Natural (Moral) Law Flashcards
What does legalism mean?
A set of prefabricated moral rules or laws
What does deontological mean?
Ethics is concerned with the nature of acts themselves, rather than their outcome - they are right and wrong intrinsically
What does telos mean?
The end or purpose
What does Aristotle believe everything has?
A purpose
How is purpose revealed?
By its design
What is the aim of telos?
To fulfil telos is the supreme good to be sought
What happens if something does not reach its purpose?
It has not realised its potential
What is Plato’s Euthyphro dilemma?
Views 2 possible versions of the universe
1) God (1) moral laws (2) humans (3), God commands moral laws because they are absolutely true in themselves and separate from God
2) God (1) humans (2) God commands humans to do certain things and are good, because God has commanded them
What is Plato’s Euthyphro dilemma?
Views 2 possible versions of the universe
1) God (1) moral laws (2) humans (3), God commands moral laws because they are absolutely true in themselves and separate from God
2) God (1) humans (2) God commands humans to do certain things and are good because God has commanded them
What is a quote from Plato’s Euthyphro dilemma?
“Loved by the God because it is pious, or pious because it is loved?”
What are the problems that the Euthyphro dilemma proposes?
If there is an objective standard of right or wrong, what does that make of God?
What is Divine Command theory?
The view that moral rules are true because they have been commanded by God
Who are three critics against the traditional Natural Law?
A.J. Ayer, Emil Brunner and Leibniz
What is A.J. Ayer’s criticism?
- commanding something does not make it right
- no morality can be founded on authority, even if the authority is divine
What is the criticism of Emil Brunner?
- if things were not commanded by God, they would not be right or wrong
- “hate your neighbour” could have been the command
- DCT makes moral codes appear arbitrary
What is Leibniz’s criticism?
Why praise God for what he’s done, as he would equally be praised for doing the contrary
What is Natural Moral Law based on?
Reason alone - used to understand moral teachings and revelations
What does Aquinas propose for Natural Moral Law?
Anything created by an agent will end b the choice of the same agent, the end is the objective - therefore those that reflect God will end up where they were destined to be by God
What are the four laws?
Human
Eternal - principle made by God, only know by God
Natural - theory that an eternal, absolute moral law can ve discovered by reason
Divine - the bible reflects this
What is Natural Moral Law?
An absolutist theory based on the belief that there is a natural order to the world and that natural order has been designed by God
What are Primary Precepts?
These are the natural laws that are set in stone, the path towards the ultimate purpose
What are the 5 Primary Precepts?
1) Worship God
2) Defend the innocent
3) Reproduce
4) Ordered society
5) Education
What do we learn through the primary precepts?
The Secondary Precepts
What are secondary precepts?
These vary from the law of the land to accept codes of behaviour
What is an example of a secondary precept?
PP - Reproduce
SP - permits IVF and surrogacy, but condemns abortion
What is ‘Hard Determinism’?
All human action is casually determined, we never act freely, so are not morally responsible for our actions
What are real and apparent goods?
- a real good is in accordance to the natural moral law
- an apparent good is a mistake, however not intentionally chosen - through an error of reason
What are exterior and interior acts?
Both the intention and act are important
- ‘exterior’ is acting in a good way for the wrong reason’
- ‘interior’ is acting in a good way within itself
This is similar to MacIntyres Exterior and Interior reasonss
What is casuistry?
The process of applying NML principles to specific situations, done in a logical way with logical consequences
What is the Doctrine of Double Effect?
If doing something morally good has a morally bad side-effect, it’s ethically OK to do it providing the bad side-effect wasn’t intended
What is proportionalism?
Asserts that one can determine the right course of action by weighing up the good and the necessary evil caused by the action
Who is proportionalism associated with?
Bernard Hoose and Richard McCormick
What does Hoose argue?
Humans can never live in a world of perfect morals, since society is inherently flawed since the sin of Adam and EVe
What is the solution to not living in a world of perfect morals?
We must strive towards a moral compromise, not perfection
What are Hoose’s ‘Ontic Goods’?
Those that alleviate suffering
- justice
- integrity
- dignity
What is Hoose’s interpretation of NML?
It is a system of guidelines rather than absolutes
When was proportionalism developed?
1960s - in response to Humanae Vitae and its views on contraception
What are ontic evils?
They are not immoral but cause pain and suffering - different to ‘moral evil’
What does McCormick argue for proportionalism?
Recognises that free will is an important part of human nature
What are intrinsically evil acts?
Those that go against both Primary and Secondary precepts
Where does proportionalism stand in ethics?
Mid-way between deontological ethics and teleological ethics
