declared as “very good” by God who created it.
NATURAL LAW AS THE ESSENTIAL NEED
TO BECOME A PERSON
Paul Tillich explains further that natural law is

the command to become what one potentially
is, a person within the community of person.
This command is the moral imperative.
Therefore, a moral act is not an act in obedience
to an external law, human or divine. It is the inner
law of our true being, of our essential or created
nature.
And an antimoral act is not the transgression of

one or several precisely circumscribed commands,
but an act that contradicts the self-realization of
the person as a person and drives towards
disintegration. (Paul Tillich)
Properties of the Natural Law
1. It is univeral. Natural law is constitutive

element of human nature. Therefore, it is true
wherever human nature manifest itself. All men
are precisely equal because of shared human
nature.
3. It is recognizable. It is imprinted in the human

nature and man has the light of reason to know it.
The scholastic philosohers refered to this light of
reason as 'synderesis'. It enables man to recognize
self evident principles, such as: Do good and
avoid evil, honor your father and mother, be
honest etc.
4. It is immutable or unchangeable. Natural law

is human nature. It is immutable because man's
essential nature can never be lost as long as man
is man. It may be blurd by malice or conditioned
by social pressure, but it cannot be destroyed
altogether.
Contents of Natural Law
1. Formal Norms - are those that relate to our

character, that is, to what kind of persons we ought
to be.
Example:
"Do good and avoid evil."
"Whatever you wish others to do to you, do so to
them."
"Be honest."
Formal Norms are absolute principles and

are unchangeable. What kind of person we
ought to become is not a relative and
subjective decision. Justice, Truth, and
Diligence are, for example absolute values.
2. Material Norms
- relate to the sorts of actions we ought to do.
- are the application of the formal norms to
individual concrete action, such as, his speech,
killing, making promises, or using contraceptives.
- they answer the question, "What should I do?"
Since material norms deal with concrete and

specific actions, they are not absolute.
Example:
What makes "killing" just or unjust depends on
a lot of factors.
Interpretating the Material Norms
How do we qpply the material norms in concrete

situations?
What determines whether an act is good or bad?
Theories of physicalism and personalism

answer these questions differently.
1. Physicalist - suggests that the physical and

biological nature of man determines morality.
Anything opposed to man's physical,
physiological, or biological tendencies is
wrong and immoral. (Gula: 35)
2. Personalist - suggests that reason is the

standard of morality. But what is reason?
According to the Thomistic School, reason is
recta ratio, or right reason.
The Order of Reason
Man participates in the Eternal Law in a way

proper to him as a human being. This participation
is through reason. St. Thomas Aquinas calls the
order established by reason as the specific
natural law.
The Order of Reason
Man has to consider the natural order of things. And

yet, he must not confuse the natural order with the
moral order.
Moral order is the harmony based on the dictates
of reason. It is the order established by man's
intellectual creativity, sharpened by observation,
research analysis, logic intuition and common
sense.
The Order of Reason
It is reason that which takes Natural Law and

interprets it in a way worthy of man's humanity. In
this sense, Natural Law is not the same as the
Laws of Nature which are the forces that govern
the material world.
The task of discocering and interpreting Natural
Law in a manner fitting to man belongs to moral
conscience.

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ETERNAL LAW

NORMS OF PARTICIPATION OF CREATURES IN

MORALITY NATURAL LAW AS THE ESSENTIAL

PROPERTIES OF NATURAL LAW

CONTENTS OF NATURAL LAW

The norms of morality are the standards that indicate he rightfulness or

RICHARD M. GULA defines norms of morality as “the criteria of judgment

Paul Tillich explains further that natural law is

And an antimoral act is not the transgression of

1. It is univeral. Natural law is constitutive

3. It is recognizable. It is imprinted in the human

4. It is immutable or unchangeable. Natural law

1. Formal Norms - are those that relate to our

Formal Norms are absolute principles and

Since material norms deal with concrete and

How do we qpply the material norms in concrete

Theories of physicalism and personalism

1. Physicalist - suggests that the physical and

2. Personalist - suggests that reason is the

Man participates in the Eternal Law in a way

Man has to consider the natural order of things. And

It is reason that which takes Natural Law and

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