Natural Moral Law
telos
the 4 tiers of law
the precepts
strengths + weaknesses
natural moral law
Aristotle's influence
led by Christianity + God's view of human nature
Aquinas' telos is reuniting with God
'those who do not have the [Jewish] law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves' - Romans 2
first developed notion of final cause/ higher purpose
eternal law - the will of God (humans can't fully understand this)
divine law - e.g the Bible, tells us about God
natural law - human concept of what our nature is - using reasoning
human law - using natural + divine law in society
we follow God's law (eternal) regardless of faith - built into human nature
the primary precepts
preservation of life
'you shall not murder' + sanctity of life
reproduction
'be fruitful + multiply'
education of the young
live peacefully in society
worship God
secondary precepts
rules derived from the primary precepts using practical reasoning/ an inclination
less absolutist
e.g worship God -> go to church
eudemonia - Aristotle's idea of complete happiness/ our telos
Aquinas believes this is impossible in this life
foundations of Aquinas' theories
nature - God gave humans an essential rational nature
reason - humans can use reason to discover a fulfilled life
constant - the natural laws are constant and should be used to base our laws off of
stoic influence - belief that we had a divine spark that enabled us to reason, understand the universe + live a fulfilled life
derived by Aquinas, each level of law is dependent on the one above
synderesis - do good and avoid evil - aquinas believed this was the main precept/moral rule
'to the natural law belongs everything to which a man is inclined according to his nature' - Aquinas
strengths
absolutist
a reflection of the natural world - highly likely to be linked with human nature
but secondary precepts give more flexibility
values life + rights
weaknesses
why is there a singular universal telos?
the naturalistic fallacy - it's wrong to define moral terms just with reference to the natural world
outdated - society now has different terms deemed more important
Aquinas claims natural law is reflected in the natural world
God created the world 'ex nihilo'
imago dei exists within the divine mind before creation
divine design may be discovered through human reason
pronesis (practical reasoning + judgement) is necessary to avoid being unduly swayed by our passions
why does evil exist despite this? - temptation can often be the consequence of some good
john finnis + natural law
defines natural law as - 'set of basic practical principles which indicate the basic forms of human flourishing'
derives 7 basic goods - life, knowledge, friendship + sociality, play, aesthetic experience, practical reason, religion
like Aquinas, realises that some may not use their reasoning well
the doctrine of double effect - developed by Aquinas
unclear conclusions - peoples' perception of 'good' and 'bad' is different
doesn't directly follow the Bible for a concept that claims to be religous
evolution has lead to a rejection of the purpose of nature
the fact - value gap - there is too much of a gap between the way the natural world works and how humans behave
Jean paul satre - unlike objects who have a fixed nature, humans can decide their own essence
Yves Simon + Russel Hittinger
NML provides the universal premises for moral reasoning + human action
Kai Nelson - there is no fixed human nature (cultures + backgrounds)
criteria
the act done must be good in itself or indifferent
the good effect must not be attained by the means of the bad effect
the bad effect must not be obtained by means of the bad effect
there must be a proportionately grave reason for permitting the bad effect
strengths
weaknesses
can justify acts such as self defence
allows for more moral flexibility - relative
good moral baseline - weighs up good + bad
based on judgement - flawed
can be altered + abused to allow morally wrong acts
too vague
proportionalism - a development of NML and oppose its rigid structure
'it's never right to go against a principle unless there is a proportionate reason which would justify it' - Bernard Hoose
as a consensus, following NML is right, but in certain situations an oncotic evil may have to occur
do humans have an orientation towards the good?
yes
no
NML arises from synderesis - it's innate
Thomas Hobbes - saw evil in English civil war - concluded human nature is dangerous + murderous
despite diversity - synderesis is very common
we don't have innate 'good' it's self preservation