Natural Moral Law Flashcards
What is natural moral law deontological ?
Concerned with what you have to do.
What type of theory is natural moral law?
Absolutist and deontological
Why is natural moral law absolutist?
Because it tells you absolutely what to do .
What does natural moral law do?
Reason about the nature of the world and humans
Quote by Stoics:Cicero?
true law is right reason in agreement with nature.
What did Aquinas believe about God?
that he created the universe and therefore created the order and purpose.
what did he believe NML was?
the following of God’s final purpose.
what did Aquinas believe was the ultimate aim of following NML?
to achieve a union with God.
what are primary precepts ?
identified actions which are good and absolute.
what are the five primary precepts ?
PLERW - preserve life, live in society, educate children, reproduce and worship.
what are secondary precepts ?
laws which help us to achieve our secondary precepts
what are the (4) secondary precepts ?
MUDS - do not murder, do not abort and unborn child, defend the defenceless and do not commit suicide.
How do we reach our primary precepts ?
we use our secondary precepts and we arrive at our primary precepts using reason and nature.
What was Aristotle’s main ideas ?
Everything in life has a purpose and therefore there has to be an efficient and a final cause
what is an efficient cause ?
Getting something done.
what is the final cause ?
the end product.
when is the efficient cause deemed good ?
when the final cause has been achieved.
Final aim = eudaimonia.
Who is a modern NML philosopher, and what did they propose ?
Bernard Hoose = proportionalism - not every moral value is absolute, it can be linked to circumstances. include factors which are non-moral but help when making moral decisions.
What are the strengths of NML?
- it’s focus on reason which allows it to be universal.
- its emphasis on purpose gives humans positive structures in their lives.
- because it is absolutist it provides a clear source of guidance and certainty.
what is the foundational problem?
Aquinas = God created the order within nature.
Aristotle = God did not create the order within nature.
would mean that NML would require a belief in God.
how would the foundational problem be countered ?
universality - would not be universal if based on God.
What is the problem of interpretation ?
people interpret nature in different ways, so will have a differing view on what actions are good and bad.
How would the problem of interpretation be countered ?
Problem for other ethical theories such as virtue ethics.
Another weakness of NML?
it commits a naturalistic fallacy because Aquinas bases what we ought to do (obey God) on the basis of what is (moral law comes from God)
