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The Meaning of Norms

A norm is a standard of measurement. We measure the size, the weight, the length, the duration, the intensity,
the quantity, and the depth of something. We measure objects, events, emotions, and persons.

We make a value judgment when we measure the quality of a thing. The physical qualities of objects are
measured with the use of a device such as clock, ruler, speedometer, or thermometer. The moral qualities of human acts
are measured with the use of a norm or standard to support a judgment. The judges of a beauty contest, for example,
uses a criteria for scoring the contestants as to their physical appearance, stage presence, costume, and intelligence.

The Norms of Morality

The norms of morality “are the criteria of judgment about the sorts of persons we ought to be and the sorts of
actions we ought to perform” (Richard M. Gulla:1)

Moral norms are the criteria for judging (1) the quality of character, what sort of person one ought to become and (2)
the quality of an act, what sort of action ought to be done.

It is significant that in the definition the quality of character takes precedence over the quality of actions,
because actions are only the product of character. The kind of person we are determine the kind of action we do. An
evil-minded person will do what is wrong. A well-intentioned person will do what is good. In this sense, action reflects
character.

The word “ought” implies a duty or obligation. It means that a person or his action should possess a certain
quality or it falls short of the standard.

The phrase “criteria of judgment” implies the use of reason in determining the quality being measured. The
norm of morality is not a blueprint for action, nor a set of laws, like the Ten Commandments. It is a rational assessment
of the worthiness or unworthiness of a person or an act on the basis of the given standard or criteria.

Basis of Moral Judgment

Moral judgment is based on norms of morality – the eternal law, natural law, and conscience. Eternal law is the
ultimate norm, Natural law is the remote norm, and Conscience is proximate norm of morality. Since both natural law
and conscience are derived from Eternal Law, there is only one and ultimate basis of morality – God who created all
creatures.

1. The Eternal Law

Eternal law is the plan of God in creating all creatures, both animate and inanimate, giving to each of them its
respective nature. The Book of Genesis tells the story of creation.

St. Thomas Aquinas refers to eternal law as “the exemplar of divine wisdom as directing all actions and
movements” (I-II, 93:1). St. Augustine defines it as “the divine reason or will of God commanding that the natural order
of things be preserved and forbidding that it be disturbed” (Contra Faustum Manicheum, 22:27).

The concept of Eternal law is inferred from the order and harmony in the created universe. The ancient Greeks
referred to the universe as “cosmos” (beauty) and spoke of “cosmic order”. We use the term natural order to refer to
the harmony present in the material universe. In the natural order, every creature acts and reacts according to the
demands of its nature.

2. The Natural Law

Natural Law refers to the operational tendencies of the human nature – the chemical, biological, physiological,
psychological, and rational properties of man as an organism.

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St. Thomas Aquinas says that “the natural law is nothing else than “the rational creature’s participation of the
eternal law” and “provides the possibilities and potentialities which the human person can use to make human life truly
human”.

Paul Tillich refers to the natural law as “the inner law of our true being, of our essential created nature, which
demands that we actualize what follows from it”. Pointing to it as the “will of God”, he explains it to be – “the command
to become what one potentially is a person within a community of persons”.

Natural law is the tendency of human nature towards growth and self-fulfilment. Accordingly, anything
contributing to the actualization of man’s potential is morally good; and anything that contradicts the self-realization of
a person as person is morally evil. While the morally good act contributes to the integration of a person, the morally evil
act causes its disintegration.

Characteristics of Natural Law

1) It is universal – because it is the human nature which is shared by all men, though realized differently according
to their respective cultures.
2) It is obligatory – because the tendencies of our human nature are the laws of our desires and actuations which
we cannot ignore without dire consequences.
3) It is recognizable – because man, being self-reflexive, is aware of his nature, of what he is and what he is capable
of and what is expected of him by his own kind.
4) It is immutable and unchangeable – because, although change is a rule of life, human nature in its essentiality
and substantiality remains permanent and unchangeable.

3. Conscience

While natural law is the tendency towards good in general, conscience is the choice of a particular good in a
given situation. People refer to conscience as “the voice of God” – a whisper of admonition.

Conscience is the practical judgment of reason telling us what should be done because it is good, or what should
be avoided because it is evil. The judgment is “practical” because it leads to a course of action.

Conscience is “judgment of reason” because it derives from our understanding of what ought to be done as
good and what ought to be avoided as evil. This is how actions are said to be in accordance with dictate of reason.

Moral decisions may sometimes require serious study and deliberation. But the urging of conscience is often
spontaneous and instantaneous. Thus, conscience is considered as the “voice of God”.

Conscience has two functions. Before the commission of an act, conscience directs towards that which is good.
After the commission of an act, conscience either approves or reproves the act. A reproaching conscience punishes the
doer with remorse. An approving conscience rewards the doer with “peace of mind”.

Types of Conscience

As an intellectual faculty conscience needs education and training.

1) Correct conscience sees the good as good, the evil as evil. Correct conscience comes from enlightenment, from
refined moral sensibility, or from the habit of doing good. The correct conscience is the result of sound
upbringing, education, good habits, and intelligent laws.
2) Erroneous conscience sees evil as something good. Erroneous conscience comes from malice, ignorance, bad
habits, and bad influence.
3) Doubtful conscience is a vacillating conscience, unsure of itself.
4) Scrupulous conscience is overly cautious, meticulous, and fearful of committing a mistake.
5) Lax conscience is indifferent, unmindful of right or wrong.

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Compulsory Conscience

“Our bond with the natural moral law”, writes Bernard Haring, “is an exalted participation in the eternal law of
God manifested by our conscience whose natural function it is to reveal our likes to God”. (Law of Christ: 1-147).

When conscience operates in the realm of truth and sound reason, it is compulsory to listen to it. It is only when
conscience urges us to act according to our rational insights that it is aptly the “voice of God”. But when conscience
deviates from the norm and urges us to do what is unreasonable, it is “our own evil work” (ibid: 148).

Conformity and Non-conformity

The conformity or non-conformity of a human act with the norms constitutes morality. We recall the definition
of Aristotle of the good as that which fits the function. For example, it fits the function of a talented singer to sing well.
Similarly, it fits the function of a decent and honourable person to do what is honourable.

The same may be said of evil actions. Some actions do not fit the dignity and nobility of man as man. Like the
junk food does not fit the health of a person, immoral acts do not fit the human soul.

Formal and Material Norms

We distinguish two aspects of the moral norm: the formal and the material norms.

Formal norms relate to formation of character, what kind of person we ought to be. These consist of such
directives towards character development, such as “be honest”, “be direct”, “be respectful”, etcetera.

Material norms relate to actions, what actions we ought to do. Material norms determine are whether an act on
account of its nature conforms or does not conform with the formal norms.

The formal norm about being respectful of parents is explicit and relevant at all times. But it may be asked
whether a child does wrong by disobeying an unlawful command of the parents. To answer this question the materiality
of the act of disobedience needs to be examined with regard to its nature, motive and circumstances. The basis of this
evaluation is provided by the formal norm, but once the materiality of an act is determined as intrinsically evil, such an
act cannot be justified by whatever reason. Hence, an act which is declared “a murder”, “genocide”, “a rape”, or “an
adultery” – can never be good under any circumstance.

The directives of formal norms are permanent and unchangeable because they are the requirements of natural
law. The directives of material norms are temporary and changeable because they are the result of rational evaluation.

Moral Relativism

Moral relativism is possible because the human mind, being finite and limited, does not always grasp the moral
significance of certain acts or events. Thus, debates would continue on whether death penalty, divorce, abortion, gay
marriage, or euthanasia is morally permissible. Moral relativism is also descriptive of cultural differences.

However, the differences in the moral practices of people do not prove that there are absolute truths and
principles of morals. That man seeks the good that fits his nature is a universally accepted truth. That man ought not to
do to another what he does not want to be done to him is another universally accepted truth. That man deserves to be
punished for his evil deeds is yet another universally accepted truth. The trouble is that people may not agree how these
truths apply.

Physicalism vs Personalism

There are two viewpoints on how moral acts are to be judged on the basis of Natural Law.

Physicalism suggests that the physical and biological nature of man determines morality. Morality is in
accordance with the natural order in the universe. Anything opposed to man’s physical, physiological, or biological
tendencies is wrong and immoral. It maintains that the criteria for moral judgment are written in man’s nature and all
that is required is for man to read them off (Gula:35)

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Personalism suggests that reason is the standard of moral judgement. Right reason, or “recta ratio, is the
dynamic tendency in the human person to know the truth, to grasp the whole reality as it is. Morality is in accordance
with the order of reason, or the dictate of reason.

While seemingly opposed, these theories are not irreconcilable. Reason, if it must be “recta” has to accept the
reality of man’s biological tendencies needs to be regulated by reason. In fact, man “can creatively intervene in a
reasonable way to direct the order of nature in way that would be truly human” (Gula:41)

The Order of Reason

Every living thing acts in accordance with its nature. Man acts in a way proper to him through the use of reason.
“In a morality based on the order of reason”, writes Richard Gula, “the human is not subject to the God-given order of
nature in the same way the animals are. The human person does not have to conform to natural pattern as a matter of
fate. Rather, nature provides the possibilities and potentialities which the human person can use to make human life
truly human. The given physical and biological order does not provide moral norms; rather, it provides the data and the
possibilities for the human person to use in order to achieve human goals (Ibid. 41).

In the encyclical Populorum Progressio (1967), Pope Paul VI states:

In the design of God, every man is called upon to develop and fulfil himself, for every life is a vocation. At birth,
everyone is granted, in germ, a set of aptitudes and qualities for him to bring to fruition. Their coming to maturity, which
will be the result of education received from environment and personal efforts, will allow each man to direct himself
toward the destiny intended for him by his Creator. Endowed with intelligence and freedom, he is responsible for his
fulfilment as he is for his salvation.

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