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• Scott B. Rae stated in his book

  “the Bible is clear that morality is ultimately grounded in the character of God. God’s commands in the Scripture are important, but not the ultimate source of morality. Rather, they are a penultimate source for morality. That is, they are significant and close to the ultimate source, but just below the character of God”
• The eutyphrodilemma

  Does God command things because they are good, or are things good because God commands them?
• “Both “horns of the dilemma” are problematic for religious morality. However, the dilemma is eased by denying the premise—that morality is ultimately grounded in God’s commands. Theologically, that’s not the case, since morality is, in the end, grounded in God’s character. We hold this when responding to the Euthyphro, particularly the notion that God could be capricious and arbitrary. If morality is rooted in God’s character, then God cannot command anything contrary to his character

  ”God is the origin and source and foundation of goodness. He cannot act against his nature
• The Ultimate source of Morality in the Christian perspective, according to Rae is…..

  God’s Character

  Hence, if God’s nature is goodness, it follows logically that goodness “originates” from him freely and without limitations. He does not “command” it
• In the Christian perspective, we have the Bible and Jesus who presented God’s character of being “moral”, “good”, “compassionate”, “loving and forgiving” and just.
• A Human act is....

  It is an act that is performed only by a human being and thus is proper to man.

  This is what Morality evaluates.

  Hence, making human acts as the object of morality
• An act of Man...

  Acts of man, are acts shared in common by man and other animals.
• Constituents of Human acts

  1. Human acts must be known and deliberate. –the moral agent must fully know what he is doing ( both the reason and the consequences).
  2. Acts must be free. The moral agents is free from any external factors in doing a certain action. (No force, no pressure, no threat)
  3. Human acts must be voluntary-there is the will or volition to perform a specific act.
• Without Full knowledge 

  Without Freedom 

  Without the full exercise of one's will 

  In the absence of an element of human acts

  The action itself cannot be considered as a human act

  are known as impediments
• 1. Ignorance

  "The absence of knowledge in a subject capable of having knowledge or lack of knowledge in a subject who should have knowledge"
• Passion or concupiscence 

  –A STRONG DESIRE, POWERFUL EMOTION, OR APPETITES SPRINGING FROM A PRETENSE OF SOMETHING PERCEIVED AS GOOD OR EVIL
• Fear

  A MENTAL TREPIDATION OR AN EMOTIONAL REACTION ARISING FROM AN IMPENDING DANGER
• habit

  A QUALITY ACQUIRED THROUGH FREQUENT REPETITION THAT ENABLES THE SUBJECT TO ACT EASILY AND PROMPTLY

  AN INCLINATION THAT IS DIFFICULT TO REMOVE
• violence

  The external physical force exerted upon a resisting person to do something that is against his/her free will and reason.
• norms of morality are standards on which human acts are judged to determine their goodness or badness.
• These NORMS SPECIFICALLY COME IN THE FORM OF LAWS, WHICH ARE DECIDED AND enacted BY THE COMMUNITY to promote genuine human development.
• Eternal Law

  THE FUNDAMENTAL FRAMEWORK THROUGH WHICH HUMAN ACTS ARE DIRECTED AND GOVERNED .

  They are anchored on the divinity and perfection of God.

  Characterized as an intrinsic motivation leading one to act and do something, with pure intentions, in order to be at peace with himself/herself and with God.

  THROUGH THE ETERNAL LAW, HUMANS ARE GUIDED TO ACHIEVE THEIR ETERNAL DESTINY…GOD
• Eternal Law

  The Divine Reason and Will commanding that the natural order of things be preserved and forbidding it to be disturbed.

  God’s divine plan for all His creatures and the “exemplar of divine wisdom as directing all actions and movements”.
• ETERNAL –has no beginning nor end

  ETERNAL LAW

  IMMUTABLE –NOT SUBJECT TO CHANGE 

  ABSOLUTELY UNIVERSAL-APPLICABLE TO ALL
• NATURAL Law

  Human acts are derived from human nature.

  Discovered and understood by people with the aid of reason.

  Humans are by nature rational beings, it is morally appropriate that they should behave in a way that conforms to their rational nature.

  Natural law is directly related to our use of reason and to our being rational creatures.
• NATURAL Law

  The law of human conduct which arises from human nature as ordered to its ultimate natural end and which is recognized by the natural light of reason. 

  If properly exercised will lead to the Creator.

  E.g“ natural law dictates that you must not have sex with an animal”

  E.gnatural law dictates that you should be kind and compassionate to those who are truly in need.
• UNIVERSAL –the law is applicable to all creatures

  NATURAL LAW

  RECOGNIZABLE –IT IS RECOGNIZED THROUGH OBSERVATION, INTERACTIONS AND DEEPER REFLECTION OF ONE’S EXISTENCE

  OBLIGATORY –ONCE REALIZE IT BECOMES ONE’S RESPONSIBILITY TO OBEY IT FOR IT WILL GUIDE THE PERSON TO HIS DESIRED DESTINY WHICH IS TO GOD

  IMMUTABLE-SINCE IT IS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE DIVINE LAW, IT WILL NOT CHANGE
• positive Law

  POSITIVE–being promulgated on “published”

  A law enacted should not take effect unless it is promulgated or announced
• positive Law

  DIVINE POSITIVE LAW

  HUMAN POSITIVE LAW
• DIVINE positive Law

  A God-given law which is promulgatedfor all creatures or only for a specific group of community.

  Key word: GOD-GIVEN LAW

  Example: 10 commandments
• human positive Law

  An ordinance of reason promulgated for the common good by one in charge of the community or by a competent authority.
• human positive Law is

  An Ordinance –a decree or command. It must be obeyed.

  Reasonable –must be based on reason and not mere emotion.

  Common Good-it should serve the common good and not the majority nor the interest of few individuals.

  Competent Authority –the one who enacts should be competent, wise, just and respectable.
• human positive Law is

  For St. Thomas Aquinas 

  -A human positive law is in accordance with the divine and natural laws, promotes the common good, and has universal character.
• What isconscience?

  In ancient times, it is understood as “knowledge of community standards” (P. Churchland)

  It is also known as “ a joint knowledge, or knowledge with”

  In Christian perspective; it is understood as the “voice of God”

  Acc. To CCC it is the practical judgement of reason allowing the person to recognize the moral quality of an act.
• Conscience is not only about ideas or concepts .It also includes practical reasoning based on what the situation offers ;the circumstance, the intention, and the action itself.

  Conscience is involvedin a thorough discernment or deliberation regarding the action to be performed.
• antecedent - before the act

  concomitant - during the act

  consequent - after the act
• Types of conscience

  Correct conscience –tells a person and judges that an act is definitely good or bad. 

  ( ex. Planting trees, waste segregation, not cheating, respecting another person)

  False conscience –is the opposite of correct conscience. 
• Scrupulous Conscience-An erroneous conscience when the mind is unduly swayed by fear and judges that something is wrong that in fact is lawful. A person with this type of conscience is always worried that s/he might commit a sin even when there is no sin. (confessing every day due to fear of retribution from God)

  
  

  Lax conscience -An erroneous conscience when the mind decides on insufficient grounds that a sinful act is permissible or that something gravely wrong is not serious.
• Doubtful conscience


  A state of mind when it cannot certainly decide for or against a course of action and leaves the person unsure about the morality of what one is to do, or what one may have done
• Doubtful conscience

  • Gives rise to a positive judgment with a prudent fear of being wrong
  • Gives rise to a negative judgment in which the person does not know whether an act is lawful or not
  • Often leads to delayed decisions
• Certain conscience


  A state of mind when it has no prudent fear of being wrong about its judgment on some moral issue and firmly decides that some action is right or wrong
• • Must- Conscience – ( the “dapat” conscience) – formed during childhood until a certain age. It includes punishment, prohibition, and parental commands. • Ought- Conscience ( the “duty” conscience) –good acts are done out of duty and a sense of responsibility. It is a reflection of maturity.
• Challenges to the formation of conscience


  • Extreme relativism
  • Misinformation
  • Individualism
• Extreme relativism


  Everybody decides according to what he/she thinks to be the good one without referring or consulting to some people or authorities
• Misinformation


  Wrong information is used to manipulate people. Often, it will be very hard to convince those who are already misinformed