Natural Law Flashcards
(15 cards)
The origins of natural law
Aristotle’s teleological worldview
“every action and pursuit, is thought to aim at some good” -Aristotle ‘Nicomachean ethics’
- every living thing is connected +has a distinct purpose ‘telos
- Humans have special purpose - to use their reason ‘phronesis’ to flourish
- the ultimate purpose is eudiamonia ‘flourishing’ (implies an organic process or growth throughout our lives)
Aristotles four causes
the material cause - model/ matter its made of
the formal cause - model / idea it conforms to
The efficient cause- agent that brings it about
The final cause- reason / purpose for its existance
“the good ot man.. comes to be a .. working of the soul in the way of virtue”- Aristotle
Aquinas’ development of Aristotle
natural law
+ why we do not always follow it
+ quote from the bible and Aquinas
Aquinas reconciled Aristotles understanding of ‘telos’ and ‘eudiamonia’ with a Christian worldview
- while Aristotle taught that our efficient cause was the prime mover and that our final cause was eudiamonia , Aquinas claimed that our creator was the Christian God and that our final cause was instead to seek union with him
Natural law is an absolute theory of ethics that identifies a mutual consensus of right and wrong which he argues as a result of God who gave us more law ingrained into our human nature
Aquinas believed that this natural law was frequently corrupted by ignorance and emotion.
He agreed with Aristotle that we need to control our natural appetites (those we share with animals) and sense appetites (such as love fear and hate) through the use of reason / rational thought (intellectual and moral)
“ the light of reason is placed by nature in every man to guide him in his act towards his end”- Aquinas
“ the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences”- Bible
The four tiers of law and how each links to telos
+ quote about the hierarchy
In summa theologiae, Aquinas argued that natural law can be seen in the context of the ordered universe governed by the 4 teirs of law
Eternal law- the principles by which God made and controls the universe only fully known to God
(Provides us our telos and by achieving it we are following God’s eternal law)
Eg- gravity, mathematical laws
Divine law is the law of God revealed in the Bible through the 10 Commandments and the sermon on the mount, it helps us not to be distracted and make good decisions despite faulty human reasoning (shows us how to/ helps us achieve our telos)
Natural law, (the primary presets)- the moral law of God within human nature that gives us our sense of good and evil
+ how humans share and God‘s law directs our conscience to a situation and (helps us achieve our telos as it leads to the right outcome)
Human law (secondary precepts)- the laws of nations from entire legal systems to signs which serve as incentive to follow and indication of right and wrong
(Helps us live in a harmonious society which also help us achieve our telos)
They are tiered in level of importance as nothing is more supreme than God’s eternal law
“ if they command unjust things, their subjects are not obliged to obey them”- Aquinas
synderesis and the synderesis rule
+ quote from Aquinas
- The habit/ability of reason to discover foundational first principles of God‘s natural moral law
- The belief that good is what all things seek is their end goal and subsequently the evil is what all things avoid
“ God is to be sought and done evil to be avoided”- Aquinas
The primary and secondary precepts
Drive to preserve life (what we share with all beings)
reproduce + educate offspring ( things we have in common with animals)
worship God and live in an order society (unique to us as rational beings)
Aquinas argued that they were both absolute and universal ; an articulation of our God designed nature (the reason given to us by God)
The secondary precepts are the rules/applications of the primary precepts to specific situations
- for example, from ‘preserve life’ you could deduce that murder is wrong which would lead us to conclude not to kill someone in any situation
Aquinas on
- Interior and exterior acts
- Real and apparent goods
An exterior act is a physical action because it occurs outside of our mind
Interior acts are our intentions (what the goal or what wanted to occur as a result of what we chose to do) as they occur inside our minds
By achieving both the good exterior and a good interior we glorify God as one without the other is not sufficient as it is not done with the intention of fulfilling our God given telos
(for example giving to charity for selfish reasons)
Augustine believed that our intentions are always good, but we become confused by ignorance and reason
An apparent good is something that seems to be good but does not fit the perfect human ideal. A real good is something that does argue that we have to use reason to distinguish the difference between real and apparent goods
Weaknesses of natural law- Clarity
lack of clanty as to what is natural - it we judge it in accordance with natural workings of physical laws, is death not the natural result of illness
- convincing because natural law is based on a rational interpretation of nature
- convincing because what is ‘natural’ is not universal leg. women forbidden from being doctors, it was once ‘natural or considered acceptable and normal for individuals to b forced to work as slaves).
Weaknesses of natural law- from within the church
+ Bible quote
Karl Bath (20th century theologian) -
Claimed that Aquinas did not give enough attention to the doctrine of the fall.
- sin made it impossible for people to have a reliable understanding of Gods intention.
- therefore we need the Bible and revelation in order to know wnat is right, and cannot depend on our reasoning to the same extent claimed by Aquinas.
eg-St Paul slaughtered Christians until he had a divine revelation
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” - Bible
Weaknesses of natural law- assumption of purpose and creation
Richard Dawkins claims that the universe is a “brute fact
so the idea that God created the worldfor a purpose is “absurd”
- furthermore the idea that humanity has only 5 ‘ natural inclinations’ distregards all those who have sacrificed a lot for the care and progression of humanity
- individuals such as Mother Teresa who didnt have Children or world renowned scientists who created cures in deficiency because they didn’t worship God
Aquinas did review his argument by saying this as long as humanity produces the next generation others constrain from the path and purpose of reproduction, however he is been implying that summer adhering to God’s will more than others
Weaknesses of natural law- against absolutist principles
“There are no objective values” - J.L Mackie (inventing Rignt twrong)
- Mackie argued that moral codes reflect ways ot life, rather than objective values.
- Furthermore that moral discourse and institutional thinking have contributed to the concepts of values, obligations and reasons due to human inclination to find objectivity, not due to a God- given understanding
Little scepticism about the objectivity of values could aid and avoiding conflict and encourage others to listen to differing viewpoints
Strengths of natural law- structure
enables people to estabish common rules in order to structure communines, creating a universality and shared nature of morality.
-arguably appealing by todays standards as there are variations /highlighted differences between religions + cultures
Should all religions + cultures have the same rules + principles, if it is clear they do not already).
(This appeal of right + wrong being more than personal opinion is idealistic)
Strengths of natural law- combing faith and reason
the Christian version ot natural law is seen as a way of combining faith and reason .
- Morality does not only stem from a desire from obedience to the will of God, but also incorporates our own will + reason.
- it Does this by giving reason fer morality + providing divine justification for popular ideas (such as human rights + equality)
Shouldn’t these principles be valued anyway)
Strengths of natural law- flexibility
Aquinas observed that although the primary precepts were unchangeable, the secendary precepts could adapt .
The conclusions of the roman catholic church in terms of contraception and homosexuality are challengabe in some cases.
Could also be seen as a weakness
+ still not flexible enough contraception to stop the spreading Of AIDS or tackle overpopulation.
Doctrine of double effect
The doctrine of double effect is an ethical principle that permits an action with both good and bad consequences if the bad effect is not intended, even if it is foreseen. It essentially says that it’s morally acceptable to perform an action that has a good result, even if that action also results in a bad side effect, as long as the bad side effect wasn’t the goal of the action.
