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ETHICS: NATURAL LAW, CONNECTIONS TO HUMAN LAW - Coggle Diagram
ETHICS: NATURAL LAW
FOUR LEVELS OF LAW
eternal
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e.g. gravity, laws of motion
divine
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found in scripture, or direct intervention of the holy spirit
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divine law has authority; it is never wrong, directing humans to a god-given purpose
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natural
the first principle/ starting point for figuring out what is good/ evil using recta ratio (right reason)
humanity was created in imago dei (image of god), so are free, rational, self-conscious beings
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however, they can still decide whether they turn to their true purpose or stray from god
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PRECEPTS
PRIMARY PRECEPTS
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synderesis rule: underpins all succeeding precepts of natural law, and is important to establish the right relationship with god in heaven
five primary precepts: goals/ ends that humanity has natural inclination to, are understood by reason to be good, opposites understood to be evil
divided into three types, some applying to all living things, some only to all creatures, and others to humanity
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2) reproduction through sexual intercourse (all creatures) 3) education of offspring (all creatures)
4) worship and know the truth about god (humanity is inclined towards these goods as it's in their nature as rational beings) 5) live peacefully and cooperatively in society (humanity is inclined towards these goods as it's in their nature as rational beings)
SECONDARY PRECEPTS
primary precepts are general and not specific, and not direct with how we're supposed to come up with moral solutions
one should then use the knowledge of primary precepts to establish secondary precepts that describe how they should behave
primary precepts are universal and absolute, so mustn't be broken
secondary precepts depend on the situation, and still are laws or rules, but can change depending on needs of society + context of how society approaches education
e.g. reproduction is an unchangeable law, but the choice of educating offspring may be different sometimes, depending on how society approaches education
some have access to free education, but others may have to be home-schooled to give children skills and knowledge to live successfully and morally
aquinas argues this applies to all humans, so there must be a way of right reasoning + primary precepts that can't be broken
but, aquinas also notes practical reason involves things being worked out, so being subject to change
aquinas argues in some cases, the primary precepts could be violated; primary precepts can't be changed, but secondary precepts are flexible
secondary precepts that violate primary cannot be created; it shouldn't violate the general purpose of human life to do good/ avoid evil to achieve god's fellowship, gaining eternal life in heaven
an example of a good secondary precept is intercourse; from this can come reproduction, so the purpose (telos) of sex=reproduction
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both primary/ secondary precepts must be kept to achieve the beatific version, allowing a right relationship with god, ultimately eternal life with god in heaven in the afterlife
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CONNECTIONS TO HUMAN LAW
ABORTION
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humans: imago dei - considering this, it would be a sin to end a life, but if this wasn't the case, there would be less moral difficulty in deciding
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a person has consciousness and rationality, but the pre-embryo lacks this; the definition of a 'person' here is problematic, however
despite this, the pre-embryo in this sense could not be considered a human/ person, so becoming so would potentially happen at later stages
many people aren't aware of pregnancy at earlier stages, but this is where abortions are advised to be done, which still goes against the catholic church
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DOUBLE EFFECT
this is used when primary precepts conflict; abortion doesn't meet the requirements of the double effect, however
we have to consider two things: intention, and the proportion of good to evil as a result
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individual rights are important, but does not justify deliberate evil
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