Ethics—The Basics by John Mizzoni CHAPTER THREE: NATURAL LAW ETHICS

Ethics—The Basics NATURAL LAW ETHICS The decision NOT to have a therapeutic abortion, and NOT to have a life-saving hysterectomy that might endanger the unborn child: Saint Gianna Beretta Molla

Ethics—The Basics NATURAL LAW ETHICS According to Natural Law Ethics (NLE), it is wrong to have an abortion. According to NLE, based on the “Principle of Double Effect”, it is acceptable to have a different life-saving procedure, even if an unborn child might die as an unintended consequence. WHAT IS NATURAL LAW ETHICS?

Ethics—The Basics NATURAL LAW ETHICS According to “The Principle of Double Effect”, in situations where an unintended evil effect occurs in the course of a good action, it is morally permissible to perform the action if four conditions are met. WHAT ARE THE FOUR CONDITIONS?

Ethics—The Basics NATURAL LAW ETHICS These four conditions must be met in applying the Principle of Double Effect: If the good effect rather than the evil effect is intended If the evil effect is outweighed by the resultant good effect If the nature of the act itself is not evil, and If due diligence is taken to minimize the evil effect SO, WHAT IS NATURAL LAW ETHICS?

Ethics—The Basics NATURAL LAW ETHICS Natural Law Ethics is a tradition Developed in the Middle Ages Derived from Aristotle’s ethics NLE associates what is “good” with what is “natural”, or from nature WHO DEVELOPED NATURAL LAW ETHICS?

Ethics—The Basics NATURAL LAW ETHICS Natural Law Ethics is associated with Saint Thomas Aquinas Aquinas was a Dominican friar and scholar, who saw connections between Aristotle’s ideas, the beliefs of the Catholic 1225-1274 CE Church, and life in this world . WHAT IS THE “NATURAL” LAW?

Ethics—The Basics NATURAL LAW ETHICS According to Aquinas, there are four kinds of law: Eternal Law Natural (Moral) Law Divine (Biblical) Law Human (Civil) Law

Ethics—The Basics NATURAL LAW ETHICS Eternal Law is the law through which God governs the universe It lies beyond time and space It includes All physical laws All moral laws (Natural Law) All revealed religious laws (Divine Law)

Ethics—The Basics NATURAL LAW ETHICS Human Law, or Civil Law, includes all the laws that are designed, proposed, passed, and enacted by humans It includes, for example All international laws All federal and state laws All local laws (e.g., municipal and township laws)

Ethics—The Basics NATURAL LAW ETHICS Divine Law, or Biblical Law, is more specific guidance revealed by God to complement what we know from natural law which is informed by our reason and reflection. The Ten Commandments, sometimes called the Decalogue, is an example of Divine Law.

Ethics—The Basics NATURAL LAW ETHICS Aristotle did not believe in God, but he believed that everything in nature has a purpose. The world, therefore, is an orderly rational system, with each thing having its own proper place and serving its own special purpose.

Ethics—The Basics NATURAL LAW ETHICS Aristotle believed that nature has made all things specifically for the sake of man. Early Christian theologians, such as Augustine, followed the ethics of Divine Command Theory and may have been influenced by Plato’s thought. They ignored Aristotle.

Ethics—The Basics NATURAL LAW ETHICS Muslim, Jewish, and Christian theologians rediscovered and reformed Aristotle: The world is created according to a divine plan. Affirms the supreme value of human life Explains why humans can use the rest of nature The divine plan is a rational plan.

Ethics—The Basics NATURAL LAW ETHICS For these Muslim, Jewish, and Christian theologians, including Aquinas, God is the Designer and Planner and Lawgiver. The Logos, “The Word” in John’s Gospel, is pure Reason.

Ethics—The Basics NATURAL LAW ETHICS Natural law (moral law) is derived from the natural order of things: Things are as they ought to be when they are serving their natural purposes When they do not or cannot serve those purposes, things have gone wrong Natural Law Ethics (NLE) is a form of universalist ethics.

Ethics—The Basics NATURAL LAW ETHICS Aquinas and NLE address the problem of relativism: If everyone has the same natural law written on their hearts, why do we see diverse ethics? Everyone has the same moral law available to them, but things get complicated in daily life, and our judgment can become clouded, especially by bad habits or misguided passions.

Ethics—The Basics NATURAL LAW ETHICS For Aquinas, there are universal moral standards, and we come to know these universal standards, not through human law, not through human feelings/emotions, not through our society’s customs, but through human reason.

Ethics—The Basics NATURAL LAW ETHICS For Aquinas, although we come to know these standards through reason, their ultimate source is of divine origin. Aquinas, like Aristotle, holds that ethics is rooted in human nature, and that human nature is universal.

Ethics—The Basics NATURAL LAW ETHICS Both Aquinas and Aristotle hold that when we observe human nature and human natural inclinations, we see that humans are naturally directed to basic and fundamental values and goods. These goods are naturally apprehended by human reason, and opposites, or evils, are to be avoided.

Ethics—The Basics NATURAL LAW ETHICS We need only to look at natural human inclinations—human nature—to understand what the natural law is and what it requires us to do. WHAT ARE FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN GOODS?

Ethics—The Basics NATURAL LAW ETHICS Aquinas’ Four Categories of Goods: Life Procreation Sociability Knowledge AREN’T THESE “NATURAL” INCLINATIONS?

Ethics—The Basics NATURAL LAW ETHICS Life: Everyone seeks to preserve life Instinct to protect ourselves Instinct to “make a living” Sexual activity and Reproduction: Everyone seeks to preserve the species Sexuality naturally leads to reproduction

Ethics—The Basics NATURAL LAW ETHICS Sociability: Everyone seeks to get along with others in social networks Parents and children Siblings Neighbors Peers/friends Communities

Ethics—The Basics NATURAL LAW ETHICS Knowledge: Everyone seeks to gain knowledge of information “All men, by their nature, desire to know” (Aristotle, Metaphysics) We are naturally curious We have a natural inclination to knowledge and the truth

Ethics—The Basics NATURAL LAW ETHICS First Principles of Natural Law (Self-evident Truths): Principle of Identity “Each being is what it is.” Principle of Non-contradiction “Nothing can be true and false at the same time and in the same respect.” Principle of the Excluded Middle “A thing either is, or it is not; there is no in between.”

Ethics—The Basics NATURAL LAW ETHICS Four Natural Law Ethical Principles: The Golden Rule The Principle of Natural Law The Pauline Principle The Principle of Double Effect

Ethics—The Basics NATURAL LAW ETHICS The Golden Rule “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” (Matt 7:12; Cf. Luke 6:31) The Principle of Natural Law “We ought to perform those actions that promote the values specified by the natural [rational ] inclinations of human beings.”

Ethics—The Basics NATURAL LAW ETHICS The Pauline Principle “It is not morally permissible to do evil so that good may follow.” (Cf. Rom 3:8) (“The end does not justify the means.”) The Principle of Double Effect “It is morally permissible to perform an action that has two effects, one good and the other bad, if certain conditions are met.”

Ethics—The Basics NATURAL LAW ETHICS Advantages of Natural Law Ethics Offers answers to the metaphysical and epistemological objections to moral philosophy What are the facts that make moral claims true? How can we know which moral claims are true?

Ethics—The Basics NATURAL LAW ETHICS Advantages of Natural Law Ethics 2. Makes moral claims objective 3. Offers a clear motivation to be moral 4. Resolves many moral conflicts 5. Unifies reason (the known) with faith (the unknown)

Ethics—The Basics NATURAL LAW ETHICS Disadvantages of Natural Law Ethics 1. NLE does not appeal to atheists and evolutionists, since it presumes a divine Designer of the natural world 2. NLE is theocentric and/or anthropocentric; science supports neither of these views 3. NLE offers no proof for the rationality of the world; perhaps the mind “imposes” it

Ethics—The Basics NATURAL LAW ETHICS Disadvantages of Natural Law Ethics 4. If the world is rational and orderly, NLE offers no evidence that it will continue to be rational and orderly 5. NLE is absolutist, maintaining that some actions are always wrong; this forbids any exceptions in moral conflicts, such as saving a mother’s life by causing an abortion

Ethics—The Basics NATURAL LAW ETHICS NLE and the Origins of Ethics Ethical standards have their ultimate origin in God’s plan for the world: Ethical standards originate in human nature God is responsible for human nature being what it is Ethical standards do not originate in society

Ethics—The Basics NATURAL LAW ETHICS NLE and the Problem of Relativism Although Aquinas accepts the fact that there is cultural diversity and disagreement in ethics, this is not proof that no ethical universals exist Ethics are grounded in the universal features of human beings The standards exist as surely as God exists Ethical standards do not originate in society

Ethics—The Basics NATURAL LAW ETHICS NLE and the Problem of Human Nature Human beings are rational and social beings that are naturally striving toward basic goods

Ethics—The Basics NATURAL LAW ETHICS NLE and the Problem of Right + Wrong NLE uses a Natural Law framework to answer questions about: How to determine the right thing to do (an action is right when it is consistent with the Natural Law) How one should live a life What principles can be used to make moral determinations

Ethics—The Basics NATURAL LAW ETHICS NLE and Virtue Ethics NLE incorporates Virtue Ethics Character is developed by following the Natural Law The acquisition of virtues is the normal result of following the Natural Law Aquinas accepts all the virtues of Aristotle, BUT seems to re-prioritize them, and add to them

Ethics—The Basics NATURAL LAW ETHICS NLE and Virtue Ethics (continued) However, NLE goes beyond Virtue Ethics: It emphasizes the analysis of moral actions It emphasizes the application of moral principles It focuses analysis on intentions (Are we intending to follow Natural Law?) It adds the 3 theological virtues: faith, hope, and charity It places ethics and virtues in a religious framework (When we develop virtues, we ultimately follow God’s will)

Ethics—The Basics NATURAL LAW ETHICS NLE and History CAN YOU THINK OF EXAMPLES FROM HISTORY IN WHICH NATURAL LAW ETHICS WAS APPLIED?

Ethics—The Basics NATURAL LAW ETHICS NLE and Popular Culture CAN YOU THINK OF EXAMPLES FROM POPULAR CULTURE IN WHICH NATURAL LAW ETHICS IS MENTIONED?