Natural Law Flashcards
What are the keywords for Aquinas?
Telos Aristotle Natural order Eudaimonia Image of God Deontological Teleological Absolutist Primary Precepts Secondary Precepts Synderesis Ratio Hierarchy of Law Double Effect 4 approaches Proportionalism ius Lex Apparent good Sin
What are the 4 approaches to double effect?
1) good must outweigh evil in the outcome
2) action itself can’t be evil
3) right intention
4) exceptional circumstances
What is Aquinas’ natural law?
Natural Law is based on the idea that there is a natural order to the world which God designed along with human nature so to behaviour naturally is good. Aristotle reasoned that everything has a telos which things are good if they fulfil. Aristotle argued humanity’s purpose is eudaimonia (human flourishing). The rediscovery of ancient Greek philosophy was seen as a challenge to Christianity as it was based on reason however Aquinas thought properly applied reason would reach the same conclusion as the Bible as both are God-given. Aquinas argued our purpose is to “reflect the image of God”. By observing human nature Aquinas derived 5 primary precepts and by using our ratio we can work out secondary precepts to help fulfil these. Aquinas said we naturally pursue good and avoid evil - synderesis. When we sin it is not evil just wrongly applied reason that makes us fall short of our telos often when we are seeking an apparent good. Sometimes it is necessary to commit a good act with bad consequences - double effect- which we can work out if we should do using the 4 approaches. Natural Law is also part of the hierarchy of law. It is both deontological and teleological as it is our duty to fulfil our telos but we must look to the consequences to see if an action will help fulfil this. Both ius and lex approaches to Natural Law can be had.
What are the 5 primary precepts?
To preserve life To worship To live harmoniously To learn To reproduce
What is the difference between an ius and lex approach?
A Lex approach to Natural Law is that the Primary Precepts should never be broken unless by double effect.
Aquinas takes a more ius approach as his original intention was more proportional. This means that in some circumstances it is necessary to break a primary precept in order to bring about a greater good.
What are the strengths of NL?
+ Our telos is to reflect the image of God and there is a purpose to our morality and if we follow the natural order we will be satisfied
+ All that is required is that we behave naturally - worship, learning and reproducing is natural to most cultures
+ It allows us to use reason and work out what is good for ourselves rather than blindly following rules
+ It upholds the sanctity of life argue and whether you are disabled, close to death or an embryo you can live up to your purpose so valued
+ It is proporsional
What are the weaknesses of NL?
- Presupposes a good designer who has our best interests at heart
- GE Moore says it commits the naturalistic fallacy as just because something is natural doesn’t mean you ought to do it
- Peter Singer argues belief in Lex Sanctity of life argument prolongs suffering
- An ius approach is too relative and we don’t know when to keep a primary precept and when to break one
