Natural law Flashcards
Who made natural law?
Thomas Aquinas
What kind of theory is this?
Deontological meaning it focuses on humans actions not the consequences.
what is the central principle?
“do good and avoid evil”
who supports natural law?
William Paley, Hugo Grotius, John Locke, Aristotle and the catholic church.
What is human’s end goal
The end goal is happiness (eudaimonia)
What is eudaimonia?
The ultimate happiness that can only be achieved by being with god.
Who supported Aquinas belief about happiness being the end goal?
Aristotle
What is eternal law?
Eternal law is part of God, unchanging and universalisable
What is divine law?
Law/rules from the bible
What is natural law?
We can become aware of eternal law by observing the world and natural law.
What is human law?
Laws human create
What does Aquinas believe about human nature?
Humans have the desire to do good
What are primary precepts?
These are rules to guide human behaviour, an good action will uphold the primary precepts.
What are the primary precepts?
Preservation of life (protect human life)
Ordered society(lawful society)
Worship God(pray)
Education(learn and teach other about God)
Reproduction(have kids)
What are secondary precepts?
These are made when making a choice to fix a problem, these must uphold the primary precepts and are applicable to a specific problem.
What is a apparent good?
Making the wrong decision because you didn’t apply reason correctly, is done by accident. Its an mistake in what you think is the right thing.
Why does sin exist?
Sin exists because people do apparent goods instead of real goods.
What is the doctrine of double effect
That a good action may have a bad effect that is unintentional.
Aquinas views on doctrine of double effect?
He allows it as the intent was to do good.
What is some support for natural law
Easy to understand
Provides a framework for moral decisions
It supports human rights
It’s universalisable
What are some criticisms of natural law?
It’s based on a belief in God, therefore, doesn’t help Atheist
Ignores the complexity of human nature
It has outdated views eg not agreeing with same-sex relationships.
It’s based on motives and we can’t know someone’s true motives
Why does Hobbes disagree with natural law?
Human nature isn’t all good and can be dangerous as humans are selfish.
Why does Hugo Grotius support natural law?
Laws themselves are from divine source
