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Ethics > Natural Law > Flashcards

Natural Law Flashcards

1
Q

What is on the Specification?

A

-Telos
-Four teirs of Law
-The precepts

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2
Q

What does Aquinas’s natural Law depend on?

A

That all things including human beings have a God-given purpose (telos)

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3
Q

What did Aristotle believe humans ultimate telos is when they act?

A

Eudaimonia (human flourishing)

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4
Q

What is Aristotle’s idea of happiness?

A

the long term development of an individual and there abilities.

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5
Q

What is the difference between Aristotle’s belief of the afterlife vs Aquinas?

A

Aristotle does not believe in the afterlife and eudaimonia is a earthly goal

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6
Q

What did Aquinas believe about heaven?

A

-Disagreed that ultimate happiness is achieve in earthly life.
-It can only be achieved when united with God in heaven.
-Earthly happiness is a foretaste of heavenly bliss.

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7
Q

What did both Aristotle and Aquinas believe about rationality?

A

Humans are uniquely rational as there able to rationalise what actions will lead to telos

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8
Q

Why is human rationality different to other living things?

A

As they move blindly to there purpose e.g seeds grow into plants without a consciousness

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9
Q

What does it mean when Aristotle says something is good?

A

It fulfils it’s purpose e.g boots are good if they keep your feet warm and dry.

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10
Q

What is a ‘good’ human according to Aristotle and Aquinas?

A

Aristotle:UP eudaimonia in earthly life
Aquinas: UP is uniting with God in heaven.

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11
Q

Explain the analogy of the archer by Aquinas.

A

The unintelligent object the arrow cannot hit the target without something intelligent guiding it

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12
Q

Explain the faults of using reason.

A

-Humans have been damaged by the Fall
-Humans are inclined to sin
-Believed that authority was needed due to akrasia

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13
Q

What are 2 advantages of Telos.

A

-Aquinas successfully demonstrated in his teleological argument all things have a purpose
-Idea that humans have purpose if grounded in the bible ‘Plans and purposes God has for human beings’.

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14
Q

What are 2 disadvantages of Telos?

A

-Perhaps we are looking for things that aren’t actually there as we seek comfort.
-Aquinas could perhaps be wrong to assume we all have the same purpose for example priest who are called to celibacy are exempt from the primary precept of reproduction

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15
Q

Name all of God’s moral law according to Aquinas in hierarchy order.

A

eternal,divine,natural,human

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16
Q

Which law do all laws rely on?

A

Eternal Law

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17
Q

What is eternal law?

A

refers to laws that are known in the mind of God.

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18
Q

What are two ways God reveals his law?

A

Through divine and natural law

19
Q

What is Divine law?

A

refers to laws known through revelation e.g bible

20
Q

What are 2 examples of Divine law in the bible?

A

Ten commandments
Teaching in Sermon on the Mt

21
Q

What is natural law?

A

refers to the laws known through God-given reason.

22
Q

How do humans discover natural law?

A

By rationally deciding what is Good for human flourishing.

23
Q

Why did Aquinas believe that Divine Law can confirm natural law?

A

-he believed that God’s laws are reasonable
-e.g before the ten commandments were revealed to the Jews they could have known rationally that adultery is immoral.

24
Q

What is human law?

A

refers to the laws that come from government and society

25
Q

In what circumstance is human law valid?

A

When not contradicting natural law.

26
Q

What do Aquinas and bonhoeffer have in common?

A

Both support civil disobedience

27
Q

Why does natural law have authority when there is a clash with human law?

A

Because it reflects eternal law.

28
Q

What are two examples of human law clashing with natural law?

A

-Martin Luther king rejected human laws that prevented peaceful protests ‘unjust’
-When Nazi leaders were held on trial and they said they were just following laws this was denied by the judge on the grounds that it’s still morally wrong

29
Q

What is the Syndresis rule?

A

-God created human to have the natural inclination to do good
-to live a good moral life

30
Q

Why do humans still sin if there inclined to do good according to Aquinas?

A

Real Good: an action which is good and consistent with moral principles of natural law
Apparent Good: an action someone mistakes as real good but as not reasoned correctly

31
Q

What are all the primary precepts?

A

-preserve life
-contribute to ordered society
-Worship God
-Educate
-reproduce

32
Q

What is a secondary precept?

A

They are deduced from primary precepts.And they can vary as it’s based on the application of primary precepts.

33
Q

What is a advantage of the secondary precept?

A

offers flexibility as they can be based on current societal issues e.g although organ donations did not exist in 13th century we can still use Aquinas’s natural law t work out if it was moral.

34
Q

What is the Catholic Church’s interpretation of the use of precepts?

A

They have made fixed secondary precepts e.g absolute rejection of artificial contraception.

35
Q

Which interpretation is seen as fixed and rigid?

A

Catholic Church

36
Q

What is the Doctrine of Double effects?

A

If something Good produced a bad side effect it would still be ethically permissible as it was not intended.

37
Q

What is most important about the Doctrine of Double effects?

A

That the effect which was intended upholds it’s precepts.

38
Q

What is a interior and exterior act?

A

interior: motive behind the act
exterior: the act itself
for a action to be moral they must both be good.

39
Q

Explain Aquinas illustration of self-defence in the case of the Doctrine of Double effects.

A

It has two effects self defence and slaying the aggressor so therefore is a unlawful act.

40
Q

What are two disadvantages of the DDE?

A

-impossible to know someones’s true intentions e.g someone acting in self defence only they will know if it was intended to kill someone or not
-Difficult to know the extent DDE can go as the use of artificial contraception to prevent HIV is controversial amongst the Roman Catholic Church

41
Q

What are 2 advantages of the Primary precepts?

A

-Cachesism of the catholic church says it provides clarity and consistency because they are absolute.
-They establish common and universal rules

42
Q

What are two disadvantages of the Primary Precepts?

A

-Our reflections may not be the same conclusions as others. e.g someone may prioritise they career at the expense of reproduction or meditating in solitary rather that contribute to ordered society
-in an increasingly secular society it may be difficult to follow the primary precept of worship God

43
Q

What are 2 advantages of Syndresis?

A

-supported by the belief were made in God’s image a benevolent God would want us to desire to be god.
-There are many examples of this e.g charity,self sacrifice, giving the community

44
Q

What are disadvantages of syndresis?

A

-There are many examples of humans not doing Good
-Aquinas seems to be quite naive and not reflective of reality as some people knowingly do evil actions so this could be insulting for the people at expense of this

Ethics (3 decks)

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