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2.3 natural moral law Flashcards

1
Q

What are the 2 foundations of Natural Moral Law?

A

1) Biblical foundation = St Paul
2) Classical foundation = Aristotle

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2
Q

What did Romans 1:20 say and how does it apply to NML?

A

“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
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3
Q

What did Romans 2:14-16 say and how does it relate to NML?

A

“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
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4
Q

How did Aristotle impact the development of NML?

A
  • 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
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5
Q

What is the purpose of a human being according to Aristotle?

A

eudaimonia which is roughly translated to ‘human flourishing’

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6
Q

How are humans supposed to fulfil their purpose according to Aristotle?

A
  • 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
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7
Q

What did Aquinas say about NML?

A
  • all humans have a natural purpose towards which God wants them to aim
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8
Q

What is the telos of rational beings according to Aquinas?

A
  • the goodness of God -> telos will bring humans into unity and fellowship with God and enable the reaching of the highest human potential
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9
Q

What is the key precept?

A

‘We should aim to do good and avoid evil’

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10
Q

What are the 5 primary precept, according to Aquinas?

A
  1. to preserve life
  2. to reproduce
  3. to educate children
  4. to worship God
  5. to create an orderly and peaceful society
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11
Q

What is meant by secondary precepts?

A

moral rules that are derived from the primary precepts
e.g to preserve life -> don’t murder

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12
Q

What is the difference between apparent and real goods?

A
  • 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
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13
Q

What are the four cardinal virtues?

A
  1. prudence
  2. justice
  3. fortitude
  4. temperance
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14
Q

What are the seven vices/deadly sins?

A
  1. pride
  2. avarice
  3. lust
  4. envy
  5. gluttony
  6. anger
  7. sloth
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15
Q

What is the doctrine of double effect?

A
  • 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
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16
Q

What is an example of the doctrine of double effect?

A

an ectopic pregnancy
- the intended intention = save the woman’s life
- the unintended outcome = death of the foetus

17
Q

What does Bernard Hoose add to NML?

A

proportionalism = disregards absolutism and puts more emphasis on the consequences

“It is never right to go against a principle unless there is a proportionate reason which would justify it”

18
Q

What is the new NML?

A
  • devised by Germain Griesz
  • concentrates in the concrete(as opposed to abstract) qualities which are necessary for moral goodness
  • divides goods into two kinds:
    1. practical
    2. moral
19
Q

What does John Finnis add to NML?

A
  • basic human goods are self-evident truths
  • if people see that following the law is morally right, they’ll do it without coercion
  • the basic practical principles are: life, knowledge, play, aesthetic experience, friendship, practical reasonableness and religion’
20
Q

What are some strengths of NML?

A
  • both proportionalism and the doctrine of double effect give it flexibility
  • it’s universally applicable
  • it is objective, some things are just wrong
  • Steven Pinker = moral behaviour seems to be genetically determined
21
Q

What are some weaknesses of NML?

A
  • nature doesn’t appear to be good
  • an atheist wouldn’t derive purpose from God, Aquinas just assumes that all human beings seek to worship God
  • Jesus taught a less legalistic ethical theory and more situational
  • naturalistic fallacy

rs (16 decks)

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