natural moral law strengths and weaknesses

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  • Created by: izzy-h.k
  • Created on: 19-02-22 14:24

natural moral law strengths and weaknesses

Advantages

  • Rational, objective and universal = because based on reason, rules are useful, and morality is absolute and more than just individual preferences, morality is inherent in actions so don’t have to guess future consequences
  • Some flexibility allowed because secondary precepts can vary [practical working out of universal primary precepts]
  • Distinction between real and apparent goods reflects the common difficulty of making the right decision
  • Double effect mitigates issue of conflicting secondary precepts
  • Emphasis on virtues encourages exemplary behaviour and a focus on developing one’s characterEnter bullet point

Disadvantages

  • Casuistry = authoritarian and insensitive, makes some seemingly immoral judgements, applying secondary precepts has lead to very harmful outcomes e.g ban on contraception and spread of HIV
  • simplistic = we don't have a common nature
  • Naturalistic fallacy and is-ought fallacy
  • Double Effect brings in consequentialism through the back door
  • Anthropocentrism because works off Aristotle’s hierarchy of souls
  • Validity depends on the metaphysical principle that God created the world with a sense of order and purpose, NML grounding redundant if you reject this [e.g if problem of evil and suffering means you reject this

Evaluation

Proportionalism overcomes many of the practical weaknesses and then it can be argued that its benefits of being universally binding, accessible to all, and straightforwardly helpful outweigh its weaknesses of fallacies. Its appeal depends on an individuals blik, animal rights activists probably wouldn't like it and atheists would reject its metaphysical grounding, but for many it is very compelling e.g Catholic Church.

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