Finnis' Natural law

• John Finnis - Development of Natural Law:

  • Legal Philosopher
  • Opposed the idea that law is a social construct (what are the implications of the idea that law is a social construct? Can it ever be right, can it ever be wrong?)
  • Believes law and morality are closely related
  • Tries to answer the question of ‘Why we have law?’ and ‘What it is for?’
• Finnis Creates:

  • 7 basic goods - good things which make an action good
  • Similar to the primary precepts
• 7 Basic goods:

  • The basic goods serve as an explanation of why we do things. Any worthwhile activity is worth doing because it participates in one or more basic goods.
• 7 Basic goods:

  1. Life

  2 .Knowledge

  3. Friendship

  4. Play

  5. Aesthetic experience

  6. Practical reasonableness

  7. Religion
• 7 Basic goods:

  • We reach an understanding of the seven basic goods intuitively
  • We just know they are good
  • E.g. Knowledge is a good to be pursued
  • The basic goods are not achieved, they are participated in
• 7 Basic goods:

  • The seven goods are all equal, they do not exist in a hierarchy.
  • This means there is no single correct act.
  • In practical reason, there can be two contradictory acts that are both morally correct choices. It is up to a human’s free will to choose which act they will adopt.
  • We can choose how we order the seven goods
• 7 Basic goods:

  “there is diversity in the depth, intensity, and duration of commitment, in the extent to which the pursuit of a given value is given priority in the shaping of one’s life and character”
• Theoretical reason - Describes what is true

  • There can only be one correct answer with theoretical reason, if two statements contradict one another one must be wrong
• Practical reason - Describes how to act

  • With practical reason, there can be a number of morally correct outcomes which come from using practical reason
• 9 Requirements of Practical Reason

  1. You should view your life as a whole, and not live moment to moment
  2. you naturally have to prioritise certain goods over others.
  3. Basic goods apply equally to all people
  4. You should make sure that you do not become obsessed with a particular project, and keep the perspective that the project is a participation of a basic good.
  5. make an effort to improve
  6. calculate and plan actions so they are the most efficient
  7. never commit an action that harms a basic good
  8. foster the common good of the community
  9. act according to your conscience and practical reason
• 9 Requirements for Practical Reason:

  • view life as a whole - Don’t be impulsive, think about long term interests and goals
• 9 Requirements for Practical Reason:

  • All basic goods are important - I must follow ALL the basic good. I can prioritise some but I can’t ignore any
• 9 Requirements for Practical Reason:

  • Basic goods apply to everyone - I must allow other people to follow the basic goods
• 9 Requirements for Practical Reason:

  • all projects should fulfil basic goods - Don’t focus on one basic good if it leads me to harm other basic goods. Try to be more rounded, not obsessive. 
• 9 Requirements for Practical Reason:

  • Stay active - Be productive in pursuing basic goods.
• 9 Requirements for Practical Reason:

  • Plan your actions to do the most good - Be efficient in pursuing goods. Get the most good for the effort I put in.
• 9 Requirements for Practical Reason:

  • Do not frustrate basic goods - never break a basic good.
• 9 Requirements for Practical Reason:

  • The golden rule - Treat others as I wish to be treated. Work for the goods of all people, not just myself.
• 9 Requirements for Practical Reason:

  • Use your conscience - Don’t just follow rules from authority. Decide for yourself what is most right. 
• Common good:

  • One of the 9RPR is “Foster the common good”
  • Finnis says we naturally live in communities
  • And living in a community helps us achieve the Basic Goods

  BUT

  • Communities need guidance 
• Need for authority:

  • Finnis accepts that there is a need for authority
  • If we are going to have an effective community we need authority
  • This doesn’t need to be coercive, but needs to be respected
  • The best source of authority is the law
  • We all accept the law should be followed and it makes sure everyone in the community can pursue the basic goods
  • A balance of restricting what would make it harder to pursue goods and giving freedom to make choices
• Moral duty to obey the law:

  • I ought to pursue the basic goods
  • Society needs to coordinate in order to best achieve the basic goods
  • The law is an effective way of coordinating society this way
  • Therefore: I ought to obey the law
  • If a law is morally wrong we should still obey it because I have a moral duty to obey the law as part of the requirements of practical reason. So following an immoral law is still moral.
• • Basic goods are self-evident, basic (cannot be reduced to other types of good) and objectively all equally, universally and intrinsically good.
  • Basic goods are activities that are the purpose of Aquinas’ primary precepts. They are aspects of human existence that are sought for their own sake regardless of the circumstances.
  • Basic goods are not laws. They offer a framework within which a moral agent can choose their own actions from many possible moral options.
• • John Finnis’ development of Natural Law emphasised practical reasonableness, using intelligence to work out the best action, instead of church authority.
• A moral agent participates in the goods, they are not a ruling nor a calculus.
• • Participation in the goods leads to human flourishing.
  • Finnis views the goods holistically meaning all goods must be pursued and no good can be prioritised over any other.
  • Any other form of good is simply ways of pursuing one of the above seven goods.
• ‘Any sane person is capable of seeing that life, knowledge, fellowship, offspring, and a few other such basic aspects of human existence are, as such, good.’ – John Finnis
• ‘It is unreasonable to live merely from moment to moment, following immediate cravings, or just drifting.’ – John Finnis
• ‘Each of these human values is itself a common good inasmuch as it can be participated in by an inexhaustible number of persons in an inexhaustible variety of ways.’ – John Finnis
• • The common good is the coordination, collaboration, and cooperation of people in a society.
  • Society must be organised so that everyone can participate in the basic goods without impediment.
  • Authority is needed to organise individual life plans so that everyone can freely participate in the goods without damaging the common good.
  • It is impractical for everyone to decide for themselves on every issue, so authority helps to swiftly coordinate decisions that affect the common good.
  • Authority should not restrict autonomy; it organises fair participation in the goods.