Strengths and Weaknessses of Natural Law
Pollina Cant 12SMA
a)Explain the strengths of natural law Natural law is a deontological argument and is an absolutist theory. It holds the belief that there is a innate law within us and gives humans a purpose in life - to be in union with God. Thomas Aquinas believe that all humans have a God given law that has the potential to be channeled by anyone. It is based on the fact there are real and apparent goods , which means that although you may think your doing the right thing , you may just be doing an apparent good. Natural law provides a system in which anyone can achieve goodness and genuine happiness and fulfillment. There is the argument that different people find that different things make them happy , but Natural law would explain that this ‘happiness’ is merely apparent, and not real. When bringing up children it is vital to have definite writes and wrongs , and a child’s sense of reason isn’t fully developed. Natural law allows for a clear-cut approach to morality and establishes common rules which promotes a good upbringing to children. children’s sense of write or wrong develops whilst they grow and if they a brought up knowing that there is an absolute law that they must learn to obey then they will probably grow up to have a very strong moral code. Natural law is a common sense. In everyday life humans develop the idea of common sense, but no-one really knows what it is; Natural law explains this. It is written into us and is unchanging. Some could argue that in fact common sense has changed through generations due to different developments - The common sense of a cave man could be considered different to the common sense of humans now. However Thomas Aquinas would reply that the logic would still be the same, the way we work things out has always been the same as it is written into every human mind. This means that even people who don’t believe in a christian God can still grasp the concept of innate law because all humans will know that they have
a)Explain the strengths of natural law Natural law is a deontological argument and is an absolutist theory. It holds the belief that there is a innate law within us and gives humans a purpose in life - to be in union with God. Thomas Aquinas believe that all humans have a God given law that has the potential to be channeled by anyone. It is based on the fact there are real and apparent goods , which means that although you may think your doing the right thing , you may just be doing an apparent good. Natural law provides a system in which anyone can achieve goodness and genuine happiness and fulfillment. There is the argument that different people find that different things make them happy , but Natural law would explain that this ‘happiness’ is merely apparent, and not real. When bringing up children it is vital to have definite writes and wrongs , and a child’s sense of reason isn’t fully developed. Natural law allows for a clear-cut approach to morality and establishes common rules which promotes a good upbringing to children. children’s sense of write or wrong develops whilst they grow and if they a brought up knowing that there is an absolute law that they must learn to obey then they will probably grow up to have a very strong moral code. Natural law is a common sense. In everyday life humans develop the idea of common sense, but no-one really knows what it is; Natural law explains this. It is written into us and is unchanging. Some could argue that in fact common sense has changed through generations due to different developments - The common sense of a cave man could be considered different to the common sense of humans now. However Thomas Aquinas would reply that the logic would still be the same, the way we work things out has always been the same as it is written into every human mind. This means that even people who don’t believe in a christian God can still grasp the concept of innate law because all humans will know that they have