NATURAL LAW THEORY

Purpose (Telos)

The world is rational and ordered, where everything in nature has a specific or function built into its structure by design.

Example: Eyes were made for seeing, so using eyes to see helps fulfill their natural purpose.

Fulfilling Human Nature

- Humans are naturally social and rational; acting against human connection or survival violates natural law.

Example: Helping a neighbor who is trapped after a storm fulfills our natural social purpose to care for each other.

Using Reason to Discover Moral Truth

- Reason allows human beings to understand the natural order and act right

- Using your brain to figure out what helps human beings flourish.

Example: Realizing that stealing causes fear and confusion in a community, so avoiding theft keeps society stable.

St. Thomas Aquinas' View on Natural Law

he viewed about the nature of human beings as God's creation... Aquinas held that human beings are endowed with reason to participate in the Eternal Law of God through Natural Law

Synderesis

- The innate human inclination to do good and avoid evil.

- The inner built-in voice inside every person urging them to do good things and avoid bad ones.

Example: Feeling a natural desire to help a child who fell down.