Transcript for:
Natural Moral Law Overview

hello to you I do hope you're well welcome to this a level ethics revision video I'm Ben Wardle and today we are taking a look at natural moral law so we'll be asking what is natural moral law what are its applications and of course we'll be looking at the strengths and the weaknesses of this key ethical Theory now natural moral law traces its history back over 2 000 years and we'll be looking at its origins in the thinking of Aristotle ancient Greek philosophy stoic philosophy and then we'll be looking at how Saint Thomas Aquinas developed this into a very Christian approach to Ethics in the 13th century and we'll be looking at how Aquinas is natural moral law continues to influence Catholic Church teaching to this very day so we'll be looking as they say at over 2 000 years of human thinking so there is lots to one pack lots to consider and I wanted to start today with these three key terms and I think they really set home for the conversations we'll be having in this revision video so the first one is tell us and that means purpose or end goal and of course this is a key concept from Aristotle's philosophy and for humans Aristotle believes that our Talos our purpose is eudemonia to achieve a state of supreme happiness and flourishing and we'll be looking at how Aquinas developed this into his own Christian idea of tell us that we have this purpose to fulfill in terms of our commitment to God our relationship with God we'll be looking at cinderesis which is innate knowledge of a basic moral principle and for Aquinas our cinderesis is to do good and avoid evil and it is on this Foundation that he develops the primary precepts which then Inspire the secondary precepts and so that leads me to our third key term which is precepts and very simply a precept is the rule intended to regulate human behavior and so as I say natural moral law is all about those five primary precepts that Aquinas developed and he says we must always follow and they then Inspire the secondary precepts and will be unpacking and exploring this key concept of having presets later on in the video so get excited for that prepare yourself I wanted to start today with this quote that I absolutely love from the Roman philosopher Cicero and I think it really sets the tone and it really gives us an insight into what natural law is all about so let me read it to you I absolutely love this when I was studying the a level I literally had this quote on my bedroom wall that is how much I loved it and that is how Keno was to use it in my essays on natural moral law so Cicero said there will not be one law at Rome another at Athens one now another later but one law both Everlasting and unchangeable we will Encompass All Nations and for all time and I think this is really powerful because it really encapsulates what natural moral law is all about it's about saying that there is one universal absolute Timeless Eternal law that all people should follow and so ethics is not subjective it's not about well you know in Rome they do this in Athens they do this it's about the idea that there is this eternal discoverable law that all human beings should follow it is universal it is eternal and it is binding upon all people in all places at all times and so I think this really helps us to start thinking about what natural law is about and what it's trying to achieve it's about saying that there is one universal law that is discoverable through human reason that we should all try to follow in all of the things that we do do so yeah I think that really sets the tone for us another quote that gives us a bit of an insight into natural moral law is from Aquinas this summer theologica his key piece of writing and he said to the natural law belongs everything to which a man is inclined according to his nature so this idea that we have this nature this impulse to do good and avoid evil and that we need to act in accordance with that that we have this natural law that needs to be discovered that needs to be known by people and it needs to be followed by people and then a final quote to start us off from HLA Hart and he said this there are certain principles of human conduct awaiting Discovery by human reason with which human law must conform if it is to be valid now this will make sense later on when I talk about the tears of law but for now I want you to focus on that line awaiting Discovery by human reason it is the idea that we are not supposed to invent our own rules because they suit us or because we think they are going to be practical and helpful we are discovering a universal Eternal law that is binding upon all people at all times so it's not a case of inventing your own morality you know if we think about um a link to um religious language and meta ethics for example morality is not a matter of personal opinion or preference there are these Eternal laws that must be discovered by us using reason and Then followed and so it really gives us this objective absolute approach to morality and to ethics so let's take a look at where we're going in today's revision sessions shall we we're going to start by looking at the ancient philosophical influences on Aquinas remember natural moral law does not begin with Aquinas he makes it a distinctly Christian approach to ethics and he then inspires the Catholic Church to the this very day but you know natural moral law it predates him we can trace it all the way back to ancient Greek philosophy to Aristotle and also the work of the stoics and other key thinkers as they say who were thinking many many years before Aquinas we then will be looking at Aquinas we will be zooming in on his very Christian natural moral law and we'll be looking at the 40s of law we'll then be looking at cinderesis the primary precepts and then secondary precepts we'll then take a moment to evaluate this Theory so to be looking at our strengths and our weaknesses and then I want to take a look today at the doctrine of double effects including applications and at proportionalism as well because they are two key developments on natural moral law which are fantastic to refer to in an essay and indeed The Examiner will be expecting you to be aware of when you are discussing natural moral law so plenty on the way make sure you've got the snacks ready I've got a green tea I've had to put some sugar in here please don't judge it's got to be done so let's get started shall we here are some of the key thinkers that we'll be meeting today and you know I just want to take a moment to say when we're studying for a levels we need to be rooted in after Olive we need to be name dropping where we can the key thinkers so make sure you referring to Solace make sure you referring to their writing and to the text that they have written because it really shows the examiner you have got excellent knowledge of the subject you're discussing in your essay so let's start shall we with those ancient philosophical influences how was Aquinas inspired by earlier philosophy thinkers and we know that um Aquinas was very much inspired by Aristotle on a number of things for example you know his first course argument he is very interested in the work of Aristotle and he is very keen to incorporate it into Christianity so how was he inspired by Aristotle on the issue of natural moral law well as they say he developed a number of his ideas from his reading of Aristotle Aristotle an ancient Greek philosopher believed that the Universe and everything within it have a tell-off he has the idea of the four causes and everything has that final cause its purpose its Talos the thing that it's trying to fulfill and that means end or purpose everything in the universe has a purpose or aim and the universe as a whole for kindness no sorry for Aristotle excuse me have to tell us to fulfill of the prime mover now the tell us of humans is to achieve something that Aristotle called eudemonia it's the state of supreme happiness flourishing and fulfillment so it's like fulfilling your potential becoming the best that you can be and Aquinas as they say was also influenced by Aristotle in the development of his Arguments for the existence of God he was also influenced by a school of thought known as stoicism which has actually had a real Resurgence in recent years now stoics viewed the world as an ordered Place arranged by nature and this is very important for our understanding of natural moral law it's the idea that there is a sense of order and that things are ordered by Nature that nature tells us about how we should conduct ourselves about the right thing to do in in the best possible way so it is an ordered Place arranged by Nature now the stoics believe that we have a Divine spark within us that enables us to reason and to understand the universe and that is something unique to humans that we have this ability to think and we have this ability to reason and that allows us to work things out based on our observation of Nature and we can then use our reason to establish what is the right way to conduct ourselves and to live Our Lives they believed that the path to human happiness and to Leading a good life was to accept the natural order of things and to live in accordance with Nature's rules and of course natural moral law as the name really gives us an indication that this ethical theory is all about living in accordance with the natural order of things and living according to Nature's rules this also makes me think about the design argument the idea that you can know God's existence through observation of nature in terms of natural moral law we're going to be saying you can know what God wants you to do by using your reason to look at nature to interpret the world he's created and to understand from that what the right way to behave is it's all about right reason in accordance with nature and stoics favored the rational the use of Reason in the Mind Over the emotional which we might traditionally associate with the heart and this is very important because this use of reason is at the core of natural moral law so let me just bring all this together and tell you the impact of these ancient philosophical influences on Aquinas so from Aristotle he takes the idea of Telos the idea that humans have this final purpose or end that they should strive to fulfill and of course Aristotle said that is eudemonia he is also inspired by the idea about reason the idea of the world is ordered and rational we have the capacity he believed given by God to understand it and so we should use right reason so unlike other animals we have this unique ability to reason we should use that we should be thinking we should be interpreting we should be making sense of the world and understanding it using our reason and that will allow us to understand the the natural moral law and finally nature we have a human nature and it is important that we do what is natural all and so when you hear about homosexuality for example being unnatural this is where it comes from the idea that certain things are natural and we need to discover them and we need to do them you need to live in accordance with nature and so this is a really key Point as we sort of begin to look at natural moral law that he is inspired by these ideas of Telos reason and nature and so he comes in the 13th century to this conclusion that complete happiness is found in God alone Aquinas says I'll tell us on Earth is human flourishing which is something he's taken from Aristotle it's the state of supreme happiness he believed that following the five primary precepts that we'll talk about in a moment helps to do this so he believes that by following the five primary precepts you will be able to flourish because of what they command you to do because of what they lead you to doing that ultimately leads to your flourishing however he believed that complete happiness is not found just in this lifetime it's actually found in God and this is only fully achieved after death when we can achieve What's called the beautific vision and this Remains the key Catholic teaching today the Eternal and direct visual perception of God and so I think this is a great quote from a Catholic moral Theologian he said full happiness does not reside in wealth Or Glory or honor or even in knowledge of virtue or in any created reality but in the loving vision of God so really important to note that I keep saying the wrong philosopher do excuse me just keeping you on your toes that Aquinas has been inspired by Aristotle he's been inspired by the stoics but now he has Incorporated their thinking he has incorporated these ideas about a natural moral law into his own Christian theology into his own Christian beliefs and so natural moral law now becomes focused on God and that is really important because then from the 13th century onwards he incorporates his um ideas that he's taken from these philosophers from these ancient philosophical influences no Charlie demilio here and he has taken those ideas and then he incorporates them into a very religious philosophy oh and just one more Point natural moral law is centered around the Fulfillment of this apparent tell us because it's all about guiding you to God to fulfilling God's wishes God's plan if you like for the universe and for your life he therefore has this is where it gets exciting we've got a little diagram for you now no expense third as you can see so he had these four tears of law okay I remember I said natural moral law is eternal it is this idea we're not inventing it we're discovering it and this is best illustrated by the fact that there is an eternal law at the very top of the triangle so this for Aquinas is law as known in the mind of God so we can't actually know this directly because it is his knowledge of right and wrong and of course because of God's Transcendence he is completely Beyond human understanding and comprehension and so we can never directly know the Eternal law but it does exist for eternity because it's in the mind of God however we do have the ability to reason see we may be able imperfectly to work out some of its application in human life and one way we can do that is through the Divine Law if the PowerPoint will work there we go few technical difficulties so the Divine Law this is law revealed by God through the command switching through Revelation for example in scripture so the Ten Commandments for example it includes The Sermon on the Mount so when Jesus addresses the people on the mountain and says blessed are the peacemakers blessed are the merciful Etc and the Ten Commandments these are reasonable laws remember it's all about the use of reason that are revealed by God and so this is the next tier of Law and this is something we can access because it's revealed to us through scripture because of the prophets and because of God becoming incarnate within the world and so that is our second tier of law the third tier of law is really significant it is the natural law and this is moral thinking that we are all able to do and we characterize this of right reason in accordance with nature now when I say nature I'm talking about human nature I'm also talking about the natural world which God has created and that many Christians believe God can be known through that idea of natural theology you know for example with paley's watchmaker analogy so this includes a rational reflection on our human nature and considering how to do good and avoid evil now this is a quantity this principle that we have this innate impulse to do good and avoid evil now I want you to just think about that do you think that is actually the case has Aquinas got the route Foundation here do you think people have this innate desire to do good and avoid evil or could that be wrong could he be mistaken there and but that is his belief that we have this innate nature this impulse to do good and avoid evil and that we should use right reason in accordance with nature in order to decipher in order to understand how we are to live a good life and then finally we have the human laws which are at the very bottom of the teeth because they are the customs and practices of a society they are devised by governments and Society so they are human laws and so of course they are going to be at the very bottom of our triangle they should ideally be based on what we refund from natural law now they are only seen as just if based on the Divine and natural law and of course based on the Eternal law but because we can't know that for certain we have to base our human laws on what we can know for certain which is the Divine Law and the natural law but ultimately you can see from this hierarchy that in order for a human law to be legitimate to be something that you follow it must be derived ultimately from the Eternal law because you are not meant to be creating laws that suit you you're meant to be discovering what God wants you to do and that is all about using right reason in accordance with nature that is all about turning to Divine Law reading scripture looking at the Commandments looking at the teachings of Jesus because it is through natural law and Divine Law that the Eternal law is revealed and it becomes accessible to us in the same way that you know through the Incarnation Jesus became man so that people could understand God and what he wanted for the world maybe through the Divine and natural laws that we can understand the Eternal law but the Eternal law is unchanging it's in the mind of God and it is the ultimate law binding upon all people at all times in all places and then those tears below the Divine Law and natural law are where it's revealed or we use reason to work it out it is then the human laws that should be created in a core accordance with the natural law and indeed the Divine Law so that ultimately the laws our societies create should be in accordance with the Eternal law and this is really significant because Aquinas writes this in summer theologica he says man is bound to secular sorry to obey secular rules to the extent that the order of Justice requires he says if they command unjust things their subjects are not obliged to obey them so if I just go back to the four tiers of law what he's saying is you only have to follow what your government is saying or what Society is saying if what they're saying is just and the way we know that it's just is if it's in accordance with the natural law with the Divine Law so for example um homosexuality um Aquinas would say well the human laws that have legalized homosexuality that have legalized same-sex marriage are wrong because he says they are not in accordance with the natural law and the Divine Law and and so he is saying as a Christian as a follower of natural moral law you are only bound to obey those secular rules to a certain extent as long as they are consistent with those higher tiers on the hierarchy of laws so as I say he has this injuriesis principle which governs everything he believes humans should do and this is very simply to do good and avoid evil now some people call this the the key precept others know it as the cinderesis principle but very simply cinderesis means inborn knowledge of the primary principle of moral action it is the inner principle directing people towards good and Away From Evil now you might associate this with the conscience you might associate this with um the idea of the census divinitatis that there is something within us there's an inner sense of God there's an innocence of goodness there's an innocence of the Divine and that this is the key inborn knowledge we have of morality that we should do God and avoid evil that is why you feel guilt for example when you don't do the right thing because you've got this inner sense that you should do good and avoid evil and so all other moral rules are taken from this so this is very much the starting point then for aquinas's five primary precepts and then ultimately the secondary precepts which he believes um should be followed because you should be basing everything on your impulse to do good and avoid evil because that will ultimately lead you to fulfilling your Telos um as a human being and so I want to ask you a quick ao2 question if I may is Aquinas right to say that we all have an inborn knowledge or an inner principle you could say to do good and avoid evil or do you think we might have been taught and trained this after we have been born so for example um John Locke the empirical philosopher said um that we are all born tabula rather we are all born as a blank slate and then we learn everything from people around us you know from our parents from school from society so do you actually think he's right and then also I'm thinking about the problem of evil and suffering you know are we actually born with an Impulse to do good and avoid evil for example you know what are the implications of original sin and the fall those key ideas in Augustine thinking how does Aquinas make sense of that have we lost our ability to do good and avoid evil as a result of the fall and you know Augustine's ideas about how we inherit original sin so lots of questions to start asking and I really do recommend that whenever you are considering you know the key Concepts um in terms of your ao1 but you've always got in the back of your mind a little ao2 questions list developing where you're actually thinking is Aquinas right does that make sense would the other Scholars I've studied for this a level agree with him here so always just be thinking about your evaluation and how you might critique the idea that you are studying Okay so here is what Aquinas himself said about the cinderesis principle again it's in summer theologica the key text we need to know he said this is the first precept of law that good is to be done and pursued and evil is to be avoided all other precepts of the natural law are based upon this so that whatever the Practical reason naturally apprehenses man's good or evil belongs to the precepts of the natural law as something to be done or avoided and so here's the whole moral system is based on saying these are the things you need to do for example reproduce and preserve life and educate children order society and worship God and as a result these are things that need to be avoided so this principle but good is to be done and pursued and evil is to be avoided is the first precept of law now thinking about the idea that natural moral law is binding upon all people at all times do you think that every human society is based on the idea that good is to be done and pursued and evil is to be avoided so just think about you know all the different religions all the different cultures do you think they do share this idea that good is to be done and pursued and evil is to be avoided now again if I think about matter ethics I'm instantly asking the question of well what is the good how do we discover the good how do we agree on what is good and Aquinas will show us in a minute through his primary precepts what he thinks the good is um but this is just my question to you for now as we think about natural moral law as this absolute unchanging universally binding concept do you think that all people and all societies and all religions and all um legal systems share this belief that good is to be done and pursued and evil is to be avoided so again just be thinking about that is the queen is right I think he is you know I think we fear in every culture it's expressed in different ways as they say people have different understandings of what the good might be but I think we see this universally um and so I think Aquinas could be right here he has identified something that is universal that does seem Eternal that we have this desire to do good but then of course I could also think but what about all the very selfish people you know what what about all those who cause harm and they cause harm and take pleasure from doing so and so yeah obviously with ethics there are so many questions to ask but just again something else to start thinking about so here's another little graph for you don't get too excited um we have the cinderesis principle there that good is to be done and pursued and evil is to be avoided now this then feeds into the primary precepts and these are five primary precepts that Aquinas believes every person has a duty to do and that by doing them you will fill your tell-off which is the ultimate end goal of life it's the whole point of being here to fulfill your tell-off those five primary precepts that we're going to look at in just a moment then lead to secondary presets secondary precepts are um created by different cultures by different people based on the primary precepts so they are as I say based on the primary presets those five and they are then the more specific rules and teachings that you then find within societies that you find then within cultures and in countries so we've got the cinderesis principle that Universal absolute principle who you do good and avoid evil we've then got the five primary precepts which are our duty to fulfill they are fixed they are unchanging they are Eternal they are universally binding they are inflexible but then we've got the secondary precepts which are a little bit more flexible they're open to interpretation one country might have one secondary precept another culture might have a different secondary precept and they you know as you can see they all linked together we start with the cinderesis principle we have our five primary precepts and then we Branch out to having the secondary precepts and again just a reminder of that quote man is bound to obey secular rules to the extent that the order of Justice requires if they command unjust things their subjects are not obliged to obey them and again this is about you having the autonomy to use your own reason you have these god-given reason so you shouldn't just blindly follow the rules you've been given you should use your reason to think is that in accordance with the natural law is that in accordance with Justice and so Aquinas really empowering the individual to think for themselves to use their reason to actually decide if this rule I've been told to follow right yes no and use your reason be empowered to use your reason in order to make that assessment and that judgment so Theresa's principle innate it is within you as you know the primary precepts are universally binding whereas the secondary precepts may be culturally relative let's take a look then shall we at those five primary precepts and as I say Aquinas belief that when we reflect on our tell-offs and understand the cinderesis rule there are five primary presets that emerge I have to emphasize this again these precepts are not created they are discovered they emerge yeah remember natural moral law is not about inventing the law it's about discovering an eternal law which is Manifest through the Divine Law and the natural law and then we have our human laws so these five primary precepts again they are not created they are discovered and so that leads us to think well is that actually what we discover is that actually right as a primary precept and so this table here is part of the PowerPoint you can get by clicking on the description box below and it just helps us to shape our thinking in terms of what actually is the precept what secondary precepts are derived from it and then actually if the client is right to make this one of our primary precepts is this precept something that we all have a duty to do if I use my reason my right reason in accordance with nature will I come to the conclusion that that precept must be followed by everybody and so that's what I want you to start thinking about start using your reason to um just reflect on as we go through all five so shall we get started number one is the preservation of life and Aquinas argued that uh we are to preserve life in it is evident that life is important both our own and that of others it is natural therefore and reasonable key word for every person to be concerned with preserving its own being and preserving human life this is of course expressed in the Divine Law in the Ten Commandments do not kill and then in human laws against taking life I think in every single country under every single legal system There Are Rules out there against killing people and this of course influences Catholic teaching on abortion euthanasia capital punishment and suicide so preservation of life this applies to human life because um human life have um if the sanctity of life is sacred and it is the number one primary precept that we are to preserve life so again these are the key things that Aquinas believes humans are made for by fulfilling these precepts he says we are fulfilling our Telos and I want you to think do you agree with this if you don't don't agree with this I would be a bit worried to be honest I think this is one that everyone can get on board with as I say you don't need to believe in God in order to believe you need to preserve life although of course when it comes to euthanasia for example you might say We'll preserve life at what cost you know is there a point when the quality of life needs to be taken into account when it comes to preserving life and so if you are applying this to euthanasia that might be something to consider you know the preservation of Life at what cost um you could also think as well about you know should you um assassinate a terrorist um attacker before they're able to detonate their bomb or cause widespread harm you know so are there exceptions to this principle Aquinas would say no because it is you know a primary precept although we will be looking at his idea of the doctrine of double effect for example in the case of self-defense a little bit later on so you know prepare yourself for that but yes that is your first primary preset it is the preservation of life okay number two then is reproduction now this is really interesting because this completely shapes the Catholic Church's teachings on sexual ethics it's why the church opposes homosexuality it's why the church says contraception is intrinsically evil it is why the church says that the entire purpose of sex is procreation and so reproduction is the idea that we have this precept we have this duty to reproduce interestingly I think this is very consistent with science if you look at what science tells us we are told that evolutionary speaking our purpose is to survive and reproduce in order for our species to continue so actually Aquinas might be very much consistent with science here but it's the idea that it is rational to ensure that life continues and this is the main purpose tell us of sex that is the point of sex now of course you might have different beliefs about the purpose of sex is it to express love is it for pleasure for example but for for um the Catholic Church successful procreation that is the purpose it is consistent with that scientific belief that we should survive and reproduce and it influences as they say Catholic teaching on the purpose of sex contraception why masturbation is wrong um and homosexual acts yeah acquiring a faith into some detail about why um masturbation is wrong because the emission of female the emission of femen excuse me should only take place when there is potential for life to be created that is how important reproduction is and how closely it is linked to sex acts in Catholic moral thinking it is of course seen in the Divine Law where we see in Genesis you should be fruitful and multiply um and obviously we see it in teachings against homosexual Acts of example in the letters of Saint Paul or in Leviticus in the past it has been seen as the duty to reproduce within Society you know it have been seen as an expectation that you will marry and have children of your own um of course though you could say as a little evaluation point that in the modern world where we're dealing with overpopulation you know and you know climate change for example is it responsible to have this um preceptor reproduce do we actually need people to stop reproducing for a second because otherwise you know it's it's gonna cause more harm than good to think about China's one child policy that they implemented for a time for example so we could say well actually if there is still an absolute Duty you know um and of course we can talk about different ways of reproducing now so through adoption for example IVF so could that mean that homosexuality is not actually wrong because you can still reproduce just not by a lot logically for Aquinas the answer would have been no because he linked the sex act to this particular purpose the Talos of the sex act is reproduction um however I would then argue well what about people who are infertile through no fault of their own you know should they then not be allowed to have sex because they have the knowledge that they cannot reproduce from that act so again lots of questions that I'm throwing at you um I hope maybe that's making you start to think about this um precept in terms of the influence that it's had and then thinking about its relevance today but yeah really key for understanding Catholic teaching on sexual ethics okay our third one then our third primary precept is the education of children and so humans are intellectual creatures and it is natural for us to learn in the world today the UN convention on the right for the child affirms that every child has the right to an education so we've got un endorsement there of a crime receive primary precepts there you go Aquinas I think Paul writes in the Bible so again the Divine Law that parents should bring up your children in the training and instruction of the Lord indeed Proverbs 22 says train up a child in the way he should go whilst the catechism of the church describes the home as the first school of children life of Christian Life excuse me I need more green tea clearly so that is the third primary precept now he's obviously talking about education in terms of life skills I would assume but then he's also talking specifically about teaching them about God and the religion which is of course how Christianity has become such a large powerful religion because its followers are commanded to reproduce and then educate their children within the faith interestingly Richard Dawkins the key atheist says it is the former of child abuse to teach your child to believe in a religion because you are teaching them to believe in something you are brainwashing them he would say and for which there is no evidence whatsoever he sees it as indoctrination but for quietness there is a duty to educate children as I say talking of your ao2 I think everyone can agree that is the duty to educate your children isn't there of course but should it be to educate them about God as well or should you let them discover that or make that decision for themselves at a later date for example um but yeah educating children our third primary prefect how about number four then number four again I don't think anyone's going to walk you with this because we don't want Anarchy in the world it is ordering Society it's the idea with social beings and it is good to live in an ordered Society where it is possible to fulfill our purpose to fulfill our tell-off so Society should be structured and set up in a way that we are able to fulfill our Talos that we are able to be free from as much harm as possible and we can experience as much fulfillment as possible and so every society as they say has certain rules to be followed with laws in place to regulate human behavior to bring about Law and Order all people in the world are subject to rules that must be followed and so again this shows that ordering Society is a universal thing and so of course with these five primary precepts we are always thinking is it Universal is it binding upon all people can we find evidence of this and we'll also look at the natural world we can say we do see order in the natural world the food chain for example you know um I'm no zoologist as you know but I'm thinking of you know Lions you know what are they called is it like a pride of lions and then there's an important main one and then the other as I say I'm no zoologist I do apologize I'm just trying to think you know do we see this in the natural world do cows have a leader I don't know do chickens who knows but the point is we see order in every single Society don't we there's always a hierarchy there's always a set of rules um and so this clearly is important in order for us to survive and it you know it's a great chance to think well what is the point of that why do we have these laws why do we need order and Aquarius is saying is so it's we can fulfill our purpose so that we have the opportunity to fulfill our tell-off and that obviously life is protected and that we can live our lives well hopefully touchwood so yes that is your fourth primary precept I think you know what all four of these so far well I don't think we can really question I think we do see them universally and I think the overwhelming majority of people do agree with them universally the one that I think is a little bit more interesting and it's a great chance for some ao2 is this one worshiping God do you think that worshiping God is something that we all naturally have the desire to do do you think that this is something binding upon all people at all times if you look at the UK today for example does every single person worship God no they do not and so actually we could say is this preset outdated is Aquinas correct about this do we see animals doing this for example so lots you know lots of ao2 opportunities when it comes to this precept worshiping God so the idea of this one is that we should recognize God as the source of life and live in a way that pleases him the idea that you know God is your ultimate destination achieving the beautific vision you've been created by God for a purpose and that you know that you should put God and Jesus at the center of your life as the Christian Christians therefore pray read scripture attend church and try to put into practice the teachings given by Jesus Christ who they understand to be the Incarnation of God globally we can say billions of people do worship God every single day we can also say previous societies have worshiped Gods you know so the ancient Greeks believed in Gods for example and societies before that did believe in the Divine in some way however Richard Dawkins again our atheist would say well hang on we actually need to outgrow belief in God it's not something that's instinctive you know it's something that's very childish and we need to grow out of it because we now have scientific explanations and we now have a scientific understanding of the world Freud saw the worship of God as a Neurosis that is based on our um our fears and our subconsciousness from childhood marks said religion is the Opium of the people you know that the powerful forced people to worship God and believe in God in order to keep them oppressed he said religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature didn't he so actually there's a lot to think about with this primary precept is this something that everybody using their reason is going to say we need to do I don't think it is so you know as I've put there at the bottom do you think Aquinas is correct do you agree with this being one of the five primary precepts that binds all people eternally unchangeably absolutely at all times so how do these all apply what are the consequences of these five primary presets for some of the many moral issues that we see and encounter in our world today well here's a couple of examples homosexual acts for example are seen as Wrong by the Catholic church because it goes against the idea of reproduction it violates the purpose of sex as being procreation masturbation again it violates reproduction and Aquinas said every emission of semen from which reproduction cannot follow is contrary to the human good and if it is done voluntarily then it is a thin so it's sinful because it goes against the purpose of sex contraception again it violates reproduction the purpose of sex facts is procreation we see this in the Catholic Church's encyclical human eye which said contraception is intrinsically evil as it closes the sex act to the transmission of Life abortion then it goes against a couple of them it goes against production it goes against preservation of Life Catholics believe life begins at conception but also we could say it violates worshiping God because it goes against the idea that God is Sovereign over life and that life is a gift from God you're interfering in God's plan that Samuel from the Bible says God gives death and brings death sorry and gives life excuse me euthanasia it violates the preservation of Life of course your Ten Commandments Your Divine Law and we could say as well it violates worshiping God God is Sovereign over life um and so Catholics believe in palliative care for example in the case of euthanasia because Pope John Paul II said euthanasia is a grave violation against the law of God and that really clearly links natural moral law to euthanasia and why it seen as wrong because it's seen as going against the law of God LinkedIn here with euthanasia adultery it goes against the ordering of society because of course you're breaking vow healthy breaking promises it leads to a breakdown of relationships that leads to instability broken homes for example distrust disharmony anger upset um it also goes against the Ten Commandments do not commit adultery so the Divine Law has been very clear why it's wrong and you're going against that and also we could say it goes against worshiping God because adultery is where you're having an affair after being married will marriage as we know is so important for Christians it's not just a contract between two people it is a sacred Covenant where you make rounds before God and he joins you together with one flesh so you're breaking those vows that you've made before God so you're going against his plan for you and the vows you've made to him um a bit like sticking your middle finger or pattern basically if I may put it in those terms murder then it goes against the preservation of life to not kill of course is then your Divine Law on that um and then worshiping God yeah because of the sanity of Life idea all life is sacred and god-given so again murdering God's creation you're not worshiping God in the idea of God being found in each person if you're committing murder so just a couple of examples for you there I just want to quickly now share with you a modern development of natural moral law one of our key criticisms is that it's going to be a bit outdated for example on the issue of sexual ethics but a modern development that is very significant because it doesn't require belief in God so this could be your brilliant defense of natural moral law this could be your rebuttal to a criticism that it's outdated or that it only works for people who believe in God and it's from John Finnish who is an Australian legal philosopher jurist and scholar and he wrote a book called natural law and um natural rights interesting that he's a philosopher and a jurist because you know he's very interested in law and how we create laws in the present day so he developed aquinas's natural law an approach based on the idea that humans have a purpose and that certain activities help us fulfill our purpose now by the way we will be talking about existentialism as a criticism existentialism is a um philosophy where you believe life doesn't have purpose the universe doesn't have a purpose that existence precedes essence that we don't have a purpose we have to create our own and but for finnis he does agree with Aquinas that life does have an innate purpose Venice argues that there is certain basic Goods that are self-evident so again the idea that the natural moral law is evident to us it emerges we don't invent it it emerges it is evident it is discoverable and so for him it is better for humans to live in a civilized society with love that'll hold the basic Goods because that means we're then able to flourish ethics is about finding a way to ensure humans can flourish working together for the common good again the idea of us all being one Society Bound by certain um precepts for example because it's the idea isn't it that this is universally binding it's finding upon all people at all times as Cicero said his development does not depend on belief in God now this is important if you're talking about whether natural moral law is still relevant or if it's relevant to those who don't believe believe in God he proposed this list of seven primary or basic Goods in life and they are life itself preservation of Life basically knowledge play aesthetic experience sociability practical reasonableness and spirituality so here again he's built upon these ideas that stretch back thousands of years literally over 2 000 years he's then built upon aquinas's ideas and he's arrived at this 20th 21st century approach to Natural moral law so it's still based on this idea that we have a purpose and that there are certain basic Goods that are self-evident but as you will notice it doesn't necessarily depend on belief in God you could say this is a positive development that defends natural moral law or that shows it's still relevant or that it can be relevant even outside of a Christian context and it also reminds us of the emphasis that natural moral law places on the use of reason because Finnish proposes nine requirements of practical reason these are the nine things that you need to do in order to reason properly he said view Life as a whole prioritize certain Goods over others basic Goods apply equally to all do not become obsessed with a particular project use effort to improve plan your actions to do the most good never harm a basic good Foster common good in the community and act in your own Consciousness and authority and I think that reflects very well on aquinas's point about not having to obey secular rules that are not just because in natural moral law you are empowered as an individual to use your reason for Aquinas your God give and reason this idea that humans should have autonomy to um you know work things out remember they're not creating the rules they're discovering them um but again this emphasis on reason is Central to Natural moral law both Aquinas is original and then finishes development so what we are now going to do is take a look at the strengths and the weaknesses of natural moral law so this is all about of course your ao2 we're going to be looking at what works with this Theory why it might be seen as successful and why people might think it remains relevant today but then we'll also be looking at the problems with it what are the weaknesses what are the criticisms what are the issues with its continued application in the 21st century so let's get our ao2 mindsets on let's start critiquing let's start questioning and let's start with the strength shall we so number one John Waters is a very big advocate for natural moral law because of the fact it offers a foundational Universal and absolute approach to ethics so he argues that natural moral law offers as they say a foundational Universal and absolute approach to ethics and I think that really reflects the quote we started with from Cicero that it evolves Universal application it is unchanging and everlasting it is one Eternal and unchangeable law and I think human beings like that because we like consistency we like Clarity we like to know where we stand we like to know that we're all on the same page so we can see it as very helpful for the world if I can put it like that very helpful for society because there is no ambiguity everybody is very clear about what the right thing to do is and so you can't get confused if you like it provides an objective foundation for ethics giving people a very clear and universally applicable sense of right and wrong now if it works it is universal but it's something that we all agree with and that's important because it's not being involved upon us we are able to use our own reason to discover it and that's important because it's the idea that we all come to a Collective Agreement about right and wrong so that shouldn't in Theory be disputes and arguments because we should all be able to use our reason to come to the same conclusion about how conduct should take place about ethics obviously we know in practice that is not the case but it is the idea that it does not go out of date it can be used by everybody and if everybody uses right reason in accordance with nature they will Discover it for themselves and so it's not even like you've got to have a dictator imposing it upon you yeah it is you discovering it for yourself and committing to the common good because of that syndraisis principle to do good and avoid evil now of course as we know from our study of matter ethics this is not the case is that you know we have so many different ideas about what is good what is right what is wrong and we can see it for ourselves by looking at the world around us people do believe different things are right and wrong but you know as I say in theory if it was in a textbook you know it's it seems to to be a very good thing because we should all be able to use our reason to come to the same conclusion because we are all discovering the same Eternal law manifesting the Divine Law and the um natural law this is reflected I think really interestingly in the UN Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 obviously created following the world war and it is an example the U.N Declaration of Human Rights of one of these universally binding codes of conduct this has been very helpful as it sets the global standard so it shows us that natural moral law can be helpful because it sets a global standard it is foundational it is universal you know it is agreeable for all people and it shows you that in the 21st century especially in what we call the post-modernist world people value having an unchanging and absolute source of moral truths clear common rules create stability and certainty and I think we really do all need some of those don't we you know you could say there are Universal facts from science that we all believe in such as the law of gravity you know so why should that not be the case in ethics as well that we all agree certain moral standards that you know we must all feel an obligation to um follow in order to fulfill our potential and I'll tell off um and so you can see that as a real strength that it provides that consistency that certainty that Clarity it is absolute it's concrete it's unchanging we all know where we stand and crucially as I say we are all involved in it because we are all using our reason to reach that conclusion of course your character argument here is that people have different ideas about what the good is and they actually argue over um you know which of those precepts might be right but as a strength from Waters it's um foundational Universal and absolute which reflects what Cicero originally said and it means it's very relevant today it's very helpful today and it offers the promise of what has come for example called a um Global ethic that we can all agree with and that will lead to Harmony and happiness and flourishing in society okay another strength then obviously John finnis who we just spoke about his modern development shows it remains relevant and applicable to contemporary ethical decision making so he can say or he would say sorry the rationale of natural moral law is to establish what is really good for human persons he focuses on human flourishing and goodness these are universally appreciated you know our key founding father of ancient philosophy Aristotle introduced us to that zero viewed ammonia it is something people still believe in today if you look at life coaches for example if you look at modern psychology it is all about this idea of fulfilling your potential Maslow's hierarchy of needs for example the key approach in business to personal motivation is that we all want to achieve self-actualization that is the top of his hierarchy of needs and so it shows us that this concept which is you know supported by thousands of years of weight behind it is still relevant today it's still value today and it's seen as Fair very important by psychologists in the modern world so it is universally appreciated as a goal as a focus point so as I say Finnish published his book in 1980 and it establishes those seven basic Goods the theoretical reason tells us are true and again they should be self-evident to everybody this is at the same time a strength and a weakness because if they were that would be a great thing because we would all voluntarily follow the natural moral law we wouldn't need to just be following laws imposed upon us because we've been empowered to discover it for ourselves but as they say it's at the same time a weakness because we can see in practice this is not how it works because if we all use our reason we all come to different conclusions I might think there's nothing wrong with a loving same-sex relationship whereas somebody else may think that they're red and so it appears that when you say to people use your own reason we end up with lots of different results um so does it work in practice is going to be a rebuttal Point um and it says that objective knowledge of morality if possible and we can define justice in terms of the requirements to promote the common good so again this modern development which doesn't necessarily require God can be seen as a real strength because it shows this Theory which is ultimately over 2 000 years old remains relevant today and then another really really strong strength is that it lays the foundation for human rights now while some contemporary thinkers such as Jeremy Bentham although he's not that contemporary if they bless them um you know the father of utilitarian thinking he said that human rights are nonsense on skills um I would say that in the modern world people value human rights you know it seen as very important that everybody have thirds and basic rights um natural moral law assets that human beings have Universal rights values and indeed responsibilities um these rights values and responsibilities are not to be created but discovered again this is such an important point with natural moral law if you take nothing else away from this video please may it be this natural moral law is not about inventing universal laws it is about discovering an eternal law it is about a discovery it is about an emergence rather than an invention and a lot of the things we see in the modern world are about inventing things creating a purpose creating rules you know etc etc this is about the idea that the law already exists in the mind of God for example but then you discover it so it's a discovery rather than an invention and that's very important because it emphasizes the Eternal absolute unchanging nature of this Theory um it therefore I love this word transcends so it goes above politics governments and societies and so everybody's Bound by it because everyone is under it you never get somebody who can rip it up and say I'm more important than that or I don't like that anymore I don't have to follow that it's binding upon everybody because it transcends everybody and everything because it is eternal it's in the mind of God rather than being invented by men and women it therefore lays the foundation for international human rights such as the UN Declaration of Human Rights and so governments can't take people's rights away you know we can't see certain people as undeserving it is binding it is absolutely an objectively binding and so nobody as I say can take those rights away undermine this key idea of a universal sense of goodness that every single person have these rights um corrupt dictators there's my example cannot erode them and remember equine is safe to only follow a law if it is consistent with natural moral law so although Saint Paul said in the Bible submit to the governing authorities this again emphasizes the autonomy of you as an individual to use your reason now Aquinas again seems to be assuming we'll all use our reason to reach the same conclusion and that isn't the case but the principle Remains the Same he's still empowering the individual saying that they can use their own reason to work this out and if you think about how oppressive the church has been in the past for example this is actually quite significant in saying to the individual you use your reason you work it out although Aquinas is assuming you'll reach the same conclusion as he is um but yeah it lays the foundation for human rights undoubtedly seen as a good thing in the world today where we do recognize the worth and value of all human life however we do need to know a few weaknesses so one of the best ones I think is that it assumes the universe has a purpose remember we started today it feels like 10 hours ago we started today by talking about Aristotle um and his idea of tell us and how that influenced Aquinas so natural moral law is based on the idea of tell-off isn't it the idea the universe has a purpose an Aquinas then took Aristotle's work and said that purpose is god-given however existentialist philosophers such as Jean-Paul Sackler love saying his name makes me think of GCSE French all over again argue that existence precedes essence love that quote remember really great to drop in your exam all that it means very very simply guys is that you exist before you have purpose existence precedes essence so the world your life has no purpose you have to create a purpose for yourself you have to invent a reason you have to find something to do you have to find a course you have to find a job you have to find a hobby for example it's not to be discovered As Natural moral law says it is to be invented by you and so again linking this into our meta ethics always making those synopsic links there is no objective morality uh so in ethics the motivism is the view that moral statements are expressions of emotion um flash human I've written there I don't know why I've written that oh dear um morality is subjective to the individual's perspective excuse me and preferences so you could say natural moral law is flawed because it depends on belief that there is a purpose behind existence this is not shared by all people for example existentialist philosophers so we aren't discovering a law we're inventing it yeah there is no tell us to fulfill we have to create our own so you know the existentialists throw in a little bit of a spanner in the work there another one really important one is that it depends on belief in God you know aquinas's theory is built upon the foundation of theism it assumes the existence of God the idea there is an eternal law that exists in the mind of God depends on the fact that he is the god in the first place if there is no God whose mind this law doesn't exist in then what what are the implications for the other Tears first of all the Divine laws out the window because you don't need Scripture because you don't believe in God but then you've also then got your natural law and your human laws so if that Eternal law is taken away then all of those strengths we spoke about in terms of it being absolute Universal and changing are undermined another problem is that worship of God is one of the five primary precepts and we could say but actually that is not something that all people do that is not something that emerges when you use your reason that you need to do if you've not been brought up in a religious country for example or culture are you going to suddenly come to the conclusion I need to start worshiping God is the worship of God something that we're taught to do by you know the score we've been sent to by our parents you know by the church we've attended Etc and so many people in the modern world no longer believe in the existence of God therefore they would not agree that the worship of God is the primary precept atheists and this is interesting would argue that the use of Reason actually leads you to question belief in God yeah the idea the Age of Enlightenment for example um when Kant said you know you should have the courage to use your own understanding that actually when you say to people use your own mind think about it for yourself they go there's no God Karl Marx again religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature it is the Opium of the people you know when you Empower people to use their own reasoning do they not actually come to the conclusion God doesn't exist so that's a really interesting point to make and but just to bring it back to the key criticism we're making here it depends on belief in God in order for it to be binding upon you um it got to depend on belief in God that is underpinning this that is the foundation for this remember that Eternal law associated with God sorry guys just having a quick back massage now she's gonna have to reposition the cushions I'll be lying down in a minute and so the fact that many people don't worship God and actually think that you can prove God doesn't exist and means natural law is not bounding upon all people at all times I'm also thinking of John Stuart Mill who said that nature kills that actually when you look at nature you don't see what you need to do you see what you don't want to do because nature is actually very cruel that nature commits all the crime for which men would be executed and so morality is actually a revolution against nature rather than you know we should want to live in accordance with nature if you look at the natural world it's very cruel you know we've all seen the David Attenborough documentary do you know what I mean we're all still in therapy after seeing the poor innocent animals being ravaged by the Tigers so so do you know what I mean so actually if you don't believe in God and many people don't is natural moral law gonna be for you this is the key question we've got to ask another one another really good point is that it's too rigid and impractical so obviously Cicero said there will be one law Eternal binding upon all people at all times now when he said that he was living in a very different world in a very different context to the world in which we live today wasn't it and so could we actually think that the rules he followed would still be relevant today you know their beliefs about the world were completely different to us today they had a completely different understanding they didn't know for example you know what the sun was they didn't know what the moon was no one had been up there in a spaceship and so in today's world are those rules that were followed two thousand years ago still relevant now you can absolutely say yes but what I want you to do here is to think actually could this be outdated and we'll pick up on this in a second when we talk about sex ethics in particular but just for now I want you to think does there actually need to be one law or actually should law be a little bit more subjective because we could say Modern Life is complex you know there is not necessarily one size fits all when it comes to moral decision making if you think about the rapid changes of the past 100 years in particular in terms of women's rights same-sex marriage um technology you know the the big changes that have happened is it too rigid is it now out of date we could say the primary precepts that out of date they're too fixed and we still want to do good but we might think of goodness in a different way today because we live in a different context in a different place you could also say that goodness means different things in different parts of the world you know in different cultures so it's two-facts geographically as well we can say it's impractical it cannot be applied in real life making moral decisions required we consider the situation so you could say that Joseph Fletcher's situation ethics if you want to use another theory to critique this one provides a much more helpful approach to Christian ethics because it's based on the idea that the morality of an action is dependent on the circumstances that Love's decisions are made situationally if you think did Jesus go around saying what are the five primary precepts no we did not he made decisions based on what was the most loving thing to do he himself broke the Lord for the day in order to do the right thing you know now of course Aquinas actually agrees with that doesn't he because he says only obey the laws if they are just so you know you do have a bit of pushback there but I think a strong point would be um the idea of the situation ethics that love is the only Universal because that links in with the idea that natural moral law is um universally binding doesn't it if you've got William Temple former Archbishop of Canterbury saying love is the only Universal that suggests to me you don't need five primary precepts that are universally binding you don't need this absolute unchanging one law All You Need Is Love cue The Beatles I'm gonna burst into thumb now hand me a microphone but this is the key Point yeah that actually love is the only Universal that Christians need to believe in because this theory is too rigid and impractical and kind of building on that is the particular case of sex ethics we could say it is out of date on sexual ethics because if it's totally behind Society now of course many Christians would say well I don't need to keep up with Society you know I'm going to stay true to my religion but this could be a barrier to many people um believing in natural moral law because it's out of touch with what they believe on sexual ethical issues so we could say or we may say it promotes the rigid traditional understanding of sexuality that is simply not supported by modern science modern thinking for example the primary precept reproduction has led to a very specific very strict very limited view um of Sex and the condemnation of things such as masturbation contraception and homosexual acts most western um people today modern Western Society does not see these things as necessarily harmful in themselves yeah although the Catholic Church does maintain its opposition and you know people for example use situation ethics they say well is it a loving thing is harm being called John Stuart Mill's harm principle for example based on his 1859 book on Liberty is that as long as someone isn't causing harm then they should be free to do whatever they want in private yeah and so you could say actually it's no longer relevant because overpopulation and STIs are an issue so actually natural moral laws position that you have a duty to reproduce teeth every time you have sex may be irresponsible and it may be out of touch again and it may be out of date the Church of England supports the use of artificial contraception and says um in the Lambeth conference that provided it is used in light of Christian principles it is okay so essentially provided that it's in a loving marriage in a one-flash monogamous marriage contraception is not problematic you know why on Earth should a married couple have to keep reproducing do you want them to have a thousand kids Aquinas are you going to pay for their full uniform do you know what I mean like you you've got to think about this in terms of is it relevant today is it practical today and actually is it necessary today what harm is the condom causing Aquinas that's what I want to ask him yeah and he would say because it's separating sex from reproduction but then I would say think about your modern even Catholics today you know do they believe that there there is only one purpose for sex the Catholic church for example actually now says that sex is for procreation but also it's for Unity it's about becoming one flesh physically so to speak um and so is it you know being too rigid is it being too strict on what the Talos of sex is you know do we not need to evolve and update especially in light of modern science which is saying homosexuality is it's natural and normal is part of a diverse population um the Methodist Church allows same-sex marriages which are now legal in the UK again acquaintances they don't worry about what the law said use your reason but what if you then use your reason to think actually they're not causing harm they're in a loving relationship you know they're committed to one another it makes them happy they are fulfilling their potential they're good people my reason is telling me there's no reason to condemn them just because having sex doesn't mean they have kids and you know so again it's outdated on sex ethics it's too limited and then parchment says that actually and this is kind of like what I just said we have many purposes heterosexuality may serve one social purpose whereas homosexuality serves another and both may be fulfilling for different types of individuals and that's important to recognize diversity that tell us means different things to different people and so being in a same-sex relationship may be fulfilling for one person being in a heterosexual relationship is fulfilling for another and so you could say we need to move with the time because it's outdated not just on homosexuality but also on things like contraception and masturbation as well you know where attitudes have changed in society shall we say since the days of Aquinas okay one final weakness for you this is a little bit of a higher level one it's something you'll probably have spoken about um with meta ethics I want to say and it is the naturalistic fallacy it's the idea that something being natural doesn't necessarily mean that it's good this is significant because natural moral law is of course all about doing good and avoiding evil now the naturalistic fallacy is from a man called GE Moore and a fallacy is a flaw in an argument the fallacy of composition for example criticizes the cosmological argument saying what is true of the part is not necessarily true of the whole now the naturalistic fallacy is the mistake of assuming that just because something is natural whatever that word means it must therefore be good okay so just because something comes naturally that doesn't necessarily mean that it is good or the right thing to do John Stuart Mill for example based on his observation of nature so literally what is natural in the natural world was that nature is very cruel that nature kills he said all the crime for which men are hanged on Nature's everyday performances and so something being natural doesn't necessarily make it moral because if humans were doing the things that we see in nature we see animals do in nature we would prosecute them we would lock them up we might even sentence them to death and so clearly our legal system um is very different in terms of what it sees as good to what happens in nature on a daily basis um and of course if you think about your states of nature argument some philosophers argue that the human state of nature is actually to be selfish and cruel and so that we actually have to discipline ourselves can't said for example man I can't speak excuse me man must be disciplined for by Nature he is raw and wild yeah so he was saying that actually we have to discipline ourselves because if we just did what is natural we would be raw and Wild um and you know he he really believed in that and he then lived his life very strictly you know he stuck to his schedule where he got up at the same time every day he ate he went for a walk everything was done by the clock um indeed the people where he lived saw him as more reliable than the clock because of how rigid his routine was because he believed you've got to discipline yourself because actually what comes naturally to you is not what is good for you and that link doesn't it to the naturalistic fallacy that something being natural doesn't necessarily mean it is good and I think that's a nice thing to sort of leave us on today actually as something to think about um before we all go and have a lie down now before I do leave you in peace I hope that video has been helpful for you I do need to mention for you that the two other sections so uh doctrine of double effect and proportionalism are also on this playlist so do make sure you watch those videos as well so you've got a complete understanding of this topic um and you can then get the full PowerPoint covering absolutely everything through the link in the description box below so yeah do head over there have a look at those videos have a look at the PowerPoint as well um if you've got anything to add any thoughts of your own any feedback any um other critical comments about the different philosophers you know you want to give your evaluation give us your conclusion please let me know down in the comments but yeah thank you so much for watching it's a pleasure to have your company and yeah very good luck with all your studies I do hope everything's going well for you take care have a good day and I'll see you very soon bye