ETHICS: FOUNDATIONS OF MORAL VALUATION

ACTIVITIES CHAPTER 5 (NATURAL LAW)

Instructions: Please do the following activities below.

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Post- Truth

We find the lines blurred between fact and fiction, between news reports and
advertisements. We are accustomed to hearing and reading fake news. We are
inundated by figures and statistics that we can barely comprehend, much less confirm.
We are told to consider alternative facts and to not take seriously everything we might
hear our political leaders say. We read and revel in and then repost the most hyperbolic
and hysterical statements without asking ourselves whether we or anyone else should
reasonably maintain this. We are now in the "post-truth" era. This label of "post-truth"
means that we are more and more becoming habituated to disregard or at least to
devalue the truth. It is a tendency to think of truth as insignificant view of other
concerns. This is a significant question in the field of media ethics, as practitioners in
that field-(news reporters, writers, investigative journalists, and advertisers-ought to ask
the question as to what extent the integrity of their work might be compromised in view
of other interests, such as popularity, profit, higher viewership, or stronger sales. Yet,
this issue is not limited to people working in media. It should be recognized as relevant
by anyone who makes use of social media, caught up in statements and exchanges of
dubious worth. It should be considered by anyone who wants to take seriously Aquinas'
claim that reason and a concern for truth are what make us human.

1. Go online and look for an instance of what might be a “fake news”. See whether you
are able to determine the veracity of the news report. Detail your findings and opinion.

2. In view of Aquinas assertion that reason is what makes us uniquely human and that
being reasonable opens up both an epistemic concern for truth and also a social
concern of being in relation with others, provide an assessment on the value or disvalue
of post- truth phenomena such as fake news or alternative facts.

3. Consider other topics within the realm of media ethics. Select one and give an initial
presentation of the significance of discussing this topic. Write it down.

4. Are there other ways that the word “natural” is used to justify a particular way of
behaving? How do these approaches compare to the theory of Aquinas?

5. Can you think of human laws that are proper extensions of the natural law? Explain
how this is so. Can you think of other human laws that violate the natural law? Explain
how this is so.
6. Are there other forms of harm- short of killing another person- that may be taken as a
violation of the natural inclination to preserve one’s being? Justify your answer.

7. Are there current scientific developments- for example, in biology-that challenge the
understanding of nature presented by Aquinas?

8. Is it possible to maintain a natural law theory without believing in the divine source?
Why or why not?