Key terms for theme 2ABC aquinas' natural law

Question 1

legalistic

Answer 1

• one must obey religious laws or rules in order to gain eternal life
• links to deontology

Question 2

reason

Answer 2

• a gift given by god when he made humans in his image
  -enables humans to identify their creative purpose and follow it (according to aquinas)

Question 3

recta ratio

Answer 3

• right reason
• our conscience making right decisions in accordance with natural law

Question 4

telos

Answer 4

• goal, purpose
  -the highest good which is sought, aim
• for aquinas this is eternal life with god in heaven

Question 5

natural law theory

Answer 5

• ethical theory based on the concept of a final cause or purpose
• a body of universal moral truths deduced from reason and experience, a view associated with Aristotle and developed by aquinas

Question 6

thomas aquinas

Answer 6

• dominican priest (1224 - 1274)
• most influential philosopher and theologian of roman catholic church
• developed natural law

Question 7

beatific vision

Answer 7

• ultimate telos of humans, eternal life with god in heaven
• aquinas term

Question 8

summa theologica

Answer 8

• aquinas’ key text in which he wrote about natural law

Question 9

synderesis rule

Answer 9

• do good and avoid evil
• sums up aquinas’ natural law

Question 10

four levels of law

Answer 10

• aquians’ description of the different levels at which gods created purpose for life operates and relates to human life
• highest ———->lowest
  eternal, divine, natural, human

Question 11

eternal law

Answer 11

• the aspects of gods created order and purpose which are known only to god
• humans can not reason them out and they have not been revealed to human beings
• divine omniscience

Question 12

divine law

Answer 12

• aspects of divine order and purpose which have been revealed to human beings by god.
• for aquinas (christian) revealed in bible

Question 13

natural law

Answer 13

• aspects of divine order and purpose which are knowable to humans by reason

Question 14

human law

Answer 14

• rules and laws created within human society which must uphold divine order and purpose

Question 15

primary precepts

Answer 15

• aquinas’ summary of the five key purposes for which humans were created
• key functions of humans, fufilling the functions is how we achieve our telos
  -primary precepts with acronyms WORLD
• precepts are absolute, and aquinas said we can know these precepts through reason

Question 16

secondary precepts

Answer 16

• individual rulings made in human societies, should help humans to uphold the primary precepts
• they are derived from the primary precepts
• e.g. primary precept=preserve innocent life, would lead to abortion being wrong, so the secondary would be “do not abort”

Question 17

cardinal virtues

Answer 17

• according to aquinas there are 4 cardinal virtues identified by reason, PRUDENCE, JUSICE, TEMPERANCE, FORTITUDE
• believed to form the fundamental basis of a moral life, terms used by Aristotle and aquinas

Question 18

revealed virtues

Answer 18

-three virtues of FAITH, HOPE, CHARITY revealed through scripture
- cannot be obtained through human effort, can only recieve them by being infused through divine grace into the person
- also called theological virtues - directed by god

Question 19

interior acts

Answer 19

our intention - aim when we perform an action

Question 20

exterior acts

Answer 20

act itself - physical action we perform

Question 21

real goods

Answer 21

an action that will help a person achieve their purpose

Question 22

apparent goods

Answer 22

• a sin - an action that may seem good if we lack virtue and have reasoned wrongly
• these mistakes will lead people away from their purpose

Question 23

double effects

Answer 23

• two effects
  aspect of natural law, allows us to judge intentions over actions if the action has two outcomes, one which upholds the primary precept and one which doesn’t
• the outcome which doesn’t uphold it must be the intended (interior act)
  -e.g. perform surgery on a pregnant woman with cancer, removing womb =good interior and exterior act as it was done to save life, even if is an unintended side effect the baby dies.