Natural law

Synderesis

The golden role of natural law

Telos

Greek word meaning purpose or end (aim) of something

Purposive

Something has a goal and a reason for being

Aristotles 4 causes

• material cause - what something is made from

• Formal cause - what shape something takes

• Efficient cause - the activity that makes something happen

• Final cause - everything in nature has a purpose for existing, mainly to reach its telos/end

Aristotle

• Born in stagira, Macedonia in 384 BC

• Went to study in the ‘academy’ for 20 years from 366 BC

• An empiricists - one who believes all knowlage is ultimately based on sense experience

• Method known as ‘per genus et per differentia’ - by type or by difference

Telos - Aristotle

• humans have a unique telos found in rational thought

• We are unique in our ability to reason and reflect

• In exercising our reason, we are flourishing and achieving our telos

• Sometimes referred to as ‘Eudimonia’ (happiness and flourishing)

Telos - Aquinas

• developed this idea further by applying the moral rule of ‘Do good and avoid evil’

• This is better known as the ‘Synderesis rule’. All other moral rules are taken rom this

• Believed that the humans ultimate telos was to be in the presence of god

Key precepts quote

“This is the first precept of law, that ‘good is to be done and pursued, and evil is to be avoided.’ All other precepts of the natural law are based on this”

Primary precepts

1. Perseveration of innocent life

2. Reproduction

3. Education

4. To live in an ordered society

5. To worship god

Aquinas believes that these are self-evident and are things that we are naturally inclined to pursue

Secondary precepts

1. Murder, Euthanasia, abortion, suicide

2. Abortion, abstinence, contraception, homosexuality, sterilisation, doing anything that can cause fertility issues (taking drugs, drinking ect.)

3. Discouraging learning, ensure he building of schools, teachers should always be truthful

4. Not promote anarchy, set up govenrment, give the population the right to vote (democracy), set up a form of police (a group to enforce the law), set up a legistlature

5. Not promote atheism, set up rational religion, promoting prayer/praying, not take gods name in vain/respect for god

   • although the primary precepts are absolute and universal, they are general statements about what is good for humans. Hey do not tell us how to behave/act

   • Therefore, Aquinas developed secondary precepts are derived from the primary precepts - they illustrate the practical application of the primary precepts

4 tiers of law

1. Eternal law - the unchanging reason of god, absolute for all people and all times. This is the highest form of law

2. Divine law - the commandments given by god, usually found in the Torah/bible, teaching people how to live

3. Natural law - people can perceive eternal law by using their reason to reflect on the world and work out how they should behave and think.God uses natural law to make eternal law accessible to people. Natural law is universal

4. Human law - the laws people come up with in response to the higher tiers of law, or in response to the needs of their society and the way it is organised. Human law is the lowest tier of law and can be broken if higher forms of law can conflict with it

Eudimonia

State of human flourishing/happiness

Natural law can be seen as a helpful way of making moral decisions because

• it gives guidelines tough which people can see their actions through

• It gives a moral guide to potentially difficult situations which people may find themselves in

• Natural law is absolute, and does not give leeway to those in complex situations and therefore can be easier for people to apply and follow

• It is accessible to all

• It is a natural inclination, and therefore allows humans to us the same theory

• It is applicable with most western legal systems, as well as some religions

• Primary precepts are usually accepted within a large amount of cultures

• There is some flexibility in the secondary precepts that may take situation into account

• Natural law leads to a belief in certain rights that exist regardless of context

• Affirms the importance of reason. We have the rational capacity to work out right and wrong by observation of the world

Natural law is unhelpful as an approach to moral decision making because

• Primary precepts can clash, and it is not clear which of the precepts should be prioritised

• There are issues that are not so cut and dry as being good or bad, e.g., abortion can be done to save a mothers life, but it is still killing an innocent

• The absolutism cannot apply to all situations, and would possibly cause issues with those who are considering the ethical nature of their situation, it does not allow or flexibility

• Natural law is rooted in the ideals of 800 years ago, this should be changed in order to better fit modern situations and sensibility

• Primary precept are clear, but secondary are ore flexible and harder to interpret

• Society, life and times change, and therefore the morality that people live by use change with it (homosexuality)

• The belief that food is not universal, and therefore there is a main issue with the primary precepts

• It can be argued that basic goods vary far more across societies than is generally realised

• Natural law can be seen to be too legalised and fixed on obeying the rules, particularly when there are negative consequences

• Naturalistic fallacy of observing what happens in the world and assuming that this is what must happen. It attempts to define moral values in non-moral terms

• David Hume’s “is/ought” problem (humans teeth have evolved to be able to eat meat, and therefore humans should eat meat)

Naturalistic fallacy

The observation of the world and assumption of what will happen. It tries to define moral eras in non-moral ones

Essentialists

There is something to be human that we cannot change, even if we wanted to

Existentialist

Each human is unique, and that existence comes before essence

Aquinas + telos

• Believes there is a fixed human nature

• Made in the image of god’ and therefore have a clear purpose (Telos)

• Human nature is to achive the 5 primary precepts and that it is morally right for us to do so

• This is an essentialist position

Satre’s existentialism

• Presents the existentialist view that although objects have a fixed nature, human beings are fundamentally different

• As an atheist, he argued that we come into existence first and then we must decide for ourselves what our essence is - in other words what we are for

• We have a tendency to deny our freedom and behave as if we were mere objects. He calls this living in bad faith

Natural law is right to base ideas of right and wrong on telos because

• If Aquinas is right that there is an effectual human nature, then there really is a good for all humans that they should strive towards

• While Aquinas supports telos with reason, divine command theory (argues that right and wrong are based on the revealed commandments of god) makes a similar point in revaluation the bible hint on many occasions that ‘god has plans and purposes for human beings’ (Jeremiah 29)

Natural law is wrong to base ideas of right and wrong on telos because

• Aquinas may be making the mistake of assuming that all human beings have the same purposes. It is possible that we each have a different purpose (Aquinas recognises this too as he allowed priests who are called to celibacy to be exempt to the primary precept of reproduction)

• Existentialists dispute whether humans have any purpose exempt the ones they freely choose for themselves. If god does not exist, then It seems difficult to argue for objective human purpose

• Similarly, the scientific theory of evolution seems to suggest that purpose is not a feature of the world, but is rather something that human beings project onto the natural world

• The idea of telos entails that some things are natural to human beings and other things are unnatural

Double effect

The idea that if doing something good also produces a bad side-effect, it is still ethically possible as the bad-side effect was not intended

Interior acts

Acts with good motivation

Exterior acts

Good actions as viewed on the outside as good

Interior and exterior acts

• Aquinas argues that intention is all that matters. If you only intend the good effect, you are not held responsible for the secondary bad effect

• One action can have a good effect which may be intended, but there may also be a bad effect which is unintended

Double effect is positive

• It provides a framework through which to judge actions

• It places an emphasis on not only the action but the intention of an act

• It promotes the idea of goading good things for the right reason, not because of a perceived obligation

• Places intent at the heart of the action

Double effect is negative

• All actions can be perched as bad in this framework, as either the intention is wrong, or the outcome is negative

• Intention is hard to prove

• Consequences are of no moral importance e.g., utilitarianism, situation ethics

• Difficult to know how far the idea goes. Could lead to a slippery slope situation

Naturalistic fallacy

Just because something happens in nature does not mean it should be done

Strengths of natural law

• It is accessible to all

• It is a natural inclination, and therefore allows humans o use the same theory

• Is applicable with mos western legal systems, as well as some religions

• Primary precepts are usually accepted within a large amount of cultures

Weaknesses of natural law

• Primary precepts can clash, and it is not clear which of the precepts should be prioritised

• There are issues that are not so cut and dry as being good or bad, e.g., abortion can be done to save a mothers life, but it is still killing an innocent life

• The absolutism cannot apply to all situations, and would possibly cause issues with those who are considering the ethical nature of their situation, it does not allow for flexibility

• Natural law is rooted in the ideals of 800 year ago, this should be changed in order to better fit modern situation and sensibility