2.3 natural moral law Flashcards
What are the 2 foundations of Natural Moral Law?
1) Biblical foundation = St Paul
2) Classical foundation = Aristotle
What did Romans 1:20 say and how does it apply to NML?
“Since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse”
- God made himself known through his creation of the world and therefore people have no excuse not to follow God’s will
What did Romans 2:14-16 say and how does it relate to NML?
“Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law”
- Paul is describing how Gentiles know the law from God, not from studying the existing Jewish law, but through their own hearts/conscience
How did Aristotle impact the development of NML?
- Aristotle argued that everything has a final purpose/telos revealed in its design and that the fulfilment of the telos is the supreme ‘good’ to be sought
What is the purpose of a human being according to Aristotle?
eudaimonia which is roughly translated to ‘human flourishing’
How are humans supposed to fulfil their purpose according to Aristotle?
- to flourish, we must fulfil our function and use our reason well
- reason goes beyond the rules of society and is universal
- there is a universal law which we can all abide by -> the law of nature
What did Aquinas say about NML?
- all humans have a natural purpose towards which God wants them to aim
What is the telos of rational beings according to Aquinas?
- the goodness of God -> telos will bring humans into unity and fellowship with God and enable the reaching of the highest human potential
What is the key precept?
‘We should aim to do good and avoid evil’
What are the 5 primary precept, according to Aquinas?
- to preserve life
- to reproduce
- to educate children
- to worship God
- to create an orderly and peaceful society
What is meant by secondary precepts?
moral rules that are derived from the primary precepts
e.g to preserve life -> don’t murder
What is the difference between apparent and real goods?
- apparent good = goes against primary and secondary precepts, they might give us pleasure BUT we are not fulfilling our potential
- real good = consistent with natural purposes
What are the four cardinal virtues?
- prudence
- justice
- fortitude
- temperance
What are the seven vices/deadly sins?
- pride
- avarice
- lust
- envy
- gluttony
- anger
- sloth
What is the doctrine of double effect?
- there are situations where it is not possible to do good without doing bad
- refers to situations where there is an intended outcome accompanied by another significant unintended outcome