Natural Law Flashcards
Who developed natural law
Thomas Aquinas, a Catholic Priest
What did Aquinas believe about reason
That both faith and reason came from God, and therefore we can use that to make decisions
Why did Aquinas create natural law
To appeal to rational, intelligent people and people who are faithful to God
What are some key features of Natural law
Natural law is independent of public opinion
Right and wrong follow a ‘natural law’ like the law of gravity
What are the five primary precepts of natural law
Preserve life
Ordered society
Worship God
Educate
Reproduce
Good acts are those who fulfil these precepts, bad acts are those who don’t.
What are the secondary precepts
Do not murder
Do not abort the unborn
Do not commit suicide
Defend the defenceless
Go to Church
Obey laws
Teach children
From primary precepts we can deduce secondary precepts to be more accurate
How did Aquinas use Aristotle
Used his four causes
Material
Efficient
Formal
Final
Aquinas states that therefore, everything has a purpose as it exists.
For Aristotle, if somethings good, its fulfilled it’s purpose.
For Aquinas, to be good is to do what God intended us to do as we have a purpose as we exist
What are real and apparent good
Real good - right thing to do
Apparent good - something we think is good but isn’t
E.g having an affair, a person is following an apparent good because they believe they’re in love, not to hurt their partner.
What are interior and exterior acts
For Aquinas, our intentions (interior) and actions (exterior) are important and must be correct to fulfil our purpose. We must use our reasoning correctly to discover what to do
What are Aquinas’ for levels of law (in order of superiority)
Eternal law - the order which is in the mind of God, It forms the structure of the universe
Divine law - the law which is given to people from God, through the bible and through the teachings of the church
Natural law - our inborn sense of right and wrong, discovered through conscience
Human law - rules made by human societies
What is eternal law
The order which is in the mind of God, It forms the structure of the universe
What is divine law
The law which is given to people from God, through the bible and through the teachings of the church
What is natural law
Our inborn sense of right and wrong, discovered through conscience
What is human law
Rules made by human societies
What is Aquinas’ idea of levels / superiority of law
Eternal is the most superior, followed by divine, then natural, then human.
This means that we can break human laws if natural or divine law required it
