Ethics - Natural Law

Can right or wrong be based on telos? (Skim over) Aquinas, Aquinas contradicts, No one human nature, Evolution, Sartre, Aristotle.

1. Aquinas believes that we are made in the image of God and so there is a fixed human nature and telos. Like Aristotle, Aquinas is an essentialist meaning he believes we cannot change what it means to be a human, with the aim to fulfil the primary precepts built into our nature. 2. However, even Aquinas believes that some people have a different telos. He recognises that celibate priests are exempt from the primary precept of reproduction. 3. It is wrong to assume there is only one human nature when 5-10% of humans are believed to be gay or lesbian. 4. Evolution suggests that purpose is not a feature of the world but is something that human beings project onto the natural world. 5. Existentialists like Sartre say that we come into existence first and then decide a purpose for ourselves. 6. There is uncertainty over telos, suggesting that it cannot be used to say things are right or wrong. Aristotle came to a completely different conclusion about Telos - Eudaimonia - than Aquinas did.

Second paragraph: What two criticisms can be made about the primary precept of living in a peaceful and ordered society?

1. Aquinas' 13th century idea of an 'ordered society' is very outdated with patriarchy and sex solely within marriage. This highlights the subjective nature of these supposedly absolute principles. 2. Hobbes believed that we have no natural desire to live in a large-scale society like bees or ants do.

Introduction: What is Aquinas' four tiered-hierarchy of law?

1. Eternal law, principles of the universe known only to God. 2. Divine Law, God's divine revelation in the Bible 3. Natural Law 4. Human Law All tiers of law should run in parallel and not contradict one another.

Fourth paragraph: What are two good things about the doctrine?

1. It allows some flexibility in an otherwise rigid moral decision-making procedure. It is better to kill a man in self defence than die while following absolute moral law not to kill. It permits devout Catholics to allow abortions when a mother's life is in danger. 2. It is a recognition of the complexity of real-life situations. Some absolutists such as Kant have no answer for situations when deontological principles clash.

What are two issues with the idea of telos?

1. Telos is relative, suggesting that it cannot be used to say things are objectively right or wrong. Aristotle came to a completely different conclusion about Telos - Eudaimonia - than Aquinas did. Furthermore, the "natural order" of society was completely different for Aristotle who engaged in pederasty, homosexual sex and paedophilia. If your purpose is to achieve an ordered society, this changes with time. 2. The idea of good as a fulfilment of purpose is logical when talking about scissors or chairs but humans are more complex than scissors or chairs. We should not be treated as God's objects.

Fourth paragraph: What are three criticisms of the doctrine?

1. You could argue that we should be morally responsible for all the anticipated consequences of our actions. 2. There is no way to know how far to press the idea of the double effect. For example, if your intention when using contraception is to prevent HIV then surely the act is good. 3. Natural Law is an infallible moral guide placed in us by God. However, this doctrine of the double effect was developed by Aquinas - a fallible human. Augustine, in this post-lapserian age, would doubt Aquinas' ability to ever add anything of value to God's Natural Law. This addition may corrupt the ethical system.

First paragraph: What is the key precept?

Aquinas believed that natural law is composed of precepts: general rules of behaviour and conduct. The key precept, the most basic inclination of all people, is "to achieve good and avoid evil."

First paragraph: What is real and apparent good?

Aquinas distinguishes between real good and apparent good. Actions that are real good have correctly used reason in conjunction with natural law. Apparent goods are actions that people think are good but in reality are bad. They are made due to ignorance: a misuse of reason or misunderstanding of natural law, not because we actively choose to be bad.

Introduction: What is Aquinas' idea of telos?

Aristotle believed that humans have a unique telos called eudaimonia which involves happiness and thriving in society, and can be achieved through rational thought. Thomas Aquinas also believed that humans have a unique telos but instead of eudaimonia, it is to follow the will of God.

Fourth paragraph: Where do divine law and natural law come from?

Christians believe that both natural law and divine law come directly from God, so they should never contradict one another.

First paragraph: What idea supports the key precept?

Cicero's universal consent argument: All societies have a concept of goodness. As this is not an empirically observable thing then, to be so universal, it must come from a natural concept or inclination and be part of the make-up of human beings.

Fourth paragraph: What else leads to confusion? What is an example?

Furthermore, some actions may lead to one primary precept but take away from the other. For example, having loads of children fulfils the reproduction precept, but too many children could detract from an ordered society. We know that Natural Law is problematic due to these contradictions because Aquinas was forced to develop the doctrine of the double effect.

Second paragraph: What are the primary precepts?

God places five primary precepts inside all humans; innate, intuitive principles that guide us towards our purpose. These are: 1. Preservation of Life 2. Reproduction 3. Education and nurture of the young 4. Living peacefully in an ordered society 5. Worshipping God These precepts are and absolute and universal.

Third paragraph: How do we use the primary precepts?

The five primary precepts are to be used in conjunction with 'ratio'; our God-given faculty of reason. This process is called casuistry and helps us create new, more specific moral rules called secondary precepts.

Second paragraph: What would Aquinas respond to this claim?

He would argue that everyone does have an innate desire to worship God, but this desire can be misplaced and directed towards something else like celebrities or a football team.

Third paragraph: How is this positive contradicted?

However, the Magisterium of the Catholic Church write down their idea of the secondary precepts as fixed, absolute rules in the Catechism, thus removing any flexibility. However, it is still useful to be able to update Natural Law for a modern and ever-changing society.

Fourth paragraph: Why would this be a good thing?

If natural and divine law did run perfectly in parallel this could be extremely useful for religious believers as we could use the two interchangeably. It would allow us to use natural law to come up with what the Bible would have said on situations that are unmentioned. Furthermore, this means that religious believers would not need to learn the Bible word for word which takes a lot of effort.

First paragraph: Who else disagrees?

In a more religious sense, Augustine would argue that due to the Fall human nature cannot overcome selfish concupiscence and cupiditas. We no longer wish to be good, we only wish to satisfy our lustful and selfish desires. Furthermore, even if we did want goodness, as our reason has been corrupted we would not be able to work out what was good anyway.

Third paragraph: What is another positive of reason, and the major criticism from devout believers?

Natural Law affirms the importance of reason which distinguishes us from other species. However, theologians such as Augustine would argue that since the fall human reason has been corrupted and is too clouded to help us reach any secondary precepts in this post-lapserian age.

Conclusion: What is a conclusion point about Natural Law?

Natural Law is a descriptive rather than prescriptive system. It broadly describes what we already do rather than providing a new moral system. It's teachings are obvious: begin with the intention to do the right thing, decide what the right thing to do would be, and then use reason to work out how to do it.

Second paragraph: Who disagrees with the idea of primary precepts?

Jean Baudrillard argues that there is no such thing as universal truth. Natural Law is supposed to be universal but there are many cultures which completely disregard the primary precepts e.g senicide (killing of the elderly) is still performed, often illegally, in many cultures. In 2020, YouGov found that 37% of British adults, who are not already parents, never want to have children.

First paragraph: Who agrees with Aquinas' view here?

John Locke believes that humans do have a natural, moral duty to respect the lives and liberties of other people, which he traces back to natural law.

Introduction: What is Natural Law?

Natural Law is an intrinsic moral guide placed in all humans by God and accessible through reason. It consists of innate inclinations and desires to do good.

Bonus paragraph: What is good about telos in a religious sense?

Most Christians would agree that following God's will is a good telos for humanity to have. God is omnibenevolent so he wants the best for us, and is omniscient so he knows what will be good for us. Therefore, we should want to follow God's will as what God wants is also what we would want. The Euthyphro dilemma reasons wether God decrees things because they're good, Plato's idea, or wether things are good because God decrees it. This is the natural law opinion as from a theistic perspective God is the highest thing, not some platonic form, and therefore by definition God's law will always be good.

Second paragraph: What is an overall positive about the primary precepts?

Most people, religious or not, agree that the primary precepts are good outcomes to work towards - they are not particularly controversial. Natural Law formed the moral foundation of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights which focuses on the preservation of life and creating a peaceful, ordered society.

Third paragraph: What is an immediate positive about secondary precepts?

Natural Law provides the clarity of an absolutist normative ethical theory, but also the flexibility of a situational ethical theory through casuistry and the secondary precepts.

Second paragraph: What is the problem with the preservation of life precept?

Natural law emphasises sanctity of life rather than quality of life. The magisterium of the church therefore oppose individual autonomy in issues such as abortion, euthanasia or IVF. It also leads to the condemnation of artificial contraception as contrary to the Natural Law. Not using contraception can lead to overpopulation, the increased spread of STIs like HIV and deny women autonomy to control their bodies. These all reduce people's quality of life.

Second paragraph: Which two scholars would criticise the emphasis on sanctity of life?

Peter Singer advocates that quality of life is the more important factor when making moral decisions. Darwin challenged the sanctity of human life with his theory of evolution. It suggests that humans came about through random mutations from less complex beings, rather than being created imago dei.

Second paragraph: Who disagrees with the primary precept to worship God?

Richard Dawkins believes that our sole purpose on earth is to reproduce, not follow God's will. All atheists believe strongly, and are living proof, that humans have no natural inclination to worship God.

Fourth paragraph: What is an example of a contradiction?

The Bible explicitly states in the 10 commandments not to commit adultery, but it leads to the primary precept of reproduction under Natural Law. The Bible, particularly the Old Testament, details a number of crimes that are punishable by death such as, to name a few, homicide, incest and worshipping other Gods. This goes against the preservation of life precept.

Fourth paragraph: What is an example of the double effect?

The doctrine could be seen in the Supreme Court case of the conjoined twins Jodie and Mary. If the twins were surgically separated then Mary would instantly die but Jodie would survive. If the twins were left conjoined then they would both naturally die after around six months. The Lord Justice deemed the surgery lawful as Mary's death "would not be the purpose or intention of the surgery but a foreseen, inevitable consequence."

What is good about telos in a more practical sense?

The idea of a telos, or purpose, determining wether we are good or not is logical. We see this for everything else in the world, for example a chair is good if it fulfils its purpose of being sat on, and scissors are good if it fulfils its purpose of cutting. Telos is determined by the creator, so it is compelling to argue that things are good if they fulfil the purpose that the creator envisioned. In our case, the creator is God.

First paragraph: Who disagrees with Aquinas' view?

Thomas Hobbes believes that humans do not have a natural inclination to be good but instead a natural inclination to be wicked or selfish. Hobbes would point out the terrible acts that man has committed, clearly showing that not all humans share the key precept. There are actions that are not real good or apparent good, but simply bad actions with bad intentions. For example, after the murder of James Bulger, the two ten-year-old killers were deemed by the judge to have had "mischievous discretion" the ability to know what they were doing was wrong.

Fourth paragraph: What is Aquinas' solution to this problem?

To solve moral dilemmas Aquinas introduced the doctrine of the double effect. If the intention behind an action and its first effect are both good then it is a good act even if it has a foreseen but unintended negative double effect. God knows the secrets of our heart and thoughts, which is why the intention of an action helps to determine if it is good or not.

Does human nature have an orientation towards the good? (Skim over)

Yes: - Locke believes that human nature is guided by tolerance and reason. He believes that human nature "teaches not to harm another in his life, liberty or possessions." - We are made imago dei, in the image of God, so we must be good. - Butler, who criticized Hobbes, believes that benevolence and selflessness are as much a part of nature as self-love and selfishness. - All societies have a concept of being good. As goodness is not an empirically observable thing then it must come from a natural concept or inclination to be so universal. This matches Aquinas' key precept. It is true that we have a natural understanding of good. - The majority of people on the register for paedophilia in the UK are self-declaring. No: - Hobbes believes that the state of nature is "nasty and brutish". - Calvin and Augustine believe that human nature is sinful in this post-lapserian age. - Humans knowingly commit bad actions. - Any orientation towards good is the result of conditioning, either Pavlovian or Operant (reward and punishment). Nurture rather than nature. - Goodness is subjective as seen with differing approaches to ethics e.g Bentham and Kant.