Miranda, Carmela Dawn C. Mr. Christian T. Bulanadi March 8,2023 Assignment # 1 – Christian Morality Assignment #1 1. What is law? Law is defined as a body of rules of action and/or conduct which are prescribed and implemented or enforced by a figure of authority, as well as "having binding legal force", which must be followed or obeyed by the citizens subject to sanctions or legal consequences (Black Law's Dictionary, 6th Edition) — this definition of law aims to describe the term or the concept as a set of rules of action and conduct that are implemented by a group, such as a country's law enforcers like policemen, since such rules binds the citizens in an agreement of following such law which have corresponding sanctions if disobeyed by the individuals, or even disrespected. In another definition, law is described as consisting of "enforceable rules" which govern the relationships among individuals, as well as between individuals and their society (Fayetteville State University, n.d.). Like in the first definition, this second one points out to the idea that law is composed of rules which are enforced to citizens, but, in addition, this another definition of law inserts a new idea — law is a body of rules which govern and/or manage the interactions and relationships between individuals in a community or society, as well as the actual connections and relations that individuals have with the society or community they belong in. As a body of rules, law also poses a lot of purposes in a society, and one of which is that it is aimed at resolving disputes in a society, because with law, there can be a legal and "structured" interactions among citizens, and since it provides structure or organization, law can help in critically analyzing and pointing out the facts like the steps that can be done to resolve conflicts. Another purpose of law is that it provides for the protection of the liberties and rights of the citizens or individuals since it provides a body of rules that reflect the limitations, responsibilities, as well as the rights that must be granted to citizens such as the right to education and freedom of speech. 2. What is norm? The term "norm" can be defined as the set of rules or expectations which determine and provide the standard for "appropriate behavior' within a culture, group, or society (Bell, 2013). The definition of such term by Bell, equates with the idea that the concept of norm is described as a set or group of rules which set the expectations that determine and manage the "standards of appropriateness" regarding various aspects of a society, culture, or a group, such as in terms of clothing, what can be considered "appropriate" for women to wear in public. In a definition from another source, norm is described as a "group-shared standards of behavior"(Mondal, 2013). In such ways, norms are the agreed standards of behavior between members of a society, culture, or a group — and such idea actually asserts the notion of "norms being a system of rules of behavior which provide the definition of what is 'appropriate', 'common', and/or 'normal' in a whole community. An example of norms are the standards of "appropriate clothing" for various genders in the society, especially for women wherein in some culture, clothing for women are required to be about being very "covered up" as such reflects the standard of conservativeness, the norm of modesty for women. In conclusion, norm can be understood as a system of rules within a group, culture or a society in which such rules set the standards for appropriateness in the behavior within such groups, organizations, or collective bodies. 3. What is natural law? The concept of natural law, as defined by Mineshema Lowe in 2009, is the "laws of morality ascertainable through human reason". Natural law, as a legal philosophy, in terms of politics and jurispudence, refers to the body of rules implementd by authority and/or law enforcers superior in that of the state; as a protection of social practices and norms in a country or society, provides an ethical set of rules which govern the individuals' interactions with one another (Mineshema-Lowe, 2009). Lowe's definitions provide a view of the natural law, as a concept which encompasses both morality and "legality" in the set of rules which governs individuals' interactions and relations. In another definition, natural law is described as the "unwritten body of universal moral laws by which human conduct is sometimes evaluated and governed", which conceptualizes natural law as a set of rules which are rooted both on human concept of morality, as well as human reason (West's Encyclopedia of American Law, 2008). Natural law, from the term itself, pertains to the body of rules which govern human interactions ,with their roots or origins traced from what human reason and morality considers as "appropriate". 4. What is moral law? Moral law can be defined as the "guidelines or rules of behavior of a group of people that determine what is 'right' and 'wrong' but are not necessarily part of the formal laws" (Study.com, n.d.)— with this simple yet concise description, moral law can be understood as a body or set of rules which serve as the guideline for the behavior of an individual as a member of any collective body such as a community or country, in which such rules, though not legallygrounded or has a legal basis, provides the "standards" in the consideration of what is appropriate/right or inappropriate/wrong in terms of behavior in a society. In another definition, moral law refers to "rules of behavior an individual or a group may follow out of personal conscience and that are not necessarily part of legislated laws"(West's Encyclopedia of American Law, 2008). This definition of moral law further emphasizes the idea that moral law, unlike other laws, are not legally-bounded, which is why it can also be up to a person's discretion to follow or not such rules — in most cases, people generally follow moral law as a symbol of their "commitment" to the society as its members, like how a person may follow the moral laws embodied in his/her religion or native culture. Examples of moral law include the Ten Commandments, rules of no cursing, familial obligations/responsibilities, etc. 5. What is conscience? The fifth term, "conscience" has Latin origins from the word "conscientia" which means "knowledge"(scientia) and "with"(cons—) (Pierce, 1995; Sorabji, 2014). The term has been traditionally defined as the "moral knowledge that is shared within oneself" (Giubilini, 2021). In another definition, conscience is described as the "personal sense of the moral content of one's own conduct, intentions, or character with regard to a feeling of obligation to do right or be good". From the two given definitions, my personal understanding of conscience is that, it is the "personal moral knowledge and principles that serves as the compass for the judgment that an individual makes in terms of attempting to make decisions that are right or good", which can be supported with the definition provided by Vithoulkas and Muresanu in 2014, in which conscience is described as the "highest authority in oneself for determining an action as 'good' or 'evil' ". 6. What are the different kinds of conscience? Conscience, as a concept, can be classified or divided into various kinds, which show or reflect the different "aspects" or views involved in such concept. (Sensus Fidelium, 2023 ; Study Docu — University of Southeastern Philippines, n.d.) The first kind is called the "right" or "true conscience" which is defined as the "one which, according to sound principles dictates what is right and wrong". This kind of conscience aims to judge and classify what can be considered as "good" and what are things that can be considered as "evil". The second kind is the "certain conscience" which is the conscience that is "clear and absolute in its dictates, so that in obeying it, we feel morally certain that we are right" ; the "subjective assurance of the lawfulness or unlawfulness of certain actions to be done". The second kind of conscience provides a clear ground on what is morally upright or not, from which the assurance of choosing a morally good decision in oneself emerges. The third kind, the "timorous" or "tender conscience", is defined as the "one which fears not only sin, but also whatever can have the least shadow and smallest appearance of sin". The fourth kind of conscience is the "doubtful conscience". It is described as the conscience which "suspends judgment on the lawfulness of an action and therefore, the action should be omitted". This kind of conscience does not have a "clear judgment" of a thing as being purely right nor wrong, thus, there is doubt or unclearness which makes the decision regarding moral judgment undetermined. The next kind, the fifth kind of conscience which is "lax conscience", defined as the "one which for a light reason judges to be lawful what is very unlawful or considers a sin which is griveous only as a venial sin; one which without sufficient reason favors liberty, either in order to escape the law or to diminish the gravity of guilt". The sixth one, the "perplexed conscience", is the kind of conscience that emerges in situations when man is placed between two actions which both appear as "bad"— there is contemplation regarding what to do or choose since both ways can be perceived by man as "evil". The seventh kind of conscience is the "scrupulous conscience" wherein this is the conscience," a result of stubborn character, which is constantly afraid committing evil". The eight kind is the "erroneous" or "false conscience" which is the conscience that "represents to man an action as good which is really bad". Other kinds include the "callous conscience" ("insensitive, heartless, cruel disregard for others") and "pharisaical conscience" ("a person is hypocrite"). 7. What is discernment? Discernment, as defined by American minister John MacArthur, refers to the "ability to decide between truth or error, right and wrong". It is also described as the "process of making careful distinctions in our thinking about truth" (as cited in Christianity.com, 2023). As a concept, discernment is also generalized as the ability to "accurately evaluate ourselves, people, and situations". Based on such definitions, I view discernment as the ability to make smart judgments about different things — such as how we try to deeply ponder regarding the big decisions in our lives ; or how we try to analyze the choices that are offered to us. As a Christian, researching about the definition also taught me a new lesson, and that is the notion that the concept of discernment is linked with my religion, in such a way that spiritual discernment is an integral part of Christianity. References: - Britannica. (2019). Norm | society. In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/norm-society - Conscience | psychology. (n.d.). Retrieved from Encyclopedia Britannica website: https://www.britannica.com/topic/conscience - Different Kinds Of Conscience - DIFFERENT KINDS OF CONSCIENCE ï‚· RIGHT CONSCIENCE o Judge what is - Studocu. (n.d.). Retrieved March 8, 2023, from Studocu website: https://www.studocu.com/ph/document/university-of-southeasternphilippines/general-psychology/different-kinds-of-conscience/24293666 - Giubilini, A. (2022). Conscience (E. N. Zalta, Ed.). Retrieved March 8, 2023, from Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy website: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/conscience/#Conc - Mineshema-Lowe, D. (2009). Natural Law. Retrieved from www.mtsu.edu website: https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/788/natural-law - Mondal, P. (2013, September 11). Social Norms: It’s Meaning, Characteristics, Institutionalization and Functions. Retrieved from Your Article Library website: https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/society/social-norms-its-meaning-characteristicsinstitutionalization-and-functions/8514 - Moral Law. (n.d.). Retrieved from TheFreeDictionary.com website: https://legaldictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Moral+Law - natural law. (2014). Retrieved from TheFreeDictionary.com website: https://legaldictionary.thefreedictionary.com/natural+law - norm. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/norm/ - The Catholic Dogma: Extra Ecclesiam Nullus Omnino Salvatur. (2018, January 2). Retrieved March 8, 2023, from Sensus Fidelium website: https://sensusfidelium.com/meditations/fr-michael-muller/the-catholic-dogma-extraecclesiam-nullus-omnino-salvatur/ - Vithoulkas, G., & Muresanu, D. F. (2014). Conscience and consciousness: a definition. Journal of Medicine and Life, 7(1), 104–108. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3956087/ - What is Discernment? Biblica Meaning and Importance for Today. (n.d.). Retrieved March 8, 2023, from www.christianity.com website: https://www.christianity.com/wiki/christianterms/what-is-biblical-discernment-and-why-is-it-important-11532182.html?amp=1 - What is a law? (n.d.). Retrieved from www.lawhandbook.sa.gov.au website: https://lawhandbook.sa.gov.au/ch27s01.php - What is Law | IGI Global. (n.d.). Retrieved March 8, 2023, from www.igi-global.com website: https://www.igi-global.com/dictionary/interdisciplinary-communication/16688 - (2023). Retrieved March 8, 2023, from Study.com website: https://homework.study.com/explanation/what-are-some-examples-of-moral-law.html
