Norms Flashcards
(26 cards)
What is a norm in the context of human acts?
A norm is a directive or guide for human actions, consisting of objective norms (Law) and subjective norms (Conscience).
What is the broadest definition of law?
In its broadest sense, a law is any design or plan that governs the movements or operations of persons or things.
What are the classifications of law according to their immediate author?
Laws are classified as divine laws (from God), ecclesiastical laws (from the Church), and civil laws (from the State).
How are laws classified according to their duration?
Laws are classified as temporal (human laws) or eternal (God’s plan for the universe).
What distinguishes natural law from positive laws?
Natural law aligns with eternal law and is known through reason, while positive laws are enacted by a legislator.
What are affirmative and negative laws?
Affirmative laws prescribe actions, while negative laws forbid actions. Negative laws bind always and at every moment.
What are the types of laws based on the effect of their violation?
Laws are classified as moral (fault or sin), penal (established penalty), and mixed (both fault and penalty).
What is the Eternal Law?
The Eternal Law is God’s divine plan for creation, reflecting His glory and governing the operations of creatures.
How is the moral law defined?
The moral law is that part of the Eternal Law that governs the free actions of men to achieve their ultimate end of union with God.
What is the purpose of the moral law?
The moral law aims for the glorification of God through the sanctification of men and the happiness of man.
What is the Natural Law?
Natural Law expresses the demands of human nature as understood through reason, guiding moral actions.
What is the definition of Human Positive Law?
Human Positive Law is an ordinance of reason, promulgated for the common good by an authority in society.
What are the essential qualities of a true law?
A true law must be just, honest, possible of fulfillment, useful, relatively permanent, and promulgated.
What distinguishes a law from a precept?
A law is for the common good and applies to a community, while a precept is personal and for individual good.
What is conscience in relation to moral law?
Conscience applies general moral principles to specific actions, determining if they are good or evil.
What is the nominal definition of conscience?
Conscience is derived from the Latin term cum + scientia, meaning ‘with knowledge’ regarding moral law.
What is the real definition of conscience?
Conscience is the practical judgment of reason on whether an individual act is good to be performed or evil to be avoided.
What are the two kinds of judgment related to conscience?
The two kinds of judgment are speculative (knowledge enrichment) and practical (indicating a course of action).
What are the two-fold roles of conscience?
Before the act, conscience judges if it is good or evil; after the act, it approves or disapproves based on moral quality.
What distinguishes true conscience from erroneous conscience?
True conscience judges correctly as good or evil, while erroneous conscience misjudges; it can be invincibly or culpably erroneous.
What is certain conscience?
Certain conscience is a firm and assured judgment with no fear of error, and it must be obeyed.
What is Erroneous conscience?
Not true is Erroneous. Conscience that is erroneous without the knowledge or fault of the agent is called invincibly erroneous or inculpably erroneous, while conscience that is erroneous through the agent’s fault is culpably erroneous.
What is Certain Conscience?
When conscience is altogether firm and assured judgment, in which the agent has no fear whatever of being in error, it is called Certain Conscience. Certain conscience must be obeyed, whether it be correct or invincibly erroneous.
What is Doubtful or Dubious Conscience?
Conscience that is not certain, i.e., that is hesitant, is called Doubtful or Dubious Conscience. The agent whose conscience is dubious is said to be in doubt concerning the existence or applicability of a law or moral principle.
