Natural moral law

• Aquinas

  Italian, Christian monk, philosophical superstar of the 13th century
• Aquinas thought morality was important for everyone, and that being a good person was a vital part of God's plan for each of us
• Natural law theory


  Aquinas' theory that God made us pre-loaded with the tools we need to know what's Good
• Aquinas' natural law theory is the most influential and longest standing version of the theory
• If you're Catholic or a member of any of the major Protestant denominations, or were raised in any of those traditions, then you're probably already familiar with how Aquinas saw the moral universe and your place in it
• Basic goods


  The things that we're designed to seek, according to Aquinas
• The 7 basic goods

  • Self-preservation
  • Reproduction
  • Education of offspring
  • Knowing God
  • Living in community
  • Not alienating pack-mates
  • Seeking knowledge
• Natural law


  Moral rules derived from the basic goods using reason
• We don't need the Bible, or religion class, or church in order to understand the natural law, Aquinas said
• Right acts are simply those that are in accordance with the natural law
• Aquinas had two answers for why people violate the natural law: ignorance and emotion
• If we're built with the ability to recognize and seek the good


  Then why do people violate the natural law all the time?
• Natural law theory is not going to be super appealing to anybody who doesn't believe in God
• Hume's is-ought problem: it's fallacious to assume that just because something is a certain way, that means that it ought to be that way
• Natural law theory does this by looking at nature and concluding that what we observe there is good
• Natural moral law


  A form of divine command theory, a theory of ethics traditionally associated with Christianity but universal in scope. It argues that God created the universe according to rational principles and that nature is ordered. Humans, created in the image of God, have reason and can use their rationality to discover the laws and rules of nature.
• Christian ethical view


  Motives and duty as the source of morality, not consequences as in utilitarianism. We have a duty to ourselves and to God to be the best person we can be. Being a good person brings eschatological rewards - rewards in the afterlife.
• Christian ethics and natural moral law

  • Absolutist and legalist: advocates absolute moral rules which allow no exceptions as they are God-given, and gives a clear moral code to follow similar to rules of law. But we should not follow God's will out of fear of punishment or to earn his favour.
• Aristotle

  Often considered the founder of natural law, he argued that although humans follow the customs and laws of society, there is also a universal law which we can all abide by - the law of nature. Human beings have reason which goes beyond the rules of society and is universal. To flourish, we must fulfil our function and use our reason well.
• Natural law

  Based on Aristotle's idea that everything has a purpose (telos), revealed in its design (or natural 'form'), and that the fulfilment of the telos is the supreme good' to be sought.
• Aquinas

  Adapted Aristotle's theory to make it fit with a Christian world-view, combining biblical and classical influences. Argued that the world is ordered and rational, everything in the universe has a purpose God is a necessary being who has created a contingent world, which shows order and purpose but also characteristics of a divine will.
• Aquinas's natural law theory


  • Humans have free will and reason, which they must use to know God and lead a virtuous life. Makes a distinction between efficient and final cause - the agent of change which brings about an effect, and the goal or purpose towards which a thing is oriented.
• Primary and secondary precepts


  Primary precepts are teleological, relating to human purpose and the goods we all seek. Secondary precepts are deontological, providing specific laws to follow.
• Primary precepts


  • Preservation of life
  • Reproduction/procreation
  • Education
  • An ordered society
  • Worship of God
• Interior and exterior acts

  Interior act is the intention behind the action, exterior act is the actual act performed. For an action to be good, both the intention and the act must be good.
• Real and apparent goods


  Real goods contribute to human flourishing and virtue, apparent goods may give pleasure but do not fulfil our potential.
• Cardinal virtues


  • Prudence
  • Temperance
  • Fortitude
  • Justice
• Aquinas also identifies seven vices (often known as the 'seven deadly sins') which lead people away from the natural law: pride, avarice, lust, envy, gluttony, anger and sloth.
• Doctrine of double effect

  Refers to situations where there is an intended good outcome accompanied by another unintended but significant outcome, which is not necessarily desirable. According to natural law, it is our intentions that are important, not the consequences.
• Casuistry


  The practice of resolving specific controversial ethical issues by applying general moral principles, often involving the doctrine of double effect.
• Strengths of natural law theory

  • It is a universal theory of ethics that can be applied to any circumstance
  • It gives us clear guidelines that are universally applicable
  • It can unite cultures and religious traditions because we can all work out moral precepts through the use of reason
  • The values that Aquinas focuses on, such as education and preserving the species, are (with a few exceptions) universal
  • Aquinas wants to unite faith and reason and he sees religious teachings as fundamentally rational because they are derived from an understanding of God's true nature
  • It doesn't presuppose a belief in God: we work out what is moral using reason and through looking at the world, so in that sense it is objective
• Absolutist


  An approach that holds that there are absolute moral rules that allow no exceptions
• Legalist


  An approach that emphasizes strict adherence to a set of moral rules or laws
• Christian ethics


  The moral principles that guide the behavior of Christians, based on the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Bible
• Doctrine of Double Effect

  A principle in moral theology that helps determine the morality of an action with both a good and bad consequence. The action must meet four conditions to be morally permissible.
• Importance of Intention


  According to natural law, it is our intentions that are important, not just the consequences.
• Condition 4


  The person does not directly intend the bad effect; it's merely a foreseen but unintended consequence.
• Condition 3


  The person must have a proportionately grave reason for performing the action with the bad effect.
• Condition 2


  The good effect must not be produced by means of the bad effect.
• Condition 1


  The action itself must be morally good or at least neutral.