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Laws, Rules, Maxims, Principles
& Natural Law
Norms Continued
Law
Highest expression of norm for action
Commonly understood:Guide / directive for action
Specific meaning:“judgment of lawmaker about means necessary for common good.”
Requirements of Law
Lawmaker Specific directive of action Consideration of common
good Specific group of people for
whom law is intended obligation
Lawmakers
God’s LawEternal law
Bible & sacred textsChurch law, Code of Canon Law
Human LawLegislators (federal, provincial, municipal)
Law itself – a specific directive Tells how the subjects of law are to
act Laws cover:
Property, housing, food safety, economic life, criminal justice, transportation
Church (canon) law: Customs & decrees of Church,
celebration of sacraments, administration of material goods, sanctions
Common Good IS NOT the sum total of material
goods of a society Refers to the general well-being
of ALL IN SOCIETY Includes:
Peace, security, protection of law, good order
Seeks to meet the needs of all protecting the freedom of all
Specific Group Laws address those who participate
in the institutions of society Catholic social teaching promotes the
common good in its “preferential option for the poor” Sin & disorder have had a negative
impact on the dignity of persons Focus on well-being of those on the
margins of institutions (sick, poor, homeless, disabled…)
Obligation Since the common good is so
important Moral obligation to choose the
means necessary to achieve it Laws that contribute to the common
good must be followed Order / security: police & justice
system Safe roads: HTA Social services, education, health
care (paying taxes)
Unjust Laws
Don’t contribute to the common good
Clearly infringe on dignity of persons
Have no obligation!
Rules
Not strictly legislated Obligatory guidelines Indicate how we ought to behave in
certain situations Absolute Generally binding Relative
Absolute Rules
Generally apply under all circumstances E.g.,
You shall not murder Always be just Love God, love your neighbour The Golden Rule Do good avoid evil Be honest, chaste, grateful, humble,
prudent, reasonable They are guides, don’t give details
Generally Binding Rules
Apply in all circumstances unless another rule in conflict with itE.g., “do not lie” does not oblige when the other is NOT ENTITLED TO THE TRUTH
“Do not kill” … self defence / legitimate war
Maxims & Proverbs
“Nuggets of wisdom” Give guidelines or advice From the customs of past
(Wisdom Literature of OT: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Wisdom, Sirach, Job)
Examples of Proverbs
“People who live in glass houses should not throw stones.”
“A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.”
“Speak for those who cannot speak, for the rights of all the destitute. Speak out, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.” (Prov. 31.8-9)
Some more examples “For lack of wood the fire goes out, and
where there is no whisperer (of gossip), quarreling ceases.” (Prov. 26.20)
“Make no friends with those given to anger, and do not associate with hotheads, or you may learn their ways and entangle yourself in a snare.” (Prov. 22.24-25)
“Do not wear yourself out to get rich; be wise enough to desist.” (Prov. 23.4)
“In all toil there is profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.” (Prov. 14.23)
Moral Principles & Natural Law
Basic truths rules of conduct Catholics often refer to “Natural Law”
“written & engraved on the soul” (Leo XIII)
Written within our capacity to reason “The natural law is nothing other than
the light of understanding placed in us by God; through it we know what we must do and what we must avoid.” (CCC #1955 / Aquinas)
Aquinas’ First Principle of Natural Law
Do Good and avoid evil.
Our inclination to preserve & protect life, to procreate & educate, tendency toward truth, and cooperation with one another are all derived from natural law
Whatever relates to right reasoning belongs to natural law
Jacques Maritain on Natural Law
“Natural Law is natural not only in so far as it is the normality of functioning of human nature, but also in so far as it is naturally known: that is to say, known through inclination, by way of congeniality or connaturality, not through conceptual knowledge and by way of reasoning…. Natural Law is made manifest to practical reason in certain judgments, but these very judgments do not proceed from any conceptual, discursive, rational exercise of reason. They proceed from…inclination.”
(Moral Principles of Actions: Man’s Ethical Imperative)
Aquinas on natural law & reason“Since all things are ruled and measured by the Eternal Law [God’s Law], we must conclude that they participate in this Law insofar as they derive from it the inclinations through which they tend naturally toward their proper operations and ends….Thus the rational creature by its very rationality participates in the eternal reason, and because of this participation has a natural inclination to the actions ‘rooted in reason.’ It is this participation in the Eternal Law enjoyed by the rational creature which is called the Natural Law.”
(Summa, I-II, 93,1)
Aquinas on natural & human lawAs Augustine says, “that which is not just seems to be no law at all”: wherefore the force of a law depends on the extent of its justice. Now in human affairs a thing is said to be just, from being right, according to the rule of reason. But the first rule of reason is the law of nature, as is clear from what has been stated above. Consequently every human law has just so much of the nature of law, as it is derived from the law of nature. But if in any point it deflects from the law of nature, it is no longer a law but a perversion of law.
(Summa, I-II, 95,2)
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