Natural Moral Law

A Lesson In Life... Presented By Giovanni, Slovakia & Prantor

What Issues Deal With Natural Moral Law ? -Trunk

• Is there a universal moral code within all people?

• What makes a thing wrong, the act itself or the consequence?

• Are humans good or bad beings?• Will Humans never give you up,                         or

let you down?

• Do humans have a common purpose, and if yes, what is it?

In A Nutshell, What Is Natural Moral Law ?

• Natural Moral Law is essentially, an innate, unchangeable set of rules that govern the world and sees the human condition as part of one natural order. 

• This law is universal and applies to all humans. 

• It is known as a law of right reason and is in complete agreement with nature. 

• It is an absolutist law, and states that we act virtuously because it is intrinsic that we do so.

Despite the fact there were other Philosophers that had something so say about Natural Moral Law, we are (for now) going to focus on good old St. Thomas Aquinas and his funky

fresh ideas !

'Glee is SO overrated.'-St. Thomas Aquinas

St. Thomas Aquinas' Theory Of Natural Law

St. Thomas Aquinas (commonly known as T-Aqua) was infamous for his party-it-up lifestyle and his distasteful infatuation with rap music. However, he also came up with his very own version of the Theory of Natural Law:

• He described this natural law as a moral code, that is existing within the purpose of nature, created by God.

• It is supposed to direct humans to act in a way such that it leads us to what God would want us to do. 

OJ Simpson

Tommy's Precepts (Rules)

Tom-Tom had some distinct precepts (rules) that humans should abide by in order to live good, honest lives. There were primary precepts and secondary precepts; primary being the ones of utmost importance. 

• Primary (Generally Follows 'do good and avoid evil': Self-preserve oneself and those innocents around you, Reproduce to continue species (Sex), Educate Children, Live in Society, Worship God.

• Secondary Precepts (Deduced from Primary Precepts): Do not murder, do not abort unborn, defend the defenceless, do not commit suicide. 

That's how the cookie crumbles...As we can see in the previous slide, acts that are in accordance with human purpose are GOOD, those that aren't, are BAD !

• The secondary precepts are simply rules about acts we shouldn't partake in, as these rules uphold the primary precept. The secondary precepts are deduced from the primary ones. 

• Example: reproduction is a primary precept. Acts like masturbation would then be wrong as they are futile; they don't lead to new life and thus do not glorify God. 

• If this were true, God's worst enemy would be the teenage boy. 

Robert Downey Jr.

Reason & Human Purpose. (Pritt-Stick)

T-Aqua believed that a moral life is a life lived according to reason, and an immoral life is one lived at odds with reason. Reason being divine reason - doing what God wants. Thus, Aquinas posited that, essentially, humans should do good and avoid evil. 

• This divine reason determines that the ultimate purpose for humans is to follow God's teachings. We should avoid being tempted by non-natural, non-rational desires.

• 'Natural law is the same for all men... there is a single standard of truth and right for everyone... which is known by everyone.'

• Thomas Aquinas was a big fan of the Friends TV show, and was most fond of the character Chandler Bing, played by Matthew Perry, for his dry, sarcastic sense of humour. Could this be any more incongruous?

Goods And Bads

Tommy believed that human nature was essentiallygood, as natural law is within everyone. He stated that humans were always seeking good and never intentionally sought evil. • He said we only committed 'evil' acts, as they were the

consequence of some good. • Human acts that do not result in good are then aimed at

'apparent' goods; goods that are superficial and result in detrimental consequences e.g. rape. Human acts that result in good are known as 'real' goods; goods that are intrinsically virtuous e.g. helping out in a charity.

•  We must correctly distinguish the difference between these 'real' and 'apparent' goods through our reason that God has empowered us with. 

Exterior & Interior AxeFor Aqui, both the act and intention are important. • To act good for a wrong reason is to perform

a good exterior act but a bad interior act. • Example: if Harry prevented Voldemort from

killing Ron, only to impress Hermione, this would be wrong. He should protect Ron out of charity and hospitality. 

• Also, good intentions don't always lead to good acts.

• Example: If Harry kicks Neville's eyeball to make Hermione laugh when she is sick, this is still wrong. 

• T-Aqua argued that acts are intrinsically good or bad, and are therefore in accordance or discordance with the idea of how God wants us to behave.  

Evaluating This Wacky, Ditzy Natural Moral Law ! ! !

We will now evaluate Aquinas' Natural Moral Law, to see whether it is a feasible ethical theory, that we can pragmatically

use in today's moral dilemma's. 

Strengths ! ! !

• Natural Moral Law allows people to establish 'ground-rules' to be able to structure communities and societies.

• Different cultures and religions can appreciate its rules and ideas due to the fact that the 'do good and avoid evil' concept is one that is sought by almost all societies and religions.

• Natural Moral law gives us concrete guidelines and advice on how we should live our lives and how we should make our decisions.  

Weaknesses ! ! !• It can never be known for certain whether humans have ONE

infallible nature; whether there is a general rule applicable to everything.

• Humans have volatile, changeable natures, such as sexual orientation. Homosexuals are still able to live fulfilling, meaningful lives, and are accepted in society, thus, are they really living a life against God ?

• Aquiney's definition of human purpose may be wrong, even if we did have a purpose, why would it necessarily be to please God? 

• The secondary precepts may change in particular circumstances. Thus, if it is changeable, natural moral law becomes subjective and somewhat ambiguous, as it does not provide concrete answers on every issue.

Some Quick Aristotelian Ethics !

• Aristotle, that old goon ! He was famed for owning the largest collection of 'Pink-Floyd' albums, and also for holding the world record for: best guy. But he too had a say on this natural law.

• He argued that everything had a purpose or goal to which one should aim to fulfill. Once one knows what something's aim is, one should know how it should behave to reach that final 'good'. Example: Super Mario knew he needed to save the princess, therefore he did everything in his power to save her. 

• He stated that this good for humans was eudaimonia, often translated as 'happiness'. But not happiness in itself, but the idea of living well and doing well. Thus, as humans, we must strive to live well and do well, to thus reach happiness as we allow others to do so too, as we are nothing more than a 'thinking animal.'

WHAT WE THINK ! ! ! • We all believe that the Natural Moral Law theory is pretty

good, but we would make some alterations to enhance it. • Aquinas' facts are pretty straightforward, and we definitely

agree with the whole idea of 'do good and avoid evil', although not his justification as to why.

• We would want to classify our version of this law as the Humanistic Moral Law, as we think any ethical situation should be resolved as doing what the best outcome for humanity would be. We think of ourselves (like Aristotle) as simply animals that are able to think profoundly, so essentially we are naturally and evolutionarily obliged to act to ensure our survival and the survival of those around us. 

• Also, it is essential that we input MORE COWBELL into every single act of our lives.

THANX - WE HOPE YOU ENJOYED !