Natural Moral Law Applications

Natural Moral Law Applications

1. Lying

   • Goes against living in an ordered society
     • If buisinessmen lie, there would be no trust in deals, if husbands lied to wives there would be no marriage
     • Importance of telling truth highlighted in NML
       • lying is an offence to truth which is an offence to God
   • Aquinas states that lying is unnatural and self destructive
   • Aquinas says it can be lawful by keeping the truth back (not saying the truth without having been asked)

2. Theft

   • Catholic NML
     • Deontological
       • Theft goes against the primary precept of living in an ordered society (as it contributes to disorder
         • Goes against secondary precept 'do not steal'
           • supported by biblical commandment
   • Aquinas NML
     • Teleological
       • Whilst theft does go against our natural inclination to want to live in an ordered society, not stealing can sometimes go against other natural inclinations.
         • Aquinas states proportionate reasons do exist in 'Summa Theologica
           • 'if the need be so manifest and urgent'
         • If a man is starving to death for example it can be justified to uphold self preservation of life

3. ISSUES OF HUMAN LIFE AND DEATH

   • Abortion
     • According to Aquinas, a human person with a rational soul is present at around 60-80 days after conception
       • Therefore anyone who kills a foetus is responsible for homicide.
         • Therefore, abortion can be a violation of many of the precepts
           • Preservation of life
           • Worshipping of God
             • (God created the life)
   • Embryo Research
     • Cloning
     • Designer babies
       • Could lead to even greater gap between the rich and poor
     • Aquinas' version would reject both since they abandon usual methods of procreation.
       • 'Scientific' reproduction could lead to breakdown of marriages and ordered society; primary precept
   • Voluntary euthanasia and assisted suicide
     • Aquinas stated that it is for God (fate) that should decide your death not you, so it is unlawful to commit suicide
       • One's life should not be placed in the interpretation of others
     • Neither can be justified because they reject primary precepts of preserving life and worshipping God
   • Capital punishment
     • Aquinas believed that many settings can justify capital punishment
       • For the same reason we kill wild beasts that could be harmful to the order of our societies, we can kill men who would
     • It does violate preservation of life
       • But it could also be used to protect more life and order in society
         • It is not the responsibility of individuals to seek to kill that person

4. ISSUES OF NON-HUMAN LIFE AND DEATH

   • Use of animals as food; intensive farming
     • It's fine because they don't have souls like ours
     • Aquinas adopted the hierarchy of souls between organisms that Aristotle had developed
       • Vegetative, Animal and human souls
         • Human souls are 'rational' (better than the other two)
     • Animals are basically for human use
   • Use of animals in scientific procedures; cloning
     • The status of animals is no greater than that of human property
       • Therefore it is not immoral
     • finding out medical stuff fufills preservation of life
   • Blood sports
     • No objection from NML
     • Animals are inferior
   • Animals as a source of organs for transplants
     • Animals are inferior