Ethics

Chapter 3

NATURAL LAW
Chapter 3

The Ethical Dimension of Human Existence

Introduction
In October 2016, newspapers reported that Pantaleon Alvarez, Speaker of the House of
Representatives, was intending to draft a bill which would amend the country’s Family Code,
thereby allowing for the legalization of same-sex unions. This would result in the possibility of
two men together and two women together being identified as a couple with rights guaranteed
and protected by law. However, as one newspaper reported revealed, even before anything could
be formally proposed, other fellow legislators had already expressed to the media their refusal to
support any such initiative

The reasons given in the news vary, ranging from the opinion that seeing two men kiss is
unsightly, to the statement that there is something ―irregular‖ about belonging to the Lesbian,
Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Community (LGBT), and to the judgment that two people of the
same sex is unnatural.

We are used to hearing people justify something that is done by making the appeal to what they
maintain is ―natural‖, and therefore ―acceptable‖. Likewise, people would judge something as
unacceptable on the basis that it is supposedly ―unnatural‖. Thus, we are no longer surprised
when we hear people condemn and label many different things as ―unnatural‖: maybe receiving
blood transfusions, eating meat, or as our news report shows, engaging in sexual relations that
might consider deviant. We also realize that sometimes we might find ourselves astonished or
perplexed as to what different people might consider ―unnatural‖.

Specific Objectives

At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:

- Recognize how Thomas Aquinas made use of ancient Greek concepts to provide a
rational grounding to an ethical theory based on the Christian faith;

- Identify the natural law in distinction from, but also in relation to, the other types of law
mentioned by Aquinas eternal law, and divine law; and

- Apply the precepts of the natural law to contemporary moral concerns.

Duration
Chapter 3: Natural Law = 9 hours
(7 hours discussion; 2hours assessment)
Lesson

1 THOMAS AQUINAS

There have been various thinkers and systems of thought emerging throughout history
that could be said to present a natural law theory. Among them, the one we will be focusing on is
the medieval thinker Thomas Aquinas. It has o be recognized, however, that this natural law
theory is part of a larger discussion, which is his moral theory taken as a whole. This moral
theory, in turn, is part of a larger project, which is Aquinas’s vision of the Christian faith.

THOMAS AQUINAS (1225-1274)

 Hailed as a doctor of the Roman Catholic Church. A Dominican friar who was the
preeminent intellectual figure of the scholastic period of Middle Ages, contributing to
the doctrine of the faith more than any other figure of his time. His Summa
Theologiae, his magnus opus, is a voluminous work that comprehensively discusses
many significant points in Christian theology. He was canonized in 1323.

THE CONTEXT OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY

 Aquinas elaborated and maintained in all his works the promise right at the center of
Christian faith: that we are created by God in order to ultimately return to Him.

 His magnus opus, Summa Theologiae follows the trajectory of this story; the three parts
are

1. Aquinas speaks of God, and although we acknowledge that our limited human
intellect cannot fully grasp Him, we nevertheless are able to say something
concerning His goodness, His might, and His creative power.

2. It deals with man or the dynamic of human life. Salvation in only possible
through the presence of God’s grace.

3. It focuses on Jesus as our Savior.

THE CONTEXT OF AQUINAS’ ETHICS

 Explore Aquinas’s discussion of other matters, such as, how;

o In our pursuit of happiness, we direct our actions toward specific ends.

Our emotions— ―the passions‖—are involved in this process and
therefore require the proper order if they are to properly contribute to a
good life.
o Actions are related to certain dispositions (―habits‖) in a dynamic way
since our actions both arise from our habits and at the same time reinforce
them

o Develop either good or bad habits with a good disposition leading us

toward making immoral choices.

o Christian life, therefore, is about developing the capacities given to us by

God, into a disposition of virtue inclined toward the good.

 Aquinas also puts forward that there is within us a conscience that directs our
moral thinking. For Aquinas there is a sense of right and wrong in us that we are
obliged to obey. However, he also adds that this must be informed, guided and
ultimately grounded in an objective bass of morality.

 So we are called to heed the voice of conscience and enjoined to develop and
maintain a life virtue. However, these both require content, so we need something
more. We need a basis for our conscience to be properly informed, and we need a
clearer guidepost on whether certain decisions we make leads us toward virtue or
vice. Being told that one should heed conscience or that one should try to be
virtuous, does very little to guide people as to what specifically should be done in
a given situation. There is a need for clearer basis of ethics, a ground that will
more concretely direct us sense of what is right and wrong, this would be the
natural law.

 We can recall how the ethical approach called divine command theory urges a
person toward unthinking obedience to religious precepts. Given the problems of
he simplistic approach to ethics, we can contrast how the moral theory of Aquinas
requires judicious use of reason. In doing so, one’s sense of right and wrong
would be grounded on something stable: human nature itself.

Lesson

2 THE GREEK HERITAGE

NEOPLATONIC GOOD
 The central belief of Christian faith—God creates does not only means the He
brings about beings, but also means that He cares for, thus governs, the activity of
the universe and of every creature.
 Plato a Greek philosopher who was credited the notion of the idea of a supreme
and absolutely transcendent good has shaped and defined the Christian Doctrine
of Aquinas while inspired by divine revelation.
 It is the idea of the good—a good which is prior to all being and is even the cause
of all being.
 In his work The Republic, it is often supposed that Plato is trying to envision the
ideal society. But that plan is only part of a more fundamental concern that
animates the text, which is to provide an objective basis and standard for striving
to be moral. In other words, it can be said that Plato was trying to answer
questions such as ―Why should I bother trying to be good?‖ and ―Why cannot be
―good‖ be whatever I say it is?‖ His answer was that the good is real and not
something that one can pretend to make up or ignore.
 Neoplatonists are scholars who decipher the wealth of ideas of Plato.

ARISTOTELIAN BEING AND BECOMING

BEING
 Aristotle proposes four concepts which provide a way of understanding any particular
being under consideration or can be said to have four causes.
o Material cause- We recognize that any being we can see around is corporeal,
possessed of a certain materiality or physical ―stuff‖.
-A being is individuated- it becomes unique, individual being hat it is- because
it is made up of the particular stuff.
o Formal cause- The ―shape‖ that makes a being a particular kind.
-We also realize that this material takes on a particular shape: so a bird is
different from a cat, which is different from a man.
o Efficient cause- Something which brings about the presence of another being.
-One can also realize that this being does not simply pop up from nothing, but
comes from another being which is prior to it. Parents beget a child. A mango
tree used to be a seed that itself came from an older tree.
o Final cause- It has an apparent end o goal.
-A seed to become a tree or a child to become an adult.

BECOMING
Aristotle also discussed the process of becoming or the possibility of change that takes
place in a being. A new pair of principles is introduced by him which we can refer to as potency
and act. A being may carry within itself certain potentials, but these requires the being to
actualized. A puppy is not yet a full grown dog. These potencies are latent to the puppy and are
actualized as the puppy grow and achieve what it is supposed to be. The process of becoming –
or change – can thus be explained in this way. Understanding beings, ow they are and how they
become or what they could be, is significant Aristotelian contribution to the picture which was
given by Aquinas.

SYNTHESIS
The idea of transcendent good prior to all being resurfaces in Aquinas in the form of good
and loving God, who Himself is the fullness of being good and of goodness; as Aquinas puts it,
God is that which essentially is and is essentially good. So we recognize that all beings are only
possible as participating in the first being, which is God Himself. God’s act, like emanation of
light, is the creation of beings.
In so far as God is that from which all beings come, it is ossible for us to speak of Him as
the first efficient cause. In so far as God is that toward which all beings seek to return, it is
possible for us to speak of him as the final cause. We see here the beginning of the synthesis by
noting how the Neoplatonic movement from and back toward the transcendent is fused with the
Aristotelian notion of causes.
It must be noted though, that this is not some mechanistic unthinking process. It is God’s
will and love that are the cause of all things; to every existing thing, God wills some good.
Creation therefore is the activity of the outpouring overflowing of God’s goodness. Since each
being n this way participates in God’s goodness, each being is in.
However, while beings are good because they are created by God, the goodness
possessed by beings are imperfect. ―For Aquinas, only God in the fullness of His being and
goodness is perfect; all other beings are participating in this goodness, and are good to that
extent, but are imperfect since they are limited in their participation. But once again, God did not
create us to simply be imperfect and to stay that way as He leaves us alone. Instead God, in His
infinite wisdom, directs how we are to arrive at our perfection. The notion of divine providence
refers to how beings are properly ordered and even guided toward their proper end; end which is
for them to reach their highest good, is to return to the divine goodness itself.
God communicates to each being his perfection and goodness. Every creature then strives
to its own perfection; thus the divine goodness is the end of all actions. All things come from
God and are created by Him in order to return to Him.
We now need to recall that beings are created by God in a particular way. It is not
accidental how beings emerge into existence; each being is created as a determinate substance, as
a particular combination of form and matter. This applies to all beings, including man. The
particular form determines the materiality which makes a being a certain kind of being’ the
unique way that we have been created can be called our nature.
This nature as participation in God’s goodness, is both good and imperfect at the same
time. Coming from God, it is good, but in its limitations, t has yet to be perfected. This
perfection means fulfilling our nature the best we can, thus realizing what God had intended for
us to be. We accomplish by fulfilling or actualizing the potencies that are already present in our
nature.
While all beings are created by God in order to return to Him, the way the human being is
directed toward God is unique. Given that we are beings with a capacity for reason, our way of
reaching God is by knowing and loving Him. It is of key importance then that the presence of a
capacity to reason is the prime characteristic of the kind of beings we are and how the capacity
for reason is the very tool which God had placed in our human nature as the way toward our
perfection ad return to Him.
This applies not only to an individual human being, but also to all humankind. But we
should not forget how the whole community of being, which is the universe itself, is directed
towards its return to God. This is not, as mentioned earlier, an unthinking process, but is the very
work of divine reason itself or God’s will. We can think, then, of the whole work of creation as
divine reason governing a community towards its end. Under the governance of the Divine,
beings are directed as to how their acts are to lead them to their end, which is to return to Him.

Lesson
THE ESSENCE AND VARIETIES
3 OF LAW
ESSENCE
 As a rational being we have free will. Through our capacity for reason, we are able to
judge between possibilities and to choose to direct our actions in one way or the
other. Our actions are directed toward attaining ends or goods that we desire.

 There are many possible desirable ends or goods, and we act such ways as to pursue
them. However, just because we think that a certain end is good and is therefore
desirable does not necessarily mean it is indeed good. That is why reason is an
important of the process. Acts are rightly directed toward their ends by reason.

 COMMON GOOD- Considering what is good for the community as well as our own
good.

 LAW- The determination of the proper measure of our acts.

VARIETIES OF LAW

 Eternal Law- refers to what God wills for creation, how each participant in it is intended
to return to Him.

 Natural Law- refers to the natural inclination to its proper act and end.
 Human Law- refers to all instances wherein human beings construct and enforce laws in
the communities.

 Divine Law-refers specifically to the instances where we have precepts or instructions

that come from divine revelation.

NATURAL LAW

In Common With Other Beings

 In Aquinas view, we have to consider how we human beings are both unique and at the
same time participating in the community of the rest of creation.

o desire to preserves one’s own being

In Common With Other Animals

 In Aquinas view, we human beings has a desire to do with sexual intercourse and the care
of one’s offspring.

Uniquely Human
 We have a natural inclination to know the truth about God and to live in the society.

 Presented three inclinations as bases for moral valuation;

o Preserving the self is good

o Sexual inclination and the sexual act is part of human nature

o Being rational is what proper to man

 Aquinas tells us that there is priority among the powers of the soul, with the intellectual
directing and commanding our sensitive and nutritive capacities.

SUMMARY

In this chapter we have seen how the natural law theory is instrumental to ethics that is
rooted in the Christian faith. In elaborating this, we explored how Aquinas had synthesized
concepts of the Ancient Greeks to put forward an intellectual ground that can overcome the
imitations of simplistic divine command theory. Instead we provided an objective basis for
ethics: our own natural inclinations. Since these ae given by God, they provide us the path
toward our Perfection. Our natural inclinations as enumerated by Aquinas include the desire to
preserve our being, the sexual act and its fecundity, and our use of reason.
References/Additional Resources/Readings

Bulaong O.G. et. al., 2018, ―Ethics: Foundations of Moral Valuations‖ distributed by Rex
Bookstore, Inc.

Davies, Bryan and Eleonore Stump 2014, ―The Oxford Handbook of Aquinas. Oxford:‖
Oxford University Press,.

MacDonald, Scott and Eleonore Stump, 1999,‖ Aquinas’s Moral Theory: Essays in
Honor of Normann Kretzmann. Ithaca‖, Cornell University Press,.

Mclnery, Ralph. Ethica Thomistica 1997: The Moral Philosophy of Thomas Aquinas.
Revised, Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press,.

Pope, Stephen J., 2002, ―The Ethics of Aquinas‖. Washington, D.C.,: Georgetown University
Press.
Activity Sheet
Activity 3

NAME: _________________________________ DATE: ________________

COURSE YEAR SEC: ____________________ SCORE: ______________

Direction: Put the case for or against your view or idea by giving evidence for your
claims/reasons for or against; attempt to influence the reader to accept your view

Post truth

We find the lines blurred between fact and fiction, between news report and advertisements. We
are accustomed to hearing and reading fake news. We are inundated by figures and statistics that
we can barely comprehend, much less confirm. We are told to consider alternative facts and to
not take seriously everything we might hear our political leaders say. We read and revel in and
then repost the most hyperbolic and hysterical statements without asking ourselves whether we
or anyone should reasonably maintain this. We are now in the post-truth era.

This label of post truth means that we are more and more becoming habituated to disregard or at
least to devalue the truth. It is a tendency to think of truth as insignificant in view of other
concerns. This is a significant question in view of media ethics, as practitioner in that field –
―news reporters, writers, investigative journalists and advertisers – ought to ask the question as to
what extent the integrity of their work might be compromised in view of other interests, such as
popularity, profit, higher viewership, or stronger sales. Yet this issue is not limited to people
working in media. It should be recognized as relevant by anyone who makes use of social media,
caught up in statements and exchanges of dubious worth. It should be considered by anyone who
wants to take seriously Aquinas’ claim that reason and a concern for truth are what makes us
human.

In view of Aquinas assertion that reason is what makes us uniquely human and that being
reasonable opens up both an epistemic concern for truth and also social concern of being in
relation with others, provide an assessment on the value or disvalue of post truth such as fake
news or alternative facts.
Assessment Sheet
ASSESSMENT 3

NAME: _________________________________ DATE: ________________

COURSE YEAR SEC: ____________________ SCORE: ______________

Direction: Put the case for or against your view or idea by giving evidence for your
claims/reasons for or against; attempt to influence the reader to accept your view

1. Are there other ways that the word natural is used to justify a particular way of behaving? How do
these approaches compare to the theory of Aquinas?

2. Can you think of human laws that are proper extensions of the natural law? Explain how this is so. Can
you think of other human law that violates the natural law? Explain how this is so.

3. Are there other forms of harm – short of killing another person – that may be taken as a violation of the
natural inclination to preserve one’s being? Justify your answer.

4. Are there current scientific developments – for example, in biology – that challenge the understanding
of nature presented by Aquinas?

5. Is it possible to maintain a natural law theory without believing in the divine source? Why or why not?
Rubrics for Essay

Each question will be graded based on this five (5) point rubric.

Score Completion Accuracy Comprehension Organization Conventions

5 The answer is All Content Content is well- No major

complete. information demonstrates a organized and grammatical or
provided is deep easy to read. spelling errors.
accurate. understanding and Points follow a No more than
application of logical two minor
ethical concepts. progression. It errors.
provides
examples which
supports the topic
with wit and
analysis

4 The answer is All Content Content is well- No major

missing slight information demonstrates organized and grammatical or
details provided is understanding and easy to read. spelling errors.
accurate. application of Points follow a No more than
ethical concepts. logical five minor
progression. It errors.
provides
examples which
supports the topic
with wit and
analysis

3 The answer is Most Content Content is Some major

missing information demonstrates basic organized and and minor
multiple provided is understanding and easy to read. errors that don’t
details. accurate. application of Points follow a necessarily
ethical concepts. mostly logical impair
progression.It communication
provides .
examples which
supports the topic
with wit and
analysis

2 Content Some Content Content may be Major and

suggests lack information demonstrates less unorganized and minor errors
of preparation provided is than basic difficult to read. significantly
or accurate. understanding and Points do not weaken quality
comprehensio application of follow a solidly of
n. ethical concepts. logical communication
progression and , although still
have provided comprehensible
unrelated .
examples.

1 Content only A small Content Content is Communication

marginally amount of demonstrates a unorganized, seriously
related to the the lack of illogical, and impaired by
question/prom information understanding and difficult to read. multitude of
pt. is accurate. application of spelling/gramm
ethical concepts. atical errors.

0 Content fails None of the Content Content is very Multitude of

to meet the information demonstrates a poorly organized, major and
basic provided is complete lack of illogical, and minor errors
requirements accurate. understanding and difficult to read. makes the
of the task. application of answer
ethical concepts. incomprehensib
le.