natural law

Question 1

what did aquinas believe

Answer 1

• god is immutable (changeless) and therefore consistent
• god is absolutely good, and the purpose of creation was to reflect that goodness
• the laws of nature reflect gods nature and regulate the created world
• everything has a final cause and the final cause of humanity is eudaimonia
  
  • the earthy goal of eudaimonia relates to
    humans
  • the final cause is the beatific vision

Question 2

what is the beatific vision

Answer 2

• eternal life with god

Question 3

what are the parts of the four fold division

Answer 3

• eternal law
• divine law
• natural moral law
• human law

Question 4

what is eternal law

Answer 4

• gods blueprint for the natural and moral order of things

Question 5

what is divine law

Answer 5

• gods special revelation given to humanity in the bible and the teachings of the catholic church, which contains truth not discoverable by human reason but only through gods grace

Question 6

what is natural moral law

Answer 6

• gods eternal law revealed through nature and interpreted by reason
• it is not dependent on belief in god or special revelation

Question 7

what is human law

Answer 7

• the systems of law built up by human societies, based on natural law

Question 8

what are Aquinas’s three primary precepts

Answer 8

• what humans share with all other created entities
• what humans share with other animals
• what humans have uniquely as rational beings

Question 9

what are the five manualist precepts

Answer 9

• sanctity of life
• preservation of life
• reproduction of the species
• worship god
• living in an ordered society

Question 10

who were the manualists

Answer 10

• the seventeenth century writers of manuals for training catholic clergy

Question 11

• what are the secondary precepts

Answer 11

• rules showing humans how to apply the primary precepts to specific situations in their lives
• whatever promotes or hinders humanities telos is either right or wrong
• e.g contraception is wrong because it prevents the reproduction of the species

Question 12

what are real and apparent goods

Answer 12

• despite the desire to do good, humans fall short of gods intentions for them because they confuse what seems to be good with what is actually good
• the real good is reached through the practice of the virtues

Question 13

what are the four cardinal virtues aquinas stole from aristotle

Answer 13

• prudence
• fortitude
• temperance
• justice

Question 14

what are the four criteria of the double effect rule

Answer 14

• the nature of the act condition (the morality of the proposed action must be good or neutral)
• the means-end condition (the bad effect of the action must not be the means by which the good effect is achieved)
• the good intention condition (the intention must be to achieve the good effect. the bad effect may be foreseen but must not be intended)
• the proportionality condition (the good effect must at be at least proportionate in its significance to the bad effect)

Question 15

what is proportionalism

Answer 15

• a moral principle should be firmly upheld unless there is a proportionate reason for not doing so
• there are no intrinsically evil acts
• two things must be taken into account
  
  • the intention of the moral agent
  • the value of the good effect weighed against
    the disvalue of the bad effect

Question 16

strengths of proportionalism

Answer 16

• its use in just war theory shows that it works
• in situations where it is applied, it makes good sense

Question 17

weaknesses of proportionalism

Answer 17

• the magisterium has denounces it because of its claim that there are no intrinsic evils
• its calculation of value and disvalue seems consequentialist
• in the cases where it is used, it may not be easy to give an accurate prediction of the outcome

Question 18

strengths of natural law

Answer 18

• easy to follow rules
• many think morality is more than just individual preferences: some things are intrinsically right and wrong
• the distinction between real and apparent goods allows for human error

Question 19

weaknesses of natural law

Answer 19

• many disagree with the idea of having a common nature. (homosexuality)
• applying the secondary precepts can have disastrous consequences (banning contraception leading to the spread of HIV)

Question 20

how would natural law respond to theft

Answer 20

• theft breaches the primary precept of living in an ordered society
• aquinas made an exception in the case of a starving man stealing food
• proportionalism would agree with Aquinas’s exception since the intention behind it is good and the value of saving a life would be proportionately greater than the disvalue of theft

Question 21

how would natural law and proportionalism respond to lying

Answer 21

• lying breaks the precept of living in an ordered society
• its generally accepted to be included in the commandment relating to perjury
• aquinas viewed all forms of lying as wrong however he saw keeping back the truth as okay (a necessary lie)
• proportionalism would agree that in most cases lying is morally wrong
• the value of lying to save someone’s life is worth more

Question 22

how would natural law respond to IVF

Answer 22

• creation of an embryo through IVF breaches three PP
  
  • Worship of God – those responsible for the
    IVF process are playing god. god alone is the
    creator of life
    - Reproduction – its wrong to seperate the
    sexual act from the procreative act
  • Living in an Ordered Society

Question 23

how would natural law respond to the destruction of embryos

Answer 23

• breaches a PP and a commandment
• in NL the intention and the action must be good

Question 24

how does NL respond to the creation of designer babies for social reasons

Answer 24

• goes against two PP
  
  • breaches worship of god as god is taken out
    of the equation
  • breaches living in an OS as it assesses
    human life in terms of its value to society
    and devalues the weak, leads to
    discrimination based on wealth and may
    lead to a super race of humans

Question 25

how would natural law respond to abortion

Answer 25

- doesnt like it except in the case of the double effect rule

Question 26

how would you apply natural law to voluntary euthanasia

Answer 26

- dont like it as it breaks three PP - worship god -- life is gods gift - preservation of life -- god is the only one who can take life - ordered society -- encourages discrimination against the disabled - suffering can have the positive purpose of enabling spiritual growth

Question 27

how would natural law apply to capital punishment

Answer 27

- ok if carried out by the state - supports the precept of living in an ordered society

Question 28

how would natural law respond to issues involving animals

Answer 28

- hierarchy of the souls - any legal penalty was given to the owner not the animal - animals have no right to life - animal testing fulfills a PP - rejects any kind of cloning

Question 29

how do modern catholics view the issues surrounding animals

Answer 29

- softer approach - its view is still anthropocentric and so the needs of humans are priority - at the same time the catechism of the CC states that animals are created by god with intrinsic value and that 'men owe them kindness' - animal testing is allowed because of its value to humans but suffering must be kept to a minimum