Natural Moral Law

Question 1

Natural Law

Answer 1

The natural world is governed by law, these laws are part of the universe and we work them out by observation and reasoning.

Natural law is a set of general consistencies which govern nature.

Some believe God put these rules in place, others claim these rules exist without reason.

Some argue that the way we act is governed by natural law. This can also only be discovered through observation and reason.

This would imply that everybody should act the same way because there is a universal law.

Question 2

Thomas Aquinas

Answer 2

1224-1275:
• priest/religious writer
• advocated existence of natural law and believed that God put it there
• humans should act in a certain way
• learnt from Aristotle, combining his ideas with Christian belief. He wanted to show that people’s actions were to be guided by commands of God and human reason

Question 3

Aristotle

Answer 3

everything in creation has:
• an efficient cause- the event which occurred to bring about certain results
• a final cause- the ultimate reason for existence
Potentiality and actuality:
• something was good if it fitted its purpose, (a good knife cuts well)
• the essence of goodness was turning potentiality into actuality
• that is to say, if something has a potential, it must fulfil its potential and goodness is brought about as a result (e.g. a tadpole has the potential to become a frog)

Question 4

Aquinas and Natural Law

Answer 4

-the basis of natural law theory is that there is a moral code which is:
• universal
• unchanging
• for all time
• relevant to all circumstances
• given by God

Question 5

Criticisms of Aquinas’ Natural Law

Answer 5

• arguably outdated, times have changed at unprecedented rates
• assumption that there is a God/the God of classical theism
• God’s laws did change, the various covenants
• problematic for non-Christians

Question 6

Presuppositions of Natural Law

Answer 6

• God made the universe and everything in it for a reason
• Goodness involves being fit for a purpose
• people, by nature, want to be good
• the purpose of human existence is self-evident by observing creation and the use of human reason

Question 7

Efficient and Final causes of Natural Law

Answer 7

• Aquinas claimed God is the efficient cause of creation
• the reason for creation is self-evident
• the goodness of creation is to be found by following God’s purpose for us
• God has created everything for a reason

Question 8

How does Aquinas define goodness and where can the purpose of one’s existence be found?

Answer 8

• Aquinas argued goodness came from things fulfilling their potential because this fulfilled the purpose given by God
• distinguishes between real and apparent good- what is God’s intention and what seems to be good
• Child thinks watching TV is good but it takes them away from fulfilling their academic purpose

-Aquinas wrote that the purpose of existence could be found by:
• reading the Bible
• looking to Church teachings
• looking at design in creation

Question 9

Exterior and Interior acts

Answer 9

• both intention and act are important. to act isn a good way for the wrong reason is a good exterior act but bad interior act. This is wrong
• Aquinas believed that acts are intrinsically good or bad because if humans act in accordance with their ultimate purpose God is glorified

Question 10

What we are designed to do, according to Aquinas

Answer 10

-we are designed to
• grow, reproduce, think, eat
• believed it is the natural instinct of humans to seek goodness
• to seek the good was to fulfil our potential
• in order to fulfil our potential we must use creation in the way God intended

Question 11

Primary precepts and their corresponding secondary precepts

Answer 11

Preservation of life:

-do not commit suicide
-do not switch off life-support machines

Human procreation:

-permit IVF and surrogacy
-contraception is wrong

The advancement of knowledge and learning:

-education is free
-school is compulsory

Living in a peaceful and harmonious community:

-build more homes
-encourage community activities

The worship of God:

-set aside one day a week for worship
-hold school assemblies

Question 12

Human Sexuality

Answer 12

the Natural Law Theory is often used in discussion surrounding human sexuality
• Aquinas believed it was self evident that men and women’s bodies are created for each other with the potential for procreation
• this implies that, because humans naturally seek the good in order to fulfil their potential, the sexual act is only to be used between a man and a woman because of God’s design for the bodies

Question 13

Applying natural law (some examples)

Answer 13

• homosexual relationships: not ok, procreation
• contraception: not ok, procreation
• fertility treatment: ok, procreation
• sexual relationships where there is no potential for procreation: not ok, procreation
• a celibate priesthood: ok, worship of God
• rape: not ok, peaceful and harmonious community
• adultery: not ok, peaceful and harmonious communiy

Question 14

Strengths of Natural Law

Answer 14

• absolutist moral law
• follows the will of God, the Bible and reason
• right and wrong depend upon a self-evident law
• clear cut
• suitable for religious believers

Question 15

Weaknesses of Natural Law

Answer 15

• some argue purposes in world are not self-evident
• there is debate as to what is ‘natural’ e.g. many feel ‘naturally’ attracted to people of the same sex
• Aquinas assumes that God created the world whereas others argue the world came about by chance
• Charles Darwin’s theory claimed animal species exist only through chance and in seeking their own survival act only out of self-interest, not to seek the good

Question 16

Summary Evaluation of Natural Moral Law

Answer 16

• very influential in ethics
• many still try to develop an understanding of right and wrong from what is natural
• but difficulties arise when defining what exactly is meant by ‘natural’ (especially with developments in medical technology)

Question 17

Aristotle’s four causes

Answer 17

A material cause (what something is made of)

A formal cause (the form something takes)

An efficient cause (that which made it)

A final cause (the purpose of its creation)

Question 18

Hoose

Answer 18

“it is never right to go against a principle unless there is a proportionate reason which would justify it”
• we should follow natural moral law unless there is a good enough reason to do otherwise
• however, it is difficult for proportionalists to decide what justifies abandoning natural moral laws
• in most situations though, most people would agree on what the right thing would be

Question 19

Boyle

Answer 19

“communal well-being and flourishing”
• reason should direct us towards what benefits the community

Question 20

Finnis

Answer 20

adapted Natural Moral law so that it doesn’t presuppose God’s existence
• suggested basic goods, like Aquinas did: life, knowledge, play/skilled performance, aesthetic appreciation, sociability, practical reasonableness
• acceptance of good coming from a higher power

Question 21

Griesz

Answer 21

goods are either practical or moral
• Practical: what helps or hinders a person’s ability to do the moral thing
• Moral: what Aquinas called ‘virtues’: justice, temperance, wisdom etc

Question 22

Fletcher

Answer 22

Jesus rejected the Pharisees’ legalistic morality so Christians shouldn’t adopt anything similar, such as Natural Moral law

Question 23

Nelson

Answer 23

“The concept of human nature is a rather vague cultural concept”
• points out the differences between cultures and the others ways in which human natures vary (homosexuality)

Question 24

Vardy and Grosh

Answer 24

Aquinas hold a reductionist view of sex in claiming that it is only reproductive