Natural Moral Law Flashcards
Natural Moral Law
the ethical idea that, as rational beings, there are rights and moral values we must act according to
The four-fold division of law
- Eternal law
- Divine law
- Natural moral law
- Human law
Eternal law
The law which comes from God’s nature as the Creator
- God has plans for everything in the world
- God’s blueprint for the natural and moral order of things (aka. the laws of nature)
- existed before creation and woven in the fabric of reality
Divine law
God’s special revelation disclosed to humanity in the Bible and the teachings of the Catholic Church, which contains truths only discoverable through God’s grace
e.g. the Ten Commandments
Natural moral law (as part of the fourfold division)
The natural moral order discovered through human reason and not through revelation
- includes the synderesis principle: ‘do good and avoid evil’
- part of God’s eternal law
Human law
The systems of law built up by human societies on the basis of natural law (our legal system)
Aquinas’s three primary precepts
- What humans share with all other created entities
- What humans share with other animals
- What humans have uniquely as rational beings
The five manualist primary precepts
- The drive to preserve life (1)
- The desire to reproduce (2)
- The drive to educate and care for their offspring (2)
- To know the truth about God and worship him (3)
- To live in an ordered society (3)
Purpose of the primary precepts
- concerned with our telos and therefore teleological
- helps lead towards human happiness
- helps focus on beatific vision
Beatific vision
the ultimate, direct, self-communication of God to humanity
Secondary precepts
Rules that derive from the primary precepts and govern how we should act in specific situations
- whatever promotes or hinders humanity’s telos as reflected in the primary precepts is right or wrong
- e.g. the use of contraception is wrong, as it hinders the telos of sex
- exceptionless in most cases
Secondary precepts examples
- masturbation
wrong, as it does not promote the final end of reproduction - abortion
wrong, as it does not promote reproduction or preservation of innocent life - consensual sex outside marriage
wrong, as it goes against welfare of children born from the liaison (not ordered society)
Secondary precepts - cultural relativism
The view that a person’s moral beliefs should be judged in the context of their own culture
e.g. polygamy is natural in some countries, promotes reproduction, and allows for education of children, but goes against the monogamous nature that God intended
Secondary precepts - flexibility
The closer we get to the actual circumstances of a situation, the more variation there will be in what is judged to be morally right
e.g. it would be unreasonable to restore goods held in trust if they are claimed for the purpose of fighting against one’s country
Avoiding making mistakes - real and apparent goods
- humans can get confused and seek apparent goods
- apparent goods are actions that may seem right or justified because they bring about short term joy/pleasure
- a real good is something that is good according to natural law (correctly reasoned goods that help the moral agent achieve their telos)
Avoiding making mistakes - interior and exterior acts
- an exterior act is the actual act being carried out
- an interior act is the intention behind the act
- NML suggests that exterior acts are only good if they are accompanied by the right intention
e.g. donating to charity to be admired by others is not true morality
Avoiding making mistakes - following the virtues
- helps us differentiate between real and apparent goods
- we can achieve an ‘ideal human nature’ through improving our virtues
The Cardinal virtues
- from Latin cardo (‘hinge’)
- the foundation of natural morality
- Prudence (practical wisdom)
- Justice
- Fortitude (courage)
- Temperance (self-control)
The Theological virtues
- derived from St Paul in the NT and given to humans through God’s grace
- Faith - belief in God and what is revealed in Church/scripture
- Hope - hope of heaven and the beatific vision
- Love - the agape love of God above all things and the love of one’s neighbour
The Doctrine of Double Effect
The idea that it is always wrong to intentionally do a bad act, but that it is permissible to do a good act knowing it will bring about bad consequences
The four conditions of DDE
- The act that is done needs to be good in itself or at least indifferent
- The good effect must not be obtained by means of the bad effect
- The bad effect should not be intended for itself, only permitted
- There must be a proportionally grave reason for permitting the bad effect
Catholic NML today in relation to Aquinas
- whereas Aquinas gave greater importance to virtues, the Catholic Church gave greater importance to moral rules
- manualists produced moral rule-books, causing Catholic NML to become deontological
- however, more recently, there has been a renewed interest in the virtues
Proportionalism
The idea that it can never be right to go against certain moral rules, unless there is a proportionate reason, based on the context or situation, to justify it
- a development of NML that gives some flexibility in unusual/grave moral dilemmas
Proportionalism scholars
- proportionalist movement began with Peter Knauer
- Bernard Hoose: it may be to the greater good to put aside absolutist interpretations and consider qualities such as dignity, integrity and justice
- Richard McCormick: avoid extreme absolutism but also unprincipled moral relativism
Two factors that proportionalism takes into account
- the intention of the moral agent
- the value of the good effect weighed against the disvalue of the bad effect
Strengths of NML
- in a time of moral uncertainty, it establishes rules by which people can live by in an ordered society
- the emphasis on virtues encourages focus on developing a person’s character
- it is objective, as it provides rules that are true independently of our individual thoughts and desires
Weaknesses of NML
- Relies on belief in God - Aquinas assumed it to be natural for all humans to worship God, but this is not natural for an atheist
- Can lead to immoral outcomes - e.g. prohibition of contraception has contributed to spread of AIDS
- Many Christians reject its legalistic approach, with some preferring Situation Ethics
