Strengths and Weaknesses of Aquinas' Natural Law
- Created by: CG24601
- Created on: 12-05-19 09:41
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- Strengths of Natural Law
- based on what it means to be human - acting in line with our natural inclinations
- when applied, this assumes the special status of human beings
- reveals a universal law and so it is not culturally relative - the primary precepts are common to all
- application to a moral issue is the same regardless of who or where you are
- appeals to common sense and does not always rely on religion
- provides a clear basis for morality - there is an authority and a clear justification for actions allowed and it is clear how Natural Law is applied
- judges the intrinsic value of actions regardless of outcomes - its the action itself that determines whether an act is moral
- avoids the problem of apparent goods with evil intentions - the theory does not here identify this act as good
- application seems clear even when there appears to be a conflict
- application of the primary precepts is easy, and the doctrine of double effects allows for possible conflicts
- encourages virtuous behaviour i.e. love, wisdom, justice and temperance
- valuable in any society
- based on what it means to be human - acting in line with our natural inclinations
- Weaknesses of Natural Law
- naturalistic fallacy
- unreasonable to expect someone who doesn't believe in a moral God to accept that human nature has moral authority
- there seems to be a mistake in reasoning in identifying morality with another concept
- does an action being 'natural' simply mean an action common to a particular group
- is there really a common human nature
- different cultures have different ideas
- the gays, women, slavery etc.
- if there is a universal, unchanging human nature and a Natural Law that stems from it, how come we have gotten so much wrong in the past
- the gays, women, slavery etc.
- different cultures have different ideas
- if there is a universal, unchanging human nature and a Natural Law that stems from it, how come we have gotten so much wrong in the past
- does the doctrine of double effect work?
- if the outcome can be foreseen, then surely the result is intended
- naturalistic fallacy
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