Natural Law

Question 1

what is the syneresis principle?

Answer 1

our natural disposition to do good and avoid evil - this is known by our conscience

Question 2

Aristotle’s quote on nature and purpose

Answer 2

“Nature makes nothing without a purpose”

Question 3

what is the essence of man according to aquinas

Answer 3

his rational soul

Question 4

what are the three souls as outlined by Aristotle

Answer 4

nutritive, sensitive rational

Question 5

practical wisdom

Answer 5

phronesis

Question 6

what does Augustine believe about human nature

Answer 6

human nature has been corrupted by the fall, and without the assistance of God’s grace, humankind cannot fulfil its proper end

Question 7

what are Aquinas’ four laws

Answer 7

eternal (mind and reason of god), divine (revealed in moral precepts of scripture), natural (innate to all of nature) and human

Question 8

what is the distinction between real and apparent goods

Answer 8

real goods direct us towards arete from achieving our essential nature in accordance with precepts of NL;
apparent goods are what we pursue from a lack of practical judgement or when virtue misdirects our action

Question 9

a quote that exemplifies the chase of an apparent good

Answer 9

‘a fornicator seeks pleasure which involves him in moral guilt’ (because the proper end of sex is reproduction, not pleasure)

Question 10

what is sin equivalent to

Answer 10

acting against reason

Question 11

what are the primary precepts

Answer 11

descriptive; absolute universal principles which are self-evident and express human inclinations

1. Preservation of life
2. Ordered society
3. Worship god
4. Education
5. Reproduction

Question 12

what are the secondary precepts

Answer 12

prescriptive; how the primary ones come to be applied through practical knowledge; can vary based on circumstance
e.g. give equal education, do not abort

Question 13

how does practical wisdom develop

Answer 13

through virtuous habits that dispose us act rationally

Question 14

explain proportionalism

Answer 14

it holds that there are certain moral rules and that it cannot be right to go against these rules unless there is a proportionate reason that would justify it;

Question 15

proportionalism and the distinction between good acts and right acts

Answer 15

proportionalist holds that it is possible for an action in itself to be wrong, but in a certain context it may be morally right - in this way the circumstances need to be taken into account

Question 16

Bernard Hoose’s quote

Answer 16

‘an action born of love can be wrong, while an action not resulting from love can be right’

Question 17

what choice is the proportionalist faced with when defining the parameters for a ‘proportionate reason’

Answer 17

whether to refer to a rigid calculus like the hedonic one (which they reject) or listen to an individual intuition - neither seems satisfactory

Question 18

name 7 objections to NL

Answer 18

1. Rejection of purpose in nature
2. the fact-value gap
3. Basic human goods vary across time and culture
4. Absolutism can lead to bad, avoidable consequences
5. too closely allied to the Catholic church
6. Theological objection
7. Aquinas’ approach not holistic

Question 19

Aquinas’ definition of NL

Answer 19

‘The natural law is the sharing in the eternal law by intelligent creatures’

Question 20

Herbert McCabe quote

Answer 20

‘For Aquinas, the basis of the moral life is prudence, right practical reason in the pursuit of charity’

Question 21

Thomas Aquinas on the order of the precepts

Answer 21

‘the order of the precepts of the natural law is the order of our natural inclinations’

Question 22

Veritatis Splendor 1995

Answer 22

‘The natural law involves universality as it is inscribed in the rational nature of a person. It makes itself felt in every person endowed with reason’

Question 23

James Rachels on NL

Answer 23

‘The world is conceived as a rational order with value and purpose built into its very nature’