Natural Moral Law

NATURAL MORAL LAW
St Thomas Aquinas…read more

EARLY BEGINNINGS
· Has it's roots in Greek philosophy
· Basis of NML is that there is objectively ideal way to be human
Sophocles: Wrote the play `Antigone'
Creon, the king, forbids the burial of Antigone's brother; she breaks
the law and buried him anyway. She argues the state cannot
overrule the immortal law of the Gods, which require the dead to
be buried.
Aristotle: Natural justice was not always the same as that which just by
the law. He observed that while laws may vary from place to place,
natural justice is independent and applies to everyone.
`The natural is that which everywhere is equally valid..natural is
unchangeable and has the same power everywhere.'…read more

NATURAL MORAL LAW: AQUINAS
`law is nothing else than or ordination of reason for the common good
promulgated y the one who is in charge of the community' Paul
· Aquinas maintained that the universe was created by God
· Thus, everything has a purpose, telos
· Humanity was given free will and reason to chose the follow the
good
· NML is accessible through natural order
· It is universal and will always be relevant…read more

PRIMARY PRECEPTS
· All humans are naturally inclined to do good and avoid evil
· Everything must act within accordance to these principles
· The first instinct of humanity is self-preservation; without this we
would not exists to full other actions
· The precepts are:
W ­ worship God
O ­ ordered society
R ­ reproduction
L ­ learn
D ­ defend the defenceless
· They do not change, they are absolute…read more

SECONDARY PRECEPTS
· They are the primacy precepts put into practice
· They vary from the law of the land to accepted codes of behaviour
with our family
· Secondary precepts have more specific ruling or applications
· God gave the man the reason to accomplish these purposes and
work towards the `good'
· However, Paul acknowledges this is not always possible; `since all
have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God'
E.g. The Roman Catholic Church has banned contraception on the
grounds that it breaks the precept of reproduction…read more

FOUR DIFFERENT TYPES OF LAW
Eternal Law
God's will and wisdom, and rational ordering of the universe
This is revealed in divine law, given in scripture and through the
church, and gives humans t happiness in heaven
It is make known through natural law, the source of fulfilment on
earth
From it, human law or positive law is deprived.
·Human law regulates human in society and is exercised through the
state/government
Paul: `let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no
authority expect from God, and those that exists have been instituted by God'…read more