Natural Law

• deontological: from the Latin for 'Duty', ethics focuses on the intrinsic rightness and wrongness of actions
• Telos: the end ,or purpose, of something
• Natural Law: a deontological theory based on behaviour that accords with given laws or moral laws, that exist independently of human societies and systems
• synderesis: to follow the good and avoid the evil, rule which all precepts follow
• Primary Precepts: the most important rules in life =>

  • protect life
  • reproduce
  • live in community
  • educate
  • believe in God
• Secondary precepts: the laws which follow the primary precepts
• practical reason: the tool which makes moral decisions
• eudaimonia: living well, as an ultimate end in life which all other actions should leas towards
• Greek philosophers believed that morals were based on an eternal dimension. Aristotle believed that there is a difference between natural and legal justice. Thomas Aquinas also believed that right and wrong was fixed ==> fixed morality
• utilitarians => living through actions that maximise pleasure
• absolutists => fixed moral laws, like Ideas/Forms of Plato
• Thomas Aquinas:

  • leading teacher in the Catholic Church and a Saint
  • influenced Catholic morals
  • Aquinas believed in human nature
  • evil should be avoided but good should be pursued
  • "all other precepts of the natural law are based upon this"
• What is natural Law?

  • goes back to Aristotle and his theory of telos; that everything has a nature which directs it towards a particular end goal
  • Aquinas linked this Christian God => God set things into Telos
  • Human nature has the God given ability to reason which comes with the ability both to intuitively know primary moral precepts and to apply them to moral situations and actions
  • Hugo Grotius also developed a theory
  • Samuel von Pufendorf ==> suggested that by ourselves we are vulnerable and therefore we need to live together
  • Natural Law is essential for human happiness ==> Aristotle
• Telos:

  • Aristotle => every agent acts for an end of some kind, for use it is to acquire happiness
  • Aquinas => moral acts are free acts, only satisfied if we achieve the universal good
  • built into us by nature
  • The telos/end/goal of rational beings is the goodness of God, which for us involves glorifying God by following God’s moral law
  • Ethics is therefore about using reason to discover the natural law within our nature and conforming our actions to it
  • ultimate end cannot be found in this world => supreme + infinite God
  • Divine help/intervention is needed and interior/exterior acts matter
• 4 tiers of law:

  • eternal law
  • divine law
  • natural law
  • human law
• Eternal Law:

  • God’s plan, built into the nature of everything which exists, according to his omnibenevolent nature.
  • unchanging and universal as God's mind is unchangeable
  • Aquinas believes that the eternal law is in God
• Divine Law:

  • God’s revelation to humans in the Bible
  • commands + teachings
  • scripture revealed by God is God teaching humans how was should behave
• Natural Law:

  • moral law God created in human nature, discoverable by human reason
  • allows us to perceive eternal law through human application ==> accessible to all of humanity
• Human Law:

  • laws humans make which should be based on the natural and divine law. Human law gains its authority by deriving from the natural and divine law which themselves ultimately derive authority from God’s nature
  • our society + customs
  • Aquinas is clear that human law is only a proper law if it is good and in accordance with divine
• Participation of the eternal law in the rational creature is called the natural law


  Aquinas
• The Key Precept: The Synderesis Rule

  • the key precept is to do good and to avoid evil
  • reason directs us to do the key precept
  • Natural Law may appear to be about following rules exclusively but this fails to recognise the role of reason in moral decision
  • Natural Law is law like as it follows rationality
  • we can't perceive divine reason
  • natural laws are universal
  • this is the synderesis sd the key precepts allows other precepts to flow from it. Good is our end goal ==> telos
• This therefore is the principle of law: that good must be done and evil avoided.

  Aquinas
• absolute (deontological): ethics never changes
• relative (teleological): purpose driven ethics
• real good: close to purpose
• apparent good: doing it takes away from purpose
• Although Christians have a quicker route to God, this doesn't mean that none Christians can't live towards the ultimate purpose of life. Aquinas believed that it is possible but they will find it harder without Jesus and the Bible
• Primary Precepts:

  • To preserve life -> life is the most precious
  • To reproduce -> to ensure life continues as is God's intention and as is necessary for society to continue
  • To live in an ordered society -> a lawful one where it is possible to follow all of the primary precepts
  • To learn: to teach people about God, his eternal law, natural law, divine law, and the primary precepts
  • To worship God: God is the source of eternal law, and God has sent this law to humanity through divine law and natural law.
• A moral act leads towards the divine or cosmic intention for humanity. If they are in line with the primary precepts, they are good.
• Secondary precepts are deduced from primary precepts. Applications of the primary precepts
• 1. Preservation of life -> no capital punishment, , more hospitals, ban abortions, stop guns, invest in healthcare
  2. Reproduction -> ban abortion, increase child benefits, increase child care, cheaper IVF, ban homosexuality
  3. Order in society -> police, tougher punishment, capital punishment, conscription
  4. Worship God -> more religious buildings, Sunday school, mandate Sunday services
  5. Education -> more funding, no student debt, increase universal credit, teacher training
• Aquinas thought that evil was not desirable, tempting goods are apparent not real.
• Like Aristotle, Aquinas thought reason identified natural or cardinal virtues:

  • temperance
  • prudence
  • justice
  • fortitude

  Some virtues are revealed in sacred scriptures, we should develop these virtues to help keep the natural law. Aquinas thought this required discipline and practice to become habitual.
• The Doctrine of Double Effect:

  • discussing whether self-defence is permissible
  • doing something that has 2 consequences in that it upholds one precept but breaks another
  • Augustine suggests that it is incorrect to do self defence as it is self love however, Aquinas disagrees
  • It is the intention behind the action that matters
• Interior acts: motivation behind the action
• Exterior acts: the outward action
• Strengths:

  1. Establishes common rules, following natural law precepts would lead to a stable structured society2)natural law seems reasonable, even completely different cultures follow these rules, they're deduced through human reason3)Guidance on day-to-day questions4)safeguards against slippery slope5)may not be as rigid as it first appears because of the secondary precepts
• Weaknesses:

  1. Aquinas could be wrong about his primary precepts, sex is no longer just considered appropriate in a marriage to reproduce.2) outdated - medieval view3)Jesus' oppositions4)Protestant theologians such as Luther would reject Aquinas' natural law approach as unreliable since human reason has become distorted by sin since the fall. Only revealed theology (the bible) can reveal to us God's will regarding morality.