Outline the primary precepts
- Aquinas believed that fundamentally humans should do good and avoid evil. We should avoid being enslaved by non-natural, non-rational desires.
We can do this by living by the 5 primary precepts:
- Reproducing
- Self-preservation
- Educating children on religion
- Living in a society
- Worshipping God
Outline the secondary precepts
- Secondary precepts are based on what we should and shouldn’t do based on the primary ones and are more specific.
- For example, one should not masturbate as reproduction is a primary precept with the genitalia’s purpose being this. Similar to why homosexuality is also shunned by those who apply Natural Moral Law to sexual ethics.
What is the purpose of NML?
Aquinas aims to explain why the universe and everything within it has a purpose as he felt that the Aristotle’s pursuit of eudaimonia was not satisfactory enough as a form of motivation.
Basic premise of NML
If God created ‘natural’ laws, then humans are morally bound to follow it. Therefore, the theory concludes that mankind’s ultimate goal lies in the next world or heaven, but must strive to follow God’s law in this life to obtain this.
Explain the the 2 types of goods?
- Real and Apparent. Apparent goods appear at the time but ultimately they provide nothing better in the end.
- Performing right actions based upon using one’s reason in accordance with nature and upon principles that conformed to the primary precepts was one thing but with the right intention is even better! Emphasis on intention causes the distinction between interior and exterior goods.
How do the 2 types of goods benefit followers?
- Distinction helps followers understand how they may not be acting as morally as initially perceived and so to truly consider how they should behave rationally - NML’s ultimate aim.
How does the Catholic Church show relevance?
- One can see the value of the theory today as it is still largely used by the Catholic Church. Look at its stances on sexual ethics for example - largely conservative as they feel it goes against the ‘divine’ purpose of sex as God gave it to us.
- This highlights how it is still applicable to modern day society as it is still being used by one of the biggest Christian denominations in the world
How does modern science weaken NML?
- An issue is that Aristotle’s metaphysics Aquinas based work on is no longer aligned w/modern science. Everything has a purpose or function such as mankind’s rationality yet such belief is no longer accepted and we now know differently.
- Darwin suggests that functions we possess simply aid in our survival and that is all - no innate purpose of mankind.
- Therefore it cannot assimilate into modern science and means we simply don’t have one. Difficult to use.
How does secularism weaken NML?
- Rise in secularism makes NML hard to use due to religious foundations.
