Divine law

Natural law

Civil law

Canon law

There are different kinds of law

Divine law

Natural law

Civil law

Canon law

Civil law is founded upon natural law

Natural law is a participation in divine law, but is naturally known

Church law is rooted in an understanding of divine law and the historical situation of the Church.

Divine Law is that which is enacted by God and made known to man through revelation. We distinguish between the Old Law, contained in the Pentateuch, and the New Law, which was revealed by Jesus Christ and is contained in the New Testament.

Canon law (Church law) is the body of laws and regulations made by or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members.

Civil law: man made law. Can be just or unjust, depending upon how it squares with natural law. I.e., one must be 18 in order to vote, 19 in order to drink, one must drive on the right side of the road, etc.

Martin Luther King Jr. wrote in his Letter from the Birmingham Jail: “Now what is the difference between the two? How does one determine when a law is just or unjust? A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. To put it in the terms of Saint Thomas Aquinas, an unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal and natural law. Any law that uplifts human personality is just. 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. …”

Good is to be done, evil is to be avoided

First principle of practical reason:

First principle of speculative reason:

Nothing can both be and not be at the same time and in the same respect.

The good: that which all things desire. All things desire their own perfection, that is, their own complete flourishing.

Human beings have natural inclinations or desires (to be distinguished from acquired desires, and/or perverted desires).

Apparent goods

True goods

True goods are truly perfective of the human person. Self-control, honest friendships, healthy foods, etc.

Apparent goods appear to be perfective of the human person, but they are destructive of the human person.

I.e., a poison apple, associating with criminals, an adulterous relationship, living a life of total leisure without ever working, etc.

From these intelligible human goods (natural), more specific moral precepts (rules, regulations, laws) can be drawn out.

If we know what is humanly good, we can begin to draw out the more specific demands of natural law.

Hum

an goods

First principle(good is to be done, evil is to be avoided)

Specific preceptsi.e., do not harm others

Human GoodsReligion: God is the Supreme Good, and so that part of

justice that seeks harmony between oneself and God is called religion.

Integrity (integration of the elements of the self, harmony between reason and my choices, and the will and the passions)

The Common Good (sociability): The harmonious relationship that exists between oneself and the civil community as a whole.

Marriage/family.Friendship: relationships based on common qualities

and interests.

KnowledgeLeisure (the enjoyment of the beautiful/art and play)Life (bodily goods)

KnowledgeWe desire to know, to contemplate.

Human beings have a natural sense of wonder. Human beings ask questions, seek answers, wonder about the causes of things. People are knowers.

Dude, what’s ya thinkin’?

Goods of the WillThe Common Good of the Civil CommunityThe human being is a social and political animal that enters into relationship not only with friends, but with the civil community as a whole. There is a difference between his own private good and the common good of the whole. Just as a hockey player has his own private scoring record, his end as a player is a common good, namely victory for the whole team.

The common good is a good in which everyone can participate without diminishing any other member’s share in it. Just as a good player thinks of the team before his own private scoring record, a good human person lives for the common good, not merely his own private good. The criminal is different in that he has no regard for the common good, but puts himself before civil community as a whole.

Example (Circumstances that render an otherwise good act immoral)

Moral Object: Practicing my putting stroke.Motive: In order to improve my game.Circumstances: Where? At a funeral home

with nice green carpet. When? At my mother’s funeral wake.