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)