Natural Law Flashcards
What is a consequentialist approach to ethics?
Actions are relative. Individuals should take responsibility for what is right and wrong. Right or wrong depends on the outcome of the action.
What is an action centred approach or deontological approach to ethics?
End can never justify the means; some actions are just wrong intrinsically. They are universal moral duties. For example murder.
How do Claudio and Isabella represent the two types of ethic?
Claudio - consequentialist as he wants Isabella, his sister to lose her virginity to save his life and thinks that the outcome justifies the immoral act.
Isabella - action centred as she refuses because losing her virginity out of wedlock is intrinsically wrong and the positive outcome of saving her brothers life does not justify it.
According to Aristotle what makes a good human?
A human that fulfils the common good for people.
According to Aquinas, what is key to human fulfilment?
“knowing God” is key. Knowing God is the free exercise of rationality.
Cardinal and theological virtues
Cardinal: prudence, temperance, justice and fortitude.
Cardinal virtues are natural and appeal to our reason.
Theological: faith, hope and charity.
Theological virtues revealed by God and are required if we are to achieve human fulfilment.
What is the main purpose of Natural Law?
To assist humans to direct their actions in such a way that they may reach their destiny with God.
What does Natural Law evaluate?
What I do and why I do it, natural law affects all aspects of human behaviour.
What does reason determine?
That the ultimate purpose and destiny of human life is fellowship with God.
What makes a moral life?
Living a life according to reason, an immoral life is one lived at odds with reason.
Real and apparent goods
Humans are orientated towards the achievement of perfection, actions which are not in pursuit of perfection are apparent goods - something that doesn’t fit the perfect human ideal.
To choose an apparent good is an error as it isn’t really good for us. Using reason is to choose between apparent and real goods.
Exterior and Interior acts
Both the intention and the act are important - to act in a good way for the wrong reason is to perform a good exterior act but a bad interior act.
However good intentions do not always lead to good actions.
Acts are are intrinsically good or bad if they act in accordance to our ultimate purpose.
Primary precepts
The primary precepts are always true and apply to everyone without exception as they are a direct reflection of God’s Eternal law.
Secondary precepts
They are judgements about things that we should or shouldn’t do because they uphold or fail to uphold the primary precept, they have to be interpreted in the context of the situation.
The Doctrine of Double Effect
There are times when we cannot do good without a bad consequence. The doctrine was devised, basically saying that it is always wrong to do a bad act intentionally in order to bring about good consequences, but it is sometimes all right to do a good act despite knowing that it will bring about bad consequences. The bad consequences must be unintended.
