Moral Theories GEC 108: Ethics

Natural Law

Natural Law as Moral Law

The natural law as mora law is something that orders humans to do good and to avoid evil

 It is human reason that ultimately makes this order

 The natural law, as a moral prescription of what the person is ought to do and be is moral demand that
emanates from the inner nature of a person
 Since all things subject to Divine Providence are measured and ruled by the eternal law, all
things partake to some extent of the eternal law – to the extent, that it is imprinted on them,
they derived their inclination to proper acts and ends.
o The nature of a person as a creature implies a certain subjection to an inner order
and freedom
 The natural law reconciles with the freedom of the human being because it manifests the idea
of self-realization or self-perfection
 The proper effect of law is to lead its subjects to the proper virtue. Since virtue is what makes
its subject good, it follows that the proper effect of the law is to make its subjects good
 The good is what all things seek. Hence, it is the first precept of law: good is to be done and
pursued, and evil is to be avoided.
 It can be considered as a moral principle that intends to help the human being attain his or her fullest self-
realization by way of attaining the good as the proper end for each person
 The natural law proceeds from God, then, it must have a natural inclination towards God.
 God is alone the source of the law. To live in accordance to one’s nature means to live in accordance with
this immanence.
 God puts order into nature. This order is the order of reason. To follow God or natural law means to
follow this rational order

Morality is not an arbitrary set of rules for behaviors. Rather, the basis of moral obligation is found in human nature
itself.

 Built into our nature are various inclinations, such as preservation of life, propagation of species and
inclination toward the search for truth

Dynamism of the Natural Law

It holds that morality is part of the natural order of things

 People have a natural inclination in accordance with the nature they have in common with other substances
 The natural law seeks the preservation of life. It aims to cultivate life and enhance its dynamic existence.

Eternal law governs all person

 It tells persons to act in pursuit of the good in this world since it is proper to their nature and to their reason
  Every law is directed to the common welfare of people and derives the force and nature of the law
accordingly
 The natural law therefore tells people to pursue the good in human life and society

The natural law must also be distinguished from the laws of nature

Laws of nature

 It proceeds from the mechanical disposition of the way natural things behave
 This mechanical behavior manifests the physical state of beings

Natural law

 It is about moral development of the human person on the basis of his or her moral nature

While objects follow the natural course of events, for they are subject o the laws of nature, thus, the objects or things
do not have freedom. They simply follow what nature determines for them. Humans, however, are free. The drive to
do the good is something that flows from our inner nature as free beings. This inner nature can be considered as the
natural order of the universe. It is one that God or the Creator has originally decreed for all his creatures

The light of natural reason, by which we discern what is good and what is evil, which pertains to the natural law, is
nothing else than an imprint on us of the divine light

 The natural law is a proof of the participation of the person to the eternal law of the Creator.
 The natural law endows human with their dignity as person
 If God is perfection, then it follows that humans possess the attribute of perfection being God’s
creatures
 In sharing this goodness, the good is also communicated because we are a “substance-in-relation”
 We relate not only vertically with God our creator, but we also co-relate horizontally with other
beings
 Our nature is that of the good, we are oriented towards the good

Natural law is the participation of the eternal law or God’s plan for all of creation, in rational beings. It is by virtue
of the natural law that we discern what is good and evil. By acting in accordance with the natural law we act rightly
in our relations to other persons and things

 God has written unto the very nature of each person the eternal law, telling each person to direct herself
towards the good
 The perfection or self-realization of each person is to be found in the way he or she relates with others and
with God

The good which is the ultimate end of each individual proceeds from his or her conscience

 Conscience is the proper functioning of reason in moving the human person towards an end goal that is
fitting of person’s dignity
 One cannot do the right thing if one does not know what it is.
 To follow the conscience absolutely is tied to an obligation to educate it
 The conscience absolutely binds us in doing the good and avoiding evil, conscience as reason is
also absolutely tasked to be given formation
 The conscience can be mistaken, and being so does not exempt the human person from culpability

Love as the Natural Law of the Person

Love is the natural law of the person

 Love is expressed in its communicability

 In love, the person expresses not only what he or she feels or shares what he or she possesses
 In love, the person shares his or her full self

It has been established that the natural law tends towards that which results to the person’s fullness by way of that
person’s self-realization, there is no way of making such a real possibility except through love

 Love is the diffusion of the person into the other, making the other part of his or her person
 The human completes his or her self-realization in the other
 Love, as a basic law of our humanity, should be found in what we do. Love, if express fully and committed
as an act is justice of its minimum, and charity in terms of its maximum