Natural Moral law

Question 1

Who had most impact on NML?

Answer 1

aquinas

Question 2

Why was it christianised?

Answer 2

would have gotten him into trouble if not

Question 3

What is eudaemonia?

Answer 3

the ultimate happiness which can happen in this lifetime

Question 4

Where does Aquinas get the idea of happiness?

Answer 4

Aristotle

Question 5

What did Aquinas believe about right and wrong ?

Answer 5

Right and wrong are fixed concepts and do not change situationally

Question 6

What does natural law actually mean?

Answer 6

ways we should behave

Question 7

What were aquinas four tiers of law ?

Answer 7

eternal law
divine law
natural law
human law

Question 8

What is eternal law ?

Answer 8

moral truths that stay the same not dependant on the situation these truths humans may not understand fully

Question 9

What is divine law?

Answer 9

the teachings of god - bible commandments

Question 10

What is natural law?

Answer 10

possible for human beings to perceive gods eternal law by using human reason

Question 11

What is human law ?

Answer 11

regulation of society only proper if its in accordance with divine and natural law

Question 12

What is the synderesis rule?

Answer 12

do good and avoid evil - moral life is lived and through reason

Question 13

Why did Aquinas write the primary precepts ?

Answer 13

to help us understand the purpose that god has for our lives

Question 14

What are the five primary precepts ?

Answer 14

preservation of life
live in ordered society
worship god
education / learning
reproducing

Question 15

What is the first precept and its meaning ?

Answer 15

preservation of life - its natural for us as humans to worry about preserving our life

Question 16

What is the second precept and its meaning ?

Answer 16

live in an ordered society - by doing this we can fulfil our purpose

Question 17

What is the third precept and its meaning?

Answer 17

worship god - we can appreciate god as source of life and recognise this

Question 18

What is the fourth precept and its meaning ?

Answer 18

learn and educate children we - we are intellectual creatures so it is only natural for us to learn

Question 19

What is the fifht precept and its meaning ?

Answer 19

reproduce - to carry on life as its god intention

Question 20

What is the secondary precepts?

Answer 20

general rules we follow using reason and the primary precepts - these are more flexible

Question 21

example of a secondary precept ?

Answer 21

preserving life (first primary precept ) so we know that killing would be considered wrong and always wrong

Question 22

What is apparent vs real good ?

Answer 22

We cannot knowingly desire evil so aquinas argues when we desire something evil - like a man having an affair he may think this as a real good but this is only an apparent good

Question 23

What is the principle of double effect ?

Answer 23

if the act is not bad and the intention is good then the side effect is justified

Question 24

Arugment against natural moral law ?

Answer 24

Bernard house and proportionalism - he says we should be more compassionate and not stick to strict tradition - he says it has a holistic nature - we should be able to bring in other factors when making decisions such as dignity justice and integrity