Sexual ethics - NML Flashcards
How did Aquinas apply Aristotle’s understanding of telos and final cause?
Everything has a purpose, including sexual organs and a final cause, which for sex is for children.
How does premarital sex break the precept of an ordered society?
Premarital sex is not part of an ordered society as children are born into marriage and not out of wedlock. This means a stable family life.
How does premarital sex break the precept of preservation of the innocent?
Premarital sex can lead to abortion. Innocent life must be preserved. Use of the morning after Pill is wrong an aborts life - so sex should be in marriage to avoid this.
What precept does adultery break?
Ordered society - leads to secondary of not to commit adultery. Can lead to pregnancy out of marriage and breakdown in family life.
When, for Aquinas, is adultery not your fault?
If you commit it by accident. E.g. if a man sleeps with another man’s wife but he thinks it is his wife and educated his conscience to the best of his ability then he is not to blame.
For Aquinas what is the purpose of marital sex?
For procreation.
For Aquinas why is contraception wrong?
Use of artificial contraception encourages premarital sex and so contravenes the precepts of ordered society and reproduction
What does Anscombe say about artificial and natural contraception?
Artificial is wrong but natural is not. There are 2 levels of intention, both want to stop family size at first level, but second level intention is to not procreate if using artificial contraception whereas natural method leaves it open to having children.
For Aquinas what comes above Natural law?
Divine Law - the Bible - which also condones premarital sex.
What precepts does homosexual sex break?
Reproduction
Ordered society
How does homosexual sex lead to a disordered society?
Spread of Aids has lead to societal breakdown. Also, should not marry and have children - not the natural order. Leads to disordered society.
What are the strengths of an absolute approach?
Applies to all homosexuals, not treated differently in different countries so just.
What is Natural Moral Law based on?
Empirical evidence using reason
What are the strengths of a deontological approach?
Based on feature of the act of homosexual sex rather than having to predict unforeseen consequences of homosexual sex.
What does Natural Moral Law ensure?
That the human purposes are fulfilled.
How does G.E Moore criticise Natural Moral Law?
Cannot jump from an is to an ought. Cannot claim that the empirical evidence states that we have reproductive organs to claim we ought not to allow homosexual sex.
How do Kai Nielson and Hans Kung criticise Natural Moral Law?
Humans do not have a common human nature on which you can base the primary precepts
How do Dawkins and Russell criticise Natural Moral Law?
No God, so no purposes that are God given so the premise is false for Natural Moral Law and therefore the laws are false.
How does Leiser criticise Natural Moral Law?
Screwdriver has many purposes, so has sex: to express love, to procreate, for pleasure.
How does Mackie criticise Natural Moral Law?
Morality should be relative.
How does Dawkins criticise Natural Moral Law?
Homosexual feelings appear to be natural according to science. Could have evolved over time so Natural Moral law approach fails to take account of this.
How does Vardy support Dawkins?
Homosexual feelings may be a genetic disposition.
