100% satisfaction guarantee Immediately available after payment Both online and in PDF No strings attached
logo-home
Is natural law a helpful method for moral decision making? Discuss £3.99
Add to cart

Essay

Is natural law a helpful method for moral decision making? Discuss

 0 purchase
  • Institution
  • OCR

this essay was written in year 12, achieving an a+ grade and discussing whether natural moral law is a helpful method for moral decision making

Preview 1 out of 2  pages

  • April 15, 2024
  • 2
  • 2022/2023
  • Essay
  • Unknown
  • A+
All documents for this subject (113)
avatar-seller
lucyhgworthington
‘Is Natural Law A Helpful Method In Moral Decision Making?’- Discuss

Cicero in De Re Publica voiced that ‘True law is right reason in agreement with nature’. Aquinas is
the philosopher who followed this very concept, through his system of natural law, a deontological
theory based on the behaviour that accords with given laws or moral principles that exist
independently of human societies and systems. Aquinas, who was heavily influenced by Aristotle,
believed that every human being has a telos, which they achieve through following Natural Moral
Law. The question as to whether this concept is helpful in moral decision making is a great debate,
with the system providing both strengths and weaknesses. However, this essay will support the notion
that Natural Law is not a helpful method in moral decision making, as well as including the scholars
Aristotle, Aquinas, as well as Neilson.

One could argue that natural law is a helpful method of moral decision making due to the fact it is a
deontological theory. It is a logical, rational basis for the purpose of our lives, and supplies us with an
objective and universal set of rules for humanity to follow in order to achieve Eudaimonia.
Eudaimonia was used by Aristotle as a broad concept to describe the highest good humans could
strive towards. Additionally, for Aristotle, Eudaimonia was achieved universally through synderesis,
the principle to do good and avoid evil, the rule which all precepts follow. Therefore the fact that this
theory created is deontological provides it to be a good method of moral decision making because of
its simplicity, thus making it easy to follow and the rule-based primary precepts do not require
interpretation. In addition to this, some scholars argue that this is applicable to non Christians, as it
uses reason. It allows humans to understand right and wrong and what our purpose is as humans,
therefore it could be argued it provides fulfilment. A scholar who criticises the deontological theory, is
Kai Neilson, who’s counter argument is based on cultural relativism. The scholar argues against
Aquinas’ belief in a single human nature common to all societies. Differing moral standards and
cultural relativism challenge the idea of natural law. For example many people have changeable
natures, human beings can have different sexual preferences, and thus Natural Law is more complex
than Aquinas initially thought. Therefore, a rigid, deontological approach, although simple to follow
and thus helpful in moral decision making, has other weaknesses in relation to its pragmatism and
effectiveness.

Aquinas proposed the four tiers of law, which allow all humans to fundamentally understand whether
their actions are morally right or wrong. The first of these is eternal law, the principles by which God
created and controls the universe, it can only truly be known to God as it is his intentions and will.
Divine Law is the revelation of Eternal Law, knowing the law of God through the Bible and the
Church. However, this law does not acknowledge that not everyone may not have access to a Bible or
a Church and thus Aquinas believed that it was Natural Law which allowed us to do good and avoid
evil, and it is believed humans have a natural sense to follow this rule. Finally, Human Laws are the
everyday laws of a nation in order to maintain an ordered society. In some ways, it therefore can be
said that natural law is the most accessible law, due to the fact that it is already within us, the
unconscious decision to follow synderesis. However, the idea that there is an inbuilt sense to follow
this concept is fundamentally flawed, as one may argue that it cannot be proven that all humans have
this, and in some cases it is clear they do not. An example to support that not all humans obtain this
intrinsic goodness, is psychopaths, who have no inherent feeling to do good and thus it is questionable
as to whether Natural law is in all our humanity. Therefore, although Aquinas believed that everyone
had shared a built-in synderesis rule, it is too broad to assume that everyone has this and therefore if
there are some people who inherently do bad things, it cannot be considered as a universal law that is
a helpful method in moral decision making.

The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:

Guaranteed quality through customer reviews

Guaranteed quality through customer reviews

Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.

Quick and easy check-out

Quick and easy check-out

You can quickly pay through credit card for the summaries. There is no membership needed.

Focus on what matters

Focus on what matters

Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!

Frequently asked questions

What do I get when I buy this document?

You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.

Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?

Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.

Who am I buying these notes from?

Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller lucyhgworthington. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.

Will I be stuck with a subscription?

No, you only buy these notes for £3.99. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.

Can Stuvia be trusted?

4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)

64670 documents were sold in the last 30 days

Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy revision notes and other study material for 15 years now

Start selling
£3.99
  • (0)
Add to cart
Added