Aquinas's Natural Law

Universe has a natural order that words to achieve an end - order, direction and purpose is dermined by a supernatural power - human beings important in these purpose

Naural law can be traced back to aristotle - goal for man was to live a certain kind of life

Goal of human life as eduaimonia - pursuit of happiness - hapiness differernt form pleasure - hapinnes = living well and being fufilled and acting rationally

Roman Lawyer - Cicero - 'true law is right reason in agreement with nature; it is of universal application'  - built upon by Thomas Aquinas

Aquinas - 1125 ce - just leaving intellectual dark ages - church under threat as people questioned its authority

aquinas agreed with Aristotle that rationality was a key element of human existance - everythig in the world had a purpose however he argued that the purpose came drom god

Natural law created by God so that peolpe can fufill his purpose -- god designed us in his image and he wanted us to be perfect

Eternal law - only know in part since it refers to the principles by which god governs the universe

Divine law - refers to the bible - what guide sus in reaching perfection - corrects the fall of human biengs - perfection not achievable in life but death

natural law - part of the eternal law that applies to human choices in identifying the primary precepts

human law - involves a recognition of a need to seek the common good by establishing custom and traditions - could involve wrong reasoning and lead to injust - 'if in any point it deflects from the law of nature it is no longer a law but a perversion of law'

Deontological - what should be done is determined by fundamental princioles

absolutist - identify the right action by means of the primary precepts

casuality - core prinsiples of pre determined moral behaviour are applied - 'casuality is the science od judges cases of conscience or moral problems'

Primary Precepts

apply yo all human beings without exception - 'act in such a way as to achieve good and avoid evil' - most basic natural inclination

1. Preserve innocent life

2. Orderly living in society

3. Worship God

4. Educate children

5. Reproduce to continue the species

secondary precepts deduced from primary precepts - primary precepts are always true and held universally - do not steal would ocme from ordely living in society

Ronald Preston argued that people do not adhere to the casuistry enough

Faith, Hope and Charity (love) - Articles of faith

Corinthians reads - ' if i have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, i am nothing' - 'love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the turth' 'the greatest of these is love'

Aquinas - superlative virtues that define and direct all other virtues - they are perfect - statue of perfect hapiness which thes virtues guide humans to is known as the beatific vision - 'attain their last end by knowing an dloving god'

faith is more than just an intellectual acknowledge ment of the divine - act of will - 'an act of intellect which assents the divine truth at the command of the will, moved by god's grace'

hope is the constant and consistent trust in achieving the beatific vision

Love for god is reflected in love for one's neighbour - 'the things we lvoe tell us what we are'

Gift of widom - insight into the supernatural truths of creation, goodness of god and the beatific vision - soverign good which is the last end'

Natural virtues - correct reasoning is developed through cultivation of specific natural virtues

Prudceence, Temperence, Foritutde and Justince

Main farmework of beahviour

Prudence - 'wisdom concerning human affairs - 'right reason with respect toa ction'

temperance is about moderation - purify and redine physical pleasures - 'sensible and bodily goods are not in oppositon to reason, but are subject to it as instruments which reason employs in otder to attain its proper end' - humility

Fortitude - courage, patience, discipline and perservence  - nobility of character

Justice - act towards others - community welfate and individual cases - 'responisbility are apportioned among peolpe who stand in a social community' and in 'due proportion'

Internal and External actions - Intenion and action

internal - an action that is consistent with intetnion whether good or bad

External act - an action that is seen to be good or bad but one that does not correlate with the intention

'doctrine of the double effect' - even if a good act results in bad consequences it is still right to do that act - it is still right to do that act even if you knew that would happen - intention is important

four conditions must be met for the act to be morally permissible - that we do not wish the evil effects and make efforts to avoid them, that the immediate effect but be good, the evil is not made a means to obtain the food effect, the good effect be as important as least as the evil effect'

Real goods and apparent goods - right and wrong reasoning

people being misguided into going immoral things

Apparent good is a vice or sin that takes us further away from god, a real good is something that helps people and follows the right rules

termination of a prefancny before 24 weeks - medical nad surgical

issue surrounding the beginning of humanness 0 debated in philosphical,e thical and legal circles

became illegal in 1861 - the offences against the person act

Abortion act 1967 - david steel - two doctors must agree that an abortion in necessey - if the woman's hpysical health is at risk or the baby would be hanicapped

Peter SInger raisers the issue of personhood - 'to kill an adult human is murder... yet there is no obvious sharp line which marks the zygote from the adult'

sancitity of life - belief that life is holy - Kant gives the sancity of life argument from an ethical secular persepctive

pro life vs pro choice - interpret the terms life and unborn differently

biology suggests the idea of viability - could it survive outside the mother- traditional approach known as the quickening of when the fetus is first felt to move - some argue its when it can think - relational factors differences in interpretations (peter vardy)

Could be interpreted as going against the primary precept of reproduction however it is preserving the life of the mother

Howard Kainz argued that the precept more relveant to abortion is the 'pervation of life principle' - 'if every woman has a right to consevie and procreate and if this right implies that she has a right to make that choice voluntarilym, no more ovcious infractiosn of that right than **** and incest can be contempalted'

Kainz argues that a more virtuous approach would be to let her life her own life

Doctrine of the double effect does permit the death of the feotus but only a  by product of another act

euthanasia - one person kills another with intention or allows another's death for the other's benefit

active uthanasia - one person actions another's death for the others benefit

voluntary - the request to die by the person who completely sihes it so

1961 - suicide was decriminalised

a phywsical end of life can be determined medically

philosphogpical questions around quality of life

also the issue of the paitent refusing treatment which is allowed b law whre refusal may harm themslves - right to deny treatement but not to end their life even when death in evitable and more painful

question of ehether it is better to let someone live in pain or to prevent prolonged pain by euthanasia

Primary precept of preserving innocent life - key principle when faced with the issue of euthanasia

Catechism of the catholic church deines euthanasia an 'an act or omission which of itself or by intention causes the death of handicapped, sick or dying persons - sometimes with an attempt to justify the act as a means of elimating suffering'

Mercy killing is an apparent good

Professor Ian Harris argued that there are questionable applications of the first precept - in spain where .. natural law have extered a strong influence on policy .. killing the patient is considered morally wrong but the heavy use of sedation implies that either diease or druged induded (unconsciousness) is generally percieved as the best way out' -- 'natural law is inherently hostile to utilitarian arguments'