Honors Ethics and Morality - Natural Law Flashcards

Flashcards covering the history of natural law, from the Greeks to modern views, including key philosophers and concepts.

Natural Law (Greeks)

The ancient Greeks developed the idea and term 'natural law,' recognizing an unyielding reality of objective obligation.

Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics

Based upon the idea of natural law; morality involves responding to life as it is, not just intention.

Stoic Philosophers

Viewed natural law as the objective demand to conform to the givenness of reality for survival.

Natural Law (Romans)

The Romans, considered fathers of natural law, emphasized the law of natural order and human nature.

Cicero

Defined true law as 'right reason in agreement with nature,' advocating for human reason and prudence.

Gaius

Distinguished between 'ius civile' (civil law specific to a society) and 'ius gentium' (laws common to all people).

Ius Civile

Civil law; regulations and customs specific to a single group or society

Ius Gentium

Law of the nations; laws that are common to all people. For Gaius, this was a reality but not a necessity

Ulpian

Defined 'ius naturale' as a 'rule of action common to man and all the animals,' with reason discerning and obeying facts and laws.

Ius Naturale

Natural law; A rule of action common to man and all the animals

Augustine on Natural Law

Described natural law as the 'light of understanding' placed in us by God, guiding us on what to do and avoid.

Isidore of Seville

Bridged Gaius and Ulpian by defining natural law as the sum of laws shared by all cultures, an exercise of human reason distinguishing humans from animals.

Thomas Aquinas - Human Law

Human law is a 'determination of reason' to act according to reason and is consistent with the Roman view.

Thomas Aquinas - Concrete Ethical Questions

Natural law is common to all animals; eating, sleeping propagating and dying

Attacks on Natural Law

Sigmund Freud, Karl Marx, Charles Darwin, Behaviorism (B.F. Skinner) and John Dewey

Sigmund Freud

The id is the central reality of our existence, our 'life force'

Karl Marx

"Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people."

Charles Darwin

Darwin's theories have led some to the conclusion that, not only are we like animals, we are animals

Behaviorism

We are not really free because we are subject to a variety of evolutionary forces

John Dewey

Human thought is understood as practical problem-solving

Rebirth of Natural Law

Renewed respect for the objective reality of human nature and natural law in developmental psychology.

Developmental Psychology

There are patterns of personal growth that transcend geographical and social boundaries

Rebirth of Natural Law - Individuals Involved

Jean Piaget, Erik Erikson, Lawrence Kohlberg, Eric Berne and Carl Jung

The human person

Recognition of a universal in human behavior

New Perspective

Humans are free, our intelligence is real, we have potential, even though we cannot do everything, we can do something