Norms of Morality
Prof. Fernandino J. Pancho

Definition
•Norms of morality
◦is the criteria of judgment about the sorts of person we ought to be and the sorts of action we ought to perform. ◦the quality of things manifesting their conformity or non-coformity with the norm or criteria. (that which conforms is good or moral, that which do not conform is evil or immoral) ◦The subjective norm of morality – Conscience
◦The objective norm of morality – Law (natural) •Both natural law and conscience are rooted on Eternal Law, the ultimate norm, thus, there is only one norm.
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Conscience
•The subjective/proximate norm of morality.
◦It is proximate because it is what directly confronts an action as good or bad. •Function: to examine/investigate, to judge, to pass punishment on our moral actions.
◦It approves & commends; reproaches & condemns; forbids & commands; accuses & absolves. •Synderesis – it is the quality by which man naturally perceives the truth of the self-evident principles of the moral order.

Conscience - definition
•Derived from the Latin words “con” plus “scientia” which means “with knowledge” of what is right or wrong or “trial of oneslf” both in accusation and in defense. •It is the “inner or little voice of God in man” crying out man’s moral obligations and telling him what to do and what to avoid in the moral order. •It is an act of the practical judgment of reason deciding upon an individual action as good and to be performed or as evil and to be avoided.
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Conscience - Kinds
•Antecedent – judgment is passed before an action is performed. Consequent – judgment is passed after an action is performed.
•Right/True – judges what is really good as good and waht is really evil as evil according to the true principles of morality. Erroneous/False – judges what is really bad as good and vice versa according to a false interpretation of the moral principles.

Conscience - Kinds
•Certain conscience – a subjective assurance of the lawfulness or unlawfulness of certain actions to be done or to be omitted. •Doubtful conscience – a vacillating conscience, which is unable to form a definite judgment on a certain action.
•A doubtful conscience must first be allowed to settle its doubts before an action is performed.

Conscience - Kinds
•Lax conscience – is one which refuses to be bothered about the disticntion of good and evil.
•It tends to follow the easy way and to find excuses for omissions and mistakes.
•These are people who act on the impulse of “bahala na” on matters of morals. •Scrupulous conscience – is a rigorous conscience, extremely afraid of commiting evil.
•A scrupulous conscience is meticoulous and wants incontrovertible proofs before it acts . It is frequently the result of a stuborn character.
•For some, it merely means a serious concern about moral perfection.

Formation of Conscience
One has the obligation to cultivate a true and certain conscience. •By studying and searching for truths in the laws and in the sciences. Overcoming ignorance and error in moral matters.
•Cultivating good habits. Overcoming doubts.
•By militating against evil,condemning and fighting against it.
•One must learn how to use properly his/her freedom.

Causes of Erroneous Conscience
•A mistake along the process of practical reasoning especially with regard to remote conclusions of the moral principles.
•Ignorance of law
•Ignorance of the fact and other circumstances modifying human action
•Ignorance invoving future consequences, especially those dependent on the free will of others.

Law - definition
•It is an ordinance of reason directed towards the common good and promulgated by the one who has the care of the community or in authority.
•Elements:
1. Ordinance/mandate – because it contains a decisive command to perform or to avoid the performance of something. 2. Reasonable – a law should not be dictated by a despotic desire or momentary whim of an authority. It must not be capricious, arbitrary, discriminatory and whimsical.
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•Elements:
3. For the common good – means that that law should benefit all citizens and not the exclusive benefit of some favored groups. - it is the sum total of benefits derived by individuals from the government and from the nation as a whole. - it is the universal happiness all men seek (St. Thomas). 4. Promulgated – means the law must be officially published for the porpuse of informing the people. (published in official gazzette or newspaper of general circulation) 5. Enacted by a competent authority – a person who is elected or appointed to make laws. (Congress)

Law - Kinds
1. Eternal Law – it is the Divine reason or the will of God commanding that the natural order of things be preserved and forbidding that it be disturbed (St. Augustine) - it is the exemplar of Divine wisdom as directing all actions and movements. (St. Thomas) Properties/Features: Unchangeable & Universal

Law - Kinds
2. Natural law - it is man’s participation in the eternal law of God. - it is an extension of the divine order of things as apprehended by human reason. - are not written decrees; figuratively speaking, they are “written in the hearts of men.” They are impressed in human nature by the author of nature. - it refers to the nature of all created things which is the principle of movements and action: chemical, biological, psychological, or rational. - it is recognized by all men regardless of creed, race, culture, historical circumstances. - All agreed that there is an inner force that compels man towards good and away from evil.” Properties/Features: Universal, Obligatory, Recognizable by reason, Immutable

Law - Kinds
3. Human Positive Law - are the laws which proceed from a properly constituted authority such as the state or the church. -this serve to supplement the provisions of the natural law in view of the special needs of the community. -Laws of the State – contained in the Constitution and code of Civil Law. -Laws of the Church – compiled in the Canon Law.

Human Positive Law - Properties
•A human law should be in accord with the divine law.
•A human law should be in accord with the natural law.
•A human law must promote the common good.
•A human law must have a universal character. “Every human law has just so much of the nature of the law as it is derived from the law of nature. But if, at any point, it departs from the law of nature, it is no longer a law but a perversion of law (St. Thomas). Thus, an unjust law, have no moral binding force, and should not be obeyed.

Defective Norms of Morality
•Hedonism
•Utilitarianism
•Moral Rationalism
•Moral Positivism
•Moral Evolutionism
•Moral Sensism
•Communism

Hedonism
•It is an ethical theory which holds that the supreme end of man consists in the acquisition of pleasure.
•Sensible pleasures are the highest good of life.
•Morality is grounded on the pleasure or satisfaction that an act brings or entails.
•The good action is the pleasant action.
•The bad action is that which produces pain or unhappiness.

Utilitarianism
•Is a theory very mush akin to Hedonism.
•This norm of morality holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce unhappiness.
•It makes “utility” the norm of morality. •The goodness or badness of an action would depend on the effects or consequences of the action.
•An act is good if and when it gives good results, if it works, it makes you successful, if it makes you attain your purpose, bad if it does not.

Types of Utilitarianism
•Individual/egoistic utilitarianism – holds that the norm of morality resides in the usefulness of an action for the production of the temporal happiness of the individual.
•An act is good when it redounds to the temporal welfare and happiness of the individual, and bad if it hinders or hampers this happiness. •Social/altruistic utilitarianism – holds that an act is good when it is conducive to the social good or well-being

Commentary (Hedonism & Utilitarianism)
•Merits
◦It explains very well the emotional basis and aspects of human action.
◦It explains well the reason behind the doing of action by most people
•There is always some satisfaction accompanying the doing of every good act.
•There is no doubt that most people are motivated in their action by their desire for satisfaction or happiness or well-being.

Commentary (Hedonism & Utilitarianism)
•Defects

◦Both propose an earthly goal for man, that is, the temporal welfare here on earth.
•The ultimate and supreme purpose of man cannot be found in this life. ◦Both make or tend to make morality relative
•What is pleasant or useful to one may be painful and harmful to another. Relative morality leads to moral chaos and destruction.

Commentary (Hedonism & Utilitarianism)
•Defects
◦Both theories make morality extrinsic because they make it depend on the effect or on a concomitant factor of an act.
•Morality is intrinsic, that is, based on the very essence of things and on the nature of the act itself. •Satisfaction/pleasure may indicate and accompany the doing of a good act; but the act is good not because it brings satisfaction, but rather, it brings satisfaction because it is good.
◦The pleasure follows from the goodness and not the goodness from the satisfaction
◦The satisfaction/pleasure is merely an effect, and an indication but not the cause or the reason of the goodness of an action.

Moral Rationalism – Immanuel Kant
•Is the theory which maintains that all knowledge and all truths are derived from human reason.
•Human reason, therefore, is the source of all truths, all laws, and all principles.
•Human reason is the source of all moral laws and all moral obligations.
•Reason commands, and the commands of reason are absolute and unconditional, absolutely binding on all men of all times (Categorical Imperative).
•Therefore, good must be done simply because we want. Virtue must be practiced for virtue’s sake; goodness, for goodness sake.
•Why we must do good?
◦We must do good because we must, it is our duty to obey unconditionally without questioning (Principle of Deontology).

Moral Rationalism
•The command of reason is categorical and all are obliged to obey, it is our moral duty to obey unconditionally.
◦Duty – is the very root, test and the mainspring of all morally good acts.
•All that is moral is motivated by pure sense of duty, by pure reverence for the law.
•Thus, morality is grounded on duty or moral obligation.
•True morality, must be autonomous in character (Autonomy of Reason).
◦According to which theory: it is reason that commands and at the same time it is reason that obeys.
•Thus, reason will be the law-maker, the law-giver and law-obeyer at the same time.

Commentary (Moral Rationalism)
•Merits
◦It emphasized the absolute and immutable nature of morality
◦It saves morality from the destructiveness and insanity of moral relativity and skepticism. •Defects
◦On Autonomy of Reason
•Reason is the absolute law-maker, law-giver, law-abider. (Autonomy of Reason)
•Morality comes not from reason itself but from a higher and other source than human reason. (Heteronomy of Reason)

Commentary (Moral Rationalism)
•Defects
◦Based on Heteronomy of Reason
◦Human reason only sees things, but it does not make things.
◦Human reason tells us the law, but it does not make the law.
◦Moral law is not from human reason, it is not our own making, but it is impose on us from a higher source. •If the law were made by human reason, then everything that we would like to do could be approved by reason, but the fact is that we have many things we like to do by which we know are against the dictates of our conscience.
•Nothing can be superior and inferior at the same time.

Commentary (Moral Rationalism)
•Defects
◦Duty as a norm of morality
•Duty cannot be sole motive in the performance of an act.
•There are other motives that are more worthy and more noble, such as love, pity, mercy, etc. ◦On Universalization of Reason
•There are many acts which cannot be universalized.
•Ex. Dying a hero’s death by martyrdom

Moral Evolutionism
•This is the theory of all those who holds that morality is never fixed or absolute, but is continually changing and evolving gradually into a perfect morality. •Friedrich Nietzsche - believed that morality – the distinction between right and wrong – did not exist in the beginning or originally unknown.
•Good is that which anybody desired.
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Moral Evolutionism
•Friedrich Nietzsche
•He was convinced that traditional values represented a “slave morality,” a morality created by weak and resentful individuals who encouraged such behavior as gentleness and kindness because the behavior served their interests.
◦These are the laws/values derived and based on the teachings of Christianity which stands for meekness, humility, suffering pity, mercy, poverty, forgiveness and love.
◦These values glorify and favor the weak and produces weaklings
•But, according to Nietzsche, we must produce the strong
◦The law of nature is the survival of the fittest.
◦The strong is destined by nature to live and rule.
◦The weak has no right from nature to live. The weak who form the majority must be eliminated in order to give way to the aristocracy of the strong.

Moral Evolutionism
•Thus, Nietzsche, developed an idea of the “Superman/Overman”. ◦The “Superman/Overman” – was an individual who overcame the slave morality of traditional values, and lived according to his own values/morality. ◦This superman is secure, independent, and highly individualistic. The overman feels deeply, but his passions are rationally controlled. Concentrating on the real world, rather than on the rewards of the next world promised by religion, the overman affirms life, including the suffering and pain that accompany human existence.

Moral Evolutionism
•He advanced this idea by saying that “God is dead,” or the traditional morality was no longer relevant in peoples lives. •For him, the end of all morality and society – to produce the strong, the superman. •Thus, might, strength and power form the basis of true morality. ◦Good, is that one which makes one strong, powerful, and most of all super human, and bad is that which is productive of the weak.

•The result – the chaotic, horrific, barbaric and devastating World War II (German Invasion). ◦Who thinks that they are the Aryan race (White supremacy) superior to any other and destined to rule and conquer the world. ◦They devoured weaker nations and justified all the massacres, tortures, and bloodshed of concentration camps in their occupied countires on the theory that thay are the strong and, therefore, can do no wrong. Commentary (Moral Evolutionism)

Moral Positivism
•This theory holds that the basis/source of all moral laws is the laws of the State.
•Good is that which is in accordance with the laws of the State; bad is that which is forbidden by the State. •The proponent of this theory is Thomas Hobbes
◦Nature was in a state of universal war. Mankind was in a state of war before the formation of the State.
◦Man is a wolf unto his fellowmen (Homo homini lupus)
◦Thus, there was no law, no morality, no distinction between right and wrong.
◦To end this state of war and anarchy, men came together to form the State.
•Thus, laws, rights and duties were then established.
•Morality then has it source, its origin from the laws of the State.

Commentary (Moral Positivism)
•Defects
◦It makes morality relative.
•There are State Laws which are legal but not moral (Abortion, Death Penalty, Same Sex Marriage).
◦It reverses the natural order of things.
•Before there was any State there was already human nature with all its natural and inviolable rights and the law (natural law) governing it.
•Example:
•Murder is always bad, even before there was any State law prohibiting it. Murder is forbidden by law and is wrong because it is clearly a violation against human nature.

Moral Sensism
•Is an ethical theory which holds that man is endowed with a special moral sense (other than reason) by virtue of which man distinguishes between right and wrong.
◦The basis/source of morality is man’s senses; what a person’s feel about the human act.
◦Good if I feel it is good; bad if I feel it is bad.
◦This view expressed when we say he has “no sense of morality,” “no moral taste”.

Commentary (Moral Sensism)
•Defects
◦It makes morality relative.
•Morality is not based on feelings/senses.
•Morality is not based on the mood of the person.
•A human act is good or bad based on the norms of morality which is conscience and natural law.

Communism
•Its moral philosophy is the logical consequence of metaphysics or view of reality known as dialectic materialism.
•According to this theory, matter is the only reality.
•This sole entity or matter, is in constant flux or motion and this accounts for all the events, motion and change in the universe; so that all phenomena of nature, all history, are nothing else but the manifestation of this dialectic process inherent in the nature of all things (matter).

Communism
•It is founded on the theory of change, evolution and revolution.
•Everything is progressing towards the goal of perfection; man, society and history naturally and necessarily tend towards the attainment of the ultimate objective: the perfect state here on earth, the Classless Society.
•All these are involved in the inexorable laws of dialectic materialism.
•The goal of man is his earthly happiness in a classless society.

Communism
•Morality is changing since all things changes.
•Good is that which brings about and hasten to bring about the realization of a classless society; bad that which hinders or delays its coming.
•The end of man, which is the classless society, is the norm of morality.
•The end determines the morality of an act, the means does not matter. Thus, “the end justifies the means”.
•Revolution, conflict, bloodshed, wars, espionage, etc., are good if they bring about the desired end: Classless Society

Communism
Primacy of Economics
•Economics is the sole basis of all civilization, all progress, all history, all society.
•It conditions and determines one’s religion and even one’s mode of thinking and living.
•Morality is likewise determined by economics, in such a way that different economic conditions give rise to different moralities.
•Economics is the beginning and the ends of all ethics/morality.

Commentary - Communism
•Merit
◦Communism explains well the importance and necessity of economics in life.
•Man is an economic being.
•He has an stomach to feed, he has to earn a living to support himself and his family, etc.
•Defects
◦It is vitiated with the fallacy of exclusiveness and misproportion.

Commentary - Communism
•While it is true that man can not live with bread, it is likewise true that he does nor live by bread alone. •While he is an economic being, he is not an economic being exclusively, nor principally. •While we cannot disregard economics in life, we cannot make it the sole and the most important thing in life. •It may be the basis or a sine qua non condition of earthly life, but it is not the end of all human beings, though it is a necessary means to it.

Commentary - Communism
Comparison between Morality of communism and Christian Morality:
1. Communism is based on the primacy of matter. Christian morality is based on the primacy of the spirit.
2. Communism proposes an earthly goal for man (temporal life). Christian morality is primarily for the other world (eternal life).
3. Communism denies the basic postulates of Christian morality (the existence of God, freedom of the will, immortality of the soul. It substitute matter for God; life in a classless society for immortality, and the laws of the dialectic for freedom.

Commentary - Communism
Comparison between Morality of communism and Christian Morality:
4. Communism adheres to the position that “the end justifies the means.” Christian morality believe that “the end does not justify the means.”
5. Communism subscribes to the evolutionistic view of morality. Christian morality maintains that morality is absolute, immutable and eternal.
6. Communism uses force, conflict, revolution for the attainment of its goal: the classless society here on earth. Christian morality teaches love, patience, right living and prayer for the attainment of its ultimate end: eternal happiness in heaven, with God.

Thank you! God bless!