Natural Law
- Created by: AroojTahir
- Created on: 26-03-19 14:31
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- Natural Law
- Aristotle's Ideal of Telos
- Aristotle that everything in the universe had a telos (purpose or aim).
- Aquinas thought we have moral actions from free and rational beings. Argued people aim to achieve eudemonia.
- Aquinas thought people needed help from God to direct motives and make sure they do the right thing.
- Aristotle sees telos of humans as eudaimonia- flourish and live well and our actions leads towards good.
- Natural Law is the Christian thinking of Thomas Aquinas.
- Ethics is based on human nature. Aim to fulfil our purpose.
- Natural Law deontological- system of rules based on actions and duties.
- Aquinas thought human nature is good and rational people seek goodness (vision of God).
- The Stoics
- Saw the world as an ordered place by God and believed we had a spark inside us to help us understand the world.
- The way to become a happy human is in order to accept the nature law. Favoured rational and emotional emotions.
- "True law is right reason in agreement with nature; it is of universal application" Cicero.
- Aquinas and the stoics- he developed the idea of telos (humans have a purpose). Reason Is given by God and that we have human nature.
- Aquinas' Four Tiers of Law
- 1. Eternal Law: mind go God. Knowledge of what's right and wrong. Moral truths are at human life and God gives us the ability to apply it.
- 2. Divine Law: law revealed by God through scripture.
- 3. Natural Law: moral thinking we do when exposed to scripture. Humans have the capacity to consider moral rules and involves rational reflection.
- 4. Human Law: consensus of society devised by the government. These laws should be based on the Divine and Natural Law. Immoral to break to divine law.
- Aquinas and the primary precepts
- 1) Preservation of life.
- 2) To reproduce: rational to ensure life continues.
- 3) An orderly society
- 4) Education: natural for us to learn.
- Secondary precepts
- Primary precepts aren't specific so secondary precepts were introduced with specific rules.
- Phronesis: practical wisdom to make the right judgement. Natural law depends on the situation based on the wisdom.
- "practical wisdom requires the application to action, which is the goal of practical reason" Aquinas.
- "To the Natural Law belongs everything to which a man is incline according to his nature" Aquinas.
- Real and apparent goods: Aquinas
- Real goods: they are in accordance to the primary precepts and God's wishes.
- Apparent goods: things tempt us as they seem enjoyable but not aiming human flourishing.
- The Doctrine of the Double Effect
- Aquinas: situation where a single action has two effects.
- Intention is important- intention to do something good.
- "nothing hinders one act from having two effects, only one which is intended" Aquinas
- Strengths
- Offers firm and clarified principles.
- Primary Precepts: Agree on desirable goods. Reflect the natural world show they benefit human.
- Secondary Precepts: reasoned with the context of society- time and space.
- It values life. Right for people evident in nature.
- Double effect allows to see the good and bad effects.
- Weaknesses
- Wrong to assume that there is a universal telos. Some may priorities their career and not believe in God.
- If natural means according to nature, a gay person may not see homosexuality as right to them.
- Natural Law has a naturalistic fallacy- guilty of observing of what is common in nature and it must happen.
- There may not be a telos. Atheism: no purpose.
- Telos linked to the creator God. If there is God, there's no telos.
- Difficult in judging the intention. May appear as self defence to kill someone.
- Hugo Grotius
- Dutch Philosopher argue Natural Law would still apply without God.
- International Law based on Natural Law and given how Nations treat each other.
- Untitled
- Believed knowledge, play and work are 'basic forms of human flourishing'. Basic human needs.
- From Basic needs we conclude moral principles- obey law and not harm others.
- Aristotle's Ideal of Telos
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