The Norms of Human Acts Law

THE NORMS OF
HUMAN ACT
THE NORMS OF HUMAN ACT
A norm is a standard of
measurement. It is an instrument of
which the quality or quantity of a
quantity of a thing is determined.
Like for instance, the clocks that
tell the time, the scale that
determines the weight, etc.
THE NORMS OF HUMAN ACT
 The norms of morality, on the other hand are the standards that indicate
the rightfulness or wrongfulness , the goodness or evilness, the value or
disvalue of things or acts.
 Hence, these are the qualities that cannot be measured by any
mechanical device.
 They are spiritual qualities that appeal mainly to reason.
NORMS
Ignacio defines NORM as a rule,
standard, or measurement. It is
something we distinguish the goodness
and evilness of the a man’s act.
It is something with which an act
conforms to be morally good, be
morally evil, and natural to be morally
indifferent.
 Human acts are directed to their TRUE END by LAW and law is
applied by CONSCIENCE,
 Hence, LAW and CONSCIENCE are the directives or NORMS of
Human Act
LAW
 Saint Thomas Aquinas defines law: AN ORDINANCE OF REASON,
PROMULGATED FOR THE COMMON GOOD BY ONE WHO HAS
CHARGE OF SOCIETY.
 A. A law is an ordinance. An ordinance is a law enacted by a
municipal body, such as a city council or county commission
(sometimes called county council or county board of supervisors).
Ordinances govern matters not already covered by state or federal laws
such as zoning, safety and building regulations.
 B. A law is an ordinance of reason. Aquinas defines a law as "an
ordinance of reason for the common good, made by him who has care
of the community, and promulgated. " Law is an ordinance of reason
because it must be reasonable or based in reason and not merely in the
will of the legislator. ... It is promulgated so that the law can be known.
 C. A law is promulgated. Made known to those bound by it. Made it
public.
 Promulgation is the formal proclamation or declaration that a new
statutory or administrative law is enacted after its final approval. In
some jurisdictions, this additional step is necessary before the law can
take effect.
D. A law is promulgated
for the common good. It
must serve for the public
good.
 E. A law is promulgated in a society.
The law serves many purposes and
functions in society. Four principal
purposes and functions are establishing
standards, maintaining order, resolving
disputes, and protecting liberties and
rights. The law is a guidepost for
minimally acceptable behavior in society.
CLASSIFICATION OF LAW
ETERNAL LAW. The

definition given by Saint
Augustine of Hippo as it is “the
Divine Reason and will
commanding that the natural
order of things be preserved and
forbidding that it be disturbed.”
ETERNALtoLAW
According Augustine, eternal law is
a law that is just, unchanging, and
follows the proper ordering and
reasoning. ... It can also be
characterized as the “divine reason or
the will of God, a will which enjoins
the natural order” (Fitzgerald &
Cavadini)
ETERNAL LAW
Eternal law is comprised of those

laws that govern the nature of an
eternal universe. It is the moral law;
the law of nature. It is the law
which God in the creation of man
infused into him for his direction
and preservation.
CLASSIFICATION OF LAW
 NATURAL LAW (Innate, inborn)
 Historically, natural law refers to the use of reason to analyze human
nature to deduce binding rules of moral behavior from nature's or God's
creation of reality and mankind.
 The concept of natural law was documented in ancient Greek
philosophy, including Aristotle, and was referred to in Roman
philosophy by Cicero.
NATURAL LAW
 What is the demand of natural law according to Paul Tillich? ... Any law
that degrades human personality is unjust. All segregation statutes are
unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the
personality. It gives the segregator a false sense of superiority and the
segregated a false sense of inferiority.
NATURAL LAW
 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.
 He further explains that it is the “command to become what one
potentially is, a person within a community of person.”
NATURAL LAW
 Natural Law is inherent in the nature of man and things.
 Natural Law and Eternal Law can be one and the same for the fact that
they have the same “goal” –directing man’s actions towards the
attainment of their proper ends.
 The oneness of the two gives us the view that the Natural Law is man’s
participation in the Eternal Law of God.
NATURAL LAW
 Thus, man knows by the light of reason that there are something’s evil
in themselves, and some things which are necessary good.
 Of all bodily creatures, man alone may refuse the direction of the
Eternal Law in matters of free choice. However, if we disobey this, it
will cause us to our own destruction.
 That is why we have to act according to our own nature.
PROPERTIES OF NATURAL
LAW
1. It is universal. All men are
precisely equal because of shared
human nature.
2. It is obligatory. It is human
nature, calling or itself to be
actualized, to be lived according to
its basic and essential demands.
PROPERTIES OF NATURAL
LAW
 3. It is recognizable. It is imprint in the human nature and man has the
light of reason to know it. (do good and avoid evil)
 4. It is immutable or unchangeable. Man’s essential nature can never
be lost as long as man is man. (If you can't change it, it's
immutable. There are many things in life that are
immutable; these unchangeable things include death, taxes,
and the laws of physics.)
OTHER CLASSIFICATION OF
LAW
1. By Author
A. Divine Laws – God
B. Human laws –
Church
LAW
2. By Duration
A. Temporal Laws – laws made by
man. It is not absolute or
permanent
B. Eternal Law – Absolute
C. Positive Laws – man-made laws
LAW
C. By Promulgation
A. Natural Law- innate in all
creatures
B. Positive laws – man-made
laws
LAW
 D. By Prescription
 A. Affirmative Laws – binding in nature but not necessarily at every
moment.
 Example: honor your father and mother
 B. Negative Laws – binding always and at every moment.
 Example: Thou shall not kill

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THE NORMS OF

ETERNAL LAW. The

Eternal law is comprised of those

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