...Explain the theory of Natural Law (25) The world has a set of moral laws that are part of the fabric world. Natural Law is that the laws of morality parallel the laws of the physical world and is a theory that stretches across all cultures and ways of life. It is a universal and deontological theory that says there are definite rights and wrongs. This Natural Law exists to assist humans to direct their actions in such a way that they may reach their eternal density with God. There is a Natural Law for the physical world and the moral world that is discoverable through observation. The theory of Natural Law was created by Thomas Aquinas, who built his theory on key ideas from Ancient Greeks, in particular The Stoics and Aristotle. Amongst the Stoics teachings was the fact that the universe had a rational and purposeful order; to live in accordance with the universes order one had to follow Natural Law. This meant when making laws, they should be made and developed so that they correspond to nature of the universe. Aquinas taught, on ideas based on Aristotle that good person is someone who fulfils their purpose, meaning acting in accordance to Natural law. Aquinas believed that God had put inclinations in each human to behave in certain was; following our inclinations will lead us to the highest good and fulfil our purpose. The most basic and fundamental inclination that a person has is to do good and avoid evil. This brings about the question of: what actually is good and bad...
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...Natural Law is an absolutist theory because it doesn’t vary its primary precepts with circumstances. Natural law is a mixture of teleological and deontological because it has primary precepts which are to do with duty, and secondary which apply to circumstances. Thomas Aquinas based Natural Law on Aristotle’s teaching about causality. In Aristotle Final cause and purpose are important when trying to give an explanation of a thing. Eg. the final cause of a knife is to cut. Aristotle thought this is what made a good knife. Something is good inasmuch as it fulfills its purpose. (The most important cause is the final cause which when achieved by an object it reaches perfection – because it has moved from potentiality to actuality eg. a potential A grade student becomes an actual one through application of hard work. ) The contrast with other senses of the word good can be brought out if we consider that a good knife can be used to perform a bad deed – ie. to stab a person. However, if it cut cleanly it would be good in the sense of doing what it was made for. This use of the word good is taken up in Aquinas and used in his theory. What is clear for a knife is not so clear for humans – what is our purpose? Ultimately, God Himself is the final purpose of human beings – our goals are not merely temporal, but eternal, because we have an immortal soul. However, we also have temporal purposes, which could be summarised as to live and flourish in certain ways discoverable by reason...
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...Explain how Natural Law theory can be used to decide the right moral action [25] Natural law is an absolutist theory which is most commonly associated with Thomas Aquinas. It mainly relies on Aquinas’ theory that humans try to do good things and try to avoid evil in order to find fulfilment and happiness in life. However, according to Aquinas there are two types of good. There is the real good and the apparent good. The ‘real good’ is something that genuinely leads us to fulfil our purpose and achieve perfection. And the ‘apparent good’ is something that only appears good to us but it isn’t genuinely good. For example, a real good would be to study and revise for exams, whereas an apparent good would be to enjoy ourselves by watching television. We might think the second option is the real good for us but it’s the apparent good as we are not really benefiting from it. Aquinas is arguing that for a person to be happy, they must do good actions which can be one of the two types of good. He is also arguing that if humans do evil, they will be lead to the path of unhappiness. This could be interpreted as our actions determine the extent of happiness in our lives. This is known as the Synderesis Rule. Natural law in itself is based on five primary precepts which were, according to Aquinas, revealed to us by God. In defining the Primary Precepts, Aquinas was stating 'self-evident principles' that are universal and absolute - they are part of our very nature as humans, this sounds...
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...a) Explain how a follower of Natural Law theory might approach the issue surrounding abortion. The Natural Law Theory has developed over time since the era of the ancient Greeks, and it is not necessarily based on one single theory. Natural law is the belief that God has created the universe to work in certain ways. The structure of Natural Law is not accidental; it is deliberate and has important implications to the human race (this can also be used to argue the existence of God in the teleological argument). Humans have a duty to conform to Natural Law. If they do not conform it is morally bad. St Thomas Aquinas linked his idea of Natural Law with Aristotle’s view that people have a specific nature, purpose and function. Aristotle said that not only does everything have a purpose, but also it achieves supreme good when it fulfill its purpose. Aristotle stated that the supreme good for humans is to achieve happiness, which can be related to mill’s utilitarianism where our aim is to gain happiness by avoiding pain and gaining pleasure, but Aristotle did not follow the consequentialist nature of utilitarianism. Aristotle said we were to achieve the final goal by living a life of reason based on what we experience, and this follows the deontological nature of Kantian ethics. Aquinas said that humans beings have an essential rational nature given by God in order for us to live and flourish, even without God reason can discover laws that lead to human flourishing, this is...
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...Essay 1 A Natural Law theorist would argue that homosexuality is unnatural because it goes against four common definitions of the word unnatural. The Natural Law theorist would argue that homosexuality goes against the descriptive laws of nature, it is artificially produced by humans, anything uncommon is unnatural, and that any use of an organ that it contrary to its purposed use is unnatural. Leiser believes that these contentions to homosexuality being a natural phenomenon do not sufficiently explain why homosexuality is unnatural. Leiser believes that homosexuality does not go against the descriptive laws of nature because these laws are meant to describe behavior, not prescribe it. (Leiser p. 56) Leiser gives the example of the law of nature that says that water boils at 212 degree Fahrenheit. This law does not tell the water that this is what it has to do, but simply describes a natural phenomenon. In fact, if any of these descriptive laws is broken, then it cannot be considered a law at all. (Leiser p. 56) With regards to the contention that homosexuality is unnatural because it is artificially produced by humans, Leiser refers to his typewriter. He explains that man had to remove certain substances from nature and put them together using a variety of chemical and mechanical processes to create his typewriter. With this, he argues that the logic that would lead someone to believe that this is a reason for thinking that homosexuality is unnatural would lead someone...
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...centuries, the validity of miracles has been debated on by countless philosophers. Of these philosophers, some are religious and others both materialist and atheist. Some materialists, who argue against the existence of miracles, believe that the world is purely physical and that nothing can possibly happen outside the laws of nature. The theistic philosophers reply with the statement that science cannot explain everything simply because the art was founded by us humans who are, by definition, imperfect. So the implication shows science to have inherited man’s imperfections. Science is completely logical, but it cannot explain the nature of everything since there are always undiscovered concepts and laws to be found. Among these phenomena are miracles. Contrary to materialist beliefs, miracles do not violate the real laws of science because the laws that we are referring to are the ones that man, in all his imperfections, compiled. God created all the laws of science of which many have never yet been discovered. So logic would tell us that we cannot be for certain that supernatural events violate any natural laws, but certainly these events do not have to violate any natural law to be miracles. First off, today’s use of the word miracle is inherently misused. It is commonly used by speakers to describe a wonderful event that he believes his audience should feel the same way about. Using the word miracle and other philosophically related words incorrectly does not help mankind in his pursuit...
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...REL123 August 18, 2013 Before I start anything about how what is conscience and how natural law work to inform our conscience, I will first give a little emphasis on what conscience is. According to Mueller in Theological Foundation on p.222, define conscience as something that involves several aspects of human reaction. He further explains that Conscience is a huge part of the human character that makes him or her to know and do good. He also explained further that Conscience is also a way to for us human being to determine what is good and what is evil. The second Vatican Council explained that “Conscience is the voice of God written in our hearts”. In dictionary.com, Conscience is said to be the inner sense of what is right or wrong in one's conduct, motives or action. According to Richard Gula cited from “Conscience” in Christian Ethics: An Introduction, Bernard Hoose, ed. (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1998), p. (110-122) Defines “Conscience as the whole person’s commitment to value and the judgment one makes in relation to that commitment of who one ought to be and what one ought to do or not do.” (p. 114) Also seen as a capacity of a fundamental ability to know good and evil; every person, regardless of past experience, or their culture or religion, has the ability to know the values and standards that guide human life. Can also be seen as a process for finding out what is involved in becoming a good person, and in how one discovers right and wrong in a particular...
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...Aquinas and Plato: Of Souls and Men Question 2 “…since the rational soul is the proper form of man, there is in every man a natural inclination to act according to reason, and this is to act according to virtue. Consequently, considered thus, all acts of virtue are prescribed by the natural law.” (Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, p. 223) a. Analyze the passage and explain the meaning of natural law according to Aquinas. b. Compare this passage to Plato’s theory of ideas. To understand the concepts proposed in the assigned quote, this paper will first break down the quote into its individual statements. This independent analysis will then be utilized to find a core message in the quote as a whole, and ultimately to assist in understanding Thomas Aquinas’ view of natural law as a governing precept of human thought and action and in comparison to Plato’s theory of ideas. “…The rational soul is the proper form of man…” The first statement in the quote establishes what Aquinas sees to be as the essence of humanity. He understood the rational soul to be that aspect of the soul that creates reason. He understood reason to be the defining characteristic that separates man from other animals. Therefore, the rational soul being the mover that differentiates man, it is man’s proper form. He is making a judgment that since reason is what makes man unique it is also what man is, properly. The idea of form is important as well. Aquinas understood man to consist...
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...CJ 305 Final Exam Click Link Below To Buy: http://hwaid.com/shop/cj-305-final-exam/ 1. Explain the confidentiality rules of defense attorneys and explain some situations where they may be able to disclose confidential information • 2. List and discuss the four types of office policy that influence prosecutors’ decision making according to discussion by Jacoby, Mellon, and Smith 3. Describe and discuss the major ethical issues for judges as presented in your text 4. Discuss the various forms of forensic testimony and why they have been criticized 5. Where do rules of behavior for attorneys come from, and how are they enforced? 6. Discuss the number of innocents who may be imprisoned. What are the sources for the estimates? What are the criticisms of the sources? 7. Discuss the seemingly contradictory ideal that to ensure the natural rights presented by natural law theorists there must be both less government involvement and more government involvement. 8. Define punishment and then discuss the major rationales of punishment. 9. What are Mackie’s three types of retribution? Compare and contrast them 10. Describe how CO’s have discretion similar to police officers and court personnel. 11. List and describe some forms of corruption committed by CO’s. 12. What are some ways to reduce corruption in the prison environment? 13. Describe the discretion of probation and parole officers and provide examples of ethical and unethical...
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...1) Explain Natural Law Theory. Natural Law refers to the laws of nature; it is also the basis of all science, observing what happened in nature, it is also a law that stretches across all cultures and ways of life. It is based on the religious idea of a God who creates everything with a purpose and end in the mind. Natural Law ethics is part of natural theology that tells us how God wants us to live here and now. To live according to natural law is to live by Gods intentions ethical direction can be found in what is common to all humans. If we follow these common dispositions then we act as God intended= we act in a good way. If we investigate carefully and reason correctly our search will lead to God. This is the basic of natural Theology. Natural law becomes more specific when we move towards secondary principles such as the 10 commandments (secondary law). They are always valid but we should not act upon them. Natural law is split up into 4 channels which are: Eternal Law- Is the mind of God which humans cannot know. Contained within it are the laws which govern the creation of the universe and cannot control the life cycle of everything in existence. Although humans cannot fully know the Eternal law, they can occasionally glimpse reflection of it, for example, through scientific knowledge of aspects of natural law. This shows that God is the starting point, his idea, his rules. He reveals himself threw divine law. God is also thinking about creating a world. We will...
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...Specimen Paper, timed- 45 minutes a) Explain the Natural Law Theory (25 marks) b) ‘Natural Law is not the best approach to euthanasia’ (10 marks) The theory of Natural Law is a deontological theory, which means that it is based on duty, proposed by St Thomas Aquinas, which also comes from a teleological worldview based on Aristotle’s idea that the good is defined by the final cause. A key aspect to Aquinas’ natural law is also the idea of the synderesis principle, which states that we “naturally do good to avoid evil”. St Thomas Aquinas’ argument was sought to reconcile Christian thought with the Greek thinking of Aristotle’s work, which could be seen in Islamic libraries in the Fall of Toledo, where Christian armies reconquered Spain. Aquinas sees goodness in the Divine Essence (nature of God), which was his first law. His second law was the idea of ‘eternal law’ which he said was reflected in our own human nature and the ends in which we rationally pursue, which draws parallels to the synderesis principle, which opposes the idea of ‘reformation’ which proposes the idea that “we have all sinned and fall short of Gods glory” as portrayed in Romans 3-23. God’s Divine and eternal Laws are further proposed in the Holy Scriptures, such as the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20. From these observable, rational ends, we get the five primary precepts. The Primary Precepts are “good wills” that we rationally pursue, and are absolute. They consist of preservation of life, order...
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...Norms of Morality Prof. Fernandino J. Pancho Definition •Norms of morality ◦is the criteria of judgment about the sorts of person we ought to be and the sorts of action we ought to perform. ◦the quality of things manifesting their conformity or non-coformity with the norm or criteria. (that which conforms is good or moral, that which do not conform is evil or immoral) ◦The subjective norm of morality – Conscience ◦The objective norm of morality – Law (natural) •Both natural law and conscience are rooted on Eternal Law, the ultimate norm, thus, there is only one norm. Loading... Conscience •The subjective/proximate norm of morality. ◦It is proximate because it is what directly confronts an action as good or bad. •Function: to examine/investigate, to judge, to pass punishment on our moral actions. ◦It approves & commends; reproaches & condemns; forbids & commands; accuses & absolves. •Synderesis – it is the quality by which man naturally perceives the truth of the self-evident principles of the moral order. Conscience - definition •Derived from the Latin words “con” plus “scientia” which means “with knowledge” of what is right or wrong or “trial of oneslf” both in accusation and in defense. •It is the “inner or little voice of God in man” crying out man’s moral obligations and telling him what to do and what to avoid in the moral order. •It is an act of the practical judgment of reason deciding upon an individual...
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...According to Hume a miracle is: “A transgression of a law of nature by a particular volition of the deity or by the interposition of some invisible agent”, this question all depends how you define a miracle, most people in the modern world understand a miracle as Hume’s definition, but not everyone agrees. Supporters of the existence of miracles have different views, aquines is one of these. He has three differnet types of definition, An event done by God which nature could not do – could be said to be the most traditional approach. They are acts that contradict our regular experience. Aquinas uses the example of the reversal of the course of the sun, An event done by God which nature could do, but not in this order such as recovering Asses the view that miracles are an obstacle to faith. from paralysis or a terminal illness. Its possible for these things to happen but it is not usually expected, and so could be attributed to the direct intervention of God. And A event done which nature could do but without using the principles or forces of nature. For example, recovering from a cold more quickly than usual perhaps because someone prayed for this, and then it might be called a miraculous intervention of God. These definitions allow for a range of possible events, which we could call miracles, they also do not limit a miracle to a violation of a natural law and so is therefore, primarily identified by Gods intervention. This leaves us with the idea that miracle is an act...
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...found on exam papers, with answer plans and comprehensive suggested answers. Each book also offers valuable advice as to how to approach and tackle exam questions and how to focus your revision effectively. New Aim Higher and Common Pitfalls boxes will also help you to identify how to go that little bit further in order to get the very best marks and highlight areas of confusion. And now there are further opportunities to hone and perfect your exam technique online. New editions publishing in 2011: Civil Liberties & Human Rights Commercial Law Company Law Constitutional & Administrative Law Contract Law Criminal Law Employment Law English Legal System Routledge Q&A series Equity & Trusts European Union Law Evidence Family Law Jurisprudence Land Law Medical Law Torts For a full listing, visit http://www.routledge.com/textbooks/revision R outledge Revision: Questions & Answers Jurisprudence 2011–2012 David Brooke Senior Lecturer in Law and Module Leader in Jurisprudence at Leeds Metropolitan University Fifth edition published 2011 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the U S A and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2011. To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf...
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...Origin of the Concept of the Natural Justice Roman jurists expressed rules and principles for conduct of man – Jus Naturale Use interchangeability with divine law. Even Adam called upon to explain why the forbidden fruit was eaten. Principles of Natural Justice (i) Rule of fair hearing for Audi Alteram Partem – A person must be given an opportunity to defend himself. Nobody should be condemned unheard. Constitutional base under Article-311 Case Law R.K.Vasistha vs UoI – Receipt of Documents {1993 SCC (L&S) 153} Joseph Vilangandan vs Executive Engineer {1968 (3 SCC) 36} Errington vs Ministry of Health – Order for demolition of buildings P.K.Sharma vs UoI – Mandatory to give copy of enquiry {1988 (6 ATC) 904} Mohd. Ramzan Case {1990 SCC (L&S) 612} ECIL Case {1993 (4 SCC) 727} (ii) Rule against Bias No person should be a judge in his own cause. Meaning of bias – It means operative prejudice whether conscious or unconscious in relation to a party or an issue. Types of Bias a. Personal bias b. Pecuniary bias c. Departmental bias d. Test of bias e. The real question is not whether a person was biased f. The test is not what actually happened but the substantial possibilities for the real likelihood of bias Justice must be rooted in confidence Case Law Chanda Case G.Nageshwara Rao vs APS RTC {1959 SC 1376} Justice should not only be done but appear to be done Maneklal vs Premchand {202 (9 SCC) 732} Demonstration in...
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