Eternal law: god creates everything and his
will and wisdom is revealed to us through:
God's mind - we cannot know this
Divine law: the sacred text and the
teachings of the church, which are made
known in:
Scriptures- these are incomplete
Natural law: the innate human ability to
know what is naturally right. From which:
Uses human reason to fill the gaps in our knowledge
Reason is thinking and
choosing
Human law: develops, e.g. the law found
within society - its legal systems
We cn then make human laws to govern society
They work together to help
with decision making
It helps because it gives clear answers which
ensures that the decision is in line with
scripture
Absolutist, deontological
theory
Absolutist: rules that CANNOT be broken
This helps because it gives clear
guidelines which are easy to follow
Deontological: duty based - there is an
obligation to follow the rules
It is universal because it applies
to all people at all times
Teleological world
view
Telos means
end/purpose
The end goal is to get to heaven which
rebuilds our broken relationship with God
This helps because it gives an added
incentive/purpose when making decisions
It focuses you on why you should be good,
even when it makes it you unhappy
Syneresis rule
Humans naturally want to do good and avoid evil
In built
BUT this is not always easy to do
Primary and secondary
precepts
These are specific rules which ensure that we live according to our
purpose
5 purposes of human
life
1. To worship
God
Go to church
Read the bible
2. To live in an ordered society
Do not lie
Treat people equally
3. To
reproduce
No abortion
No ARTIFICIAL contraception
4. To learn
Go to school
Go to church
5. To defend the
innocent
No euthanasia
No abortion
WORLD
Real and apparent goods
In the situation that you're in, there may appear to be a course of
action which 'seems' right because it will have a 'right making feature'
BUT if that course of action takes you away
from your purpose then it is not a 'real good'
This helps in decision making because what you are
proposing to do should be in line with your purpose
Interior and exterior
acts
Interior act -
motivation/intetnion
Exterior act - the act
itself
They both have to be good for the action to be
good
Ensuring both the act and intention are
good is important according to Aquinas
DOCTRINE OF DOUBLE EFFECT
This states that, even if there is a secondary negative outcome, if
the intention and act are good then you can carry on with it. For
example a pregnant woman who has chemo and looses the baby
Virtues
Four cardinal
Prudence
Balancing our interests with others to make a good decision
Temperance
To practice self control and show moderation
Justice
Balance interests with rights and interests of others
Fortitude (courage)
Possess the ability to confront fear and uncertainty in order to achieve ones goal
Theological
Faith
Belief in God
Hope
An expectation of receiving eternal life with God
Charity
Selfless, unconditional and voluntary
loving
Quality of
character
Religion
Some christians would use NML because:
1. It includes references to scripture (divine
law)
2. The RC church has adopted NML
3. They approve of the deontological, absolutist approach
Some christians would not use NML because:
1. They think it is not flexible and lacks compassion
2. Some liberal protestants prefer a situational ethics approach
3. Some this that Jesus rejected rules in the New Testament
The role of Reason
Reason is thinking and choosing
People have to use their reason
to make a moral decision
In NML, reason is used in virtually
every aspect of the theory
For example, understanding the teleogoical world view requires reason