MY ACTION SPEAK

OF MY BEING
Lesson 6
 TAKE OFF

Read the story about Lareaza and her mother.

 TALK IT OVER

What moved Laraeza to pay for the two

chocolate bars?
Why do you think there are times when people
blocked by outside forces?
If you were Laraeza’s mother, how would you
feel, seeing the reaction of your daughter?
 POINTS TO PONDER

It said that our actions is governed by NATURAL LAW

What is Natural Law?

-this term is frequently employed as equivalent to the
laws of nature, meaning the order that governs the activities
of the material universe.
 POINTS TO PONDER
 Among Roman Jurists, Natural Law designated those
instincts and emotions common to man and the lower
animals like the instinct of self-preservation and love of
spring.

 The Natural Law is the rule of conduct that is prescribed

to us by the Creator in the constitution of the nature with
which he has endowed us.
 POINT TO PONDER

Dr. Jonathan Dolhenty

 Modern-day classical realist and co-founder of the Center of
Applied Philosophy in the United States.

 He explained that human acts are inevitably related to the

observance of natural law, and these are mentally pronounced
upon their agreement or disagreement with the natural law.
 POINT TO PONDER
Virtually, everyone seems to have some knowledge of
natural law even before such knowledge is codified and
formalized.

Even children make an appeal to “fair play” and “fair and

square” and older children and adults often apply the
“golden rule”.
 POINT TO PONDER
When doing so, they are spontaneously invoking the natural law.
This is why many proponents of the natural law theory say it is the
law that is written upon the hearts of men”.
These are examples of what is called “connatural knowledge,” that
is knowledge that:
 conforms with reality
 is instinctive in character concepts
 is evolved from experience, and;
 is influenced by the effective or feeling side of man’s nature
 POINT TO PONDER
We rarely express the precept of “do good and avoid evil”
explicitly just as we rarely state the Principle of Contradiction
explicitly in daily life.

The Law of Contradiction or the Law of All or Nothing

consists of the absence of a middle ground. It is either Yes or No,
nothing in between. This fact points to the fundamental truth of
such a precept, and indicates how it expresses something “natural”
to human beings.
 POINT TO PONDER
A human being naturally tends to seek what appears good to
reason, and naturally shrinks from what appears to be not good.

The concept of natural law has taken several forms. The idea began
with the ancient Greeks’ conception of a universe governed in
every particular way by an eternal, immutable law and their
distinction between what is just by nature and just by convention.
 POINT TO PONDER
STOICISM – provided the most complete classical formulation of
natural law.

The Stoics argued that the universe is governed by reason, or

rational principle. They argued that all humans have reason within
them and can therefore know and obey its law.

Because human beings have the faculty to choice (free will), they
will not necessarily obey the law; if they act in accordance with
reason, however, they will be “following nature”.
 POINTS TO PONDER

Thomas Aquinas
Says that, Natural Law is that part of the eternal law of God (“the
reason of divine wisdom”)that is knowable by human being by
means of their power reason. Human or positive law is the
application of natural law to particular social circumstances.

He believed that positive law that violates natural law is not true
law. He also called this principle in the form: “Do good nd avoid
evil”.
 POINT TO PONDER

Natural Law is a directive written in the human

heart. It was God who put it there. Accordingly, if
man’s actions are governed by this law, a person is
directed toward the right path. He or she will
always choose to do good and avoid evil.
 LET’S STOP AND REFLECT

Read the story about the “The Modern-Day Samaritan”.

Answer the following questions.

1. With which character in the story do you identify.
2. If you were the cigarette vendor, would you have done
the same thing?
L E T S VA L U E O U R L I F E ’ S R O A D S I G N

Write five sentence paragraph about this topic:

“My actions are governed by natural law and
divine law. I shall vie to do good and avoid
evil.”
 TAKE THIS CHALLENGE

As your journal entry, write about an experience

you had where you were challenged to do good
and or challenged the evil.
Thank you for Listening

Princess May C. Ramos

Values Teacher