ETHICS - NATURAL LAW

4 key quotes about natural law

- "one law eternal, binding upon all people at all times" (cicero)

- "good is to be done and evil avoided" (aquinas)

- "a foundational, universal and absolute approach to ethics" (waters)

- "nothing hinders one act from having two effects, only one intended" (aquinas)

natural law definition

- absolute and deontological

- developed by thomas aquinas

- based on belief that the world and human life has a purpose (telos) given by god

- the world has a natural order designed by god

- god is the creator of all things including morality

- god has created moral law in human nature so it should be followed universally and is discoverable through the use of reason

4 tiers of law

- eternal law

- divine law

- natural law

- human law

4 key concepts of natural law

- 4 tiers of law

- synderesis principle

- 5 primary precepts

- secondary precepts

telos according aristotle

- aristotle belived everything has a telos

- the purpose of human life is eudaimonia which is living well

3 ideas that aquinas developed from aristotle

- telos

- eudaimonia

- reason

how did aquinas develop telos

telos is god-given

eudaimonia according to aristotle

the fulfilment of your potential and seen as the purpose of human life

how did aquinas develop aristotle's idea of eudaimonia

is achieved through following the primary precepts but can only be fully fulfilled in heaven (beatific vision)

beatific vision

being face to face with god in heaven

reason according to aristotle

- our ability to reason distinguishes us from animals and plants

- we have a rational soul whereas animals have a sensitive soul and plants a vegetative soul

- we should use reason to understand the world

how did aquinas develop aristotle's reason

- our ability to reason is god-given

- conscience is the god-given ability to reason

- used to work the secondary precepts

4 tiers of law definition

they are in a hierarchy that is ordered by importance and each one is dependent on the one above

eternal law

- law as known in the mind of god

- god's knowledge of right and wrong

- his blueprint for morality

divine law

- god's revelation of his law through the bible

- 10 commandments and jesus' sermon on the mount

natural law

- god's law revealed through right reason in accordance with nature

- reflecting on what it means to do good and avoid evil

human law

- systems of laws built by humans

- rules and regulations for everyday life which are devised by govts

- unjust human laws that violate natural laws can be broken

synderesis principle

- do good and avoid evil

- all humans by nature are disposed to do good

- pursued through the primary precepts

- pursuing good leads to eudaimonia in heaven

secondary precepts

derived from the pirmary precepts. humans use reason to work out more specific rules for everyday life

real goods

- lead to fulfilling our god-given purpose and ultimately achieving eudaimonia

- we know them through using right reason in accordance with nature

apparent goods

- human are flawed and fall short of god's intentions

- they confuse what seems to be good and what us actually good

- enjoyable but leads to sin not eudaimonia

primary precepts

- worshipping god

- ordered society

- education

- reproduction

- preservation of life

worshipping god

- recognise god as the creator of the universe and everything in it

- to live in a way that is is in accordance with god's will

preservation of life

natural for every person to be concerned with preserving their own being and preserving human life

reproduction

- natural and reasonable for human life to continue

- consistent with the evolutionary purpose of life - survive and reproduce

education

- humans are intellectual beings and it is natural for us to learn

- UN convention of human rights includes the right to education

ordered society

- humans are social beings

- living in an ordered society means that we are able to fulfil our telos

preservation of life examples of secondary precepts

- do not kill

- abortion is sinful

- become a doctor

reproduction examples of secondary precepts

- homosexuality is sinful

- contraception is sinful

- become a parent

ordered society examples of secondary precepts

- stealing is sinful

- lying is sinful

- vote in elections

finnis' contemporary definition

- 20th century development of nml

- ethics should be about facilitating human flourishing

- requires living in a civilised society that upholds basic goods

finnis seven basic goods

lead to flourishing, are universal and apply to all

7 basic goods

- life

- knowledge

- play

- aesthetic experience

- sociability

- practical reason

- religion/spirituality

doctrine of the double effect

- applicable in situations where an action has 2 effects

- intention matters

double effect examples

killing in self defence

- intention is to preserve your life

- intention was to defend themselves and not kill the attacker

proportionalism

- contempory development on nml

- you should aways follow moral laws unless there is a proportionate reason not to

- dependent on the context or situation

quote about proportionalism

- "it is never right to go against a principle unless there is a proportionate reason that would justify it" (hoose)

proportionalism critiques

- criticised by many catholic theologians

- could potentially justify anything

- some things are intrinsically evil - never a proportionate reason

4 strengths of natural law

- has consistency and flexibility

- emphasis on reason is empowering

- concrete and absolute

- lays foundation for human rights

consistency and flexibility - nml strength

- secondary precepts offer flexibility

- nml remains relevant and applicable today

emphasis on reason is empowering - nml strength

- treats humans as people who can think for themselves

- seen in the double effect

lays the foundation for human rights - nml strength

- humans have universal rights, values and responsibilities that will be discovered

- UN declaration of human rights 1948

weakness of nml

- depends on belief in god

- it is outdated

- it is too absolute

depends on belief in god - nml weakness

- nml is built on theism and it uses eternal law

- primary precept to worship god

- many atheists believe that you do not need to worship god to flourish

- many people are now atheists which means that nml is not universally binding

it is outdated - nml weakness

- reproduction precept has led to the catholic banning of contraception and condemning of homosexuality

- problem of stis and overpopulation

- church of england allows contraception and methodist church allows gay marriage

it is too absolute - nml weakness

- catechism of catholic church states that nml is "universal in it's precepts"

- nml assumes we should take the same path to flourishing

john water's belief on nml

- nml offers a universal and absolute approach to ethics

- ensures that ethical principles are universal and do not go out of date

4 scholars who agree with nml

- waters

- finnis

- hoose

- cicero

finnis beliefs on nml

- modern development of nml shows it is still relevant

- "the rational of nml is to establish what is really right for humans"

6 scholars who disagree with nml

- john paul sartre

- cicero

- jesus

- pojman

- ge moore

- kant

sartre's beliefs on nml

- existence precedes essence"

- the world and life has no purpose

- we have to create our own purpose and law as it can't be discovered

cicero beliefs on nml

"one law eternal"

jesus on nml

broke laws to do the right thing and his golden rule is that "love is the only universal"

pojman beliefs on nml

"we have many purposes... heterosexuality may serve on social purpose whereas homosexuality serves another and both may be fulfilling"

ge moore beliefs on nml

- came up with naturalistic fallacy "natural doesn't necessarily mean good"

kant beliefs on nml

our state of nature is to be selfish and cruel

- "man must be disciplined for by nature he is raw and wild