Natural Law

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Natural Law
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• Is there anything that is steady and secure?
• Answer Gods order and eternal plan with the
  universe and mans special place among the
  creatures a rational animal.
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• Implications
• There are some values given in creation life,
  procreation, knowledge and social relations.
• Man can through his reasons distinguish between
  right and wrong

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Case

• Case Cambodia, Ruanda, Darfur, Zimbabwe,
  Kosovoare some recent examples of countries that
  have been threatened by severe oppression and
  genocide. Is it morally right for neighbours to
  intervene in order to restore peace?

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• Morally relevant aspects
• Oppression and poverty obstacles to life and
  social relations
• The international order based in a natural
  order preservation of peace
• The intention of the intervener?
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• A possible reasoning
• The choice is between intervention and letting
  the genocide continue
• If there is a reasonable chance of a successful
  intervention and the violence is proportional to
  the goal, and
• If the intention is to restore peace ,
• Then, an intervention is morally legitimate.

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Thomas Aquinas 1224-1274
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Background Natural law theory

• Sources Aristotle the Philosopher and
  Augustine
• Summa Theologica
• Teleology criteria of a right act is the goal
  (telos) achieved, but what is the goal?
• Development of what is potential the ends and
  purposes that are essential to being human life,
  procreation etc
• Eudaimonism happiness is the ultimate aim for
  human life
• Theology the ultimate aim of human life is
  knowledge of God

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The theory of Natural law

• The four laws
• the eternal law Gods creation and plan
• the natural law human nature and practical
  rationality
• the human law moral and legal rules
• the revealed law

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• Criteria for a right action? Implications for
  moral decision-making?
• Two methods to make moral decisions
• To find out what is natural according to
  nature (ex prohibition of suicide)
• What is according to the common good? (teleology)

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• Decision making procedure
• The principle of double effect
• Act A has both good and bad effects
• A is morally right if
• 1) the good effects are intended, and
• 2) the bad is not out of proportion to the good
  effects

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Principle of double effect

• A patient is in the last stage of his life
  because of cancer
• He has severe pains
• The doctor decides to give morphine to relieve
  pain (intention)
• The patient dies (not intended but possible
  effects)
• Is the act right?

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Human dignity

• God
• Angels Soul
• Man (ensouled body)
• Animals animal soul
• Plants vegetative soul
• Inanimate things Materia

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• Two points of departure for Evangelical
  Protestantism (ex Karl Barth)
• A different view of man man is sinful
  negative anthropology
• Moral insights through revelation not through
  nature/reason

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Karl Barth

• God speaks man listens
• God commands man obeys

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• Is abortion of a foetus with genetic disease
  permitted?
• Gods command Thou should not kill!
• The foetus is a human life
• Abortion is killing a human life
• Abortion is not permitted

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Problems with the divine command theory

• Presuppose a controversial assumption the
  existence of God
• how do we know what is Gods will?
• Denies the communicative character of morality
• Denies the possibility of unity between
  Christians and non-Christians