CONCEPT OF LAW &

CONSCIENCE
What is Law?
• St. Thomas Aquinas defines law as an “an
ordinance of reason promulgated for the
common good by one has charge of
society.”
• It is a product of man’s rational nature
• A command or directive emanating from
a legitimate authority
Qualities of Law
• It must be just
• It must be honest
• It is possible to be fulfilled
• It is useful as guide to attain a goal
• It must be relatively permanent
• It must be promulgated
• It must be directed to the common good
• It must be promulgated by one who has the care
of the community
Classifications of Law
• ETERNAL LAW
• it is instituted by God, such as the Ten
Commandments. It is also known as the
Divine Law
• It comes from the universal plan of God
and the providence of nature
• It is summarized into two: Love of God
and Love of neighbor as yourself
Classifications of Law
• NATURAL LAW
• Dictated silently by man’s conscience: “Do
good and avoid evil.”
• It is an innate universal command which comes
from the very heart of the person regardless the
place and time.
Attributes:
• The natural law is obligatory
• The natural law has its own proper sanctions
• The natural law is knowable and recognizable
• The natural law is immutable and unchangeable
Classifications of Law
• HUMAN POSITIVE LAW
• Promulgated by the Church (ecclesiastical law)
or by the State (civil law) or by any legitimate
institution for the benefit of the people.
• This law is man-made.
• It is not absolute or permanent
CONSCIENCE
• It tells the person internally what is ought to do in
a certain situation
• It morally dictates him: Do good and avoid evil
• An act of practical judgment of reason
• it is the practical judgement of reason upon an
individual act as good and to be performed or
as evil and therefore, to be avoided. (Glenn)
• It is the mind of man passing moral judgement
(Thomas Aquinas)
• It is the action of the practical intellect deciding
whether a particular, proposed operation is good
or bad (John A. Hardon)
 Kinds of Conscience
• Correct or True Conscience – it discerns the person what is
good as good, what is evil and evil
• Erroneous or False Conscience – it makes mistakes what is
good as evil, and what is evil as good
• Scrupulous Conscience – it is extremely cautious or fearful
to the point that the person refuses to judge the act
• Lax Conscience – it finds excuses for an evil act not to be
sinful. The sinful act is judged as not sinful or even good
act.
• Certain Conscience – it is of sure and firm judgement on
an act without a bit of doubt.
• Doubtful Conscience – it is a suspension of judgment on an
act because he is not sure on the goodness or badness
• You are at your best friend’s wedding just an
hour before the ceremony is to start. Earlier that
day, you came across definitive proof that your
best friend’s spouse-to-be is having an affair with
the best man/maid of honor, and you catch
them sneaking out of a room together looking
disheveled. If you tell your friend about the affair,
their day will be ruined, but you don’t want them
to marry a cheater. What do you do?
MORAL DILEMMA
A moral dilemma is a situation where”
• You are presented with two or more actions, all of which you
have the ability to perform
• There are moral reasons for you to choose each of the actions
• You cannot perform all of the actions and have to choose which
action, or actions when there are three or more choices to
perform
Three Levels of Moral Dilemma
• INDIVIDUAL
• This is experienced by individuals who have a hard
time to choose the right action from two or more
actions
• ORGANIZATIONAL
• Administrative decisions are characterized as having
routines, and challenges.
• Dilemmas encountered by the administrator and the
employees
• SYSTEMIC
• Occur in the ordinary condition of life