Natural Law Ethics

7/18/2019 Natural Law Ethics

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/natural-law-ethics 1/23

NATURAL LAW ETHICS



‘Natural Law’ is of the most inuential moraltheories of all time – still a e! feature of

Catholi" moralit!# It is also im$ortant%e"ause it lins moralit! with %elief in &o'– a 'ire"t %ri'(e %etween ethi"s an' the$hiloso$h! of reli(ion#

That wors %oth wa!s)

• If !ou %elie*e in a rational+ "reatin( an''esi(nin( &o' – then !ou are liel! to ,n'

Natural Law a "on*in"in( a$$roa"h• If !ou ,n' Natural Law "on*in"in(+ then

!ou are liel! to %e attra"te' to some i'eaof %elief in &o'+ or at least %elief in the

worl' as a 'esi(ne' an' or'ere' $la"e#



The E*olution of Natural Law Con"e$t



ST-ICS



Stoi"s %elie*e' that there was a fun'amental'esi(n an' $ur$ose to the uni*erse .theLo(os/+ an' that ones moralit! ou(ht to %e%ase' on ali(nin( oneself with it#

0ut sin"e e*er!thin(+ in"lu'in( $eo$le’s well1

%ein(+ was un'er the "ontrol of a rationalan' morall! (oo' a(ent+ it ma'e no sense tosee ha$$iness as the (oal of life+ %e"ausethin(s mi(ht not wor out as we $lan+ an'

we woul' %e"ome 'isillusione'# Rather+ theStoi"s %elie*e' that it was %etter thin( tr! to,t into the o*erall $lan of the uni*erse#



2or the Stoi"s+ the natural wa! to res$on' tothis sense of uni*ersal or'er+ was to a"t

with inte(rit!+ aware of the $art we "an$la! within the o*erall s"heme of thin(s#

To 'o what is ri(ht+ is to ali(n oneself withthe fun'amental reason that (ui'es the

whole uni*erse+ e3"lu'in( an! thou(hts of$ersonal (ain+ or the $rom$tin(s of theemotions# This is the Stoi" %asis ofmoralit!#



This a$$roa"h "an %e terme' ‘Natural Law’#It im$lies that e*er!thin( has an o*erall

rational $ur$ose within the uni*erse+ an'that re"o(nition of that $ur$ose is a %asisfor moral a"tion# 2or the Stoi"s an' thosewho followe' them+ reason was at the

heart of the uni*erse# The "osmos was aninter"onne"te' whole+ with e*er!thin(or'ere' an' ha*in( its $la"e+ fun"tion an'true nature#



Aristotle



Aristotle ar(ue' that e*er!thin( ha' a$ur$ose or (oal to whi"h it aime'# -n"e

!ou now what somethin( is for+ !ou nowhow it shoul' %eha*e an' what its ,nal‘(oo'’ is# A nife is 'esi(ne' for "uttin(4 ifit 'oes that well+ it is a ‘(oo'’ nife# His

i'ea of $ur$ose lea's into his i'ea of whatis ‘(oo'#’ In the o$enin( of hisNi"oma"hean Ethi"s+ he sa!s)



‘E*er! "raft an' e*er! in*esti(ation+ an' liewisee*er! a"tion an' 'e"ision+ seems to aim at some(oo'4 hen"e the (oo' has %een well 'es"ri%e' asthat at whi"h e*er!thin( aims#’ The (oo' forhumans is eu'aimonia+ whi"h is often translate' as‘ha$$iness’+ %ut means rather more than that# Itin"lu'es the i'ea of li*in( well an' of 'oin( well# He

ar(ue' that $eo$le mi(ht 'o other thin(s in or'erto %e ha$$!+ %ut that it woul' mae no sense to tr!to %e ha$$! in or'er to a"hie*e somethin( else5

Thus ha$$iness is the %asi" (oo'+ main( e*er!thin(

else worthwhile) 1 ‘### we re(ar' somethin( as self1su6"ient when all %! itself it maes a life"hoi"eworth! an' la"in( nothin(4 an' that is whatwe thin ha$$iness 'oes#’



Ha$$iness is therefore the ,nal (oal ofhumanin' an' it is to %e "hosen for

itself+ an' not as a means to some otheren'# It is what he sees as main( lifeworthwhile#

Aristotle hel' that the e! feature ofhumanin' was its a%ilit! to thin( – manis a ‘thinin( animal’# 0ut+ for Aristotle+reason was not 7ust the a%ilit! to thin

lo(i"al thou(hts+ %ut of li*in( the (oo'life+ in line with the $re"e$ts of reason#



ST# TH-8AS A9UINAS



A:uinas .in Summa Theolo(iae/ar(ue' that what was (oo' was what

was reasona%le – an' that a ruleshoul' %e ‘an or'inan"e of reason forthe "ommon (oo'’ If the worl' has

meanin( an' $ur$ose+ an' if we "annow the $art we $la! within it+ thenwe now our own ‘,nal "ause’# -n"e

we now that+ we "an use our humanreason to un'erstan' how we shoul'a"t#



1 As $resente' %! A:uinas+ the Natural Law is%ase' on the "on*i"tion that &o' "reate' the

worl'+ esta%lishin( within it a sense of or'eran' $ur$ose that ree"ts his Will#

1 If e*er!thin( is "reate' for a $ur$ose+ humanreason+ in e3aminin( that $ur$ose+ shoul' %e

a%le to 7u'(e how to a"t in or'er to ful,l itselfan' therefore ,n' its own (oal an' ultimateha$$iness#

1 Sin"e Natural Law is %ase' on reason+ it is in

$rin"i$le 'is"o*era%le %! an!one+ whetherreli(ious or not# 2or the same reason+ it isuni*ersal+ rather than limite' to an! onereli(ion or "ulture#



A:uinas %elie*e' that the wholeuni*erse was or'ere' rationall! %!

&o' .in the lo(os+ or $rin"i$le of"reation/+ an' that *irtue woul'"onsist in followin( one’s nature+

or'ere' towar's the ,nal (oal ofnowle'(e an' lo*e of &o'# 0ase' onreason+ he thou(ht that Christian

re*elation woul' "om$lement thisan' "larif! it#



CICER-



In Ci"ero<s thou(ht we "an ,n' the Stoi" "on"e$tion ofNatural Law+ i#e#+ that Law is 'eri*e' from &o'+ Nature.Uni*erse/ an' Human Reason# In'ee'+ Ci"ero inherits

from Stoi"ism the =antheisti" *iew of Natural Law asri(ht Reason in a(reement with Nature an' &o' .whois its author+ its $romul(ator an' its enfor"in( 7u'(e aswell/# It is a true Law of uni*ersal a$$li"ation+un"han(in( an' e*erlastin(+ *ali' for all nations an'all times# While Ci"ero 'eri*e' man! i'eas on NaturalLaw from the &rees+ he also "ontri%ute' some e!i'eas of his own+ for instan"e+ that whoe*er sees to'iso%e! the Natural Law ees from himself an' re7e"ts

man<s nature# In other wor's+ when man o%e!s theNatural Law he is o%e!in( not onl! a natural an''i*ine rule %ut also a rule that he (i*es himself as a

full! rational an' autonomous le(islator#



Contra"e$tion



Arti,"ial metho's of "on"e$tion)

2rom a natural law stan'$oint howe*er+ the

matter is more "om$le3+ sin"e in *itrofertilisation is not a ‘natural’ $ro"ess# -nemi(ht ar(ue that nature sets limits tofertilit!+ so that not e*er! mem%er of a

s$e"ies is (oin( to %e e:uall! a%le to$ro'u"e o>s$rin(# If so+ then to tr! to (etroun' su"h a natural metho' of $o$ulation"ontrol "oul' %e seen as (oin( a(ainst‘natural law’#



Em%r!o e3$eriments)

With an! me'i"al or (eneti" issue+ natural law is

(oin( to su((est that human %ein(s ha*e anessential nature+ an' mani$ulatin( nature .e#(#throu(h (eneti" en(ineerin(/ ma! %e seen asfrustratin( a natural or'erin( of thin(s+ an'therefore wron(# In the "ase of em%r!o

e3$erimentation+ for e3am$le+ a Natural Lawa$$roa"h woul' em$hasi?e the a%solute uni:ue*alue of a human life+ an' woul' then see to$rote"t that life# It woul' not %e ri(ht+ on this

%asis+ to sa"ri,"e the life of an un%orn "hil'+ fore3am$le+ e*en if its %irth an' life mi(ht %rin(a%out further su>erin(# As with most Natural Lawa$$roa"hes to these issues+ there are %oun' to %ee3"e$tions to the rule %e"ause "ir"umstan"esthrow u$ e3"e$tional "ases# Howe*er+ it (i*es a



Summar! of @e! I'eas



# E*er!thin( in the worl' has its own reason or$ur$ose of %ein(

B# This reason or $ur$ose is true es$e"iall! tohuman %ein(s

# Humanit! has an essential rational nature

D# 8oralit! is (o*erne' %! a law %uilt into the natureof man as laws of nature also (o*ern naturalthin(s

# 8an "an now+ throu(h the use of his reason+what is in a""or' with his own nature whi"h is(oo'

F# The natural laws are uni*ersal an' un"han(ea%le+an' are the %asis to 7u'(e in'i*i'ual "ultures an'so"ieties with re(ar' to their norms an' $ra"ti"es



G# 8oral laws+ whi"h are %ase' on thenatural law+ ha*e o%7e"ti*e *ali'it!

# The ,rst+ self1e*i'ent $re"e$t of thenatural law is) Jo (oo' an' a*oi' e*ilK

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Natural Law Ethics