Aristotle and Natural Law

Question	Answer
Aristotle says that everything has purpose, how can humans achieve their purpose?	To be 'good', to achieve the purpose well. eg) A good knife is a knife that cuts well - suits its intended purpose well.
What does Aristotle think human purpose is?	To reach Eudaimonia.
What is Eudaimonia?	'Eudaimonia' is roughly translated to 'happiness', but means more; living well, doing good, achieving well.
What makes humans different to other animals?	Ability to reason
How can humans excellently achieve their purpose?	By using their reason to determine what the right course of action is
What is 'efficient cause'?	This is what motivates someone to do something, and is in the form of a statement or description, but this doesn't address whether the action itself is moral. eg) efficient cause (or motivation) to sex is enjoyment
What is 'final cause'?	This addresses the intent of an action and what its purpose is. eg) the final cause of sex is procreation - sex is only good if procreation is possible
How do we know if an action is good or not?	Once you know the final cause of an act, you can assess whether this cause is consistent with God's purpose for human beings and if it is - the action is described as moral.

Resource summary

	Created by Summer Pearce about 9 years ago