Natural Law – John Finnis’ development of Natural Law By the end of today’s lesson you will: Have learnt the 7 basic goods for John Finnis Be able to state the 9 requirements of practical reason Considered whether or not Finnis’ N.L is more applicable to modern day soceity

Spec Check AO1 AO2 John Finnis’ development of natural law Development of the seven basic human goods (life, knowledge, friendship, play, aesthetic experience, practical reasonableness and religion); distinction between theoretical / practical reason; nine-requirements of practical reason (view life as a whole, prioritise certain goods over others, basic goods apply equally to all, do not become obsessed with a particular project, use effort to improve, plan your actions to do the most good, never harm a basic good, foster common good in the community and act in your own conscience and authority); the common good and the need for authority Whether Finnis’ natural law is acceptable in contemporary society The extent to which Hoose’s proportionalism promotes immoral behaviour Whether Finnis or Hoose provide a basis for believers and or non believers The strengths and weaknesses of Finnis’ and Hoose’s natural law The effectiveness of Finni’s and Hoose’s natural law in dealing with ethical issues The extent to which Finnis’ natural law is better than Hoose’s proportionalism and vice versa

John Finnis Another white, middle class, male theologian, John Finnis in an Australian scholar who now teaches at Oxford 20th Century scholar Wrote Natural Law and the Natural Rights Is a practising Catholic and tried to revive Aquinas’ Natural Law for modern society

John Finnis Finnis starts off by rejecting Aquinas’ primary precepts. This is because Finnis doesn’t believe that natural law derives from God Q. What are Aquinas’ 5 primary precepts?

Seven Fundamental Goods Finnis believes that there are 7 ‘goods’ which exist INDEPENDENTLY from humans. These good are absolute, objective and without physical forms. These basic goods exist despite the need for humans to apply them to ethical dilemmas Finnis believes that these goods are self evident Q. What 7 ‘goods’ do you think are evident in human nature?

1. Life Life includes not just procreation but living a healthy life

2. Knowledge Humans should be well informed

3. Friendship Humans take interest in socialisation and their friends

4. Play Humans like to play for its own sake

5. Aesthetic Experience We appreciate beauty and art

6. Practical Reasonableness Using our human intelligence to solve moral problems

7. Religion We are drawn towards institutions which help us answer the big questions in life

Finnis’ 7 goods Life Knowledge Friendship Play Aesthetic experience Practical reasonableness Religion Task: Come up with a way of remembering these 7 goods 30seconds

Where do these goods come from? Individually read your Finnis sheet and answer the following questions on page 8/9 of your work booklet 1. Distinguish between theoretical reason and practical reason 2. Why is it a problem to deny theoretical principles? 3. Why can we not ignore the basic goods? 4. What does it mean to say the basic goods are ‘obvious’ or ‘self-evident’.

Where do these goods come from? 1. Distinguish between theoretical reason and practical reason Theoretical reason = describes what is true Practical reason = describes how to act 2. Why is it a problem to deny theoretical principles? We would never learn anything new as a human race 3. Why can we not ignore the basic goods? We would never get anywhere when deciding how to behave 4. What does it mean to say the basic goods are ‘obvious’ or ‘self-evident’. We just know as adults how to behave and what goods should be followed. For those people who ignore the basic goods – they are just wrong

Finnis’ 9 requirements of Practical Reason Practical reason = how to act There are 9 sub requirements to practical reason (which is a basic good) TASK: With the person next to you, I want you to write each requirement out in your exercise books AND THEN explain this in your own words underneath In the exam it is important that you explain these requirements; don’t just list them

Which requirement? Do not become obsessed with a particular project

Which requirement? View your life as a whole, do not live for the moment

Which requirement? Treat every one in society equally in your actions, don’t favour people

Which requirement? Do actiosn which are most efficient and maximise goodness for all

Which requirement? Don’t do something which goes against a common good juts because someone tells you to do it

Which requirement? Never go against a basic good for a greater end

Which requirement? Don’t procrastinate – improve yourself

Which requirement? Prioritise academic work over hand work

Which requirement? Foster good community spirit

Finnis vs Aquinas Complete a Venn diagram which comapres and contrasts Aquinas’ and Finnis’ natural laws

Natural Law – John Finnis’ development of Natural Law By the end of today’s lesson you will: Have learnt the 7 basic goods for John Finnis Be able to state the 9 requirements of practical reason Considered whether or not Finnis’ N.L is more applicable to modern day society

Application of Finnis to Immigration and Capital Punishment You will be given a letter A or B Use pages 29 and 30 of your work booklet to make a small presentation on how Finnis natural law can be applied to: A) Immigration B) Capital Punishment Be ready to present your A3 sheet to the rest of the group.

Evaluation of Finnis’ Natural Law In pairs, try and think of general strengths and weaknesses of Finnis’ natural law I will type up our strengths and weaknesses in the discussion Try and link your answers back to immigration and capital punishment

Evaluation of Finnis’ Natural Law Strengths Weaknesses

Natural Law – John Finnis’ development of Natural Law By the end of today’s lesson you will: Have learnt the 7 basic goods for John Finnis Be able to state the 9 requirements of practical reason Considered whether or not Finnis’ N.L is more applicable to modern day society