Natural law Flashcards
what is natural law theory?
Natural law is a deontological, absolutist theory.
It states that God created all things to work within a natural order to fulfil their purpose (telos).
God gave the humans the power to reason.
There is a natural order of the world.
what did the stoics believe?
We should live by nature.
In doing so we would be working in harmony with God’s plan of the universe.
what were Key thinkers: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas concerned with?
Concerned with what gives laws legitimacy
Paul extract 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. 15 They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.)” (Paul extract Romans 2:14-16)
what is a just law?
A just law is a law that is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or law of God.
what is an unjust law?
An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law or as Thomas Aquinas would say, an unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in natural or eternal law.
what four types of law did Aquinas say there was?
Four Types of law: Eternal law, Divine law, Natural law and Human law.
what is eternal law (Aquinas)?
Eternal law is the mind or reason of God. The wisdom of God is reflected in his creation (known directly by man).
what is divine law (Aquinas)?
Divine law is the law revealed directly in the scriptures.
what is natural law (Aquinas)?
Natural law is the order of all things according to the divine lawmaker (God). Essentially all rational creatures participate in natural law.
what is human law (Aquinas)?
Human law is laws created by humans rooted in natural law.
what is the synderesis principle?
According to Aquinas, when God created us, he gave us natural syndereresis inclinations. Rationality, the ability to reason is essential to the synderesis faculty. synderesis is an aspect of practical reasoning, which entails reasoning about the performance of moral actions
what is the first command of law according to Aquinas?
“…the first principle for the practical reason…the first command of law [is] ‘that good is to be sought and done, evil is to be avoided.’ All other commands of Natural Law are based on this.”
how do we achieve our purpose according to Aquinas?
For Aquinas, we can achieve our purpose by reflecting on our natural inclinations.
what are real goods?
Real goods direct us to happiness or flourishing that results from fulfilling our essential natures in accordance with the precepts of the Natural law.
what are apparent goods?
Apparent goods are where there is a lack of practical judgement or virtue that misdirects our actions to ends we mistakenly take to be good).
what are primary precepts?
The primary precepts are the goals to which human action gravitates. They are absolute and universal self-evident principles and express natural human inclinations.
what are the 5 main primary precepts?
Preserve life and health.
To live in an ordered society
Worship God
To learn and seek the truth and educate offspring
To reproduce
what are secondary precepts?
Secondary precepts are derived from primary precepts through practical reasoning. They tend to be more specific. To work out a secondary precept we must identify and then be guided by the relevant primary precept. Primary precepts are descriptive whereas secondary precepts are prescriptive, primary precepts are absolute whereas secondary precepts can vary and are widely based on circumstance.
what is phronesis
Phronesis is needed to avoid being swayed by our passions and do the right things for the right reasons.
what is the difference between exterior and interior acts?
For an action to be morally right, both the intention and the act must be right.
Interior acts: intentions or motives
Exterior acts: actions
As rational creatures, what did Aquinas say we are responsible for?
As rational creatures, we are responsible for both our desires and our motives according to Aquinas. The intention that wills the act determines whether it is good or evil.
Romans 5:28?
“He who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Romans 5:28)
what is casuistry?
Casuistry is the term used for how the general principles of Natural Law are applied to specific circumstances. It is a form of reasoning that tries to resolve moral problems by looking at how theoretical rules have been used in one situation and then applying these to new ones
