Natural Law

Question 1

what is deontological and teleological?

Answer 1

deontological- based on action

teleological- based on consequence

Question 2

what is absolutist morality?

Answer 2

• things are wrong for man objective point of view
• right and wrong cannot change, they aren’t affected by mitigated circumstances
• plato is an absolutist

Question 3

what is relativist morality?

Answer 3

• people don’t always agree what is right or wrong, subjective
• it is not possible to have a general rule to cover every situation
• different cultures express different moral codes of conduct. This is known as ‘cultural relativism’. An example is FGM

Question 4

What did Protagoras say which supports relativist morality?

Answer 4

‘Man is the measure of all things’

Question 5

What are the advantages and disadvantages of absolutist morality?

Answer 5

advantages:

• fixed ethical code to measure actions
• universal and equal view of ethics

disadvantages:

• doesn’t take circumstances into account
• intolerant of cultural diversity

Question 6

What are the advantages and disadvantages of relativist morality?

Answer 6

advantages:

• prohibits a dominant culture
• flexible

disadvantages:

• paradox, if the universal belief was relativism, then it would become absolute
• existence of different beliefs don’t mean they are all equal

Question 7

What did Aristotle believe in for NML?

Answer 7

• everything has an intended purpose, everything has a telos, for example a knife. its intended purpose vs unintended purpose (to kill), must use everything for its intended purpose
• acknowledged that we have animal instincts which can lead us to disregard reason and not fulfil their intended purpose (having an affair due to temptation)
• the telos for Aristotle was a happy and fulfilled life (as non-religious), eudaimonia was his ultimate goal

Question 8

what did Aquinas believe in for NML?

Answer 8

• there is one absolutist principle that all humans should follow, the synderesis principle : “Do good and avoid evil”, deontological (actions are essential, we are judged on our actions)
• there are four tiers of law: eternal, human, divine and natural law
• there was a more fulfilling telos than aristotles’s- fellowship with god (religious compared to Aristotle)
• we are all made in ‘imago dei’ and therefore the supreme good would be developing this and aiming for perfection and thus achieving our telos
• views humans as ‘rational humans’ meaning that we can use our reason to rationalise our decisions, use REASON to be moral beings
• We must use our reason to make rational decisions

Question 9

explain the 4 types of law according to Aquinas

Answer 9

1) Eternal law- we all share a ‘common human nature’, the principles made by God, common nature links to the absolutist and universal law
2) Divine law- a manual sent by god, scripture, reflects the ‘eternal law of god’ (bible and teachings of the church)
3) Natural law- built into human nature, what we observe, we use reason (what we are told is wrong)
4) Human law- what we write down, through understanding natural law we formulate human laws (legislation)

Although one may say we should base our decisions on the bible, we must use our reason in order to make the most moral decision.

Question 10

what is eudaimonia?

Answer 10

human flourishing. This is what Aristotle thought the ultimate goal was.

Question 11

What did saint Ambrose say about natural law?

Answer 11

“law is twofold- natural and written. the natural law is in the heart, the written law on tables. All men are under the natural law.”

Question 12

what is an interior and exterior act?

Answer 12

interior- the motive/intention behind an act

exterior- the act itself

Question 13

what did aquinas believe about interior and exterior acts?

Answer 13

both the interior and exterior act just be good to qualify as a good act, eg. stealing bread to feed your starving family is bad

Question 14

what does copleston say about interior and exterior acts?

Answer 14

“if I steal money from a man in order to give it to someone else, my actions are not justified by my good intention”

Question 15

what does aquinas believe about real and apparent goods?

Answer 15

human actions that are not in the pursuit of perfection can be explained as the pursuit of the apparent good- something that doesn’t quite fit the perfect human ideal

Question 16

What is the difference between an apparent good and a real good?

Answer 16

an apparent good is when you do something that you believe is good but isn’t. e.g. stealing food to feed your starving family.

a real good is something that has a good intention and is morally correct. In order to work out if it is a real good we must use reason

Question 17

what does phronesis mean?

Answer 17

it is practical wisdom, means that people can make moral choices

Question 18

what was aquinas’ most important rule?

Answer 18

self-preservation. he established a series of primary precepts that are required to ensure this goal. acts that help to fulfil these main human purposes are good. acts not in accordance with them are bad.

Question 19

what are the five primary precepts explained?

Answer 19

1) preservation of life- (do not murder- abortion, euthanasia)
2) reproduction (no contraception)
3) ordered society (do not steal, build more homes)
4) worship god (go to church, hold school assemblies)
5) education of the young (free education for children, schooling compulsory)

Question 20

what are primary and secondary precepts?

Answer 20

primary precepts- descriptive, teleological, theory, always true and apply to everyone

secondary precepts- prescriptive, deontological, practise, they set out the way in which the primary precepts can be put into practise,

Question 21

explain the primary precept of reproduction

Answer 21

1) primary precept: reproduction
2) purpose of human genitals = reproduction
3) so no masturbation, homosexuality, prostitution
4) no new life, don’t fulfil telos, don’t glorify god

however one problem is if the couple are both infertile. are they are able to have sex for pleasure if they can’t reproduce?

Question 22

what is the purpose of these precepts?

Answer 22

all things must operate in accordance with these rules, to which humans are naturally inclined. god gives humans the power of REASON to accomplish these purposes

Question 23

what is the doctrine of double effect?

Answer 23

refers to situations where there is an intended outcome and another significant but unintentional outcome.

Question 24

what does aquinas say about double effect?

Answer 24

sometimes it is right to do a good act despite knowing that it will bring about bad consequences. However these bad consequences must only be unintended side-effects. an example of this is self defense, you are following the preservation of life.

Question 25

what is an example of double effect in life?

Answer 25

a woman has to have her womb removed because she has uterine cancer. the women’s intention is to remove the cancer for preservation of life as a result an unintended outcome is that her unborn child dies.

Question 26

what are the advantages of natural law?

Answer 26

1) clear and consistent- regularity causes a more ordered society, less corruption
2) God- doesn’t require belief in God, as it is based on empirical observations of our nature, makes sense to all (preservation of life)
3) All-encompassing- there are issues not covered in bible such as IVF, more relevant for society, helps in ethical decisions
4) Human dignity- values human life highly, most important precept is preservation of life, common views in society (agreed by many)

Question 27

what are the disadvantages of natural law?

Answer 27

• Outcomes- leads to immoral outcomes e.g. not allowing contraception led to spread of AIDS and overpopulation in Africa, suffering due to the teachings of the church!!!!
• Agape- Jesus was opposed to legalism, and broke rules in order to do the most loving thing, when saving the Pharisees he broke laws in order to help
• Unreliable- scripture is more reliable than reason, as reason leads to corruption, we should follow what God tells us in scripture otherwise we will make mistakes, not all people have a good human nature
• Outdated- natural law is stuck in the past, enforcing traditional views out of date with 21st century society. leads to homophobia, intolerance of other cultures

Question 28

Summary of natural law

Answer 28

Deontological- based on action itself, everything in accordance with synderesis rule “do good and avoid evil”, actions are most impact
Absolutist- aren’t affected by certain situations, Aquinas says we all share a common nature so it is an absolutist and universal law