These revision notes for the new OCR Religious Studies A level cover the normative ethical theory of Natural Moral Law proposed by Aquinas. They cover all key aspects of the theory, including developments of it by other scholars and a full evaluation of the theory. They are detailed and are to an A...
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1: Aquinas and Natural Moral Law
Aquinas' He believed that if something achieves its purpose then it is morally perfect. He believed
view of that people were made for a purpose and we have a duty to fulfil this purpose in order to
Telos honour and worship the creator. He believed morality revolves around conforming with
your purpose.
Primary Protect Human Life
Precepts Reproduce and Educate
Know God and Live in Society
Real/ Real good- conforms with all of the precepts of natural law
Apparent Apparent good - contradicters on or more of the primary precepts
goods
Synderesis The will to do good that directs us away from evil
Interior/ Interior Act - your intention
Exterior Act Exterior Act - the act in itself
The doctrine One action may have 2 outcomes, one which is intended the other which is not. If the bad
of Double consequences are unintended it may be considered moral. According to Natural Law, it is
Effect our intentions that are important, not the consequences of our actions. Double effect
would not allow you to perform an action where an unintended outcome had devastating
effects. The unintended effect has to be PROPORTIONATE. However, does this justify a
defensive war?
Secondary These are devised from the Primary Precepts e.g. do not hasten a human death
Precepts
Lex/ Ius Lex - a specific rule or regulation
Ius - The general principle of law sometimes translated in terms of right/justice. Aquinas
referred to Ius but the Catholic Church used it as Lex until the 2 most recent popes
Beatitudo Supreme happiness or blessedness with God
Aquinas thought this was the ultimate telos
Eudaimonia Human flourishing or prosperity, an ultimate end in life which all other actions should lead
towards
4 Tiers of Eternal Law
Law Divine Law
Natural Law
Human Law
Eternal Law God's will for how the universe is to be, the principles by which God created the universe. It
cannot be fully understood by people
Divine Law That law which is revealed by God e.g. in the Decalogue. Aquinas believed this teaches
what our natural reason is capable of knowing through reason so atheists can understand
it as well
Natural Law What is good for human flourishing, our natural inclination to do good and our rational
capability to work out this out
Human Law Regulations in society made by people. Aquinas said human law had to correspond to
natural law in order to be valid. 'morally wrong laws are not laws at all' Aquinas objected to
the idea of the divine right of kings
'Efficient' Aristotle's distinction between what gets things done (efficient cause) and the end product
and 'Final' (final cause). With humans, it is the accomplishment of the end product that equates to
Causes 'good'. An example is sexuality - an efficient cause of sex is enjoyment: because humans
enjoy sex, the species has survived through procreation. However, the final cause of sex
(the thing God designed it for) is procreation. Therefore, sex is only good if procreation is
possible.
John Finis He developed natural law and defines the seven basic goods which can be understood
by everyone. These are life, knowledge, friendship and sociability, play (for its own sake),
aesthetic experience, practical reason and religion. He believed that any activity which is
worthwhile is worth doing because it participates in one or more of the basic goods. He
believed the goods were self-evident but do not themselves give moral rules - this comes
from the application of reason which he recognises people do not always use correctly.
He believed that people must not commit any act that directly harms a basic good and
should always foster the common good of all. Although some acts are wrong there is no
single correct act and there can be two contradictory acts that are both morally correct
choices. He believed because people have a duty to foster the common love of all they
have an obligation to obey every law once a legal system has been accepted. Morally
unjust laws impose a legal obligation, but not a morally one and in some cases, it might be
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