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A Level - Ethics > Natural Law > Flashcards

Natural Law Flashcards

1
Q

what is natural law generically

A
  • There is a distinction between Aquinas’ Natural Law and general theories of natural law.
  • Aquinas sees it as religious, because God created nature.
  • Cicero spoke of natural law, ‘Natural law is right reason in agreement with Nature; it is of universal application, unchanging and everlasting; it summons to duty by its commands’.
  • Natural law in general appeals to the idea that some things are simply intrinsically right or wrong e.g. incest.
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2
Q

what three things did aristotle observe in the world

A

o There are both rational forms (mind, soul) and material substance (body) in world
o That material substances have reasons for their nature
o And that therefore, everything in nature has a function, purpose and end (telos).

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3
Q

aristotle’s observation that there is rational and material in the world

A
  • The two are joined together, cannot be separated
  • Soul is unchanging and conceptual, body is always changing, and develops to accommodate the form
  • Distinctive human quality is reason, includes the idea of putting into practice what one intellectually judged to be good.
  • Intellectual reasoning is the highest action of an individual, always superior to emotional response.
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4
Q

aristotle’s observation that material substances have reasons for their nature

A
  • Gives example of an eye:
  • Aristotle believed that the idea of sight must come before the existence of the eye, as the eye would not exist if there was not a need to see
  • Uses example of man picking up a ball of jelly that looks like an eye and inserting it into his eye socket.
  • The lump of jelly may look the same as an eye, but it does not possess the rational idea of sight.
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5
Q

aristotle belief in purpose

A

• Eudaimonia is the final end = happiness.
• Believes that happiness is the ultimate goal that lies beneath and holds together other goals such as pleasure.
• It is a state that is imaginable, unlike for Plato’s Form of The Good.
• Since every animate object is designed to achieve eudaimonia, if everything worked efficiently, we would have a harmonious relationship with everything.
• This harmony is contingent on the efficiency of all other things e.g. if one organ does not function properly, it has a knock on effect on the other organs in the body.
• E.g. piano keys exist separately yet their end is achieved when they work harmoniously together.
o Aristotle’s idea of eudaimonia is teleological and points a link between the natural order of things and morality.
o Eudaimonia works in conjunction with Aristotle’s belief in the prime, unmoved mover, brings order out of chaos, creating structure for existence.

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6
Q

criticisms of aristotle telos

A

o Happiness is subjective, not an absolutist concept.
o We do not all appear to have a common human reason e.g. those who are mentally handicapped
o His definite separation between emotional and intellectual reasoning in moral decisions is unrealistic.

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7
Q

aquinas’ view on perfection of creation

A

• The perfection of creation
o Nothing with God is accidental, he is omniscient
o God made creation, therefore it cannot be by chance
o Creation happened for a reason
o The Bible states that the creation is good (Bible helps us understand and know God)
o Thus, creation reveals God’s goodness as his goodness is reflected in creation
o What is true of creation is true of what is in the world, therefore the world must be good
o Everything has a reason for being (telos)
• Summarised:
o Everything is created to reveal God’s goodness
o Natural Law regulates everything
o Therefore, Natural Law exists to reveal something of God’s nature as creator
• For Aquinas, perfection is union with God, which can only be achieved in the afterlife.

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8
Q

eternal law

A
  1. Eternal Law
    a. Most authoritative, made by God and govern everything
    b. Creation
    c. Laws of nature e.g. gravity
    • Logic within laws of gravity - can see some bits of gravity, therefore eternal law through using reason. God made eternal law using divine reason - cannot understand it completely but can use other laws to help get a better picture.
    d. Cannot be violated
    e. Absolute, unchanging and eternal
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9
Q

divine law

A

a. Found in the Bible
• Must use scripture alongside reason, guides to NL, 2 help eachother. Must use reason to know how to apply SOTM for instance, not about letter of law but spirit.
b. Cannot violate eternal law
c. Must be subject to the laws of creation
d. Revealed to us by God himself
e. Authoritative and absolute e.g. 10 Commandments

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10
Q

Aquinas’ Natural Law (inc. view of hobbes)

A

a. Cannot violate eternal law, works with divine law
b. Established via the use of God given reason (recta ratio)
c. Aims to achieve the highest good - rational understanding of God’s final purpose
d. Aims to establish the purpose of human life via reason
e. Subject to divine and eternal law
f. Cannot violate the other laws
g. Authoritative
h. What we can find in nature about how God wants us to live (nature, reason and scripture all used together to make 5 primary precepts)
i. Hobbes highlights the importance of recognising NL as ius (principle of law) rather than lex (specific regulation).
• However…
• Catholic church is often quite manualist in tradition, seem to use NL as a set of regulations, lex.
• Benedict XVI and Francis moved back to the original ius interpretation of Aquinas

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11
Q

human law

A

a. Relative, not absolute
b. Subject to the laws above, must be used in accordance with other laws to be accurate
c. Can be applied to individual situations but may not violate natural law or other laws above
d. E.g. laws regarding the running of society such as parking laws.
e. Can come up with societal laws based on 5 primary precepts = secondary precepts
• Made by humans based on NL/Primary precepts
• Primary precepts = absolute
• Secondary precepts = changing

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12
Q

aquinas and reason

A

• Aquinas believed humans are rational beings, with our rationality being God-given.
• Rationality based upon function, purpose and end.
• ‘It is right and true for all to act according to reason’.
• Natural Law is revealed through nature, but must be interpreted through reason. Look to nature and interpret gods perfect creation, will show purpose for humanity
• Rationality makes it possible for all to examine laws and work out which stand with God’s eternal law.
• Everyone has rational ability to work out telos etc. and see whether they stand in line with eternal law.
- fall means we may misuse it and commit apparent good
-must educate synderesis using divine law etc.
- using reason correctly will result in same decision, absolutist

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13
Q

primary precepts

A

o ‘There is in man a primary and natural inclination to good’
o Need our rational faculties to work them out
1. Preservation of life
2. Ordering of society
3. Worship of God
4. Education of children
5. Reproduction

Apply these to society in form of secondary precepts, e.g. no homosexuality

Only real goods are in line with the PP
distinction was made between ius and lex, RCC has made NL a lot more lex, Quinas used ius

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14
Q

secondary precepts

A

o More flexible, allow us to move towards ultimate goal of eudaimonia.
o Works because we are rational beings.
o E.g.
o Do not murder for preservation of life

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15
Q

double effect (4 conditions that justify it)

A

• In medicine, a doctor may prescribe pain relief that shortens life.
• Intention is to remove suffering, not kill.
• We need to consider both intention and results of an action.
• 4 Conditions in order to justify double effect:
o The act must not be evil in itself
o The evil/good that comes from the act must be at least equal, preferably the good will outweigh the bad
o The intention of the agent must be good
o A proportionately serious reason must be present to justify allowing the indirect bad effect
• Aquinas insists on proportion, circumstances have to be serious before we do something with bad side effects e.g. a risky operation

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16
Q

real and apparent goods

A
  • Humanity essentially good, orientated towards perfection, cannot knowingly pursue evil. (‘Good is to be done and pursued, and evil is to be avoided’)
  • However, human actions that are not in the pursuit of perfection can be explained as apparent goods meaning ‘a fornicator seeking pleasure which involves him in moral guilt’.
  • This results in sin, as the apparent good is not actually good for us.
  • To distinguish, we must use our reason rightly, not easy.
17
Q

exterior and interior acts

A
  • Intention and act are important.
  • To act in a good way for the wrong reason is to perform a good exterior act but bad interior act.
  • Good actions don’t always lead to good actions.
  • Physical pleasures can’t be final end, as animals can experience them.
  • Acts are intrinsically good or bad because when humans act in accordance with their purpose, God is glorified.
18
Q

john finnis - basic methodological requirements

A

o Based on Aristotelian principles and ‘basic forms of human flourishing’.
o Areas of flourishing supported by ‘basic methodological requirements’:
o Pursuit of goods
o A coherent plan of life
o No arbitrary preferences among values, detachment and commitment
o ‘Limited relevance of consequences’
o ‘Respect for every basic value in every act’, the requirements of the common good
o Following one’s conscience

19
Q

john finnis - knowledge of morality and absolutes

A

o Objective knowledge of morality is possible and we can define justice in terms of the concrete requirements to promote the common good, which is defined as people realising their own basic values as well as other reasonable personal objectives.
o Certain absolute duties/rights can be derived:
o Rights not to be tortured
o Not to have one’s life taken as a means to another end
o Not to be lied to when factual communication is proper and expected
o Not to be condemned on charges known to be false

20
Q

general strengths of nl

A
  • Universal application unites major groupings within the world’s monotheistic religions due to the universality of primary precepts.
  • Values in 5 primary precepts considered ethically good by most societies in the world, prevent the fragmentation of society.
  • Sanctity of life central to teleology.
  • Link between body and soul emphasises importance of physical body in morality.
  • Places emphasis on rightness of character, through pursuit of the cardinal virtues.
  • Places emphasis on social harmony and ordered society. Aquinas often viewed as father of democracy due to emphasis on common good of society.
  • Emphasis on natural harmony, harmonious nature of the natural world is important in environmental ethics today, particularly if nature reflects God and must be respected.
21
Q

pope benedict nl strength

A

• Places importance of ultimate goal of human life that is not hedonistic in character. Pope Benedict XVI argues the NL theory gives a counterbalance to modern materialistic and hedonistic trends in society.

22
Q

hugo grotius nl strength and opposition

A

• Hugo Grotius, Dutch Protestant philosopher highlights how even rational atheists can accept NL if they remove God from the equation and insert nature instead.
o However, Bernice Hamilton argues how NL is in fact inaccessible to all in that it relies upon the belief of our telos being union with God.

23
Q

general negatives of nl

A
  • NL limits human freedom, prevents human beings from taking into account exceptions due to absolutist nature e.g. abortion
  • Is it possible to judge what is natural? Modern medicine has blurred distinction.
  • Are ethical decisions reached rationally? Could argue that humans tend to act spontaneously or out of a sense of duty to others.
  • There is often conflict within different parts of NL e.g. one virtue may be bypassed in order for another cardinal virtue to be kept.
  • Some argue that the ambiguity of NL means that drawn conclusions can often be unclear. E.g. Pope Paul VI argued NL’s insistence on protecting life points against artificial birth control. However, some argue against that claiming that over population can be damaging to preservation of life, an alternative conclusion. Germain Grisez argued this was a misunderstanding of NL.
24
Q

karl barth criticism of nl

A

• Karl Barth argues NL not only limits human beings but also restricts what God can do. Follows ideas of Augustine and Luther, claiming that Xianity is mainly a religion of revelation. Also goes onto say that human nature is corrupted by original sin, impossible to behave morally without God’s grace.

25
Q

nielsen criticism of nl

A

• Kai Nielsen claims NL assumes all humans are similar, contradicts modern studies of human behaviour e.g. genetically being born hetero or homosexual.

26
Q

vardy criticism of nl

A

• Peter Vardy argues it is impossible to apply the broad picture to specific and complex cases; individual problems do not easily fit into NL framework.

27
Q

hume criticism of nl

A

• Can be criticised on basis of naturalistic fallacy (David Hume), just because nature is a certain way, does not mean that this is how it ought to be, cannot derive ought from is.

28
Q

protestant reformers criticism of nl

A

o Protestants reject the idea that the laws of nature reveal God’s law. The fall created break between God and natural world, creation (Luther) is now corrupt, how can this reveal God?
o Condemns Catholics for emphasis on reason.
o Criticise the importance NL gives to doing goof. Can a corrupt person do good and enter heaven? Luther believed that doing good and obeying NL cannot save you; only the grace of God can.
o Hugo Grotius developed the just war theory to reject the teleological framework of Aristotle and Aquinas. Turned to ideas of ancient Stoics, saw life as struggle, humans must rise above the tragedy.

29
Q

aristotle purpose - 3 types of lives

A

• What should you aim for?
o Aristotle distinguished 3 types of lives:
• Gratification (‘the most vulgar seemingly conceive the good and happiness as pleasure’)
• Political activity
• Study (most important)

30
Q

aristotle great souled man

A

o Must aim for the ‘great souled man’
• Rational
• Balanced
• Independent

31
Q

aristotle superior and subordinate aims

A

o Distinguishes superior and subordinate aims e.g. Vardy and Grosch give the example, ‘writing the first philosophy essay is subordinate to obtaining the final A Level’.

32
Q

criticisms of aquinas use of reason

A

o William of Ockham criticises Aquinas’ use of reason, claiming that faith is more important. If a person obeys God’s law, then God will reward him
augustine
barth
luther

33
Q

aquinas and telos

A 
Heavily influenced by Aristotle 
4 causes 
Use reason to discern telos, empiricism
Ultimate telos is eudaimonia with god, takes Christian approach which Aristotle does not, he refers solely to happiness
Real goods are in line with telos
34
Q

Cardinal virtues which help reason

A

• Reason identifies ‘natural’ and ‘cardinal’ virtues: prudence, justice. Scripture reveals theological virtues: faith, hope etc.

A Level - Ethics (11 decks)

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