Natural Law Flashcards
(14 cards)
What’s are the primary precepts
Worship god
Ordered society
Reproduce
Learn
Defend Innocent/ preserve life
What’s a pro of the precepts
Creates fixed ethical code so stops people being confused
Leads to belief that certain rights exist regardless of consequences
Precepts highlight equality
There should be regulations in order to flourish and find eudamonia
They help you follow synderesis - do good and avoid evil
Gives us clarity and firm moral principles
Common across lots of cultures
What’s a con of the precepts
Too legalistic , restricting and fixed on rules
Precept of worship god is flawed as makes theory not apply to atheist
One persons idea of good decisions is different to others - creates disagreements
Conflict eachother - allowing pregnant women to die to save baby is following reproduction but breaking preserving life - decreases legitimacy
Precepts are based of reaching your purpose and flourishing but what if there is more then one purpose eg sex for love not reproduction
What’s doctrine of double effect
A principle where sometimes it is permissible to cause harm as a side effect
What’s a pro of the doctrine of double effect
Provides alternative way for decision making in extreme cases that helps better decisions to be made - flexibility
Teleogical - concerned with consequences so more specific to situation
Aquinas - ‘necessary violence’
Allows people to have right reason not just following rules can use your own mind
What’s a con of doctrine of double effect
People may pretend to have good intentions to perform bad acts
People can take advantage
Justifying bad acts
Whose to say our right reason is good - real vs apparent goods - sometimes we are wrong
What does aquinas believe about human law
If it is not in line with natural law you can disobey - civil disobedience-
Believes In people using there own reasoning
What does Thomas Hobbs say about natural law
Should be a principle not a law
Shouldn’t just be about strict laws but about right reason in accordance with nature
What is natural is good
However Catholic Church sees it as a list of rules to follow
What is GE Moore’s criticism
Naturalistic fallacy - assuming what we see in nature is good
Nature could be bad and humans naturally evil so these rules we’ve based of nature could be immoral
What is humes criticism
Fact vs value of eg the fact is that all species reproduce but how does that become a value that reproduction is good
What is John Stuart mills view
Nature kills - should we be saying that as it’s natural it’s good what if nature essentially bad
Animals brutally kill eachother and that is natural
What is Karl baths critisim
He is reliegous so believes natural law relies too much on our reason and that we can’t be trusted so we should take our ideas directly from revelations of the bible
What are other cons of natural law
Depends on a universe with purpose -
There is no purpose you pick it yourself so whatever nature says doesn’t matter it’s up to you - no point following precepts in order to flourish
Cultural relativism - is there just one eternal truth - people have different ideas eg homosexuality. Is nature universally seen the same way for everyone to follow the same rules
Out of date - do people believe in a purpose or the same precepts perhaps universe is an accident and there is no purpose. Rocks have no purpose
Other pros of natural law
Focuses on and values life - empowers people to flourish
Looks at end results of flouring
Gives clarity + fixed ethical code but slightly more scope + flexibility for your own reasoning
