Sexual ethics - NML

Question 1

How did Aquinas apply Aristotle’s understanding of telos and final cause?

Answer 1

Everything has a purpose, including sexual organs and a final cause, which for sex is for children.

Question 2

How does premarital sex break the precept of an ordered society?

Answer 2

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.

Question 3

How does premarital sex break the precept of preservation of the innocent?

Answer 3

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.

Question 4

What precept does adultery break?

Answer 4

Ordered society - leads to secondary of not to commit adultery. Can lead to pregnancy out of marriage and breakdown in family life.

Question 5

When, for Aquinas, is adultery not your fault?

Answer 5

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.

Question 6

For Aquinas what is the purpose of marital sex?

Answer 6

For procreation.

Question 7

For Aquinas why is contraception wrong?

Answer 7

Use of artificial contraception encourages premarital sex and so contravenes the precepts of ordered society and reproduction

Question 8

What does Anscombe say about artificial and natural contraception?

Answer 8

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.

Question 9

For Aquinas what comes above Natural law?

Answer 9

Divine Law - the Bible - which also condones premarital sex.

Question 10

What precepts does homosexual sex break?

Answer 10

Reproduction
Ordered society

Question 11

How does homosexual sex lead to a disordered society?

Answer 11

Spread of Aids has lead to societal breakdown. Also, should not marry and have children - not the natural order. Leads to disordered society.

Question 12

What are the strengths of an absolute approach?

Answer 12

Applies to all homosexuals, not treated differently in different countries so just.

Question 13

What is Natural Moral Law based on?

Answer 13

Empirical evidence using reason

Question 14

What are the strengths of a deontological approach?

Answer 14

Based on feature of the act of homosexual sex rather than having to predict unforeseen consequences of homosexual sex.

Question 15

What does Natural Moral Law ensure?

Answer 15

That the human purposes are fulfilled.

Question 16

How does G.E Moore criticise Natural Moral Law?

Answer 16

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.

Question 17

How do Kai Nielson and Hans Kung criticise Natural Moral Law?

Answer 17

Humans do not have a common human nature on which you can base the primary precepts

Question 18

How do Dawkins and Russell criticise Natural Moral Law?

Answer 18

No God, so no purposes that are God given so the premise is false for Natural Moral Law and therefore the laws are false.

Question 19

How does Leiser criticise Natural Moral Law?

Answer 19

Screwdriver has many purposes, so has sex: to express love, to procreate, for pleasure.

Question 20

How does Mackie criticise Natural Moral Law?

Answer 20

Morality should be relative.

Question 21

How does Dawkins criticise Natural Moral Law?

Answer 21

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.

Question 22

How does Vardy support Dawkins?

Answer 22

Homosexual feelings may be a genetic disposition.