Natural Law

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  • Created by: Lilydavis
  • Created on: 12-06-18 18:41
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  • Natural Law
    • The Four Tiers of Law
      • Eternal Law
        • The principles by which God made and controls the universe and which are only fully known to God
      • Divine Law
        • The law of God revealed in the Bible, particularly in the 10 Commandments
      • Natural Law
        • The moral law of God within human nature that is discoverable through the use of reason
      • Human Law
        • The laws on nations
    • "...natural law is right reason in agreement with nature; it is of universal application, unchanging and everlasting" Cicero (De Republica)
    • The precepts
      • The key precept
        • The synderesis rule
        • 'do good, avoid evil'
      • The primary precepts
        • The preservation of life
          • "You shall not murder" Exodus 20:13
        • Live in an ordered society
        • Worship God
          • "You should love the Lord your God with all your heart" Mark 12:29-30
        • Educate the young
        • Reproduce
          • "Be fruitful and multiply" Genesis 1:26
      • Secondary precepts
        • Man made law to reinforce the primary precepts
    • Ius and Lex
      • Ius = a specific regulation, the letter of the law
      • Lex = the principle of law rather than the exact wording of a given regulation
      • Hobbes (1588-1679) recognized that Natural Law must always be understood as ius
        • However, in the past, the Catholic church, following the manualist tradition has very much treated natural law as a set of regulations
    • Real good and apparent goods
      • As natural law is within us and derives from our reason - we can get it wrong
      • Aquinas believed that it didn't make sense for anyone to pursue evil, the nature of every being is good
    • The doctrine of double effect
      • An action may have two effects or ends
      • If doing something morally good has a morally bad side effect, it is ethically ok to do so
      • Aquinas on killing in self-defence: "Since one's intention is to save one's own life, [it] is not unlawful" (Summa Theologica)
        • BUT this implies that one life is more valuable than another, St Augustine saw this as being selfish
      • Kenney (1931) = The principle of Double Effect must form part of rational moral systems.
    • Strengths
      • Stoics = humans have a 'divine spark' within them which helps them live according to the will of God.
      • St Paul = described a law "written in the hearts" of men (Romans 2:14-15)
      • Some non-Catholic thinkers, such as Richard ****** and William Temple included natural law thinking into their moral teachings.
        • Hugo Grotius (Prolegomena) = "What we have been saying would have a degree of validity even if... there is no God"
      • It is a rational approach
      • Flexible - allows for secondary precepts to vary according to culture
    • Weaknesses
      • Hobbes (1588-1679) = "Men from their very birth, and naturally, scramble for everything they covet."
      • Vague - it is an absolutist view of morality which doesn't leave room to consider individual circumstances
      • Unclear conclusions - Pope Paul VI argued that preserving and encouraging life, meant that it was wrong to use artificial methods of birth control but overpopulation could also damage the preservation of life
      • Purpose - is the theory doomed if the belief on which it's based upon is a mistake?
        • Later theorists have attempted to deal with this by arguing that whatever the purpose of human life may be, humans still need safety and education to make the best of life
  • Telos
    • Aristotle
      • The universe is purposive
      • The goal of human life is flourishing (eudaimonia)
    • Natural Law
      • The Four Tiers of Law
        • Eternal Law
          • The principles by which God made and controls the universe and which are only fully known to God
        • Divine Law
          • The law of God revealed in the Bible, particularly in the 10 Commandments
        • Natural Law
          • The moral law of God within human nature that is discoverable through the use of reason
        • Human Law
          • The laws on nations
      • "...natural law is right reason in agreement with nature; it is of universal application, unchanging and everlasting" Cicero (De Republica)
      • The precepts
        • The key precept
          • The synderesis rule
          • 'do good, avoid evil'
        • The primary precepts
          • The preservation of life
            • "You shall not murder" Exodus 20:13
          • Live in an ordered society
          • Worship God
            • "You should love the Lord your God with all your heart" Mark 12:29-30
          • Educate the young
          • Reproduce
            • "Be fruitful and multiply" Genesis 1:26
        • Secondary precepts
          • Man made law to reinforce the primary precepts
      • Ius and Lex
        • Ius = a specific regulation, the letter of the law
        • Lex = the principle of law rather than the exact wording of a given regulation
        • Hobbes (1588-1679) recognized that Natural Law must always be understood as ius
          • However, in the past, the Catholic church, following the manualist tradition has very much treated natural law as a set of regulations
      • Real good and apparent goods
        • As natural law is within us and derives from our reason - we can get it wrong
        • Aquinas believed that it didn't make sense for anyone to pursue evil, the nature of every being is good
      • The doctrine of double effect
        • An action may have two effects or ends
        • If doing something morally good has a morally bad side effect, it is ethically ok to do so
        • Aquinas on killing in self-defence: "Since one's intention is to save one's own life, [it] is not unlawful" (Summa Theologica)
          • BUT this implies that one life is more valuable than another, St Augustine saw this as being selfish
        • Kenney (1931) = The principle of Double Effect must form part of rational moral systems.
      • Strengths
        • Stoics = humans have a 'divine spark' within them which helps them live according to the will of God.
        • St Paul = described a law "written in the hearts" of men (Romans 2:14-15)
        • Some non-Catholic thinkers, such as Richard ****** and William Temple included natural law thinking into their moral teachings.
          • Hugo Grotius (Prolegomena) = "What we have been saying would have a degree of validity even if... there is no God"
        • It is a rational approach
        • Flexible - allows for secondary precepts to vary according to culture
      • Weaknesses
        • Hobbes (1588-1679) = "Men from their very birth, and naturally, scramble for everything they covet."
        • Vague - it is an absolutist view of morality which doesn't leave room to consider individual circumstances
        • Unclear conclusions - Pope Paul VI argued that preserving and encouraging life, meant that it was wrong to use artificial methods of birth control but overpopulation could also damage the preservation of life
        • Purpose - is the theory doomed if the belief on which it's based upon is a mistake?
          • Later theorists have attempted to deal with this by arguing that whatever the purpose of human life may be, humans still need safety and education to make the best of life
    • Aquinas
      • The desire to be with God is the center of our natural destiny
        • Our goal is our heavenly home
      • To achieve our goal, we need to live this life in faithful service to God
      • God instilled in all of his creatures an intuitive desire for the things best for us

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