Natural Law Flashcards
Who created Natural Law?
St Thomas Aquinas
Who influenced Natural Law?
Aristotle
-> concept of the telos being achieving eudaimonia and living well
-> all actions should lead to this
What is Natural Law?
Deontological based theory
-> based on behaviour that accords with given morals
-> exists independently of human societies and systems
Is this theory relative or absolute?
Absolute
-> morals are fixed and unchanging truths that must always be followed
How is this theory teleological?
Is teleological in that it is based on human nature and its directedness to an end
What did Aquinas say about the telos?
The end purpose or goal which is to become in union with God
-> we do this by following natural law
What is stoicism?
The idea that the world is ordered and arranged by nature and God
What are the four tiers of law?
1) Eternal
2) Divine
3) Natural
4) Human
What is the eternal law?
The absolute and eternal element
-> the reason God’s law is absolute and unchanging
What is divine law?
The commands and teachings of divine revelation
-> e.g. the bible
What is natural law?
Universal moral laws based on reason
-> allows humans to perceive eternal law by applying human reason
What is human law?
The laws humans create
-> customs and practices of society
What are the Primary Precepts?
The most important rules in life, which are universal
Name the 5 primary precepts
1) Worship God
2) Ordered Society
3) Reproduce
4) Educate
5) Defend Life
What are the secondary precepts?
Derived from the primary precepts
-> educate = go to school
What is the Synderesis Rule?
To do good and avoid evil
Why is synderesis so important?
It’s the rule all precepts must follow
What is the doctrine of the double effect?
Intentions matter
-> if something has a bad consequence but right intention it does not make the action wrong
E.g. giving pain medication to a terminal patient even if you know it will kill them
What are real goods?
Doing real goods will help people to become closer to the ideal human nature that God had planned for them
What are apparent goods?
Tempting goods that seem real but are not
-> e.g. lying about an affair to save your partners feelings
What is Aquinas’ view on human nature?
He has a positive view on human nature
-> we have a natural response to do good
What are the strengths of Natural Law?
-> Primary precepts provide clear rules for all to follow - we cannot just rely on reason
-> Secondary precepts make the theory more flexible
-> By following natural law we are rewarded when we achieve our telos
->The telos is coherent because it shows that the universe was created by God for a specific purpose
-> D.O.D has real-world application
Intention is taken into account e.g. self defense
-> Libby Ahluwalia = theory is appealing because it combines common sense with divine commands
What are the weaknesses of natural law?
-> We do not know what our purpose is, so how do we know we have a telos
-> The BBT suggests that we do not have a telos and that we just happened by chance
-> Barth = NL limits humans and what God can do =
due to original sin, human reason and nature is damaged and depraved (cannot be used to make moral decisions
-> Ignores individual circumstances and so by following absolute principles we risk immoral outcomes
-> Thomas Hobbes = “Men from their very birth, and naturally, scramble for everything they covet, and would have all the world, if they could, to fear and obey them” = we are not naturally inclined to do good, the only thing that separates us from animals is reason
-> Suzanne Uniacke = we can never know for sure what our intentions are
