Natural Moral Law

AQA A-Level Religious Studies

Where is Proportionalism most often applied?

Medical ethics

Who are the two associated with Proportionalism?

Peter Knaever and Richard McCormick

Intrinsic

Good or bad are part of the nature of an action.

What is the first principle of Proportionalism?

Moral rules in Natural Moral Law must be upheld unless there is a proportionate reason for setting the rule aside.

What is the second principle of Proportionalism?

There are no intrinsic evils

What does proportionalism do to Natural Moral Law

It makes Natural Moral Law more relative

What two things must be taken into account with Proportionalism?

- The intention of the moral agent must always be goof
- The value of the good effect must outweigh the disvalue of the bad effect

Moral Agent

Someone who makes a decision

Strengths of Proportionalism

- Robust, used in Just War Theory
- Been around a long time
- Based on common sense
- Widely used outside Natural Moral Law

Weaknesses of proportionalism

* Condemned by the Catholic church as things can be intrinsically evil
* Denied in general as things such as rape are intrinsically evil
* Links to Consequentialism in guessing the value of the actions; this guess works removes the authority from Natural Moral Law

Exterior Acts

Acts which are good on the surface, but the intention is selfish.

Interior Acts

An act which is performed with the right intention.

Virtue

A good characteristic

How do you achieve a good character?

By practicing the virtues as a way of life.

What are Aquinas' four cardinal virtues?

- Prudence
- Justice
- Fortitude
- Temperance

Which is the most important of Aquinas' four cardinal virtues and why?

Prudence, because it allows us to understand a situation and work out what to do

How can we learn prudence?

Through experience and observing people who practice this.

Prudence

Use of practical reason

Justice

Being fair

Fortitude

Courage

Temperance

Self-control

How do we achieve Aquinas' theological virtues?

They are given to us by God's grace

What are Aquinas' theological virtues?

- Faith
- Hope
- Love

Faith

Belief in God and what is revealed through scripture and the church.

Hope

The hope of Heaven and the beatific vision (union with God)

Love

Love of God above all things and love of one's neighbour through the love of God.

Agape love

An unconditional love for others because they are created in the image of God

What are the two interpretations of natural moral law?

Thomists and Manualists

Thomists

- They give equal importance to both virtues and the primary precepts
- Less absolute and deontological

Manualists

- 17th Century Catholica priests who wrote manuals to train new priests
- Applied natural moral law to moral issues and made them very deontological
- Cut out reference to the virtues

Doctrine of Double Effect

Used in difficult situations, allows us to set aside a secondary precept to uphold a primary precept.

How does considering the doctrine of double effect change natural moral law?

It makes it more relative and teleological as you are considering both the situation and consequence of your action.

Following the doctrine of double effect, how can an action still be considered good?

If the intention was good

What are the four conditions of the double effect?

- Nature of the act condition
- The means-end condition
- The right intention condition
- The proportionality condition

Nature of the act condition

The action must be morally good or neutral

The means-ends condition

The bad effect can never be the means by which a good effect is achieved

Means

Action

Ends

Consequence

The right intention condition

The intention in acting must have only been to achieve a good effect, any bad effect must have been an unintentional side effect.

The proportionality condition

The good effect must be at least equivalent in importance to the bad effect

What is Meta-Ethics?

The study of language and the meaning of ethical terms.
e.. What does 'right' mean?

What is Normative Ethics?

The study of rules around morally right and wrong behaviour.

What is Practical Ethics

Application of ethical theories to issues surrounding humans and nature.

Objective

orals are real and apply to everyone, regardless of their opinions and teachings.

Subjective

Morals are dependent on a person's thoughts, feelings, opinions or point of view.

Absolutism

Moral rules are fixed and remain true for everyone in all situations

Relativism

There are no universal moral rules. Circumstances, culture and situation determine what is right and wrong.

Descriptive

Describing moral rules without judging them.

Prescriptive

Moral rules tell us how we ought to behave.

Teleological

Right and wrong are judged by the consequences of someone's actions.

Deontological

Right and wrong are judged by the actions not the consequences.

Telos

Ends

Deo

Duty

What is cultural relativism?

Your culture determines your view of right and wrong on some situations.

How does a relativist view issues of cultural relativism?

A relativist would not judge other cultures, as they accept that there is no set right or wrong, we are all simply doing what we think is right.

What are the two states of being according to Aristotle?

Potentiality and Actuality.

Potentiality

The possibility of doing something or becoming something.

Actuality

When potential is achieved.

What did Aristotle say were the 4 causes?

- Material Cause
- Efficient Cause
- Formal Cause
- Final Cause

Material Cause

The things out of which an object is created.

Efficient Cause

The way in which an object is created.

Formal Cause

The expression, idea or plan that led to the creation of an object and it's characteristics.

Final Cause

The purpose for which an object is created; it's telos.

What was Aristotle's ultimate telos?

Eudaimonia

Eudaimonia

Good Life

What was Aquinas' view on morals?

He was an absolutist, he believed laws are fixed by God for everyone.

Was Aquinas deontological or teleological?

Deontological

What would have been Aquinas' telos?

Unity with God

What did Aquinas believe the efficient cause of everything was?

God

How does Aquinas believe we discover our purpose in nature?

Through God given reason.

How does Aquinas describe moral law?

"A moral code hidden within the purpose of nature, created by God."

What is the synderesis rule?

Good is done and pursued and evil to be avoided.

What are the four laws which guide our reason and help us achieve perfection of purpose?

- Eternal Law
- Divine Law
- Natural Moral Law
- Human Law

Eternal Law

The order in creation that reflects God's will and purpose; it is eternal because it is always true and never changes. All other types of law have their basis in Eternal Law and are only true if they reflect the truth of Eternal Law.

Divine Law

Law which comes from God in special revalation.

Natural Moral Law

Precepts about goodness that are written by God in our hearts and accessible through our God-given reason

Human Law

Law promulgated by human authority, either civil or ecclesiastical. In order to be legitimate, human law must be consistent with laws of God, conform to the natural law, and promote the good of society.

What are the 5 primary precepts?

Preservation of life
Ordered society
Worship of God
Education of children
Reproduction

What does Aquinas believe leads us away from rationality?

Thoughts and feelings

According to Aquinas, how do we know how to behave?

By using reason and following the synderesis rule and universal law.

Primary Precepts

5 natural laws that lead us to do good and avoid evil.

Secondary Precepts

Human laws which uphold the primary precepts

To Aquinas, are primary precepts deontological or teleological?

They are both because they are focused on achieving our final cause.

What is our telos on Earth?

Happiness

What is the telos of humanity as a whole?

A union with God.

To Aquinas, what is the 'perfect good'?

A union with God, nothing created by humans can fulfil this.

What are humans individual telos'?

Humans have their own telos based on their natural abilities.

Apparent Goods

Appear to be good largely because we value them, but in fact are not good or as good as believed because they lead you away from your final cause.

What causes apparent goods?

Faulty reasoning

Real Goods

Help us to achieve our final cause as they glorify God.

Why are real goods not as easy to choose?

Because we are tempted by our desires, which cloud our reason, to choose apparent goods.

Cultural Relativism

The view that a person's moral beliefs should be judged in the context of their own culture.

Why are secondary precepts seen as culturally relative?

Because something may be considered wrong in our culture, but if it follows the primary precepts it isn't morally wrong.

What does the word 'Law' mean in 'Natural Moral Law'?

Justice/Principle

What is the difference between 'Justice/Principle' and 'Law'?

'Justice/Principle' are more flexible

To Aquinas, what makes morals more flexible?

The closer we get to a scenario, the more variation there is in what is judged to be morally right.

Where does Aquinas get his flexibility of secondary precepts from?

Aristotle's virtue ethics

What is variable surrounding primary precepts?

The precepts themselves are absolutes, but there is variation in determining what the moral law requires us to do.

What does Aquinas believe causes sin?

Faulty reasoning

To Aquinas, what do all humans actively desire?

To bring about good in the world.