Natural Law

What are Aristotle’s 4 causes?

Material

Efficient

Formal

Final

What are 4 causes of a human?

Material: cells/DNA

Efficient: parents

Formal: human shape + form

Final: happiness, fulfilment of our human potential - flourishing Eudaimonia (telos of a fulfilled human life)

For Aristotle, what is the telos?

The fulfilment of the thing’s purpose/function

Something’s function can be determined by seeing what it does, that nothing else can do

Human telos = achieve eudaimonia

Eudaimonia

Flourishing" or "the highest human good", is the ultimate goal of human life
→ living in accordance with reason + virtue over a lifetime, fulfilling your purpose as a rational being

For Aristotle, how is the telos achieved?

Human telos = achieve eudaimonia/happiness → live as well as we possibly can

→ This means to live virtuously - to achieve eudaimonia, we must practice living correctly, that way we can achieve our potential

We will not always live virtuously, but through practice, we improve skills of virtue

Virtues/arete e.g. courage, prudence

If we practice these virtues, we will live good moral lives + so become happy = achieving telos

Practice virtue → we fulfil our purpose → eudaimonia

For Aquinas, what is the telos?

Human telos = to be with God (to be in the beatific vision)

Human beings “attain their last end by knowing and loving God” – Aquinas

Beatific vision

The perfect and eternal vision of God that the blessed experience in Heaven.
→ seeing God "face to face" + fully knowing Him, which brings complete happiness + fulfilment

For Aquinas, how is the telos achieved?

→ Cultivating the virtues is essential for the good life

→ We must live according to our nature to achieve the potential that our nature has

→ We must live a morally good/virtuous life - we are good so we ought to be good

Explain Aquinas’ understanding of virtues

Aquinas saw virtues as habitual perfections of the will + intellect that help humans achieve their telos — union with God
Combined Aristotle’s four cardinal virtues with three theological virtues revealed by God

→Together, these guide moral action + help fulfil Natural Law

Four cardinal virtues

Main framework for current moral behaviour (that is in line with our nature)

Prudence: understanding, judgement, practical reason

Justice: giving to those what is due

Temperance: curbing the passions

Courage: strengthening the passions against fear

Three theological virtues

Given to us graciously by God, they direct us to our ‘final + perfect good’

Faith: faith in God - entails intelligence + knowledge

Hope: in God’s grace for our salvation, combines with proper fear of the Lord

Charity: our love for God is reflected in the love for one’s neighbour

*These virtues are aspirational, they can’t be fully achieved in this life - they are God-given + can only be properly realised in the afterlife

The four cardinal virtues + three theological virtues make up what?

Our God-given nature

What are Aquinas’ four tiers of law?

Eternal: The ideal type/form of law which eternally exists in mind of God

Divine: The will of God as revealed in the Scripture of the Old + New testaments

Natural: Humans are made to reflect God’s perfections e.g. omnibenevolence. Therefore in our nature to be good + to follow God given purpose

Human: ‘The more particular determinations of certain matters decides by human reason’ Aquinas e.g. law-making

What is the natural law

Human nature = natural law

Is “right reason in accordance with human nature” (Cicero), + for Aquinas, it is the rational creature’s participation in the eternal law of God
It is the moral law within us, discoverable by reason, guiding us to "do good and avoid evil" in line with our God-given telos — union with God in the beatific vision
By acting rationally and morally, we live in harmony with our nature, reflecting God’s image

What is Aquinas’ view of human nature?

Humans are made in God’s image.

We are reflections of God’s characteristics, including God’s omnibenevolence.

Humans, therefore, tend towards goodness. We have a natural tendency to be good, to ‘do good and avoid evil’.

What is a precept?

A precept is a general rule intended to regulate behaviour/thought

They are self-evident when NL is consulted

They lead us towards our telos

What are the primary precepts? 5

1. The preservation of life

2. Ordered society

3. To worship God

4. The education of children to live in society (educate children about God)

5. The continuation of the species through reproduction

Absolute + cannot change

What are the secondary precepts?

Derived from primary precepts - we work them out from primary precepts

Whatever decision we make, it must never contravene any of the primary precepts

The general precepts of NL are invariable, but their application is not

Must use practical reason (virtue of prudence) in all decision making → gut feeling/intuition will not do

How does Aquinas understand the role of practical reason in decision making? / Aquinas’ examples of secondary precepts applied

→ It is permissible for a starving man to steal in order to save his life - a person imminent danger with no other possible remedy = lawful

→ It is not lawful to tell a lie to save someone from death, but it is lawful to hide the truth prudently, by keeping it back (use virtues to get around dilemmas)

CA: “The more you descend into the details the more it appears how the general rule admits exceptions, so that you have to hedge it with caution and qualification.” Aquinas → Is this a good thing? Theory appears less absolute

Explain what Aquinas means by real + apparent goods

Real: The right use of reason, leading us to an action that helps that person achieve their God given purpose

Apparent: Wrongly reasoned + doesn’t help a moral agent achieve their God given purpose i.e. sin → apparent goods come about because we are flawed (fallen), not perfect - we will inevitably make some wrong decisions

→ For example, eating as much as possible because the food tastes good. This against the virtue of temperance - this wrong act is a sin + it occurs when a person falls short of following natural law.

What is the principle of double effect?

An act may have + be known to have more than one effect (one intended = good, one unintended = bad)

A person may morally perform an act which he or she foresees will produce good + evil if:

• The action in itself from the outset is good

• The good effect and not the evil is intended

• The good effect is not produced by means of the evil effect

• There is proportionately good reason to permit the evil effect.

What does the double effect consider more than the precepts?

Interior action: intention → motive

Exterior action: what actually happens

E.g. if an action to save someone’s life means harming someone else. What matters is intention. The aim of the act was not harm to the second, but the good intention of saving the first.

Which example should you use for the double effect?

→ Killing in self-defence

If intention = save yourself, then action is correct

Good effect = save yourself

Evil effect = attacker dies

 → Good effect is intended, so you aren't killing someone purely to save yourself

So it's okay to defend yourself in order to stay alive, even if that means the attacker dies

Strengths of natural law

• Rational - uses reason/common-sense approach

• Clear guidelines - clear rules to follow → no danger of falling into quandary ethics

• Purpose - it is clear from empirical observation that the world has meaning, purpose + values

• Instinctive - in line with our instincts - based on what is means to be human → to be human is to act in line with true nature + follow natural inclinations

• Deontological - judges intrinsic value of actions regardless of outcomes - avoids problem of seemingly doing an action that appears good but actually has evil motives (positive of double effect)

• Universal - not relative to culture/religions → common to all, application to primary precepts are common to all

• Double effect - gets around problems of conflicting secondary precept

• Positive outlook on HN

• Autonomy - allows individual, using reason to work out what is objectively right/true

• Virtuous - encourages love/wisdom/justice - important in society

Weaknesses of natural law

• Too simplistic - humans don’t have a ‘fixed’ HN → Vardy/Grosh = Aquinas’ HN is unholistic + over-simplified

• Requires belief in God - due to reliance on God-given purpose

• People matter more - NL is action centred rather than people/consequence centred

• Purpose - idea of ‘purpose’ can be explained by natural selection + evolution

• Naturalistic fallacy - an idea of HN doesn’t mean there is a God behind that nature with authority over us → just because we are ‘good’ doesn’t mean we ‘ought’ to behave in a particular way

• Deontological - actions considered good can lead to suffering e.g. not allowing contraception led to spread of AIDS + overpopulation in Africa

• Out-dated - enforces traditional views that are out of touch → leads to homophobia/intolerance of other cultures e.g. if HN + NL are unchanging why have we changed our minds on issues like slavery?

• Cultural relativism - moral differences which natural law ignores → no such thing as a ‘fixed’ HN e.g. Inuit familied killed family member who couldn’t make it through winter

• Double effect - assumes sharp distinction between directly intending an outcome vs foreseeing it. Surely if result can be foreseen it must be intended an consequence?

• Too optimistic a view of HN

• Unreliable - scripture is more reliable than reason → reason can lead to corruption