Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Ethics > Natural Moral Law > Flashcards

Natural Moral Law Flashcards

1
Q

True or False
NML originates from Christianity

A

False

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What does NLM hold?

A

There are rights and moral values that can be understood from human nature and which can be deduced by human reason.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What is eternal law?

A

As God is the creator of everything, the universe and nature inevitably reflect the principles of the natural and moral order which existed before creation, as a ‘blueprint’ in the mind of God.
Humans must live a life based on that order which is objective and absolute and applies to all because we all share a common human nature.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What is divine law?

A

These principles of natural and moral order are revealed to humans through the divine law.
Found in special revelation (e.g. the Bible) and through teachings of the Church.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What is natural moral law?

A

Discovered through reason and not revelation.
Part of God’s eternal law that human beings can discover simply through application of reason.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What is human law?

A

Those which appear in our legal systems.
Should not contradict natural moral law.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What is the main guiding principle?

A

Good is to be done and pursued and evil is to be avoided.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What are the primary precepts?

A

Preserve (innocent) life, reproduction, educate children, worship God & ordered society.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

True or False
The primary precepts are not deontological rules about specific actions.

A

True
They are teleological - concerned with our final end.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What are secondary precepts?

A

Rules that derive from the primary precepts and govern how we should act in specific situations.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What does telos mean?

A

Goal / purpose / end

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What does Aquinas says is our telos?

A

Human flourishing

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

How do the primary precepts help us achieve human flourishing?

A

They are necessary for achieving happiness.
It is self evident - living in an ordered society provides a stable basis for the education of children, for preserving life, for developing relationships and for the procreation of children.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

True or False
Complete happiness cannot be found in something created, but only in the ‘beatific vision’ of God that is promised in the next life.

A

True

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What is the telos for humanity of humanity as a whole?

A

The vision of God - union with God.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What is Aristole’s doctrine of the Four Causes?

A

Explanation of why anything bothers to do anything and why things are as they are.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Explain the efficient cause and the final cause

A

The efficient cause is what gets things done and the final cause is the goal or purpose towards which the thing is directed.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

True or False
Whatever promotes the final cause is wrong and whatever goes against it is right.

A

False

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

What secondary precept does ‘preservation of life’ link to?

A

Abortion
Wrong - kills the foetus / doesn’t preserve innocent life.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

What secondary precepts does ‘reproduction’ link to?

A

Masturbation, bestiality, using coitus interruptus to avoid conception, contraception, abortion, homosexual sex & adultery.
Wrong - cannot lead to reproduction.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

What secondary precepts does ‘education of children’ link to?

A

Consensual sex outside of marriage.
Wrong - children born from the liaison may lack a ‘permanent’ father and may not be properly educated.
&
Polygamy
It is not against natural law but it is against divine law.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

What secondary precept does ‘living in an ordered society’ link to?

A

Consensual sex outside of marriage.
Wrong - goes against the welfare of any children who are born from the liaison.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

What does Aquinas say about polygamy?

A

It is not against natural moral law.
It permits the final end of reproduction which is good.
Allows for the educating of children.
Against the law of nature - fails to reflect the monogamous nature of the marriage relationship between Christ and the Church.

24
Q

True or False
Aquinas doesn’t allow flexibility in the secondary precepts.

A

False
The closer we get to the actual circumstances of a situation, the more variation there will be in what is judges to be morally right in that situation.

25
Q

What is the difference between real and apparent goods?

A

RG = correctly reasoned goods that help the moral agent achieve their telos.
AG = wrongly reasoned goods that don’t help the moral agent achieve their God given purpose.

26
Q

Explain interior and exterior acts

A

IA = the intention or motive behind the act, which must be good.
EA = the external act you can see, which must also be good.

27
Q

What are the 4 cardinal virtues?

A

Prudence, justice, fortitude (courage) and temperance (self-control).

28
Q

What is practical wisdom?

A

The ability to understand a situation and to use practical reason to work out what to do.

29
Q

How does practical wisdom lead to a virtuous life?

A

PW comes through experience - virtuous life can be learned by observing people who habitually practise the virtues.

30
Q

What are the 3 Christian theological virtues listed by Aquinas?

A

Faith, hope and love.

31
Q

What is faith?

A

Belief in God and belief in what is revealed through scripture and the Church.

32
Q

What is hope?

A

The hope of heaven and the beatific vision.

33
Q

What is love?

A

Love of God above all things and love of one’s neighbour through love of God.

34
Q

True or False
The principle of double effect helps to avoid mistakes in moral reasoning in difficult cases.

A

True

35
Q

What is Aquinas’ argument about killing in self-defence?

A

It is justified as long as the killing was not indented but was the unavoidable result of the amount of force necessary to save your own life.

36
Q

What 4 conditions must be satisfied before an act is morally permissible?

A
  1. The nature of the act condition - action must be either morally good or neutral.
  2. The means-end condition - the bad effect must not be the means by which the good effect is achieved.
  3. The right-intention - the intention must only be to achieve the good effect.
  4. The proportionality condition - the good effect must at least be equivalent in importance to the bad effect.
37
Q

Explain Catholic natural moral law in relation to Aquinas

A

For Aquinas, the virtues were at least as important as obligations and rules, the CC gives greater importance to moral rules.

38
Q

Explain John Waters argument in favour of NML

A

NML enables people to establish common rules by which people can live in an ordered society.
It sets firm boundaries for moral behaviour.

39
Q

Explain the link between morality and culture

A

Morality is not just a matter of people’s preferences or of the different customs practised by different societies at different times.
It is about what is intrinsically good or bad.
Different cultures can have different moral ideas.

40
Q

Why is Aquinas’ system realistic?

A

It acknowledges that people can make mistakes - e.g. being confused about the difference between real and apparent goods.

41
Q

True or False
Natural moral law has been a basis for developing our ideas about natural rights.

A

True

42
Q

Explain how Aquinas’ NML is in line with Aristotelian virtue ethics.

A

It focuses on the development of good moral character through practising the cardinal virtues along with the theological virtues.

43
Q

True or False
NML is not very adaptable.

A

False
There are several versions with different concepts.

44
Q

Why has the view that ‘we all share a common nature with God’ caused misery for millions?

A

It leads to questionable claims about human sexual nature, particularly that God’s plan requires human sexuality to be geared specifically to procreation.
The prohibition of artificial means of contraception.
Persecution of homosexuals ad to the repression of natural sexual instincts.

45
Q

Some forms of NML can be atheistic.
Why is this not the case for Aquinas?

A

Aquinas assumed that it was natural for all humans to worship God but that is not a natural assumption for an atheist.

46
Q

True or False
It is not obvious that NML is the best way of looking at morality and the world.

A

True
Fletcher - moral systems such as natural moral law amount to legalistic nonsense and should be replaced by an ethic of Christian love.

47
Q

Can natural moral law lead to immoral outcomes?

A

Yes
e.g. despite the fact that the Catholic Church is easily the largest provider of care for HIV / AIDS patients, its prohibition of artificial methods of contraception has contributed to the spread of AIDS.

48
Q

Why can the double effect seem negative?

A

Seems to throw out the ‘baby’ of common sense with the ‘bathwater’ of the rule, particularly with the way it approaches the problem of abortion.

49
Q

What is proportionalism?

A

Where proportionate reasons exist, it would be right to ignore the rule in that situation.

50
Q

What does Aquinas say about stealing to save a life?

A

Where a man is starving to death, it would be lawful to steal from another - presumably from someone who has more than enough.

51
Q

True or False
Aquinas says that it is not lawful to tell a lie to save someone from death.

A

True

52
Q

Explain the proportionalist account of NML

A
  1. In order to decide whether an act is moral or immoral, the intention of the moral agent has to be considered.
  2. If you ignore the intention of the moral agent, then you can only determine the ‘pre-moral’ / ‘physical’ goodness or badness of the act - not its morality.
  3. So acts become morally good or bad when you consider both the proportion of value to disvalue in the act and the intention of the agent.
  4. So, there cannot be any acts that are intrinsically evil.
53
Q

How does proportionalism link to the ‘Just War’ theory?

A

The proportionality clause is that the violence used must be proportional to the casualties suffered.
e.g. to drop a nuclear warhead on a village would be disproportionate.

54
Q

True or False
The proportionalist approach is not based on common sense.

A

False
It seems to be common sense to lie in order to save a life and to steal to avoid dying of hunger.

55
Q

True or False
The proportionalist principle can be used outside NML.

A

True

56
Q

Why is proportionalism condemned by the CC?

A

It denies that any action can in and of itself be intrinsically evil.

57
Q

Proportionalism is similar to consequentialism.
What is a big problem with consequentialism?

A

How we can make accurate predictions about value and disvalue.
This is the problem that utilitarians face when they try to calculate how much happiness or pleasure an act will bring. To do that, utilitarians have to be able to predict the future, so some guesswork is involved.

Ethics (2 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions