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PTE > 2.1 Natural Law > Flashcards

2.1 Natural Law Flashcards

1
Q

Euthyphro dilemma

A

whether goodness reflects God or whether God is good because he aligns with an independent set of morals (Plato)

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2
Q

Aquinas’ view on how we can understand God

A
  • natural theology
  • the world is good and reflects God’s goodness
  • notices contingency, change, causation in the world
    -intelligence brings order to the world, too much order for it to be chance
  • empiricist so looks to the world
  • God gave us the ability to understand Him
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3
Q

law of entropy

A
  • that the world tends towards chaos
  • intelligence is required to bring order to the world
    Aquinas thought there was too much regularity for this to be completely chance.
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4
Q

magisterium

A

the teaching authority of the Roman Catholic Church, combined teachings and understanding over time
eg. the pope, catechism, church history, scriptive

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5
Q

protestant way to know God

A

believe that human interpretation is deeply flawed and therefore are drawn towards revealed theology
- sola scripture

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6
Q

sola scripture

A

‘scripture alone’

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7
Q

importance of Aquinas’ ethical theory

A

it became the central ethics for the Catholic Church.

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8
Q

Scopes Trial 1925

A
  • teacher on trial for teaching evolution, creationists
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9
Q

the four kinds of law

A

Aquinas’ Treatise on Law in ‘the Summa’ sets out the four different kinds of law:
1. Eternal Law
2. Natural Law
3. Human Law
4. Divine or Revealed Law

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10
Q

how does Aquinas define ‘law’?

A

‘[Law is] an ordinance of reason, directed toward the common good, made by one who is in charge of the community, and promulgated. - Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica
- “Law is a rule developed from reason, directed towards good that regards all and is universal, made by a person who represents the community, and then shared.”

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11
Q

what is legal voluntarism? Who rejects it?

A

Aquinas rejects legal voluntarism - laws are not defined by arbitrary (choice without reason) ruling, but by reason

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12
Q

what does Aquinas mean by ‘common good’

A
  • not self-regarding or other-regarding, it regards all and is universal (doesn’t require you to be over-self-sacrificing - unlike Fletcher’s ethics).
  • God is the ultimate common good; God’s goodness is infinitely shareable.
  • Common have primacy over private goods - things that we all benefit from when we engage in them together eg. family are more important
  • Being an individual is less important than being one of the many.
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13
Q

‘[Law is] an ordinance of…’

A

‘[Law is] an ordinance of reason, directed toward the common good, made by one who is in charge of the community, and promulgated. - Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica

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14
Q

eternal law

A
  • one of Aquinas’ four types of law
  • ‘the plan of divine providence’ - Aquinas
  • God’s will, what he actually thinks and desires
  • everything is measured in accordance to what God’s intention is for it
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15
Q

natural law

A
  • one of Aquinas’ four types of law
  • ‘none other than a participation in eternal law on the part of a rational creature’ - Aquinas
  • reflects eternal law
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16
Q

how does natural law fulfil Aquinas’ definition of a law?

A
  • human nature is created by God
  • God has charge of the human community
  • God promulgates natural law’s participation in the eternal law by creating humans
  • humans are normatively directed towards common good: the end of their flourishing
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17
Q

human law

A
  • one of Aquinas’ four types of law
  • the varieties of human communities and customs requires human laws to further determine and specify the natural law
  • to enforce the precepts of the natural law
  • to amplify/specify rules that belong to the needs and justice of political communities
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18
Q

divine law

A
  • one of Aquinas’ four types of law
  • divine law is revealed by God, and is not knowable by human reason alone
  • some divine laws overlap with the natural law eg. prohibitions against murder
  • other laws are unique to the divine law eg. some moral precepts
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19
Q

which type of law is what God thinks and wills?

A

eternal law

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20
Q

which type of law is the rational creatures’ participation in eternal law?

A

natural law

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21
Q

which type of law is the specification of natural law within human communities and cultures?

A

human law

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22
Q

which type of law is revealed by God and is otherwise unknowable by human reason?

A

divine law

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23
Q

example of the natural law-human law relationship

A

natural law may be for life to flourish and grow, the human laws that specify this could include laws around murder, abortion, contraception, etc.

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24
Q

development of the purpose of divine law

A

Divine Law is explicit revelation perhaps where humanity is making mistakes, as well as amplifying points of Natural Law. Karl Barth, a fideist, thought that any human attempt to understand God’s will would be incorrect and so only Divine Law can be relied on. He was living during the Second World War, and was watching theologians he respected falling in line with Hitler.

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25
Q

Karl Barth

A

a fideist who thought that any human attempt to understand God’s will would be incorrect and so only Divine Law can be relied on. He was living during the Second World War, and was watching theologians he respected falling in line with Hitler.

26
Q

synderesis

A

natural inclination and ability to grasp goodness, something all humans possess

27
Q

how Aquinas believed we can understand natural law

A

Aquinas believes that God has created humans with synderesis which is both the natural inclination to do good and the ability to actually understand. He believes the universal experience of synderesis wold lead us all to agree on the Five Primary Precepts which are 5 things we all agree are good.

28
Q

the five primary precepts

A
  1. To worship God - humans only
  2. To live in an ordered society - one that allows us to follow the 5 precepts, where people adhere to the law, where we are a community with relationships - humans only
  3. To reproduce - shared w/ animals
  4. Education and nurture - shared w/ animals
  5. Protection of innocent life (or ‘preservation’) - universal
29
Q

natural inclination and ability to grasp goodness, something all humans possess

A

synderesis

30
Q

which of the precepts is universal according to Aquinas?

A
  1. protection or preservation of innocent life
31
Q

which of the precepts do we share with animals according to Aquinas?

A

(5. protection or preservation of innocent life)
3. to reproduce
4. education and nurture

32
Q

which of the precepts are uniquely human according to Aquinas?

A
  1. to worship god
  2. to live in an orderly society
33
Q

how to primary precepts lead to secondary precepts?

A
  • synderesis helps us to understand primary precepts
  • secondary precepts are applications of primary precepts understood through reason (prudence)
  • if we develop our intellectual virtues we will better move between the primary and secondary precepts; better people make better secondary precepts
34
Q

fallibility of secondary precepts

A

Primary precepts are infallible but because secondary precepts involve reason, they are fallible. We can reduce this fallibility through the development of intellectual virtues like prudence.

35
Q

prudence and how to develop it

A

Prudence is an intellectual virtue according to Aristotle, it refers to ‘practical wisdom’. Essentially it is the “in the situation, you should…”. We can develop prudence through the use of role models, education, and practice.

36
Q

cardinal vices and virtues

A

cowardice-courage-foolhardiness
rash-patience-passivity

  • The middle column is ‘the Golden Mean’; in other words: virtues exist in the middle ground.
  • Aristotle and Aquinas believe intellectual virtues are how you work out the Golden Mean.
  • Aquinas talks about God as being the real measure of goodness so he thinks that what we are aiming to do is not just to develop character virtues but to use them to live God’s will.
37
Q

where do primary and secondary precepts fit into Aquinas’ types of law

A
  • Primary precepts fit into the ‘natural law’ category; they are fundamental principles that represent human participation and reflect eternal law/God’s will. They also dictate whether actions can be considered natural or unnatural.
  • Secondary precepts are examples of human law; they bring us closer to achieving/following the natural law and are derived from the primary precepts that make up natural law.
38
Q

fundamental

A
  • core, simple, basis
  • fundamentalists are considered to be extreme, they have belief in something very specific
39
Q

how does aquinas explain the existence of evil

A
  • real and apparent goods
  • we should use reason to distinguish between these two goods
  • humans do want to pursue the precepts, the natural law, but they make mistakes and are led towards apparent goods
40
Q

casuistry

A

intellectual deceit, justifying something you know is wrong

41
Q

how does aquinas introduce the principle of double effect?

A
  • the example of self-defence in the summa theologica
  • one action might have multiple outcomes, good and bad. It is okay to act intending good and there be a bad side effect.
  • defending yourself against an attacker with moderate power is permissible. But you cannot defend with more than necessary violence.
42
Q

‘Nothing hinders one act from…’

A

‘Nothing hinders one act from having two effects, only one of which is intended, while the other is beside the intention’ - Aquinas, Summa Theologica

43
Q

interior and exterior acts

A
  • interior acts are about our motivation, our intentions - what we want to happen and why we are acting
  • exterior acts are the act that is visible - the act that is actually performed
  • The best way to act is when both interior and exterior acts are good.
44
Q

doctrine of double effect key points

A
  • An action itself cannot be bad but good or neutral (saving life is good)
  • the bad effect should not be the means by which the good effect is achieved (it is the saving of life that saves life not the taking of life)
  • the motive should be focused on the good effect (hoping to save life)
  • the good effect should be at least as important as the bad effect
45
Q

Aquinas’ three features of human action

A
  1. the action eg. act of theft, act of charity
  2. the end eg. care or personal gain
  3. the circumstances eg. who performs it
46
Q

intention vs foresight

A

there are many thing we intend to do when we perform an action. Intentions are distinct from things we forsee we might cause when performing an action, but are not directly responsible for

47
Q

four conditions for double effect

A
  1. the action must be good or indifferent
  2. the evil cannot produce or be the cause of the good effect
  3. We can only intend the good effect. The evil effect cannot be intended either as a means or an end. It can only be permitted.
  4. We need a morally sufficient reason to perform an action with an evil effect.
48
Q

Gareth Matthews’ two principles of Aquinas’ view on self defence

A
  1. It is impermissible to kill unless acting in a public capacity for the common good
  2. It is permissible to kill in a private capacity only if (i) one’s own life is threatened; (ii) one does not intend to kill; (iii) one’s response is proportional to the attack
49
Q

positives of natural law

A

+ easily applied to moral dilemmas

+ doesn’t ask us to do things that are too idealistic (unlike Kant’s theory eg. axe killer)
> could be argued that its stance against abortion and euthanasia ask us to suffer

+ focus on human life rather than pleasure which can forget individuals (vs util.)

‘in the diversity of cultures, the natural law remains as a rule that binds men among themselves and imposes on them, beyond the inevitable differences, common principles’ - Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1957

Natural law provides ‘the solid foundation on which man can build the structure of moral rules to guide his choices’ - Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1959

50
Q

development of the positive that natural law is available to all

A
  • natural theology, it’s available to all - empowering for individuals, it encourages us to engage in the process of understanding ethics (synderesis and reason) and reassures our ability to learn and get better VERY POSITIVE
    > Aristotelian influence on Aquinas - the idea of developing ourselves (Eudaimonia)
    > opposes an Augustinian view on human nature (we rely upon God)
51
Q

development of the positive that natural law is specific and clear

A
  • the rules are specific and clear UNLIKE Fletcher’s concept of love
    > easy to apply to moral dilemmas: preservation of life (primary precept) -> don’t have an abortion (secondary)
    = however there can be situations where application is much harder eg. euthanasia - Catholic Church argues its wrong because of preservation of life - HOWEVER, people who are imminently dying and in a lot of pain can be given large amounts of pain relief in order to bring about death (this is written in the catechism of the Catholic Church)
    -> In Catholic-dominated countries like Italy, where Catholicism is the main ethical authority, they will put people into comas until they die rather than euthanasia - feels wrong, and antihuman (sometimes natural law leads us to these strange conclusions)
    = comparison - Fletcher was the chair of the Society for the Right to Die
    = similarly, the Catholic Church has remained steadfast against the use of artificial contraception which is causing huge numbers of deaths due to HIV in lower-income, Catholic-dominated countries
52
Q

‘in the diversity of cultures, the natural law remains…’

A

‘in the diversity of cultures, the natural law remains as a rule that binds men among themselves and imposes on them, beyond the inevitable differences, common principles’ - Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1957

53
Q

Natural law provides ‘the solid foundation on which…’

A

Natural law provides ‘the solid foundation on which man can build the structure of moral rules to guide his choices’ - Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1959

54
Q

weaknesses of natural law

A
  • problems with the precepts:
    > might be objectively untrue, they are influenced by society so we believe they are innate
    > arguably people don’t have these innate traits
    > precepts can be twisted to accommodate bad acts eg. reproduction could be used to justify rape
  • human nature isn’t as self-evident as Aquinas claimed
  • is Aquinas too positive and hopeful in his view of humans?
  • some could argue that natural law won’t work if you’re atheist
  • natural law hasn’t remained functional as the world has changed from the 1200s
  • unholistic (Vardy and Grosch in The Puzzle of Ethics)
  • anthropocentric - seems more about our desires than God (despite being a religious ethical theory)
  • natural law is vague, unclear applications and conclusions (often raised in context of double effect)
  • seems to become utilitarian when you get into the doctrine of double effect:
    > is the side effect “bad” enough to outweigh the good of the intention
  • there is no real way to distinguish between intention and foresight
55
Q

problems with the precepts

A

> might be objectively untrue, they are influenced by society so we believe they are innate
- however, societies develop similarly without interacting
> arguably people don’t have these innate traits
- eg. Spartans sought dominance over other people
> precepts can be twisted to accommodate bad acts eg. reproduction could be used to justify rape

56
Q

development of the weakness of natural law that human nature isn’t self-evident

A

human nature isn’t as self-evident as Aquinas claimed, is there a common natural law? - Neilson in ‘an examination of the Thomistic theory of natural moral law’
> eg. Scandinavians who killed their elderly relatives in order to let them into Valhalla)

57
Q

development of the weakness of natural law that Aquinas is too positive in his view of humans

A
  • is Aquinas too positive and hopeful in his view of humans?
    > perhaps we don’t have a natural urge towards goodness but towards self-preservation and furthering of our genetic lines (as some geneticists argue) or pleasure (utilitarians)
    > the precepts could be seen as evolved traits that are useful for survival and evolution:
    • the precepts benefit the survival of human race
    • if we need to go against any of these precepts to survive, we often do
58
Q

development of the weakness of natural law that it doesn’t work if you are atheist

A
  • some may argue natural law doesn’t work if you are atheist
    = BUT you can act in the way of human nature, we have an inclination to treat people in a certain way:
    • you can use observations and knowledge of the natural world to develop a similar system of innate ‘laws’
    • eg. the French had ‘natural rights’ long before human rights
      > christian bias in creating the primary precepts - is worshipping God innate?
59
Q

development of the weakness of natural law that the world has changed too much for it to work

A
  • Aquinas was writing in the 1200s and Natural Law is supposed to be an unchanging law from God’s will - the world has changed much since then and at that time there was no ethical problem with reproducing but in the modern day world there is 8 billion people and one of the worst things you can do for the environment is have a child - Roe v Wade, impacts on views of women and how they are held within society
    > the precepts have not stood up well to changes in the world
    • preservation of innocent life: we can now keep people alive for longer and longer, to the point they are no longer functioning, living, thriving humans - would God want this? People are reaching a point where they can no longer look after themselves and this has impacts on government spending (eg. social care system and hospital beds), taking spending away from education and research
60
Q

development of the weakness of natural law that it is unholistic

A

unholistic (Vardy and Grosch in The Puzzle of Ethics)
- eg. genitalia (pleasure and reproduction), psychologists have drawn much more complex pictures of human nature
- simplification of human behaviour, putting people into boxes where they are defined by their ‘ends’
> encourages us to follow socially accepted conventions when perhaps on some occasions they should be challenged and social conventions may be read into biological readings of natural law (reproduction, same-sex couples, artificial insemination)

61
Q

development of the weakness of natural law that it is vague

A
  • natural law is vague, unclear applications and conclusions (often raised in context of double effect)
  • clear about negative precepts like ‘do not murder’
  • but less clear about what we should do which is why we need the virtues
  • equally secondary precepts are hard to devise and may be subjective
    = however we don’t need to do it alone eg. the Catholic Church has been compiling them as a collective endeavor for millennia in the catechism
62
Q

development of the weakness of natural law that there is no way to distinguish between intention and foresight

A

there is no real way to distinguish between intention and foresight
= to hold this objection would radically revise our understanding of moral responsibility: such that there is no fundamental difference between murder and accidental death
= eg. if someone has a bad athletic injury and takes up an ambulance, we wouldn’t call them a murderer for stopping that ambulance from saving someone else
= insight is the distinguishing factor

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