Natural Law

1. Natural Law Chris Dodsworth and Tihamer “Tee” Toth-Fejel January 5, 2002 St. Mary’s GSYPDG

2. Table of Contents • Are there objective moral truths? • How do we know? • Are moral truths independent of God? • What makes an act morally right or wrong? • Definition of Natural Law • Early History • St. Paul • Thomas Aquinas • Application • Examples • Questions

3. Are there objective moral truths? • Yes, God says so (e.g. 10 commandments). • Yes, society says so. • Yes, I say so. • No. • Yes, Reason says so (and Natural Law explains how).

4. How do we know? • Skepticism • “We can’t be sure of anything!” • “Are you sure of that?” • “Of course I’m sure!” • Ockham (1285-1349) – philosophy and theology are entirely separate • Descartes (1596-1650) – “I think, therefore I am”; we can only know subjective facts with certainty • Kant (1724-1804) – Tried to prove that religious faith was superior to reason by saying that reason is divorced from reality; that we can only know the appearance of things, never reality as it is. • Ayer (1910-1989) “We can’t be sure of anything that is not empirically verifiable.”

5. Are moral truths independent of God? • “Divine Command Theory” – Things are right or wrong because God says so. But that is insulting to God and humans. • The Euthyphro Dilemma – "Either a moral principle is good because God wills it, which would make God arbitrary, or God wills it because it is good, which would imply a standard independent of God." • God made everything, and God loves us. Therefore He would reveal to us (in the Bible) what is good for us. • Natural Law provides an “independent” means for verifying revealed moral laws. • The things that are right and good in creation reflect the nature of God.

6. What makes an act morally right or wrong? The Three-Font Principle: • Ends (Intended Goal) • Means (actions themselves) • Circumstances Double Effect applies when two effects will follow -- one bad, and the other good. But four conditions must be met: • The act itself must be morally good or at least indifferent. • The agent may not positively will the bad effect but may merely permit it. If he could attain the good effect without the bad effect, he should do so. • The good effect must flow from the action, not by the bad effect. Otherwise, that would be using a bad means to a good end, which is never allowed. • The good effect must be sufficiently desirable to compensate for the allowing of the bad effect.

7. Definition of Natural Law • “Man’s rational participation in the eternal law” (Aquinas) • “A set of manufacturer’s directions written into our nature so that we can discover through reason how we ought to act.” (Rice) • How normative statements are derived from ontological facts – i.e. “oughts” are derived by the way things are. (Toth-Fejel & Dodsworth)

8. Early History • Sophocles (442 B.C.) • Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) “There is a common principle of justice that all people can discern” • Cicero (106-43 B.C.) “Right is based not upon men’s opinions, but on Nature.” • Ulpian (228 A.D.) “A rule of action common to man and all the animals”

9. St. Paul • Romans 1:20 “Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made.” • Romans 2: 14-15 “When Gentiles who have not the law do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or perhaps excuse them.”

10. Thomas Aquinas • Accepted both “order of nature” and “order of reason.” • Distinguished four types of law: • Eternal Law – God’s rationally ordered conceptualization of the world, characterizing the whole universe; Natural Law is our participation in it. • Divine Law– Bible exists for four reasons: • Arrive at truth more quickly. • Human law is incomplete, exterior, and inefficient. • For the sake of certitude, because human reason is deficient and blinded by sin. • Natural Law – a rule of reason in human nature whereby we can discover how we should act. • Human law – “ordinance of reason for the common good.”

11. Foundation: Self-evident Propositions • Principle of contradiction – a thing cannot both be and not be at the same time under the same aspect. • Good should be done, and evil should be avoided. • Evil has no metaphysical existence; it is a deprivation or defect in something that exists.

12. Application • What is the nature of the subject and object? • What is their purpose and function? • For example: “Going around killing people” • What is a human being? • If a person is just a collection of atoms, then murder is perfectly ok. • If persons are ensouled bodies, made in the image and likeness of God, and exist for their own sake (as ends in themselves), then it is wrong.

13. Examples • Automobile Owner’s Guide (and usage) • Assembling a loft – with a coke bottle • Sledding in the Arboretum • The Final Solution • Tragedy of Commons • Gluttony/Bulimia • InVitro Fertilization • Abortion

14. Questions • Under what conditions does natural law require disobedience of human law? (e.g. paying an unjust income tax; forcing a doctor to do an abortion). • Given all the disagreements over ethical issues (abortion, contraception), does this imply that Natural Law really doesn’t exist? • If people can lead a very good moral life without ever having studied moral theology then why should we study moral theology? • What is unique about Christian ethics? • To what extent ought philosophical ethics be able to reach the same conclusions as religious ethics? Should these truths be accessible to reflective people who do not have the benefit of, or who reject, Church teachings? Is revelation necessary for us to understand moral truths? • In what sense is God the source of moral obligation? If God is the creator of all, does it follow that some form of divine command theory must necessarily be true? Does it follow that anything that is good is good only because God made it so? • What actions might be always obligatory or prohibited? Why? • Sometimes it seems that good is brought about by evil means: Christian ascetics, for example. So why can good ends never justify evil means?