NATURAL MORAL LAW REVISION (A LEVEL RELIGIOUS STUDIES - ETHICS)

00:51:22
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SIxiPN-8Mo

Resumen

TLDRCette vidéo de révision sur la loi morale naturelle de Saint Thomas d'Aquin couvre ses concepts clés, y compris l'influence d'Aristote, les préceptes primaires et secondaires, ainsi que des développements contemporains comme le proportionnalisme et la doctrine de l'effet double. Elle met en avant des citations importantes et évalue les forces et faiblesses de cette approche éthique, soulignant son universalité et ses défis dans le contexte moderne.

Para llevar

  • 📜 La loi morale naturelle est universelle et peut être découverte par la raison.
  • 🧠 Les préceptes primaires doivent être suivis par tous pour atteindre l'eudaimonia.
  • ⚖️ La doctrine de l'effet double distingue entre intention et effet non intentionnel.
  • 🌍 Le proportionnalisme permet des exceptions aux règles morales dans des circonstances particulières.
  • 📚 L'influence d'Aristote est cruciale pour comprendre la loi morale naturelle d'Aquin.

Cronología

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    Introduction à la loi morale naturelle de Saint Thomas d'Aquin, influencée par Aristote, avec un aperçu des concepts clés tels que le telos, l'eudaimonia et la raison.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:10:00

    Présentation des quatre niveaux de loi : loi éternelle, loi divine, loi naturelle et loi humaine, ainsi que le principe de la cinderesis qui guide les actions humaines vers le bien.

  • 00:10:00 - 00:15:00

    Les cinq préceptes primaires d'Aquin, nécessaires pour atteindre l'eudaimonia, et leur lien avec les préceptes secondaires, qui sont des règles spécifiques dérivées des préceptes primaires.

  • 00:15:00 - 00:20:00

    Influence d'Aristote sur Aquin, notamment l'idée de telos et d'eudaimonia, et comment Aquin a adapté ces concepts à sa théologie chrétienne.

  • 00:20:00 - 00:25:00

    Les quatre concepts clés de la loi naturelle : les niveaux de loi, le principe de cinderesis, les préceptes primaires et secondaires, et leur importance dans la moralité.

  • 00:25:00 - 00:30:00

    Discussion sur la raison comme capacité humaine unique, selon Aristote, et son rôle dans la découverte de la loi naturelle par Aquin.

  • 00:30:00 - 00:35:00

    Examen des préceptes primaires d'Aquin, y compris la préservation de la vie, la reproduction, l'éducation des enfants, la vie en société ordonnée et le culte de Dieu.

  • 00:35:00 - 00:40:00

    Les préceptes secondaires, qui varient selon les cultures et permettent des interprétations personnelles, illustrent l'application pratique des préceptes primaires.

  • 00:40:00 - 00:45:00

    Présentation de la version contemporaine de la loi morale naturelle par John Finis, qui propose sept biens fondamentaux pour le bien-être humain.

  • 00:45:00 - 00:51:22

    Analyse des forces et des faiblesses de la loi morale naturelle, y compris sa dépendance à la croyance en Dieu et son approche absolutiste des préceptes éthiques.

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Mapa mental

Vídeo de preguntas y respuestas

  • Qu'est-ce que la loi morale naturelle selon Saint Thomas d'Aquin ?

    C'est une théorie éthique qui stipule que la moralité est universelle et peut être découverte par la raison humaine, en accord avec la nature.

  • Quels sont les cinq préceptes primaires de la loi morale naturelle ?

    1. Préservation de la vie, 2. Reproduction, 3. Éducation des enfants, 4. Vivre en société ordonnée, 5. Adoration de Dieu.

  • Quelle est la différence entre les préceptes primaires et secondaires ?

    Les préceptes primaires sont universels et doivent être suivis par tous, tandis que les préceptes secondaires sont des règles spécifiques dérivées des préceptes primaires et peuvent varier selon les cultures.

  • Qu'est-ce que le principe de la cinderesis ?

    C'est l'idée que les humains ont une impulsion innée à faire le bien et à éviter le mal.

  • Comment Aristote a-t-il influencé Saint Thomas d'Aquin ?

    Aquin a intégré les idées d'Aristote sur le telos (but) et l'eudaimonia (floraison) dans sa propre théorie de la loi morale naturelle.

  • Qu'est-ce que la doctrine de l'effet double ?

    C'est le principe selon lequel une action peut avoir deux effets, un intentionnel et un non intentionnel, et que seule l'intention compte moralement.

  • Qu'est-ce que le proportionnalisme ?

    C'est une approche contemporaine qui stipule qu'il n'est jamais juste de contrevenir à un principe à moins qu'il n'y ait une raison proportionnée qui le justifie.

  • Quels sont les points forts de la loi morale naturelle ?

    Elle offre une approche éthique universelle et absolue, fournit clarté et cohérence dans la prise de décision morale, et valorise la capacité de raisonnement humain.

  • Quels sont les points faibles de la loi morale naturelle ?

    Elle dépend de la croyance en Dieu, peut être considérée comme dépassée dans des contextes modernes, et est parfois trop absolutiste.

  • Qui est John Finis et quelle est sa contribution à la loi morale naturelle ?

    John Finis a développé une version contemporaine de la loi morale naturelle, proposant sept biens fondamentaux pour la floraison humaine.

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Desplazamiento automático:
  • 00:00:01
    hello to you I do hope you're well
  • 00:00:03
    welcome to this a level religious
  • 00:00:05
    studies video I'm Ben Wardle and today
  • 00:00:07
    we are revising St Thomas aquin's
  • 00:00:10
    natural moral law so this video will
  • 00:00:12
    cover everything you need to know in
  • 00:00:14
    terms of your ao1 knowledge and your ao2
  • 00:00:17
    evaluation for an a star so let's get
  • 00:00:20
    started with an overview of the key
  • 00:00:22
    Concepts within natural moral law that
  • 00:00:24
    we'll be talking through in today's
  • 00:00:26
    video and we'll start by looking at
  • 00:00:28
    Aristotle's influence on aquinus and
  • 00:00:31
    we'll look in particular at his ideas of
  • 00:00:33
    Telos emonia and reason and we'll be
  • 00:00:36
    talking about how they influenced
  • 00:00:38
    aquinus and how he Incorporated them
  • 00:00:41
    into his natural moral law we'll then
  • 00:00:43
    look at aquinas's four tiers of law at
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    the Eternal Divine natural and human
  • 00:00:48
    laws and we'll talk about that hierarchy
  • 00:00:51
    before we look at the cinderes principle
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    the idea that humans should do good and
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    avoid evil in everything that they do
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    this then leads us to aquinas's five
  • 00:01:01
    primary precepts which he said all
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    people need to follow in order to
  • 00:01:05
    achieve eudemonia and flourish those
  • 00:01:08
    five primary precepts then lead to the
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    secondary precepts we will then have a
  • 00:01:13
    look at Fin's contemporary version of
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    natural moral law before looking at
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    aquin's doctrine of double effect and
  • 00:01:19
    also at the Contemporary development
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    known as proportionalism and then in
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    terms of our ao2 we'll look at the
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    strengths of natural moral law and then
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    the weaknesses of natural moral law as
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    well so let's get started with all of
  • 00:01:33
    this shall we with look at some of the
  • 00:01:35
    key quotes that you can use in your
  • 00:01:37
    essay in order to secure an a star and
  • 00:01:39
    remember in order to get that a star we
  • 00:01:41
    need to make sure we are referring to
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    Scholars and what they've said
  • 00:01:44
    throughout our essay so here are some of
  • 00:01:47
    the brilliant key quotes you could use
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    in order to secure the a star on this
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    topic Cito said that there will be one
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    law Eternal binding upon all people at
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    all times and of course that reflects
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    the fact that aquinus natural moral law
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    is designed to be Universal those five
  • 00:02:03
    primary precepts he believed should be
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    followed by all people at all times ciso
  • 00:02:09
    also said that natural moral law is
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    Right reason in agreement with nature
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    now importantly ciso actually predates
  • 00:02:16
    aquinus and his natural moral law he was
  • 00:02:19
    a stoic philosopher so he was around a
  • 00:02:21
    lot earlier than aquinus but we can
  • 00:02:24
    still use these quotes because it shows
  • 00:02:26
    again the influence on aquinus he saw
  • 00:02:29
    the role of reason as being very very
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    important and he believed that we can
  • 00:02:33
    work out the right thing to do we can
  • 00:02:36
    work out the natural law by using right
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    reason in accordance in agreement with
  • 00:02:41
    nature we then have a quote from aquinus
  • 00:02:44
    himself he said that to the natural law
  • 00:02:46
    belongs everything to which a man is
  • 00:02:49
    inclined according to his nature aquinus
  • 00:02:52
    also said that natural law is the same
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    for all men so again reflecting its
  • 00:02:57
    Universal application he said there is A
  • 00:03:00
    single standard of Truth and right for
  • 00:03:02
    everyone and actually that's a really
  • 00:03:04
    great link to met ethics as well isn't
  • 00:03:06
    it when we're talking about what is the
  • 00:03:08
    good and he said it is also known by
  • 00:03:10
    everyone he wants everyone to use reason
  • 00:03:13
    which he sees as a god-given gift for
  • 00:03:16
    Humanity in order to work out the
  • 00:03:18
    natural law so morality is not something
  • 00:03:21
    to be invented by humans it is something
  • 00:03:24
    to be discovered by them using their
  • 00:03:27
    ability to reason aquinus also said that
  • 00:03:30
    good is to be done and evil avoided and
  • 00:03:34
    that is his therus principle we've then
  • 00:03:37
    got a more contemporary quote here from
  • 00:03:39
    John Waters he said that natural moral
  • 00:03:42
    law is a foundational Universal and
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    absolute approach to ethics so that's
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    actually a really great description of
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    it for your ao1 marks but also you can
  • 00:03:52
    use that as an ao2 strength as well
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    because he is a contemporary scholar
  • 00:03:57
    speaking quite highly here about natural
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    Mor law and its value we'll also talk
  • 00:04:02
    about another John we'll talk about John
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    finis Who develops his contemporary
  • 00:04:07
    version of natural moral law but more on
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    that to come a little bit later on just
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    one more key quote for now is from
  • 00:04:14
    aquinus again and this one is about his
  • 00:04:17
    doctrine of double effect he said that
  • 00:04:19
    nothing hinders one act from having two
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    effects only one intended and we'll talk
  • 00:04:24
    about the doctrine of double effect a
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    little bit later as well but before we
  • 00:04:29
    get on that let's just talk through some
  • 00:04:31
    of the key headlines that you need to
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    know about natural moral law so you need
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    to know that it is an ethical theory
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    developed in its Christian form by St
  • 00:04:41
    Thomas aquinus and it's really important
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    we emphasize that this is the Christian
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    form as I said natural law predates the
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    aquinus he was very influenced by many
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    many earlier philosophers he was
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    influenced by Aristotle as we're going
  • 00:04:54
    to talk about today but he's also
  • 00:04:56
    influenced by stoic philosophers such as
  • 00:04:58
    cisero who had their own idea of natural
  • 00:05:01
    law and aquinus took those ideas he was
  • 00:05:04
    inspired by those ideas and he
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    Incorporated them into his Christian
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    version of natural moral law so his
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    version is based on the key belief he
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    held that the world and human life has a
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    purpose given by God so we're going to
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    talk about Telos which is the idea that
  • 00:05:23
    everything has a purpose and aquinus
  • 00:05:25
    believed that that purpose comes from
  • 00:05:27
    God he also believed that the world
  • 00:05:29
    world has a natural order designed by
  • 00:05:32
    God and he believed that God is the
  • 00:05:34
    creator of all things including morality
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    we do not create morality but we
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    discover it for example through the
  • 00:05:41
    Divine Law so the Commandments we read
  • 00:05:43
    about in scripture and then of course
  • 00:05:45
    the natural law as well and that's about
  • 00:05:47
    using your right reason in accordance
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    with nature in order to discover God's
  • 00:05:53
    universal laws so it's really important
  • 00:05:55
    with natural moral law and again this is
  • 00:05:57
    a great link to met ethics that um
  • 00:06:00
    aquinus believes God has created a moral
  • 00:06:03
    law in human nature so we are meant to
  • 00:06:06
    discover it rather than decide for
  • 00:06:08
    ourselves what is right and what is
  • 00:06:10
    wrong he said that this natural law
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    should be universally followed by all
  • 00:06:15
    people and that it is discoverable
  • 00:06:17
    through the use of human reasons so they
  • 00:06:20
    are the headlines about natural moral
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    law and we're going to look at them in
  • 00:06:24
    more detail throughout today's video so
  • 00:06:27
    let's start with a quick look at the
  • 00:06:29
    four key Concepts that I think you
  • 00:06:31
    really need to remember for when you're
  • 00:06:33
    writing about natural moral law the
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    first is the four tiers of law ainus
  • 00:06:37
    believed that there are four tiers of
  • 00:06:39
    law with eternal law at the top we then
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    have Divine Law followed by natural law
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    and at the bottom we have human law our
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    second key concept is the sinderesis
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    principle the idea that we have this
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    innate drive and impulse to do good and
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    avoid evil and aquinus believed that
  • 00:06:56
    that would lead us to flourishing so how
  • 00:06:58
    do we actually do that well he said that
  • 00:07:00
    is by following five primary precepts
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    and these five primary precepts are
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    Universal and that means they should be
  • 00:07:07
    followed by everyone and he believed
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    that if everyone follows those five
  • 00:07:11
    primary precepts they will achieve
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    flourishing they will flourish in their
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    lives and they will then end up in
  • 00:07:17
    heaven which is where he believed we are
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    wanting to go it's known by him as the
  • 00:07:22
    beautific vision and it is a meeting
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    with God so he believed it's really
  • 00:07:27
    important that those five primary
  • 00:07:28
    precepts are universally followed so
  • 00:07:31
    that we can achieve flourishing and that
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    leads us to the fourth key concept which
  • 00:07:36
    is the secondary precepts and they are
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    then the more specific rules about
  • 00:07:41
    specific issues that are derived from
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    the primary precepts and they are those
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    as I say particular rules about
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    particular things that come from the
  • 00:07:50
    primary precepts and you need to use
  • 00:07:52
    your god-given ability to reason in
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    order to work those secondary precepts
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    out so unlike the five primary precepts
  • 00:08:00
    which are Universal those secondary
  • 00:08:02
    precepts are subjective and they are
  • 00:08:04
    relative so just at the start of the
  • 00:08:06
    video I wanted to share with you those
  • 00:08:08
    four key Concepts to always keep in mind
  • 00:08:11
    when you are talking about and of course
  • 00:08:13
    when you're writing about natural moral
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    law let's go back over 2,000 years now
  • 00:08:19
    shall we and have a look at Aristotle's
  • 00:08:21
    influence on aquinus because Aristotle
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    is one of the most important and
  • 00:08:26
    influential philosophers in human
  • 00:08:29
    history he's one of the founding fathers
  • 00:08:31
    of Western philosophy and he was very
  • 00:08:34
    influential on aquinus and we are going
  • 00:08:37
    to look at how he influenced aquinus and
  • 00:08:40
    how his ideas how Aristotle's ideas were
  • 00:08:44
    Incorporated by aquinus into his natural
  • 00:08:47
    moral law so as I've put here aquinus
  • 00:08:50
    was hugely influenced by Aristotle's
  • 00:08:52
    ideas and he Incorporated many of
  • 00:08:55
    Aristotle's ancient Greek ideas into his
  • 00:08:58
    Christian Theology and there are three
  • 00:09:00
    that we need to know that you can refer
  • 00:09:02
    to in the exam the first one is
  • 00:09:05
    Aristotle's idea of Telos because
  • 00:09:07
    Aristotle believes that everything in
  • 00:09:09
    the universe and the universe itself has
  • 00:09:12
    a tell us he talks about everything
  • 00:09:14
    having four causes and the fourth of
  • 00:09:17
    those four causes is the final cause
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    which is the purpose the TS of that
  • 00:09:21
    thing and the word TS just means purpose
  • 00:09:24
    so it's the idea that everything and
  • 00:09:26
    everyone has a tell us to fulfill and
  • 00:09:29
    everything in its lifetime everyone in
  • 00:09:31
    their lifetime is moving towards
  • 00:09:33
    fulfilling that Tor so that applies to
  • 00:09:36
    objects so for example a chair's T us is
  • 00:09:39
    to provide somewhere for us to sit isn't
  • 00:09:41
    it but it then also applies to people as
  • 00:09:44
    well because he believed that the
  • 00:09:46
    purpose of human life is something
  • 00:09:48
    called emonia that means flourishing and
  • 00:09:51
    living well so it means fulfilling your
  • 00:09:53
    full potential now aquinus really liked
  • 00:09:56
    this idea he adapted it and he developed
  • 00:09:59
    it it by asserting that that Telos is
  • 00:10:02
    god-given so remember Aristotle predates
  • 00:10:05
    Christianity whereas aquinus is
  • 00:10:07
    obviously a Christian Theologian from
  • 00:10:10
    the 13th century they really like that
  • 00:10:12
    idea of Telos and purpose so he said
  • 00:10:15
    okay I'm going to take that idea I'm
  • 00:10:16
    going to use that idea and I'm going to
  • 00:10:19
    say that that Telos actually comes from
  • 00:10:21
    God so he believed that everything and
  • 00:10:23
    everyone has a god-given purpose and
  • 00:10:26
    that includes of course the universe so
  • 00:10:29
    we could then build on that by talking
  • 00:10:31
    about emonia which remember is what
  • 00:10:33
    Aristotle said is the purpose of human
  • 00:10:35
    life because again aquinus really like
  • 00:10:38
    this idea so for Aristotle UD demonia is
  • 00:10:41
    human flourishing it is the Fulfillment
  • 00:10:43
    of your potential it's becoming the best
  • 00:10:46
    that you can be and fulfilling as I say
  • 00:10:49
    your full potential achieving your very
  • 00:10:52
    best and he saw Aristotle saw that as
  • 00:10:55
    the purpose of human life and again this
  • 00:10:58
    is something that AC vus really liked so
  • 00:11:00
    he again adapted it and developed it and
  • 00:11:03
    he Incorporated it into his natural
  • 00:11:05
    moral law because he says that we
  • 00:11:08
    achieve flourishing by following his
  • 00:11:11
    five primary precepts so that is his
  • 00:11:14
    blueprint if you like for flourishing so
  • 00:11:16
    he says absolutely the purpose of life
  • 00:11:19
    is to flourish it is to achieve UG
  • 00:11:21
    demonia and you do that by following the
  • 00:11:24
    five primary precepts but and this is
  • 00:11:27
    very important he says we cannot fully
  • 00:11:29
    achieve UD demonia within this lifetime
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    because you know remember if we link
  • 00:11:34
    this to Christian beliefs about self-de
  • 00:11:36
    and the afterlife Christians do not
  • 00:11:38
    believe that this lifetime is the only
  • 00:11:40
    life that we have they believe that
  • 00:11:42
    after death there is going to be
  • 00:11:43
    hopefully eternal life in heaven and
  • 00:11:46
    aquinus believe that it is only in
  • 00:11:48
    heaven that we can fully achieve that UD
  • 00:11:50
    demonia that we can fully achieve that
  • 00:11:52
    flourishing because that is when we will
  • 00:11:55
    meet God we will be with God for
  • 00:11:57
    eternity and he called that the
  • 00:11:59
    beautific Vision so really important we
  • 00:12:01
    note that Aristotle came up with udonia
  • 00:12:04
    the idea of human flourishing aquinus
  • 00:12:06
    really likes that and he said yes I want
  • 00:12:08
    my ethical Theory to be about promoting
  • 00:12:10
    flourishing and that is going to be
  • 00:12:12
    achieved through my five primary
  • 00:12:14
    precepts but he said you're not actually
  • 00:12:16
    going to fully get to 100% flourishing
  • 00:12:19
    during your Earthly lifetime that will
  • 00:12:21
    only happen after death when you're in
  • 00:12:23
    heaven hopefully with God and then
  • 00:12:26
    finally the third really influential
  • 00:12:28
    idea from Aristotle is this idea of
  • 00:12:31
    reasoning and the human ability to
  • 00:12:33
    reason because Aristotle believed that
  • 00:12:36
    our human ability to reason is what
  • 00:12:38
    distinguishes us from animals and plants
  • 00:12:40
    and he came up with a hierarchy of Souls
  • 00:12:43
    and at the top of that hierarchy are
  • 00:12:45
    human beings because they have a
  • 00:12:47
    rational soul and that means they have
  • 00:12:48
    that ability to think in that deeper way
  • 00:12:51
    they have that cognitive capability they
  • 00:12:54
    can think they can reflect they can
  • 00:12:56
    question uh they can philosophize so he
  • 00:12:59
    said that humans are at the very top of
  • 00:13:01
    that hierarchy because they have a
  • 00:13:03
    rational soul and that just means
  • 00:13:04
    they've got that ability to reason the
  • 00:13:07
    next tear down is where animals are
  • 00:13:09
    found because they have a sensitive Soul
  • 00:13:11
    which is where they've got emotions
  • 00:13:13
    they've got impulses but they're below
  • 00:13:15
    humans because they don't have that
  • 00:13:17
    ability to think in the same way they
  • 00:13:19
    don't have those complex thoughts they
  • 00:13:21
    don't have that ability to reflect to
  • 00:13:25
    philosophize to ask questions in the
  • 00:13:27
    same way and then at the bottom of that
  • 00:13:29
    hierarchy are plants because they have a
  • 00:13:32
    vegetative Soul so what is the important
  • 00:13:35
    point to take away here well the
  • 00:13:36
    important point is that humans have got
  • 00:13:39
    this very unique ability to reason and
  • 00:13:41
    that is what makes them very very
  • 00:13:43
    important so Aristotle believed that we
  • 00:13:46
    should use reason in order to understand
  • 00:13:49
    the world in order to understand our
  • 00:13:51
    Telos and then of course aquinus really
  • 00:13:54
    likes this because he says right that
  • 00:13:56
    ability to reason has come from God it
  • 00:13:59
    is a god-given ability it reflects the
  • 00:14:02
    fact we've been made in magod day and he
  • 00:14:04
    said we need to then use that god-given
  • 00:14:06
    ability to reason because that will help
  • 00:14:10
    us work out the natural law remember
  • 00:14:12
    that quote that discovering the natural
  • 00:14:14
    law means using right reason in
  • 00:14:16
    accordance with nature so he believed
  • 00:14:18
    that our conscience is the god-given
  • 00:14:21
    ability to reason so a great link there
  • 00:14:23
    to the conscience topic and he in
  • 00:14:25
    particular believed we should use reason
  • 00:14:28
    to work out those secondary precepts so
  • 00:14:32
    there are three key ideas that are very
  • 00:14:34
    influential on aquinus the idea of Telos
  • 00:14:37
    emonia and reason so let's have a look
  • 00:14:41
    at how aquinus incorporates and includes
  • 00:14:44
    these within his natural moral law shall
  • 00:14:46
    we we're going to start by looking at
  • 00:14:48
    his four tiar of law because aquinus
  • 00:14:50
    believed that there are four TI of law
  • 00:14:53
    they are in a hierarchy that is ordered
  • 00:14:55
    by importance and each one of them is
  • 00:14:58
    dependent on the one above so the one at
  • 00:15:01
    the very top is the Eternal law and this
  • 00:15:03
    is the law as known in the mind of God
  • 00:15:06
    it's God's knowledge of right and wrong
  • 00:15:08
    we could call it his blueprint for
  • 00:15:10
    Morality now really important to note
  • 00:15:13
    that aquinus says humans don't actually
  • 00:15:15
    have any access to this remember we are
  • 00:15:17
    fallible we are Fallen we cannot see
  • 00:15:20
    into the mind of God so we cannot
  • 00:15:23
    actually know the Eternal law because
  • 00:15:26
    that is within the mind of God but it's
  • 00:15:28
    an important teer because it is the top
  • 00:15:30
    tier of Law and it shows us that
  • 00:15:32
    morality is something to be discovered
  • 00:15:35
    we don't invent the the law we actually
  • 00:15:39
    have to discover it because it is there
  • 00:15:41
    in the mind of God the next tear down
  • 00:15:44
    then is where we do get a little glimpse
  • 00:15:47
    of these laws because it is the Divine
  • 00:15:49
    Law this is God's special revelation of
  • 00:15:52
    his law and it's disclosed Through the
  • 00:15:54
    Bible so the Divine Law is when God then
  • 00:15:57
    reveals certain rules certain
  • 00:16:01
    Commandments in Acts of Revelation for
  • 00:16:04
    example The Ten Commandments which were
  • 00:16:06
    revealed in the Old Testament and then
  • 00:16:08
    the teachings of Jesus because remember
  • 00:16:11
    Christians believe that Jesus is the
  • 00:16:13
    Incarnate Son of God so the Divine Law
  • 00:16:16
    is where that curtain is pulled back
  • 00:16:17
    just a little bit and God gives those
  • 00:16:20
    special Revelations he gives his
  • 00:16:22
    Commandments and Jesus delivers his
  • 00:16:25
    teachings for example as I've put there
  • 00:16:27
    his sermon on the Mount so that is our
  • 00:16:29
    next tear down the Divine Law where God
  • 00:16:32
    reveals some of his Divine commands and
  • 00:16:35
    teachings the third tier then is natural
  • 00:16:38
    law and this is God's law revealed
  • 00:16:41
    through right reason as we've said
  • 00:16:43
    reason is really important for ainus he
  • 00:16:46
    believes that he god-given it's that
  • 00:16:48
    unique human ability to think reflect
  • 00:16:50
    question consider and we use right
  • 00:16:53
    reason in accordance with our human
  • 00:16:55
    nature so remember ceris the cinderes
  • 00:16:58
    principle is that impulse that aquinus
  • 00:17:00
    believes is given to us by God to want
  • 00:17:03
    to do good and avoid evil because that
  • 00:17:05
    takes us on a path to flourish in and
  • 00:17:08
    fulfillment so natural law is about
  • 00:17:10
    using right reason in accordance with
  • 00:17:13
    nature and so it means reflecting on
  • 00:17:15
    what it means to do good and avoid evil
  • 00:17:17
    and this is where we then get those five
  • 00:17:19
    primary precepts because of course
  • 00:17:21
    remember they are Central to Natural
  • 00:17:22
    moral law because we are reflecting on
  • 00:17:25
    what it means to do good and avoid evil
  • 00:17:27
    and aquinus says that leads us to five
  • 00:17:30
    primary precepts that must be
  • 00:17:32
    universally followed by all
  • 00:17:35
    people and then finally at the bottom
  • 00:17:38
    here we have got the human laws and the
  • 00:17:41
    human laws are the system of laws built
  • 00:17:43
    by human beings and human societies they
  • 00:17:46
    are the rules and regulations for
  • 00:17:47
    everyday life devised by governments so
  • 00:17:51
    they are at the bottom of the hierarchy
  • 00:17:53
    because they are then the individual
  • 00:17:55
    specific rules that we create based on
  • 00:17:58
    what has been revealed to us by those
  • 00:18:01
    Divine laws and what has been discovered
  • 00:18:04
    by us in the natural laws and here's an
  • 00:18:06
    important point that based on that
  • 00:18:08
    hierarchy then aquinus believed that an
  • 00:18:11
    unjust human law that violated natural
  • 00:18:13
    law could actually be broken you would
  • 00:18:16
    be justified to do that because they're
  • 00:18:18
    at the bottom of the hierarchy so those
  • 00:18:20
    human laws have got to be in accordance
  • 00:18:23
    with the natural law so with those five
  • 00:18:25
    primary precepts and with the Divine Law
  • 00:18:27
    with those Ten Commandments them with
  • 00:18:29
    the teachings of Jesus so that hierarchy
  • 00:18:32
    is important because it shows the
  • 00:18:34
    importance of each tier of Law and how
  • 00:18:37
    we as human beings discover what we're
  • 00:18:40
    supposed to be doing during our Earthly
  • 00:18:43
    lifetimes so that then leads us to the
  • 00:18:46
    cinder's principle and the precepts
  • 00:18:48
    because these are as I said key Concepts
  • 00:18:51
    2 three and four we've got the cinder's
  • 00:18:54
    principle which is that innate instinct
  • 00:18:57
    to do good and avoid evil we then have
  • 00:18:59
    the five primary precepts which are
  • 00:19:01
    supposed to be universally followed and
  • 00:19:04
    then we have the secondary precepts
  • 00:19:05
    which are our specific particular rules
  • 00:19:08
    that are derived from those five primary
  • 00:19:12
    precepts so let's talk through them the
  • 00:19:14
    overriding principle of natural moral
  • 00:19:16
    law is the sinderesis principle to do
  • 00:19:19
    good and avoid evil doing good means we
  • 00:19:22
    will fulfill our Telos and therefore
  • 00:19:24
    achieve udonia which as we've
  • 00:19:26
    established aquinus believes is the
  • 00:19:29
    purpose of life following on from this
  • 00:19:31
    we then have the five primary precepts
  • 00:19:33
    which are supposed to help us do that
  • 00:19:36
    good and avoid evil and then from these
  • 00:19:39
    primary precepts humans use reason to
  • 00:19:41
    work out more specific rules for
  • 00:19:43
    everyday life and they are called the
  • 00:19:46
    secondary precepts and we'll look at how
  • 00:19:48
    they're derived from the five primary
  • 00:19:49
    precepts in a few moments time for now
  • 00:19:52
    though let's just talk in more detail
  • 00:19:54
    about this sinderesis principle and it
  • 00:19:56
    is so easy to remember it is literally
  • 00:19:58
    to do good and avoid evil so there we go
  • 00:20:01
    in you know one line in literally five
  • 00:20:04
    words there we have summed up what the
  • 00:20:06
    cinder's principle is aquinus believed
  • 00:20:09
    that all humans are by Nature disposed
  • 00:20:11
    to do good now this is a very
  • 00:20:13
    interesting opportunity for some
  • 00:20:15
    critical analysis because do all
  • 00:20:16
    Christian Scholars do all Christian
  • 00:20:18
    theologians agree with that I would say
  • 00:20:20
    absolutely they do not if we think about
  • 00:20:22
    Augustine's teachings on the fall for
  • 00:20:24
    example he would be shaking his head and
  • 00:20:27
    having a bit of a row with Ain because
  • 00:20:29
    the idea that we are disposed to do good
  • 00:20:31
    goes against that augustinian idea
  • 00:20:34
    doesn't it that actually we have this
  • 00:20:36
    within us tendency to sin we have this
  • 00:20:39
    original sin so that's an interesting
  • 00:20:41
    opportunity for some critical analysis
  • 00:20:44
    as to whether aquinus is actually right
  • 00:20:46
    there in what he's saying about human
  • 00:20:48
    nature in terms of this cinder's
  • 00:20:50
    principle he said that pursuing this
  • 00:20:52
    good is achieved through following the
  • 00:20:54
    five primary precepts and that pursuing
  • 00:20:57
    that good via those precepts leads to
  • 00:20:59
    udonia it leads to that flourishing and
  • 00:21:02
    of course reinus that is only fully
  • 00:21:04
    achieved we get 100% udonia in heaven
  • 00:21:08
    now as part of this it's really
  • 00:21:10
    important to note that aquinus makes a
  • 00:21:12
    distinction between doing real goods and
  • 00:21:16
    then pursuing apparent Goods because of
  • 00:21:18
    course that word good um you know has
  • 00:21:21
    got a bit of ambigu ambiguity I can't
  • 00:21:24
    even say the word ambiguity there we go
  • 00:21:26
    third time looking it's got some ambig
  • 00:21:29
    to it hasn't it because to say do good
  • 00:21:30
    and avoid evil we could ask well what
  • 00:21:33
    does that actually mean and he said
  • 00:21:34
    there is a difference between doing real
  • 00:21:37
    goods and then apparent Goods so a real
  • 00:21:40
    good is a good that leads to fulfilling
  • 00:21:42
    our god-given purpose and ultimately
  • 00:21:44
    achieving UD demonia we know them by
  • 00:21:47
    using right reason in accordance with
  • 00:21:48
    nature and no spoilers here to do good
  • 00:21:51
    means to follow the five primary
  • 00:21:53
    precepts so he said that a real good is
  • 00:21:56
    one that leads to us fulfilling our
  • 00:21:57
    god-given purpose and ultimately then of
  • 00:22:00
    course achieving that UD demonia whereas
  • 00:22:02
    in contrast an apparent good is the fact
  • 00:22:06
    that humans are flawed and do fall short
  • 00:22:08
    of God's intentions for them so we do
  • 00:22:10
    want to do good and avoid evil but we
  • 00:22:13
    struggle to do that and again you can
  • 00:22:15
    see there that actually Augustine would
  • 00:22:16
    quite like this wouldn't he because he'd
  • 00:22:18
    say okay aquinus you are now
  • 00:22:20
    acknowledging that even though we do
  • 00:22:21
    want to do good we struggle to do that
  • 00:22:24
    because of our fallen nature and so as
  • 00:22:26
    part of this humans can confuse what
  • 00:22:29
    seems to be good with what is actually
  • 00:22:32
    good and this is so interesting isn't it
  • 00:22:33
    things that people think are good and
  • 00:22:36
    that are going to bring them pleasure
  • 00:22:37
    for example but actually are not so the
  • 00:22:40
    example that comes to my mind all the
  • 00:22:42
    time and I'm not saying you can't eat
  • 00:22:43
    sweets of course I'm not but people
  • 00:22:46
    might say you know oh a little child
  • 00:22:47
    goes into a shop you say choose what you
  • 00:22:49
    want and they go for the sweets because
  • 00:22:51
    they think that they're going to be good
  • 00:22:52
    because they like the taste of them but
  • 00:22:55
    actually the parent the responsible
  • 00:22:57
    adult knows they can't actually buy out
  • 00:23:00
    the entire range of haros in stock
  • 00:23:02
    because it's not actually going to be
  • 00:23:04
    good for them so the child is confused
  • 00:23:07
    we could say is ignorant that's probably
  • 00:23:09
    a better word of what's actually good
  • 00:23:11
    for them because really they should be
  • 00:23:13
    running to the fruit aisle shouldn't
  • 00:23:14
    they and be getting all the apples
  • 00:23:15
    bananas and grapes but they're not
  • 00:23:18
    because it's an apparent good because
  • 00:23:19
    they see the colors they like the taste
  • 00:23:22
    so they want to buy all of the Haribo
  • 00:23:24
    starets um so they've confused what
  • 00:23:26
    seems to be good with what is actually
  • 00:23:28
    good so those sweets might be enjoyable
  • 00:23:31
    but they're not going to lead to UD
  • 00:23:32
    demonia necessarily although I suppose
  • 00:23:34
    if you think your purpose in life is to
  • 00:23:36
    you know eat loads of haros who am I to
  • 00:23:38
    judge um but the example I'm trying to
  • 00:23:40
    use here or the point I'm trying to make
  • 00:23:42
    here I should say is that human beings
  • 00:23:46
    can often confuse what they think is
  • 00:23:49
    good for them with what is actually good
  • 00:23:51
    for them and so aquinus is acknowledging
  • 00:23:53
    that sometimes human beings do pursue
  • 00:23:56
    apparent Goods rather than real Goods
  • 00:23:58
    which is why he's really clear about his
  • 00:24:00
    five primary precepts so there can be no
  • 00:24:02
    ambiguity I said it right that time
  • 00:24:04
    there can be no doubt about what
  • 00:24:06
    goodness actually is but you know this
  • 00:24:08
    provides us with some real Clarity
  • 00:24:10
    doesn't it on what good is when he says
  • 00:24:13
    to do good he means to do things that
  • 00:24:15
    will help fulfill your god-given purpose
  • 00:24:18
    and then ultimately enable you to
  • 00:24:20
    achieve udonia so how do we do that what
  • 00:24:23
    do we need to do well he very kindly
  • 00:24:26
    gives us these five primary proof preps
  • 00:24:28
    of natural law and they are Universal
  • 00:24:31
    which means he said they should be
  • 00:24:33
    followed by all people and he believed
  • 00:24:35
    that they lead to human flourishing now
  • 00:24:37
    let's just think ao2 wise here you need
  • 00:24:39
    to start questioning is he right that
  • 00:24:42
    these are the five things you need to do
  • 00:24:44
    in order to flourish as a human being
  • 00:24:46
    has he missed something out has he
  • 00:24:48
    included something that you actually
  • 00:24:49
    don't think is necessary for flourishing
  • 00:24:52
    and I would also say to you think about
  • 00:24:54
    the fact that they are Universal because
  • 00:24:56
    we could say that in a world of over
  • 00:24:58
    billion people there might even be 8
  • 00:25:00
    billion people now actually depends when
  • 00:25:01
    you're watching this
  • 00:25:03
    video um we've got to ask is that right
  • 00:25:06
    that all 8 billion people will achieve
  • 00:25:09
    human flourishing in the same way is it
  • 00:25:11
    correct that this blueprint needs to be
  • 00:25:13
    followed by all people we could argue
  • 00:25:15
    couldn't we that actually flourishing is
  • 00:25:17
    unique to different people one person
  • 00:25:19
    needs to do certain things in order to
  • 00:25:21
    be happy and flourish and another person
  • 00:25:23
    needs to follow a different pathway so
  • 00:25:25
    that's quite interesting and that's
  • 00:25:27
    quite um s s to religious pluralism I
  • 00:25:29
    suppose the idea there are different
  • 00:25:31
    paths aren't there to the same
  • 00:25:32
    destination is he right to say that they
  • 00:25:35
    are Universal and they need to be
  • 00:25:37
    followed by all people at all times you
  • 00:25:39
    know could it be for example that they
  • 00:25:41
    were great when aquinus came up with
  • 00:25:43
    them in the 13th century but now in the
  • 00:25:46
    21st century they're actually quite
  • 00:25:48
    outdated so let me know what you think
  • 00:25:50
    in the comments so let's actually talk
  • 00:25:51
    through them the first one is
  • 00:25:53
    Preservation of life it is natural and
  • 00:25:56
    reasonable and they are our key words
  • 00:25:57
    when we're talking about natural moral
  • 00:25:59
    law it's about human nature and it's
  • 00:26:01
    about using reason for every person to
  • 00:26:04
    be concerned with preserving their own
  • 00:26:06
    being and preserving human life and of
  • 00:26:08
    course secondary precepts that leads to
  • 00:26:10
    are things like do not kill reproduction
  • 00:26:13
    then it is natural and reasonable for
  • 00:26:15
    human life to continue this is of course
  • 00:26:18
    consistent with the evolutionary purpose
  • 00:26:20
    of life which is to survive and
  • 00:26:22
    reproduce so aquinus the head of the
  • 00:26:24
    game here beating um the theory of
  • 00:26:27
    evolution beating Darwin here with this
  • 00:26:30
    recognition that to reproduce is natural
  • 00:26:32
    to us and it is part of our human nature
  • 00:26:35
    although of course again with some
  • 00:26:36
    critical analysis here we've got to ask
  • 00:26:39
    is that still relevant today when we've
  • 00:26:40
    got overpopulation in the world does
  • 00:26:42
    absolutely everybody need to reproduce
  • 00:26:45
    or not um important point that this
  • 00:26:48
    precept has led to the Catholic Church
  • 00:26:50
    condemning contraception it's led to
  • 00:26:52
    them saying that the purpose of sex is
  • 00:26:54
    reproduction so contraception is wrong
  • 00:26:56
    this of course also leads to uh Catholic
  • 00:26:59
    teachings against homosexuality because
  • 00:27:02
    they say that it shows the purpose the
  • 00:27:04
    natural purpose of sex is to reproduce
  • 00:27:08
    our next one our third one is the
  • 00:27:09
    education of children humans are
  • 00:27:11
    intellectual beings remember that at the
  • 00:27:13
    top of Aristotle's hierarchy of souls
  • 00:27:15
    because they've got that rational soul
  • 00:27:17
    and it is natural for us to learn so
  • 00:27:19
    again that reflects that god-given
  • 00:27:21
    ability to reason the UN Convention of
  • 00:27:24
    human rights for example now includes
  • 00:27:26
    the right to an education so again more
  • 00:27:28
    contemporary support for aquin's ideas
  • 00:27:32
    the fourth one is to live in an ordered
  • 00:27:34
    Society so this reflects the fact humans
  • 00:27:37
    are social beings and that living in an
  • 00:27:39
    ordered
  • 00:27:40
    society means that we can as should have
  • 00:27:43
    drawn a slash there we are able to
  • 00:27:46
    fulfill our god- give tell us our
  • 00:27:48
    purpose so we need to live in an ordered
  • 00:27:49
    Society where there is structure where
  • 00:27:52
    there is respect you know where there is
  • 00:27:55
    cooperation because otherwise we
  • 00:27:57
    wouldn't be able to then actually
  • 00:27:58
    achieve UD demonia and finally the fifth
  • 00:28:01
    one and this is an interesting one I
  • 00:28:03
    think this really gets the debate
  • 00:28:04
    started actually is worshiping God do we
  • 00:28:08
    need to worship God in order to flourish
  • 00:28:10
    as human beings um obviously our
  • 00:28:12
    atheists such as Richard dokins would
  • 00:28:15
    disagree with aquinus here but for
  • 00:28:17
    aquinus as a man of Faith as a committed
  • 00:28:19
    Christian he believed that worshiping
  • 00:28:21
    God is one of those five primary
  • 00:28:23
    precepts interesting to think is that in
  • 00:28:25
    our nature he's saying here that it is
  • 00:28:27
    in our nature our god-given nature to
  • 00:28:30
    worship God and this means to recognize
  • 00:28:32
    God as the creator of the universe and
  • 00:28:35
    everything within it so it means to live
  • 00:28:36
    in a way that is in accordance with
  • 00:28:39
    God's will so it's not just when you're
  • 00:28:40
    praying but it's in everything that
  • 00:28:42
    you're doing as well that you're
  • 00:28:43
    worshiping God you resp in his creation
  • 00:28:46
    you're giving glory to God not only
  • 00:28:48
    through the words that you say when you
  • 00:28:49
    pray but in the things that you do every
  • 00:28:52
    day so as I say you know ao2 Wise is
  • 00:28:54
    ainus right about these five primary
  • 00:28:57
    precepts are they all still relevant um
  • 00:29:00
    or could one or two of them be outdated
  • 00:29:03
    for example so start to think about that
  • 00:29:05
    do you think that any don't need to be
  • 00:29:07
    there is there anything you'd actually
  • 00:29:08
    add on has he missed something out that
  • 00:29:10
    shows his um ethical theory is now
  • 00:29:13
    outdated because he's overlooked
  • 00:29:15
    something that's actually very important
  • 00:29:17
    for moral decision making today and then
  • 00:29:20
    what I would also ask you is which one
  • 00:29:21
    do you think is the most important so if
  • 00:29:24
    you had to actually rank them now in
  • 00:29:26
    terms of the most important at the top
  • 00:29:28
    and least important at the bottom what
  • 00:29:30
    judgment would you make here but yeah
  • 00:29:32
    they are the five primary precepts of
  • 00:29:35
    aquinas's natural moral law and they are
  • 00:29:38
    all about um obviously maximizing
  • 00:29:40
    flourishing for individuals but also for
  • 00:29:43
    society and he said that they need to be
  • 00:29:45
    followed universally let's have a look
  • 00:29:48
    then at the secondary precepts that
  • 00:29:50
    those primary precepts then lead to
  • 00:29:53
    because the secondary precepts remember
  • 00:29:55
    are derived from those primary precepts
  • 00:29:58
    they are those specific rules and laws
  • 00:30:00
    about particular issues and they are
  • 00:30:03
    derived from the primary precepts they
  • 00:30:06
    vary between cultures and they allow for
  • 00:30:08
    personal interpretations because this is
  • 00:30:10
    where you are using your god-given
  • 00:30:12
    ability to reason to work out those
  • 00:30:15
    specific rules so they are derived from
  • 00:30:17
    the primary precepts and this is you
  • 00:30:19
    then putting those primary precepts into
  • 00:30:21
    practical action and application and as
  • 00:30:24
    I've just said actually they illustrate
  • 00:30:26
    the practical application of the primary
  • 00:30:28
    precepts so just a couple of examples
  • 00:30:31
    for you here that you can use in your
  • 00:30:32
    essay for the preservation of Life the
  • 00:30:35
    secondary precepts are do not kill which
  • 00:30:37
    is also of course a Divine Law because
  • 00:30:39
    it is one of the Ten Commandments it
  • 00:30:41
    leads to the Catholic Church teaching
  • 00:30:43
    that abortion and euthanasia is sinful
  • 00:30:46
    and a third one is that someone could
  • 00:30:48
    become a doctor they could use reason
  • 00:30:50
    and say right one of the primary
  • 00:30:51
    precepts is the preservation of life
  • 00:30:53
    that means I feel the purpose of my life
  • 00:30:55
    is to become a doctor so I'm actually
  • 00:30:57
    going to go on and take on that job
  • 00:31:00
    let's look at reproduction then it leads
  • 00:31:02
    to the Catholic view that homosexuality
  • 00:31:04
    is sinful because it violates the
  • 00:31:06
    primary precept of reproduction it leads
  • 00:31:09
    to their teaching that contraception is
  • 00:31:10
    sinful because as the pope wrote in
  • 00:31:12
    human iite in 1968 every sex act must
  • 00:31:16
    remain open to the transmission of life
  • 00:31:19
    and thirdly that could then lead to
  • 00:31:20
    someone becoming a parent so again they
  • 00:31:22
    use reason they say right well a primary
  • 00:31:24
    precept is reproduction that means I
  • 00:31:27
    need to reproduce that means I'm going
  • 00:31:29
    to become a parent and take that
  • 00:31:31
    seriously and then thirdly ordering of
  • 00:31:33
    society that leads to rules and teaching
  • 00:31:36
    such as that stealing is sinful and that
  • 00:31:38
    lying is sinful and it could also in
  • 00:31:40
    terms of the secondary precepts lead to
  • 00:31:43
    someone becoming a police officer or
  • 00:31:45
    voting in Democratic elections so yeah
  • 00:31:48
    the secondary precepts are all about
  • 00:31:50
    putting those primary precepts into
  • 00:31:52
    action on an everyday level if that
  • 00:31:55
    makes sense and as I say this means that
  • 00:31:57
    they do vary between cultures because
  • 00:31:59
    there is room for personal
  • 00:32:01
    interpretation it's about you as an
  • 00:32:03
    individual making those judgments and
  • 00:32:06
    decisions so you are using reason to
  • 00:32:08
    interpret and apply those primary
  • 00:32:11
    precepts so I suppose that shows doesn't
  • 00:32:13
    it if we think ao2 wise here that whilst
  • 00:32:15
    there is a universal element to Natural
  • 00:32:18
    moral law there is also then some
  • 00:32:20
    flexibility within it as well so does it
  • 00:32:23
    have the best of both worlds that there
  • 00:32:25
    are some clear precepts but then they
  • 00:32:27
    can be flexibly applied just a little
  • 00:32:30
    ao2 thought for you there we're going to
  • 00:32:32
    have a look now at a more contemporary
  • 00:32:34
    version of natural moral law because
  • 00:32:37
    this was all developed wasn't it by
  • 00:32:39
    aquinus in the 13th century although as
  • 00:32:41
    we've said natural moral law predates
  • 00:32:43
    even that and goes back 2,000 years but
  • 00:32:46
    then if we have a look at a much more
  • 00:32:48
    recent development this is John Fin's
  • 00:32:51
    idea and he had this 20th century
  • 00:32:54
    development of natural moral law and he
  • 00:32:56
    agreed that ethics should be about
  • 00:32:58
    facilitating human flourishing so he
  • 00:33:00
    agreed with Aristotle and he agreed with
  • 00:33:02
    aquinus and he said that in order for us
  • 00:33:05
    to flourish as individuals to achieve
  • 00:33:07
    our full potential we need to live in a
  • 00:33:10
    civilized society that upholds what he
  • 00:33:12
    called basic Goods so instead of having
  • 00:33:15
    five primary precepts he comes up with
  • 00:33:18
    seven basic Goods so you know when I was
  • 00:33:20
    asking you before do you think aquinus
  • 00:33:23
    has covered everything or have he missed
  • 00:33:25
    something out well maybe you might think
  • 00:33:27
    that fin has covered more that fin has
  • 00:33:31
    got it right in terms of the things we
  • 00:33:32
    need to do in order to flourish so he
  • 00:33:35
    comes up with as I say his seven basic
  • 00:33:37
    goods for flourishing that are Universal
  • 00:33:40
    and apply to all people so I want you to
  • 00:33:41
    think do you think he has got a better
  • 00:33:45
    list here than aquinus is five primary
  • 00:33:48
    precepts so if we compare aquinus is
  • 00:33:50
    five precepts with finy basic Goods do
  • 00:33:53
    you think that this is a better
  • 00:33:55
    development of natural moral law who is
  • 00:33:57
    more SU uccessful let's talk through
  • 00:33:59
    them shall we his first one is life and
  • 00:34:02
    within that he includes health and
  • 00:34:04
    procreation his second one is knowledge
  • 00:34:06
    so again the importance of Reason his
  • 00:34:09
    third one that aquanus didn't cover is
  • 00:34:11
    play we need that ability for recreation
  • 00:34:14
    and to let off a bit of steam his fourth
  • 00:34:16
    one is aesthetic experience his fifth is
  • 00:34:20
    sociability including friendships so the
  • 00:34:22
    importance of socializing again
  • 00:34:24
    reflecting that humans are social beings
  • 00:34:27
    number six is practical reason we need
  • 00:34:29
    that ability to use our uh reasoning in
  • 00:34:32
    order to work things out to make
  • 00:34:34
    judgments to reflect and then seven
  • 00:34:38
    religionspiritual
  • 00:34:39
    so this is interesting because could
  • 00:34:42
    this one be more appealing to an atheist
  • 00:34:44
    because he's not said worship of God he
  • 00:34:46
    said we need some form of religional
  • 00:34:48
    spirituality so even if that's not
  • 00:34:50
    worshiping God in that traditional
  • 00:34:52
    Christian sense you need some kind of
  • 00:34:54
    spiritual life and people find that
  • 00:34:57
    today don't they through things like
  • 00:34:58
    mindfulness through
  • 00:35:00
    yoga through meditation through law of
  • 00:35:03
    attraction I don't know so is this list
  • 00:35:06
    do you think a better list has he
  • 00:35:09
    improved on aquinus is natural moral
  • 00:35:11
    here law excuse me here so as I've put
  • 00:35:14
    at the bottom in terms of our critical
  • 00:35:16
    analysis do you think fin is right about
  • 00:35:19
    these basic goods are these seven Goods
  • 00:35:22
    better than aquinus is five precepts so
  • 00:35:24
    you could use this obviously in an essay
  • 00:35:26
    to talk about it being a contemporary
  • 00:35:28
    version you could say it's the better
  • 00:35:29
    version it shows that natural moral law
  • 00:35:32
    is actually still relevant you could of
  • 00:35:34
    course use it to critique aquinus as
  • 00:35:36
    well and say why aquinus is wrong
  • 00:35:38
    because finis has got a more
  • 00:35:39
    comprehensive and complete list of the
  • 00:35:42
    things we need to do in order to
  • 00:35:44
    flourish but I think a great um point to
  • 00:35:46
    focus on here is he doesn't require
  • 00:35:48
    worshiping of God so this could be a
  • 00:35:51
    more appealing version of natural moral
  • 00:35:53
    law in the 21st century because it
  • 00:35:55
    doesn't depend on that belief in God
  • 00:35:58
    let's have a look now at the doctrine of
  • 00:36:00
    double effect which is developed by
  • 00:36:03
    aquinus and it is relevant in situations
  • 00:36:06
    where a single action has two effects
  • 00:36:08
    remember he said nothing hinders one
  • 00:36:11
    action from having two effects only one
  • 00:36:14
    of them that was intended so the
  • 00:36:16
    doctrine of double effect is really
  • 00:36:18
    important as an important part of his
  • 00:36:20
    ethics because it's about focusing on
  • 00:36:23
    what we are held responsible for he says
  • 00:36:27
    that are responsible for what we
  • 00:36:30
    intended excuse me to do so when it
  • 00:36:32
    comes to an action that has two effects
  • 00:36:35
    we are responsible for the one that we
  • 00:36:38
    intended to do so this is important
  • 00:36:41
    aquinus says that we need to make a
  • 00:36:44
    distinction between intention and
  • 00:36:46
    foresight so when you do something you
  • 00:36:49
    have an intention which is what you
  • 00:36:51
    intend to do what you want to do but
  • 00:36:53
    alongside that you can have foresight of
  • 00:36:56
    what will also happen as a side effect
  • 00:36:59
    of Your Action and he says it is the
  • 00:37:03
    effect that you intended that matters so
  • 00:37:06
    as I say we've got your intention and
  • 00:37:08
    then we've got an unintended side effect
  • 00:37:11
    and he said we have to make a
  • 00:37:12
    distinction between the two and we have
  • 00:37:14
    to hold people responsible for the thing
  • 00:37:17
    they intended to do so even if they have
  • 00:37:19
    foresight of a side effect that will
  • 00:37:21
    happen as well they are only to be held
  • 00:37:24
    responsible for what they intended to do
  • 00:37:27
    and the easiest way to think about this
  • 00:37:29
    is with this example here the killing of
  • 00:37:31
    an attacker in self-defense so aquinus
  • 00:37:34
    used this example himself actually which
  • 00:37:36
    is why it is great he said your
  • 00:37:38
    intention is to defend yourself and
  • 00:37:41
    preserve your life so that obviously
  • 00:37:43
    upholds the primary precept for the
  • 00:37:45
    preservation of life he said that an
  • 00:37:48
    unintended side effect of this is that
  • 00:37:50
    the attacker is killed so if you strike
  • 00:37:53
    out at them in self-defense your
  • 00:37:55
    intention there is not to kill that is
  • 00:37:58
    the unintended side effect your
  • 00:38:00
    intention in doing that is not I want to
  • 00:38:02
    kill them your intention in doing that
  • 00:38:05
    is I want to defend myself so he says if
  • 00:38:07
    you strike out to defend yourself from
  • 00:38:10
    an attacker your intention is that you
  • 00:38:14
    want to preserve your life which is a
  • 00:38:16
    good thing it upholds the primary
  • 00:38:18
    precept of preservation of life he said
  • 00:38:20
    you can then have an unintended side
  • 00:38:23
    effect and you can have foresight of
  • 00:38:25
    that because you can know that in
  • 00:38:27
    defending yourself as an unintended side
  • 00:38:30
    effect that person may well die but he
  • 00:38:32
    says you are not morally responsible for
  • 00:38:34
    that because you have the intention to
  • 00:38:37
    defend yourself and preserve your life
  • 00:38:39
    which is morally good so if as an
  • 00:38:42
    unintended side effect they do then lose
  • 00:38:44
    their life you don't need to worry your
  • 00:38:47
    action is actually morally Justified
  • 00:38:49
    because your intention was to defend
  • 00:38:52
    yourself rather than to kill the
  • 00:38:53
    attacker obviously if you struck out
  • 00:38:55
    with the intention of I'm going to kill
  • 00:38:57
    you how dare you attack me that would
  • 00:38:59
    change the game but for aquinus he says
  • 00:39:02
    intention is everything so it's the
  • 00:39:05
    effect that you intended that matters
  • 00:39:07
    and you should be held to account for
  • 00:39:09
    there are other important examples you
  • 00:39:10
    can use such as treating you surine
  • 00:39:12
    cancer um and tactical bombing as well
  • 00:39:15
    so this does apply to many different
  • 00:39:18
    ethical areas um and you've got to think
  • 00:39:20
    about when it can be invoked and it is
  • 00:39:23
    relevant as I've said in situations
  • 00:39:25
    where a single action has two effects to
  • 00:39:29
    it so in terms of your ao2 here you've
  • 00:39:31
    got to think well does the doctrine work
  • 00:39:33
    is ainus right to say that it's only
  • 00:39:36
    your intentions you should be held
  • 00:39:37
    morally responsible for or actually
  • 00:39:39
    should you be held responsible for all
  • 00:39:42
    of the effects of your actions so even
  • 00:39:44
    if it wasn't your intention to kill the
  • 00:39:46
    attacker if they do die as a result of
  • 00:39:48
    Your Action should you not be held
  • 00:39:50
    morally responsible for that that's the
  • 00:39:52
    question you've got to ask so is aquinus
  • 00:39:54
    right that we should judge actions by
  • 00:39:56
    their intention or are the outcomes more
  • 00:39:59
    important so something to think about
  • 00:40:01
    there and obviously something to apply
  • 00:40:03
    there in terms of his doctrine of double
  • 00:40:06
    Effect one more development then for us
  • 00:40:08
    today on natural moral law is
  • 00:40:10
    proportionalism and this is a
  • 00:40:12
    contemporary development of natural
  • 00:40:14
    moral law by Scholars such as Bernard ho
  • 00:40:17
    and he sums it up like this he said it
  • 00:40:20
    is never right to go against a principle
  • 00:40:23
    unless there is a proportionate reason
  • 00:40:25
    that would justify it so to put this
  • 00:40:27
    another way you should always follow the
  • 00:40:29
    moral laws unless there is a
  • 00:40:31
    proportionate reason not to and that
  • 00:40:33
    proportionate reason is based on the
  • 00:40:35
    context or situation so this is
  • 00:40:38
    important because natural Ral law
  • 00:40:40
    obviously has those five fixed primary
  • 00:40:42
    precepts and you could say it is quite a
  • 00:40:44
    demanding ethical Theory saying that we
  • 00:40:47
    have to follow and uphold these precepts
  • 00:40:49
    in our lives and so proportionalism is
  • 00:40:52
    about recognizing that there may
  • 00:40:54
    sometimes be
  • 00:40:56
    significantly exceptional shall we say
  • 00:40:59
    circumstances when you can actually push
  • 00:41:02
    the rules aside in order to do the right
  • 00:41:04
    thing so as bardian um gr wrote the
  • 00:41:07
    situation must be significantly unusual
  • 00:41:11
    and of significant magnitude sorry of
  • 00:41:14
    sufficient magnitude to provide a reason
  • 00:41:17
    which would overturn what would
  • 00:41:19
    otherwise be a firm rule so the point
  • 00:41:21
    here is you should always follow the
  • 00:41:23
    rules you should always follow the
  • 00:41:24
    principles unless you have a
  • 00:41:26
    proportionate reason not to so it's
  • 00:41:28
    basically saying that nine times out of
  • 00:41:30
    10 natural law should be followed but
  • 00:41:33
    there are exceptional circumstances
  • 00:41:35
    there are proportional reasons to
  • 00:41:39
    actually push that aside as an exception
  • 00:41:41
    so remember you should always follow the
  • 00:41:44
    moral laws unless there is a
  • 00:41:46
    proportionate reason not to and I can
  • 00:41:48
    see I've actually not put that on the
  • 00:41:49
    PowerPoint which is terrible of me I
  • 00:41:51
    meant to put here you should always
  • 00:41:54
    follow I'm going to try and write the
  • 00:41:55
    word follow but it's just not going to
  • 00:41:56
    write is it there we go I'm just going
  • 00:41:58
    to circle it I'm meant to put there you
  • 00:42:00
    should always follow the moral laws
  • 00:42:02
    unless there is a proportionate reason
  • 00:42:03
    not to and that is the idea that in
  • 00:42:06
    exceptional circumstances you can
  • 00:42:08
    actually break a rule you can go against
  • 00:42:10
    a precept as um you know you try to do
  • 00:42:13
    the greater good and this is trying to
  • 00:42:15
    add a little bit more flexibility into
  • 00:42:18
    natural moral law because one of the
  • 00:42:20
    criticisms is that it's too rigid it's
  • 00:42:22
    too demanding um and this is saying well
  • 00:42:25
    hang on it is important important that
  • 00:42:27
    it has those strict um principles and
  • 00:42:30
    precepts to follow but there is an
  • 00:42:33
    exception that can sometimes be made and
  • 00:42:35
    that's when there is a proportionate
  • 00:42:37
    reason to actually not follow the rule
  • 00:42:40
    in terms of our ao2 for this then it has
  • 00:42:43
    been criticized by many Catholic
  • 00:42:45
    theologians because of course it could
  • 00:42:46
    potentially justify anything what do we
  • 00:42:48
    mean when we say a proportionate reason
  • 00:42:50
    people could say anything is a
  • 00:42:52
    proportionate reason and you could say
  • 00:42:54
    that becomes the slippery slope to
  • 00:42:56
    anything being justified by anyone
  • 00:42:58
    Catholic theologians also criticize this
  • 00:43:01
    because they say there is some things
  • 00:43:02
    that are intrinsically evil which means
  • 00:43:04
    that they are bad within themselves so
  • 00:43:07
    it's not about the situation you're in
  • 00:43:09
    or the context you're in there are
  • 00:43:10
    certain things that are always wrong and
  • 00:43:13
    so there is never a proportionate reason
  • 00:43:15
    for example rape we could use as an
  • 00:43:17
    example there the Catholic Church says a
  • 00:43:19
    lot of things are intrinsically evil
  • 00:43:21
    though things like contraception you
  • 00:43:23
    know so you could say if we actually
  • 00:43:24
    have a concrete example of this
  • 00:43:26
    something like contraception you could
  • 00:43:28
    say well is there a proportionate reason
  • 00:43:30
    to use it because of course it would go
  • 00:43:32
    against the primary precept for
  • 00:43:34
    reproduction and you could say Well when
  • 00:43:36
    there is a spread of things like HIV and
  • 00:43:38
    AIDS and other SDI then yeah absolutely
  • 00:43:41
    that's the proportionate reason to allow
  • 00:43:43
    contraception but the Catholic Church
  • 00:43:45
    would say well no because contraception
  • 00:43:48
    is intrinsically evil that it should
  • 00:43:50
    never ever be used um and so that's a
  • 00:43:53
    great example you can use in your essay
  • 00:43:55
    of the Catholic Church standing firm and
  • 00:43:58
    saying that you can't start making
  • 00:44:00
    exceptions when it comes to morality you
  • 00:44:03
    have to stand firm and be really strict
  • 00:44:06
    in holding to those set rules and
  • 00:44:09
    principles so now we've had a look at
  • 00:44:12
    all our ao1 and those more contemporary
  • 00:44:14
    developments let's have a look at our
  • 00:44:15
    ao2 shall we we're going to look at the
  • 00:44:18
    strengths of natural moral law and then
  • 00:44:20
    the weaknesses of natural moral law you
  • 00:44:22
    can then make a judgment as to whether
  • 00:44:24
    you think it is a good approach to uh
  • 00:44:26
    moral decision
  • 00:44:27
    and ethics we're going to start with our
  • 00:44:29
    strengths and I've got three strengths
  • 00:44:31
    to talk you through let's start with
  • 00:44:33
    John Waters who we spoke about at the
  • 00:44:35
    beginning he said natural moral law is
  • 00:44:37
    good because it provides a foundational
  • 00:44:40
    Universal and absolute approach to
  • 00:44:42
    ethics so for example the primary
  • 00:44:44
    precepts provide Clarity and consistency
  • 00:44:47
    for moral decision making natural moral
  • 00:44:49
    law applies across time and culture as
  • 00:44:52
    ciso said there is one law Eternal
  • 00:44:55
    binding upon all people at all times he
  • 00:44:57
    said there shouldn't be one law in
  • 00:44:58
    Athens and one law in Rome should be one
  • 00:45:00
    law Eternal for all people to follow you
  • 00:45:02
    could say that idea of a universal moral
  • 00:45:05
    law is appealing to many people it means
  • 00:45:07
    you don't get confused and it means
  • 00:45:09
    you've got consistency in the moral
  • 00:45:11
    judgments that people are making so you
  • 00:45:13
    know if you go to another country you
  • 00:45:15
    are very clued up on how you should be
  • 00:45:17
    behaving and you're not going to end up
  • 00:45:19
    in court for doing something that they
  • 00:45:21
    don't allow in that country because
  • 00:45:23
    everybody shares the same standards um
  • 00:45:26
    for Mor and they are the five primary
  • 00:45:28
    precepts so it makes you know life
  • 00:45:30
    easier you could say because you have
  • 00:45:33
    consistency you have Clarity we could
  • 00:45:36
    then say it has consistency with
  • 00:45:39
    flexibility which we mentioned before
  • 00:45:41
    about having those fixed primary
  • 00:45:43
    precepts but then those subjective
  • 00:45:45
    secondary precepts so we could say it
  • 00:45:47
    has the best of both worlds so whilst
  • 00:45:50
    the primary precepts can be universally
  • 00:45:52
    followed and they should be shouldn't
  • 00:45:54
    they according to aquinus
  • 00:45:57
    there is still flexibility in the form
  • 00:46:00
    of those secondary precepts they vary
  • 00:46:02
    within different societies and they
  • 00:46:04
    allow for personal interpretations then
  • 00:46:06
    we can say that is a good thing because
  • 00:46:08
    it means natural moral law remains
  • 00:46:10
    relevant and applicable in the modern
  • 00:46:12
    world today in different societies and
  • 00:46:14
    different cultures and remember you work
  • 00:46:17
    out those secondary precepts based on
  • 00:46:19
    the primary precepts using reason and we
  • 00:46:22
    can say that that is a good thing
  • 00:46:24
    because the emphasis on reason is a
  • 00:46:26
    Empower him natural moral law treats
  • 00:46:29
    humans as rational agents who can think
  • 00:46:31
    for themselves that is a good thing
  • 00:46:34
    because it empowers the individual as a
  • 00:46:36
    moral decision maker you could also say
  • 00:46:38
    it values human beings and Link that to
  • 00:46:40
    Aristotle's hierarchy of Souls and the
  • 00:46:42
    rational Soul at the top this is also of
  • 00:46:44
    course seen in aquinus doctrine of
  • 00:46:46
    double effect which takes the agent's
  • 00:46:48
    intentions into account so you could say
  • 00:46:51
    we're not meant to be moral robots it
  • 00:46:52
    does actually take into account what you
  • 00:46:55
    were thinking what you were intending
  • 00:46:57
    him however if we do a bit of critical
  • 00:46:59
    analysis here as you must do for an a
  • 00:47:01
    star we've got to ask are human beings
  • 00:47:03
    actually capable of reasoning clearly so
  • 00:47:06
    again those questions about is he too
  • 00:47:08
    optimistic about human nature could the
  • 00:47:10
    doctrine of double effect actually be
  • 00:47:13
    exploited so if you're giving people the
  • 00:47:15
    ability to think for themselves and
  • 00:47:17
    reason for themselves we can say well
  • 00:47:19
    that's a good thing because it gives the
  • 00:47:21
    agent moral autonomy but is there then
  • 00:47:23
    the risk of exploitation there and could
  • 00:47:25
    there be problems that arise from that
  • 00:47:27
    as well talking of problems then let's
  • 00:47:30
    look at our weaknesses and the number
  • 00:47:32
    one that I would be using is that it
  • 00:47:34
    depends on belief in God which means
  • 00:47:36
    that in 21st century Society it might be
  • 00:47:39
    seen as outdated as an ethical Theory
  • 00:47:43
    because um it assumes that there is a
  • 00:47:45
    God who has created the world he's not
  • 00:47:47
    only created the world he's created
  • 00:47:49
    morality as well so it's the idea and
  • 00:47:52
    again link it to matter ethics that all
  • 00:47:54
    morality comes from God and then if we
  • 00:47:56
    go go even further so obviously that's
  • 00:47:59
    problematic for atheists in itself but
  • 00:48:01
    if we go even further and say well one
  • 00:48:03
    of the five primary precepts which we're
  • 00:48:05
    told you have to follow in order to
  • 00:48:06
    flourish is worshiping God and of course
  • 00:48:09
    an atheist isn't going to do that and
  • 00:48:11
    they're not going to believe they need
  • 00:48:12
    to do that in order to flourish so you
  • 00:48:15
    could argue that you don't need to
  • 00:48:16
    worship God in order to flourish or
  • 00:48:18
    achieve UD demonia and you can certainly
  • 00:48:20
    say that you know um for atheists today
  • 00:48:23
    this means it's not going to be an
  • 00:48:25
    appealing Theory it's not an appealing
  • 00:48:28
    approach to ethics because they aren't
  • 00:48:30
    going to worship God and they aren't
  • 00:48:31
    going to believe that will lead to them
  • 00:48:33
    flourishing uh we could also say it's
  • 00:48:36
    outdated on issues such as sex ethics so
  • 00:48:39
    the primary precept of reproduction for
  • 00:48:41
    example has led to the Catholic Church
  • 00:48:44
    Banning contraception and condemning
  • 00:48:46
    homosexual relationships you could say
  • 00:48:48
    this shows that they are out of touch
  • 00:48:50
    and that natural moral law is outdated
  • 00:48:52
    um in the 21st century because in the
  • 00:48:54
    world today contraception is widely used
  • 00:48:57
    and homosexual relationships have been
  • 00:49:00
    legalized you could say this shows that
  • 00:49:02
    aquinas's natural moral law is outdated
  • 00:49:05
    and unhelpful today so as I was asking
  • 00:49:07
    you before of those five primary
  • 00:49:10
    precepts are they all still relevant
  • 00:49:12
    should they all still be followed or not
  • 00:49:14
    and you could say well reproduction for
  • 00:49:15
    example is outdated we've got 8 billion
  • 00:49:19
    people in the world now overpopulation
  • 00:49:21
    is a problem is it true that every
  • 00:49:24
    single person needs to reproduce in
  • 00:49:26
    order to to flourish and you know this
  • 00:49:28
    leads then to the fact that it is too
  • 00:49:30
    absolutist the catechism of the Catholic
  • 00:49:33
    Church says that natural law is
  • 00:49:35
    universal in its precepts you could say
  • 00:49:37
    that actually whilst that's a good thing
  • 00:49:40
    and we said it was a strength because it
  • 00:49:41
    provides that Universal foundational and
  • 00:49:44
    absolute approach to ethics thank you
  • 00:49:46
    John Waters for that we could say the
  • 00:49:48
    problem with that is that it's then
  • 00:49:50
    assuming everyone needs to do exactly
  • 00:49:52
    the same things in order to flourish
  • 00:49:54
    different people may have different
  • 00:49:56
    ideas about how to flourish and Achieve
  • 00:49:58
    eudemonia natural moral law assumes we
  • 00:50:00
    should all follow the same path and we
  • 00:50:02
    could say look Jesus didn't reproduced
  • 00:50:05
    Jesus didn't have kids St Paul didn't
  • 00:50:07
    have kids different people flourish in
  • 00:50:10
    different ways we're not saying that
  • 00:50:11
    Jesus hasn't gone to heaven obviously
  • 00:50:13
    he's back in heaven even though he
  • 00:50:15
    didn't reproduce whilst he was on Earth
  • 00:50:17
    of course because he was the son of God
  • 00:50:19
    so he is going to go back to heaven but
  • 00:50:21
    you know aside from that are we really
  • 00:50:23
    saying that everyone has to do these
  • 00:50:25
    five things in order to flourish aquanus
  • 00:50:28
    would say yeah but you can have and you
  • 00:50:31
    can make a really strong argument here
  • 00:50:34
    that it's two absolutist um and it's
  • 00:50:36
    assuming that everybody flourishes in
  • 00:50:39
    the same way I've added there haven't I
  • 00:50:42
    a bit of critical analysis you could say
  • 00:50:43
    well maybe John Fin's modern development
  • 00:50:46
    resolves that so you could then actually
  • 00:50:47
    come back on that with a counter
  • 00:50:49
    argument and say well yeah maybe aquinus
  • 00:50:51
    is a bit narrow but finish adequately
  • 00:50:54
    and successfully resolves that problem
  • 00:50:56
    so actually that weakness can be refuted
  • 00:50:59
    because a more contemporary version that
  • 00:51:01
    developed by fin has resolved that
  • 00:51:03
    problem by having seven basic Goods that
  • 00:51:06
    don't require the worship of God rather
  • 00:51:08
    than those five primary precepts so that
  • 00:51:11
    brings today's video to an end thank you
  • 00:51:13
    very much for joining me I hope that's
  • 00:51:15
    been helpful just want to wish you the
  • 00:51:17
    very best of luck with your studies and
  • 00:51:19
    have a great day bye-bye
Etiquetas
  • loi morale naturelle
  • Saint Thomas d'Aquin
  • Aristote
  • préceptes primaires
  • préceptes secondaires
  • cinderesis
  • doctrine de l'effet double
  • proportionnalisme
  • éthique
  • eudaimonia