Context for natural moral law Flashcards
What is absolutism?
Absolutist theories hold that one form of morality holds in all places, at all times and for all people; it is universal
What is relativism?
Claims whether something is good or bad depends on where it takes place, when it happens and who is involved
What is cultural relativism?
States that rightness and wrongness are determined by the laws of a particular culture, hence morality is not universal
What is legalism?
The idea that we should make decisions based on previously established laws
What does legalism mean in the Christian sense?
An approach to morality where ‘not just the spirit but the letter of the law reigns
What type theory is natural moral law?
Absolutist and legalistic
Who is natural moral law most closely associated with?
The medieval Catholic theologian St Thomas Aquinas
How did Aquinas formulate natural moral law?
By combining the pre-Christian thought of Aristotle with Biblical teaching
How did Aquinas have access to Aristotle’s work?
It was preserved by Arabic scholars in the middle ages and gradually began to spread into Western Europe by the 12th century`
What are the two twin pillars natural moral law is built upon?
Aristotle and the Bible
Aquinas was a key figure in scholasticism. What was this movement?
A method of theology that developed between 1200-1500, motivated by the perceived need to systemise all Christian theology and prove that Christian theology and belief were rational. The use of reason was a defining feature and it was used to make decisions about exactly what church doctrine should be
Define ‘telos’
A Greek term Aquinas adopted from Aristotle; means end or purpose
What is teleology?
The study of ends and purposes
What did Aristotle think the most important cause was?
The final cause/telos; the purpose for which a thing was created and the purpose it should rightly fill
What did Aristotle think our final cause/telos was?
Eudaimonia; which can be roughly translated as good living or human flourishing
What made Aristotle so attractive to Aquinas?
Because of his belief in a well-ordered, harmonious universe, where nature has a clear logic and creator
Name the two Christian philosophers from the classical era that influenced Aquinas’ creation of natural moral law?
Boethius and Augustine of Hippo
Which of Augustine’s philosophies influenced Aquinas’ development of natural moral law?
The idea that all creation in good and any evil is just a privation of this good
What did Aquinas see good as?
Actuality; actually existing
What did Aquinas see evil as?
The privation of good
State Romans 1:20
‘For since the creation of of the world God’s invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse’
What is the meaning of Romans 1:20?
St Paul is describing how God made himself known through the creation of the world and therefore people have no excuse not to follow God’s will, as it is evident all around us
State Romans 2:14-16
Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law
