Natural law

Aquinas' Natural Law Ethics

Core Foundation of Natural Law

  • Inherent Value: Rights, values, and responsibilities are inherent in human nature.

  • Fundamental Principle: Aquinas said the fundamental principle of natural law is that good is to be done and evil to be avoided, hence it can be counted as an intelligible action.

  • Moral Duty: Keeping up with the laws of nature is the morally right thing to do.

  • Basis of Principles: He created general sound principles created inclusively not through law or human feelings, nor tradition, rather just human explanation.

Human Nature, Instinct, and Reason

  • Human Instinct: Like Aristotle, he believes that morals are established in human instinct and that our instinct is inclusive.

  • Rational Obedience: Human beings as rational beings have laws that aren't just obeyed but followed because we understand, thus this law is only followed by humans.

  • Pursuing Particular Goods: No one can "in acting" pursue good in the abstract; we must seek a particular good. Aquinas says that we know by inclination that various things are good and thus can be pursued, like life, procreation, knowledge, society, and reasonable conduct.

Theological, Atheistic, and Historical Frameworks

  • Theist Perspective: There is a God that created all of nature and the laws within it; thus, obedience to the laws and the supplements it provides is the morally right thing to do.

  • Atheist Perspective: There is still a belief that humans have the ability to reason as the laws of nature are evident.

  • Renaissance & Enlightenment: This era allowed modern natural law theories to combine into other philosophical ideas, such as the social contract theory.

Simple Terms: Core Natural Law What it means: We are born with a built-in sense of what is right and wrong. Even if someone doesn't believe in God, they can use human reason to look at nature and figure out how to act morally. To be a good person, you just have to live according to these natural rules. Aquinas says the main rule is simple: do good and avoid evil. Because we can't just "do good" generally, we naturally seek out specific good things like staying alive, having families, learning, living peacefully in society, and acting rationally.

The Types of Law

Divine Law

  • Purpose: For Aquinas, natural and human laws are both "ends" determined by human nature. But since we are ordained to an end, then basically "then we must have some basis" for these laws. THESE are the divine laws.

  • Certitude: Divine laws give human beings the certitude that human reason when unaided are only possibilities.

  • Scope: It deals with interior disposition and external actions, ensuring that evil doings have punishments.

  • Divisions: Made by:

    1. Old / Mosaic law

    2. New / The Christian law

Eternal Law

  • Definition: This is the decree of God, this is the law of which is the supreme reason that cannot be changed, it is eternal (e.g., 10 commandments).

Natural Law Connection

  • Definition: Natural law is human participation in the eternal law and discovered by reason.

  • Ultimate Goal: When followed, Aquinas said that humans can attain "perfect happiness"—joy that is found only in God.

Simple Terms: Eternal, Natural, and Divine Law What it means: - Eternal Law: God's unchangeable, everlasting plan and logic for how everything in the universe should work.

  • Natural Law: The way humans use their own minds to understand and participate in God's eternal plan. Following this path leads to ultimate happiness with God.

  • Divine Law: Because human logic isn't perfect and only gives us "possibilities," God gave us direct, certain instructions through scripture (the Old Testament laws and Jesus' New Testament teachings). This law guides not just our public actions, but our private thoughts, and makes sure bad actions are truly punished.

The Principle of Double Effect

  • Context: In Summa Theologica, Aquinas is credited for the creation of the "double effect."

  • Significance: This idea demonstrates that without legislation, beliefs are only something humans can consider wrong without law. For example, euthanasia: it is natural law that killing is wrong, however, what if it brings relief?

The 5 Criteria:

  1. The intended effect must be positive.

  2. Any harmful effect must be known but not intended.

  3. Harmful effects of actions must not be used as a way to achieve benefits.

  4. Beneficial effects must outweigh the harmful.

  5. Interventions must be appropriate and proportionate.

Simple Terms: Double Effect What it means: Sometimes a good action (like giving a dying patient strong pain medication to relieve suffering) has an accidental bad side effect (like shortening their life). The Principle of Double Effect says this action is morally okay only if you truly intended the good result, the bad result wasn't used as a shortcut to get the good result, and the good results are greater than or equal to the bad results.