Explain the Natural Law Theory

Explain the Natural Law theory (25 marks)

Natural law theory is a Christian ethical theory which was first looked into by Aristotle however then later developed by Thomas Aquinas, a Christian theologian who created a full account. The theory of Natural Moral Law has been around for over 2000 years however is essentially deontological, although it’s aimed at the ‘telos’ of eudemonia, it is entirely focused on the actions that lead us there. Aristotle first believed that there was a law written in the nature for humans to know how to act morally. He believed that following these rules would lead to ‘Eudemonia’ otherwise known as happiness. Aquinas was then influenced by this and theologised the theory and believed that it was God given and leads to a reward in heaven for good actions on earth.

Natural law theory is a deontological theory meaning that certain acts are right or wrong regardless of the circumstance. Aquinas’ theory of Natural Law would be seen as absolutist as he believes all moral laws are sent by God and apply in all situations at all times. However Aristotle’s theory of Natural Law is mainly teleological as because he focuses on the end of all our actions and how they would lead to happiness.

Aristotle created the four main causes for to every object in the world, this including humans. These were – the material cause, this is what something is made out of e.g. the human body is made out of cells and wooden boxes are made out of wood, this explains the general sort of properties of something. The formal cause – this is what makes a thing one thing rather than many things, for example the human body is human and wooden boxes are boxes – a mere collection of cells is not a formal cause, a human body is the formal cause. The efficient cause – this is the cause of something or what did something e.g. if a ball broke a window, then the ball is the efficient cause of the window breaking. Finally, there is the final cause – this is why the efficient causes do what they do and why formal causes do what they do. For example, why do balls break windows? The final cause says that because balls are hard and windows are brittle, so they break. For Aristotle, the final cause was the most important for humans as it focused on the ‘telos’, the end and eudemonia which in turn gives humans their ethical code. He valued the final cause as he believed that goodness came in the form of happiness and that this happiness wasn’t a feeling but a reasoned, selfless action that contributed to the final goal of eudemonia in society. Aquinas supported Aristotle idea that there is a final and efficient cause to everything that happens. However had a Christian approach and believed that God was the efficient cause and that life in the afterlife with him was the final cause for everything that humans do, regardless of whether they knew it or not.

For both Aristotle and Aquinas they believed that as part of the Natural Moral Law – everything and everyone has a purpose in life. According to Aquinas the purpose of humanity can be summed up as ‘do good and avoid evil’. He says we will achieve this by following the five primary precepts – preservation of life, order in society, worshiping God, educating children and reproducing. These primary precepts were created to help us identify our God given purposes in life, they help us to identify which actions are good and which are absolute. However according to Aristotle, there is only one main precept in life and that is bringing eudemonia to the whole of society. Aquinas also believed that the secondary precepts are what enable us to achieve the primary precepts – whilst the primary precepts are absolute, the secondary precepts can change depending on the situation.