Natural Law Flashcards
Aristotle
Everything within the universe has telos (purpose or aim), he arrives at this from the theory of the four causes (with telos being the final). According to him, humans and actions have telos.
Aristotle sees the telos of humans as eudaimonia (Flourishing and living well, the ultimate end that all actions should lead towards) which requires a full human life where we not only experience pleasure but we also participate in society & develop academically
The Stoics
Stoicism viewed the world as an ordered place arranged by nature or the gods in the best way possible. The stoic believed that we had a divine spark within us that helped us reason and understand the universe. The path to human happiness and leading a good life was to accept the natural order of things & live according to natures rules.
Stoicism favours the rational over the emotional
Aquinas
Draws several ideas from ancient philosophers in his theory of natural law;
Telos: Humans have a purpose/end
Reason: The world is ordered & rational, we have a god given capacity to understand it
Nature: we have human nature & it is important to do what is natural (fits with our nature)
Eternal law
Law as known in the mind of God, aka his knowledge of what is right and wrong. These are moral truths that humans cannot fathom, however the God given ability to reason allows us to imperfectly work out some of its application to human life
Divine law
The law revealed by God through the command & teachings through revelation (eg scripture). This includes the 10 commandments and the moral teachings of Jesus in the sermon on the mount
Natural law
Moral thinking we all have to do whether or not we have had the divine revelation of scripture. All humans have the capacity to consider & work out the moral rules necessary for achieving our telos. This involves a rational reflection on our human nature and considering how we might ‘do good and avoid evil’
Human law
Customs & practices of societies devised by the government/society. Aquinas argues that a law is only just if it is based on divine & nature law. To break a law not based on either would be illegal but not immoral.
Synderesis rule
According to Aquinas the main morals rule/principle is to ‘do good and avoid evil’, known as the synderesis (inner principle directing a person towards good & away from evil) rule.
Primary precepts
Aquinas believes that, when reflecting on our telos & understanding the synderesis rule there are 5 primary precepts which emerge;
Preservation of life
Reproduction
Learning
Live in an ordered society
Worship God
In fulfilling these precepts, we fulfil our telos
Secondary precepts
More specific precepts that can be deduced from the primary precepts eg preserve life -> do not kill. While primary precepts are fixed, secondary offer more flexibility.
Catholic interpretations of secondary precepts can be quite fixed (reproduction -> no contraception), Aquinas treats secondary precepts as possible applications
Application - Sexual ethics
Scenario: A man is attracted to his friends wife, despite being married himself & sees no issue with the affair
Natural law: Aquinas argues there are real & apparent goods. When someone does something morally wrong, it is cause they are pursuing an apparent good (his own pleasure) rather than a real good. Aquinas suggests that moral mistakes are reasoning errors
Application - Euthanasia
Scenario: A doctor attempts to treat a terminally ill patient by giving a dose of pain killer, with the intent being relieving pain but causing the death of the patient
Natural law: Doctrine of double effect: Some actions are complex & produce several good & bad effects, intention matters most
John Finnis
A modern legal philosopher whose approach to natural law is more in line with Aristotles belief than Aquinas. Finnis believed that things such as life, knowledge & religion/spirituality are ‘basic forms of human flourishing’. If we assume that these are goods to be pursued then these aims enable us to suggest certain requirements that humans need. These include the pursuit of basic goods for all, a sense of purpose to life and acting according to conscience. It is from these requirements that moral principles can be drawn, allowing for a more modern approach
Strengths of natural law
Absolutist: Offers clarity & firm moral principles
The primary precepts are mostly agreed upon as desirable goods in human life reflection on the natural world suggest these are things most people pursue ‘the secondary precepts allow Natural law to not be as rigid as other absolutist theories, as secondary precepts offer flexibility based on the context of the time & placed they are used in
Issues with natural law
Natural law may be wrong to assume there is a universal telos for humans (living as a hermit rather than in an ordered society)
Natural law commits the naturalistic fallacy (the idea that it is a mistake to define moral terms with reference to other non-moral or natural terms) as it is guilty of observing wat commonly occurs in nature & arguing that this is what must happen eg observing how human teeth are well shaped to eat meat, and therefore stating it is immoral to eat vegetables.
Existentialists (school of philosophy that begins with human existence, not human essence. It argues that humans are free & don’t have fixed nature) such as Jean-Paul Sartre, argue that there is no ultimate purpose to human life. Unlike objects which have a maker who plans their purpose, humans have free will to choose their purpose
