Natural Law

Question 1

What does natural law mean?

Answer 1

Law derived from reason

Question 2

What are the primary precepts?

Answer 2

Preserving life 
Reproduction 
Educating children 
Worship god 
Live in an ordered society

Question 3

What are the 4 types of law?

Answer 3

Eternal
Divine
Human
Natural law

Question 4

What is eternal law?

Answer 4

Refers to law which comes from God’s nature as the creator.
A blueprint in the mind of God.
God’s blueprint for humans means we all share a ‘common human nature’

Question 5

What is divine law?

Answer 5

Principles of natural and moral order are revealed to humans through Divine law. E.g. prophets revealed God’s words.
A manual sent to us e.g. the Bible.

Question 6

What is Human law?

Answer 6

Understanding natural moral law, we can then formulate human laws e.g. legal system.
Human law should not contradict natural moral law.

Question 7

What is the main guiding principle?

Answer 7

‘ Good is to be done and evil to be avoided ‘ - Synderesis

Question 8

What are the secondary precepts?

Answer 8

Precepts derived from primary precepts.

Question 9

What is the difference between real and apparent good?

Answer 9

Real is away from sins and apparent seem good but disobey primary precepts.

Question 10

What is double effect?

Answer 10

About the intentions behind an action. Aquinas says ‘Nothing hinders one Act from having two effects, only the other is behind the intention’
Double effect is a principle which helps avoid mistakes in moral situations by using the principle of double effect.

Question 11

Name the four conditions applying to double effect?

Answer 11

• nature of the act
• the means end condition
• the right intention condition
• the proportionality condition

Question 12

What does nature of the act mean?

Answer 12

Action must either be morally good or neutral

Question 13

What does the means-end condition mean?

Answer 13

The bad effect must not be the means by which the good effect is achieved.

Question 14

What does the right intention mean?

Answer 14

The intention must achieve the good effect

Question 15

What are the 4 conditions in applying the principle of double effect?

Answer 15

• Nature of the act condition
• The means-end condition
• The right intention condition
• The proportionality condition

Question 16

nature of an act

Answer 16

The action must either be morally good or indifferent/neutral. Acts such as lying or intentionally killing an innocent person are never morally permissible.

Question 17

right intention condition

Answer 17

The intention must only be to achieve the good effect. The bad effect must be only an unintended side-effect. If the bad effect is a means of bringing about a good effect is is then immoral. The bad effect must have been foreseen, but is not to be intended.

Question 18

the means to an end

Answer 18

The bad effect must not be the means by which the good effect is achieved.

Question 19

proportionality condition

Answer 19

The good effect must have at least be equivalent in importance to the bad effect.

Question 20

Beatific vision

Answer 20

The ultimate, direct, self communication of God to humanity i.e. Heaven.

Question 21

Examples of double effect:

Answer 21

The use of morphine to control pain for terminally ill patients; the difference between terror bombing and tactical bombing and torturing one person to save a million people.
Aquinas forbids suicide but in a case of a soldier who sacrifices his life to save his comrades, double effect would require him not to intend to sacrifice his life to save comrades, whereas most people would consider an intentional self-sacrifice to bring out the most loving outcome.

Question 22

strengths of natural moral law

Answer 22

• In a time of moral uncertainty , it establishes rules by which people can live in an ordered society
• It encourages people to think of some acts such as slavery as being intrinsically wrong
• It is realistic in that it admits that people can make mistakes
• It emphasises virtues
• It can be adapted to a form of non-theistic system

Question 23

weaknesses of natural moral law

Answer 23

• Its view that we all share a single, common human nature is false
• Does not help atheists about worshipping God in the primary precepts
• Many christians reject its legalistic approach and prefer situationism which focuses more about agape love rather than rules and regulations
• Can lead to immoral outcomes, as with its approach to contraception and to homosexuality.

Question 24

John Waters

Answer 24

Offers a foundational, universal and absolute approach to ethics. Overall, natural moral law enables people to establish common rules by which people can live in an ordered society.

Question 25

Bertrand Russell

Answer 25

The universe ‘just is’. Never observed the universe existence so we are not entirely sure who created the universe as we were not during that period of time.

Question 26

Why would some criticise that it is more consequentialist rather than deontological?

Answer 26

The double effect states about the means, however it is rooted on how the outcomes will be. Judges whether an action is good or not.

Question 27

Jeremy Bentham

Answer 27

Descries natural rights as ‘nonsense upon stilts’

Question 28

John Fry

Answer 28

A neat algorithm for solving moral disputes.

Question 29

Louis Pojman

Answer 29

Humanity has an essentially rational nature and reason can discover the right action in every situation by an appropriate exceptionalness principle.

Question 30

What ethical theory is natural law?

Answer 30

Deontological

Question 31

How are the primary precepts to be seen as teleological?

Answer 31

Following all the primary precepts leads to the beatific vision which ultimately leads to you towards the end goal.