1. NATURAL LAW

2. Natural Law Lets go back to Aristotle Quite a breath of common sense after Plato He dealt with objects just as we see them Theyre real not copies or images Bit of an empiricist was Aristotle Things we see are caused

3. Natural Law Everything in the universe has a place and a purpose It all fits together Wind Fire Seasons Rain Sun Food Air Gravity Aristotle believed Water

4. Natural Law He also thought that there must be an ultimate cause of the universe The Prime Mover The Prime Mover unmoved

5. Natural Law As far as people were concerned Aristotle believed people wanted to live a good happy life EUDAIMONIA Right actions would automatically follow and the excellent person would automatically behave in the right sort of way.

6. Natural Law Thomas Aquinas 1225 –1274 He thought Aristotles ideas were tops Long forgotten Aristotle was about to make a comeback

7. Natural Law Aquinas thought everything in the world was real and caused Everything had a purpose There was an ultimate purpose and first cause

8. Natural Law Which was God Who was, by the way uncaused and necessary. Who let that goldfish in? What dyer mean it escaped from the Cosmological Argument?

9. Natural Law Aquinas maintained there are two ways in which people can learn about God 2

10. Natural Law Revealed Theology – thats reading the Bible to you and me Natural Theology – working out the truth of God by the use of reason

11. Natural Law Aquinas favoured the latter Truths about God can be worked out by reason The purpose of human life can be worked out by reason

12. Natural Law That seems a good starting point What is the purpose of human life?

13. Natural Law The purpose of human life Preservation of the self To reproduce To live in an ordered society To worship God These could be discovered by reason

14. Natural Law Why on earth would people want to do this?

15. Natural Law –Like Aristotle before him Aquinas thought people wanted to be good and virtuous

16. Natural Law He even produced a list of virtues Cardinal Virtues which of course came from Aristotle Prudence Temperance Fortitude Justice If you dont know what these mean, then look them up!

17. Natural Law Plus several of his own drawn from St Paul Faith Hope Charity

18. Natural Law And Natural Law? It was all part of Gods Law Natural Law

19. ETERNAL LAW Order which is in the mind of God. DIVINE LAW Given to people by God through the Bible and the church. NATURAL LAW Our inborn sense of right and wrong discovered by conscience. HUMAN LAW Rules made by human societies

20. Natural Law So Natural Law comes from God It is a law that a person could work out for him or her self through Natural Law can be detected by anyone Reason

21. Natural Law The Church didnt always like that but Aristotle was determined. Gods law could be revealed through the Bible Gods law could be worked out by reason

22. Natural Law So correct human behaviour is directed by God? Not quite – correct human behaviour is in accordance with God. PERHAPS

23. Natural Law Supposing I do the right thing but for the wrong reason? I think I am getting a headache

24. Natural Law Supposing I help an old lady across the road just so that she will give me a reward Ha ha gotcha Good act for a bad reason

25. Natural Law Aquinas thought of that Your interior motive must be the same as the exterior action You must want to help her So you actually do help her

26. Natural Law With each moral act you do Good must be the intention so that evil can be avoided

27. Natural Law Hang on a minute Sometimes doing the right thing can be painful

28. Natural Law Like telling the kids off when they misbehave Yes but you do that so that they will not be unruly or learn to live chaotic lives

29. Natural Law Its the same when you go to the dentist He drills and fills the tooth So that you will get better oral hygiene and avoid even worse pain

30. Natural Law This is what Aquinas called Primary Precepts and Secondary Precepts

31. Natural Law Secondary precepts are a bit like what the dentist actually does – the bit that hurts Primary precepts are his ultimate goal – better oral hygiene and that is good

32. Natural Law Aquinas believed that humans have a fixed uniform nature and this led him to believe that there was a fixed Natural law.

33. Natural Law Natural Law is based on the action alone and takes no account of the consequences.