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St Thomas Aquinas' Natural Law - laws and precepts as the basis of…
St Thomas Aquinas' Natural Law - laws and precepts as the basis of morality
Absolutism
everyone's purpose is to attempt to achieve the highest good
four levels of law
Deontological
primary precepts
Teleological
concerned with the end/telos of an action
rational thought
Rational thought
divine reason is infallible
our reason is a gift from God
synderesis rule - do good and avoid evil
links to human and natural law
Divine creator
eternal and divine law
we work on our relationship with God to re-establish a relationship with him that was damaged in the fall and be granted entry into heaven
divine law is revealed in scriptures, church and divine command e.g. 10 commandments
Purpose - highest good
Laws
eternal, divine, natural, human
Primary precepts
self-preservation
reproduction
education
live in society
worship god
have to uphold the primary precepts through the secondary precepts
Secondary precepts
an example is do not murder, as this adheres to the primary precept of self-preservation
the implication of this is that abortion and euthanasia become potentially problematic
more flexible than the primary precepts