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Natural Law

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Natural law was developed by Thomas Aquinas, in which he believed that there is such a thing as natural moral law that all humans can live by. Natural law ethics depends on the belief that the world was designed by a creator, a God. It teaches everything God made has a purpose, including every aspect of human life, and everything should work towards the purpose assigned to it. If we fulfill this purpose we do ‘good’, for example it is good to preserve life (Do not kill). If we debate the purpose for which something has been created then it is morally ‘wrong’, to destroy life is against the will of good. Aquinas’s theory can be understood in two ways: As an aspect of divine providence and as a system of practical reasoning. As an aspect of divine providence Aqunious breaks law down into two levels. The first and highest of these types of law is eternal law. Eternal law is law set by God, that is God’s plan for a rational life. In this aspect Aqunious states that humans are the only creatures God has created who are capable of understanding their place in the order of creation. Therefore humans are the only beings that can knowingly act according with the laws of nature instead of just acting out of instinct. Because of this according to Aqunious the telos of man is to reflect upon God.
The second type of law is Natural law. Natural Law’s primary precept is to do good and avoid evil. Aquinas on the subject of wether natural law has different precepts states that “law is a kind of precept… If therefore there were many precepts of the natural law, it would follow that there are also many natural laws.”(Article 2, Objection1). Natural law is law that follows God and what is natural in the world. Natural Law gives guidance over moral decisions by following the precepts and the virtues. Aquinas identified the secondary precepts that enable us to know when to act and how to judge if an action is right or wrong. These precepts include: The preservation of life, procreation, Education, and life in society. These secondary precepts are an extension of the primary precept: To do good but are also very like the ten commandments. These precepts are the fundamental rules of life and determine if you are living a good life. You can judge the moral goodness or badness of an act by referring back to the precepts. Aquinas also identified four virtues we should adopt in order to become closer to God. The closer we get to God and the more we follow these precepts, the more glorified God gets. Aquinas also identifies that we are all given a purpose or telos that we should satisfy. If we all follow the purpose or telos then we are doing good and acting towards God. We all had a purpose and our God-given purpose is to follow the primary precept for example our eye is designed for seeing, its purpose is looking, if the eye sees and looks then it is fulfilling its purpose and therefore is doing good. Natural law can be seen as common sense or linked to Christianity as we are following the Bible if we are following the secondary precepts - the ten commandments. Most people know it is wrong and sinful to murder and steal so in fact a lot of people are following the ten commandments already. Natural law is directed at God as he si the one who judges us and gives us our purpose. So without God natural law would crumble as God is necessary for this law to work. Aquinas also identified interior and exterior acts. The interior act being the intention and the exterior act the act itself. They both must be in harmony for the act to be good.

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