Natural Law

Question 1

What sort of theory is Natural Law?

Answer 1

Nature Law is deontological - concerned with a means to the end.
Natural Law is absolute- It does not allow any exceptions to the rules and can be applied universaly

Question 2

Who created Natural Law?

Answer 2

The theory of Natural Law was put forward by Aristotle but championed by Thomas Aquinas (1225-74)

Question 3

What is the Synderesis rule?

Answer 3

It relies on Aquinas’ basic understanding that humans innately try to do good and to avoid evil in order to find fulfilment and happiness in life - “ “good is to be done and pursued, and evil is to be avoided.”

Question 4

What are the five primary precepts?

Answer 4

1. Self-preservation/preservation of the innocent
2. Continuation of the species through reproduction
3. Education of children
4. To live in society
5. To worship God

Question 5

How are the primary precepts revealed to us?

Answer 5

Through God.

Question 6

What did Broad say was the difference between teleological and deontological theories?

Answer 6

By teleology, he meant theories where “the rightness or wrongness of an action is always determined by its tendency to produce consequences which are intrinsically good or bad”. According to Broad, deontological theories hold that “such and such a kind of action would always be right (or wrong) in such and such circumstances, no matter what its consequences might be”. In essence, teleology is concerned with good and bad, deontology with right and wrong.

Question 7

What is the problem with Broad’s definition?

Answer 7

This distinction, and these definitions, are seen by many ethicists as unhelpful, but they are on most syllabuses. Broad admitted that “most theories are actually mixed”, and we can see this in Natural Law.

Question 8

Why are the primary precepts not deontological?

Answer 8

looking at Aristotle’s notion of telos as excellence, we see that the Primary Precepts are not concerned with actions themselves, but with our telos or purpose. As such, the Primary Precepts are actually teleological. For Aquinas, man’s final purpose (telos) is happiness with God (beatitudo), something for which we all have an innate desire. The Primary Precepts are our natural inclinations that guide us towards this final purpose.

Question 9

What are the secondary precepts and how are they derived?

Answer 9

From the general principles, practical reason enables us to derive secondary precepts. These are rules that govern our specific actions. The secondary precepts are what makes Natural Law appear deontological. Secondary Precepts are rules derived from Primary Precepts using practical reason.

Question 10

What example does Aquinas give which suggests that the secondary precepts are not always an absolute duty?

Answer 10

” it is right and true for all to act according to reason : and from this principle it follows as a proper conclusion, that goods entrusted to another should be restored to their owner. Now this is true for the majority of cases: but it may happen in a particular case that it would be injurious, and therefore unreasonable, to restore goods held in trust; for instance, if they are claimed for the purpose of fighting against one’s country.”

This doesn’t mean that we do not have a duty to return goods entrusted to us, but that there may be conflicting duties that prevent us from doing so.

Question 11

Why are some actions always wrong?

Answer 11

Certain actions were seen by Aquinas to be contrary to human nature. Reason would then give us absolute secondary precepts that would always hold making unnatural actions always wrong.

Question 12

What is the Natural Law view on masturbation?

Answer 12

Aquinas felt that masturbation went against the natural end (telos) of sex, which is procreation. This means that ‘Do not masturbate’ is an absolute secondary precept. However, in modern infertility treatment, masturbation might be used to assist procreation through artificial insemination by a husband. On this issue, Natural Law theorists disagree about whether masturbation is unnatural, and therefore disagree about the secondary precept ‘Do not masturbate’.

Question 13

What are some examples of actions which would always be considered wrong?

Answer 13

Aquinas gives examples (in Summa Theologica) as illustrations of those actions that are wrong in and of themselves because they contradict the primary precepts of natural law:

    theft
    lying
    fornicating
    committing adultery
    killing the innocent

Question 14

Are secondary precepts absolutist?

Answer 14

Some are deontological, absolutist precepts, but Some secondary precepts are deontological (concerning actions rather than ends, and related to our specific duties), but not absolutist.

Question 15

How does the efficient and final cause relate to natural law?

Answer 15

the efficient cause is a statement of fact or a description. If we ask why people have sex, we might talk about attraction, psychological needs etc. The final cause is a matter of intent – what was God’s purpose behind sex? The final cause assumes a rational mind behind creation, and as such moves from descriptive ethics (saying what is there) to normative ethics (statements about what should or should not be the case).

Question 16

What example could you give about whether a soldier shot well in regards to efficient and final cause?

Answer 16

The efficient cause deals with the set of events around the shooting – did he aim well, was the shot effective, did the target die? These are descriptive points, and clearly don’t tell us about the morality of the shooting. When we look into this area – was it right to kill? - we are evaluating his intent, and are asking about the final cause. We can then look at whether that cause is consistent with God’s design for human beings.

Question 17

Why does Natural Law support certain virtues?

Answer 17

Aquinas argued that the self should be maintained. As a result, Natural Law supports certain virtues (prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance) that allow the self to fulfil its purpose. Similarly there are many vices (the seven deadly sins) that must be avoided as they prevent the individual from being what God intended them to be.

Question 18

Why did Aquinas think humans sometimes did wrong actions?

Answer 18

At times humans use their reason incorrectly because they are following apparent goods rather than real goods. An example of an apparent good is taking drugs - it seems like we are doing a good thing but in reality we are not!

Question 19

What do ‘real goods’ do as supposed to ‘Apparent goods’?

Answer 19

Following a ‘real’ good will result in the preservation or improvement of self, getting nearer to the ‘ideal human nature’ that God had planned. There are many apparent goods that may be pleasurable (e.g. drugs) but ultimately lead us to fall short of our potential. Reason is used to determine the ‘real’ goods.

Question 20

How does Aquinas’ belief in God affect Natural Law?

Answer 20

Aquinas believed in life after death, which leads to a different understanding of God’s plan for humans. Aquinas holds that the one goal of human life should be ‘the vision of God which is promised in the next life’. This is why humans were made, and should be at the centre of Natural Law thinking.

Question 21

What does Casuistry mean?

Answer 21

Casuistry, from the Latin for ‘case’, refers to the process of applying principles to individual cases. In the Roman Catholic Church, this means applying the universal principles of Natural Law to specific situations. This is done in a logical way, as some principles have logical consequences.

Question 22

What is the principle of double effect and how does it apply to Natural Law?

Answer 22

Double effect refers to situations where there is an intended outcome and another significant but unintentional outcome. According to Natural Law, it is our intentions that are important, not the consequences of our actions. Double effect would not allow you to perform an action where an unintended outcome had devestating effects. The unintended effect has to be PROPORTIONATE. What this actually means, critics say, is that Natural Law becomes like Utilitarianism.

Question 23

What are the strengths of Natural Law?

Answer 23

It is a justifiable way of asserting that Morality is absolute. It is therefore possible for one group of people to be able to judge another.
It allows faith to be combined with reasion and appreciates the human ability to reason, whilst it can still be adopted from a Christian perspective.
Appeals to our instinctive convictions of right and wrong that depend on more than just opinion and society.

Question 24

What are the criticisms of Natural Law?

Answer 24

Using reason to determine God’s purpose for humans does not give consistent results – something might have a number of functions or uses, so how can you determine which is its God-given purpose?
Natural Law is supposed to produce objective moral principles, but we would often be influenced by our society’s morality. For example, Aquinas believed that Kings, barons, knights, freemen and serfs was the natural order of society
Aquinas needs to look at the human as a whole, not just at functioning parts; this way, we can understand the emotional and psychological value of sex, not just the physical ‘purpose’ of intercourse
You may get a different set of rules if you look at the purpose of human society rather than of the individual (used as a justification for celibacy in priests, but could be a way to justify things such as homosexuality)
Protestants have argued that Natural Law removes the need for God’s grace, as being good means following the rules, not being saved
Many argue that there is no purpose in life; to support this argument, they point to tragedies such as the recent terrorism in New York, ‘acts of God’ such as floods or genetically inherited diseases and say that there is no designer behind the universe
In some cases it seems cruel to follow a rule when the consequences are terrible; if we accept that it is occasionally alright to break Natural Laws then the whole theory is weakened.
Do men and women have the same ultimate purpose, or are they intrinsically different?

Question 25

How does Natural Law relate to abortion?

Answer 25

From the Primary Precept ‘Protect and preserve the innocent’ we get a secondary precept ‘Do not abort’. This is an absolute moral rule - abortion is always a wrong act. The Catholic Church reasons in this way, and condemns abortion in all instances.
The moral debate here will focus on the details. For example, is the use of the pill tantamount to abortion? A professor in America is one of many who claims that science has demonstrated that “birth control pills usually prevent pregnancy, but sometimes they cause an abortion.”
Also, does Natural Law require you to believe that a foetus is a human being from the moment of conception? If you don’t agree with the Catholic Church on this ( you would be able to hold that early abortions do not contradict the Primary Precept ‘Protect and preserve the innocent’.

Question 26

How does Natural Law relate to Euthanasia?

Answer 26

Euthanasia also needs careful definition. Medical staff have always made decisions about patients who are very ill with no hope of recovery that many would call ‘passive euthanasia’. To know whether these decisions contradict the Primary Precepts, you need to know what would be considered to go against the precept ‘Protect and preserve the innocent’. There is much debate about what is considered ‘withdrawl of treatment’. If you stop feeding someone, is that withdrawing treatment or something more than that. In a nutshell, natural law theorists would agree that it is wrong to kill a person, but they would disagree about what ‘killing a person’ included.

Question 27

How is Natural Law rooted in Aristotelian Philosophy?

Answer 27

Aristotle believed everything in live serves a purpose and has an efficient and final cause. For Aristotle, everything has a telos or end purpose and this determines it’s ‘good’.

Question 28

How did Aquinas adapt Aristotelian philosophy to Natural Law?

Answer 28

He applied it to Christian Theology. He argued that the Telos of the world can be found in God. The world is the creation of God and thus can reveal his purpose through reason and intellect. For Aquinas, faith and reason together provide the best tools for living.

Question 29

What did Aquinas say about Potentiality and Actuality?

Answer 29

Aquinas said everything has a state of potentiality and an actuality; turning potentiality into actuality is fulfilling a purpose and thus the essence of goodness.

Question 30

What is Eudaimonia?

Answer 30

Aristotle’s idea of the ultimate good, which is our ultimate aim as our potential is to reach the ultimate good.

Question 31

What are the levels of law?

Answer 31

Eternal Law
Divine Law
Natural Law
Human Law
Each level of law depends on the levels above it, whilst eternal law does not depend on anything because God exists necessarily.

Question 32

What is Eternal Law?

Answer 32

The order in the mind of God.

Question 33

What is Divine Law?

Answer 33

The law given to people from God through the bible and the teaching of the church.

Question 34

What is Natural Law?

Answer 34

The intuitive sense of right and wrong discovered through conscience.

Question 35

What is Human law?

Answer 35

Rules made by human societies in order for them to work successfully.