Introduction to Ethics

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While Norman Kretzmann offers one potential resolution to Euthyphro’s Dilemma, a more influential approach to religious morality comes from the writings of Saint Thomas Aquinas. Influenced by Aristotle’s account of a purposive natural world, Aquinas devises a Natural Law Theology that appreciates both God’s role as moral lawgiver but also human reason”s ability to grasp that moral law.

Five learning outcomes will guide us through this complex issue. By the end of this module, you will be able to…

Apply Aristotle’s Doctrine of the Four Causes to both man-made and natural objects,
Summarize Aristotle’s defense of his Natural Teleology,
Compare and contrast Aristotle’s Natural Teleology with Thomas Aquinas’ Natural Law Theology,
Explain the major elements of Aquinas’ Natural Law Theology, and
Assess some challenges facing the Natural Law Tradition.

Read This:

Physics

Law

The Theory of Natural Law

Context

In this reading from the Physics, Aristotle (384 B.C.E.–322 B.C.E.) begins by claiming that a “student of nature” (ca. 350 B.C.E./1984, p. 338) must be able to answer four questions about a thing, an activity, or a process in order to truly understand it. Today, this is known as Aristotle’s Doctrine of the Four Causes. After explaining this doctrine, Aristotle goes on to argue that all of nature acts for a purpose.

Meanwhile, Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) was a big fan of Aristotle, and sought to give these ideas a Christian formulation and apply them to morality. He does so by distinguishing between different types of laws, arguing how one of these—the natural law—determines what is right and what is wrong. Today, this is known as a version of Natural Law Theology. Also, perhaps surprisingly, Aquinas believes that any rational person can understand the natural law, allowing Catholics and others to reason together about morality without appealing to religious dogma about God.

Finally, James Rachels and Stuart Rachels summarize the structure of the Theory of Natural Law while providing arguments against it.

Reading Questions

As you read, keep these questions in mind:

According to Aristotle, what does it mean to “grasp the ‘why’” (ca. 350 B.C.E./1984, p. 332) of something?
What are the four questions we must ask to “grasp the why” and truly understand a thing? (Aristotle talks about these in chapters 3 and 7.)
Apply the Doctrine of the Four Causes to the statue of Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. That is, how do you answer these four questions for that statue? (You may need to Google some of these answers.
What reasons does Aristotle give for his claim that “nature is a cause, a cause that operates for a purpose” (ca. 350 B.C.E./1984, p. 341)?
According to Thomas Aquinas, what seem to be the differences between eternal law, natural law, human law, and divine law?
What is human nature and how does it determine what is moral and what is immoral for all people (see Q. 94, Art. 4)?
According to James Rachels and Stuart Rachels, what are the three features of the Theory of Natural Law? How are these related to the claims of Aristotle and Aquinas?
What three problems with the Theory of Natural Law do Rachels and Rachels identify?

Although I strongly suggest that you write out brief answers to these questions, you do not have to turn in written responses. You do, however, need to be prepared to answer questions like these on module quizzes and the unit exams.

References

Aristotle. (1984). Physics (R. P. Hardie & R. K. Gaye, Trans.). In J. Barnes (Ed.), The complete works of Aristotle: The revised Oxford translation (pp. 315–446). Princeton University Press. (Original work from ca. 350 B.C.E.)

Aquinas, T. (1945). Law [Selections from the Summa theologica]. In A. C. Pegis (Ed. & Trans.) Introduction to Saint Thomas Aquinas (pp. 609–650). Random House. (Original work from 1265–1274)

Rachels, J., & Rachels, S. (2018). The theory of natural law. In The elements of moral philosophy (9th ed., pp. 56–59). McGraw-Hill.