ETHICS

CHAPTER 3 Worksheet B

STUDENT’S INFORMATION

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 Chapter 3
Natural Law

Intended Learning Outcome

Within the chapter, the pre-service teacher (PST) must:
1. recognize how Thomas Aquinas made use of ancient Greek concepts to provide a rational
grounding to an ethical theory based on the Christian faith;
2. identify the natural law in distinction from, but also in relation to, the other types of law
mentioned by Aquinas: eternal law, human law, and divine law; and
3. apply the precepts of the natural law to contemporary moral concerns

Time Element: Week 7-9

Direction: Provide answers for each item. DO NOT delete any element on this worksheet.
Answer the questions right after each item or provide another page where your answers can be
found. Upon submission, include the worksheet with answers in the same document. Only one
document in .doc file type shall be submitted; do not make it into a PDF or JPEG file type.

Follow-up Activity
Answer these follow-up questions comprehensively. (5 pts each)
1. 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?

-Yes. There are other ways that the word natural was used to justify a particular way of behaving. For
instance, the word natural was used to relate with the word common order or natural order of nature.
To compare this with the theory of Aquinas, it just means that things in the world usually comes in
order, thus it makes natural. Aquinas just want to elaborate his ideas to make it sound better.

2. Can you think of any one human law that is proper extension of the natural law? Explain how this is so.
Can you think of another human law that violates the natural law? Explain how this is so.

-Yes. I could think one human law that is proper extension of the natural law and that is the law on
protecting the environment. It is natural for a human to protect our environment because it could help
us to provide food, shelter and a source of our joy.
-Yes. I could think another human law that violates the natural law and that is the law on Same-Sex
marriage. It is unnatural for both same individuals to have a union, in terms of sexual intercourse or
living together as couple. For others, it is immoral to sight such things.

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 3. Are there other forms of harm –except of killing another person– that may be taken as a violation of the
natural inclination to preserve one’s being? Justify your answer.

-Yes. There are other forms of harm that may be taken as a violation of the natural inclination to
preserve one's being and that is the illegal surgery to one person's body to take his/her organs and
transfer it to another person just to preserve the said person. The person who underwent the surgery
may become the sacrificial lamb for one's being but it does not mean that he/she will die because losing
one organ such as kidney could make him/her still live, however it does not change the fact that it
violates the natural inclination.

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

-Yes. There are lot of scientific developments that challenge the understanding of nature presented by
Aquinas. For instance, the scientific developments in biology presented that human did not came
because of God but because humans developed from cells. Science could always argue the ideas that
was presented by Aquinas because of the researches that was proven by certain facts.

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

-Yes. It is really possible to maintain a natural law theory without believing in the divine source. Simply
because people observe things on earth and learn from it without getting any guidance from the divine
source. People could learn at their own pace, so they may still maintain the natural law theory without
believing in the divine source. This is only possible if people could have a deep knowledge on
understanding the natural law.

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