Ethics

NORMATIVE ETHICS: AQUINAS’ NATURAL LAW THEORY

Thomas Aquinas

 Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)- hailed as the doctor of the Roman Catholic Church.
-He is a Dominican friar who was the preeminent intellectual figure of the scholastic
period of the Middle Ages.
-He is an intellectual and religious revolutionary living at the time of great
philosophical, theological and scientific development.
-Aquinas wanted to do away from Plato’s teachings.
-His famous work is the Summa Theologica that discusses significant points in the
Christian theology.
 Motivating Natural Law Theory: The Euthyphro Dilemma and Divine Command
Theory

 Divine Command Theory (DCT) - pertains to acts between right and wrong and what God commands and
forbids.
For example, in the commandments we are told not to steal. This expresses that God forbids us. On the other hand, we
are called to love our neighbours, then in here we follow God’s commands.
 The powerful and influential challenge to such account is called the Euthyphro dilemma. It runs as:
 Either God commands something is right because it is, or it is right because God commands it.
 On the other hand, something is right because God commands it, then anything at all could be right, (killing or
setting fire could be morally acceptable?) if a moral theory says it, then it must look like the theory is wrong.
 The second bullet is an loophole to make things morally haphazard, then this causes arbitrariness problem. This
made Aquinas turn away from the Divine Command Theory.
Natural Law Theory

Aquinas’s Natural Law Theory holds 4 different types of law:

1. Eternal Law
2. Natural Law
3. Human Law
4. Divine Law

(to understand better, the laws relate to one another and via Eternal Law. Here is where we
start)
 Eternal Law- for Aquinas means God’s rational purpose and plan for all things.
 The Eternal Law is part of God’s mind then it has always and will always exist.
 For Aquinas, everything has a purpose and follows a plan. Like Aristotle, Aquinas is a teleologist
who believes in the purpose, or goal of a functional object.
 If something fulfils its purpose or plan, then it is following the Eternal Law.
 In here, something is good as far as it fulfils its purpose or plan.
 Relating it to human, Aquinas argues that humans act according to reason, we make good acts to
fulfil a purpose, thus in turn we are also partaking in the Natural Law.
 Natural Law- if we act according to reason, then we will all agree to some overarching
general rules or the primary precepts.
 This primary precepts are absolute and binding on all rational agents for Aquinas rejects the
notion or relativism.
 The first primary precept is good is be pursued and done and evil avoided. (for him, this should
be the guiding principle of our decision making.)
 Natural Laws pertains to internal rules and not the external ones. In here, external set of rules are
not generated rather, Natural Law generates rules that any rational agent can come to recognize
simply in virtue of being rational.
For example, it is not as if we need to check whether we should pursue good and avoid evil, as it is
just part of how we already think things.
 Aquinas adds more examples of primary precepts:
1. Protect and preserve human life
2. Reproduce and educate one’s offspring.
3. Know and worship God.
4. Live in a society.
-This precepts are primary for they are true for all people in all instances and are consistent with
Natural Law.
-Aquinas also calls for the Human Law which gives way to the Secondary Precepts.
 Human Law- or secondary precepts are not generated by our reasons, rather they are
imposed by governments, groups, clubs or by the society.
 For example, driving should be not above 60kph. Parking only on assigned areas and so on.
 It is not always morally acceptable to follow secondary precepts. It will only became morally
acceptable if the are consistent with the Natural Law.
In the situation, that there are rules considering that women of some places are prohibited to
drive, then this human law are considered to be irrational thus do not adhere to Natural Law.
 Divine Law- Divine laws are those that God has, in His grace, seen fit to give us and are those
“mysteries”, those rules given by God which we find in scriptures.
 For example, the ten commandment

To summarize:
1. Eternal Law- God’s plans/purpose for all things
2. Natural Law- our partaking in the Eternal Law which leads to primary precepts
3. Human Law-human’s specific laws to capture the truths of the Natural Law which leads to
secondary precepts
4. Divine Law-those that re discovered by rational reflections
Summary of the Natural Law Theory

 For Aquinas, everything has function or telos and the good thing(s) to do are those acts
the fulfil that function.
 Humans are free and hence need guidance to find the right path.
 Right path is found through reasoning and generated the internal Natural Law.
 Primary precepts are derived from Natural Law; pursue good and do no evil.
 Secondary precepts are guide to our day-to-day living behaviour. May be right or may be
wrong, which will only reflect to our apparent goods.
 However good we are, because we are finite and sinful, we can only get so far with
rational reflections.
Reference:

 Dimmock, M.&A. Fisher(2017).  Ethics for A-Level. Cambridge, UK: Open Book
Publishers. Retrieved from: http://doi.org/10.1164/OBP.0125;
http://www.openbookpublishers.com/products/639#resources