Natural Law - Hand Out

GROUP NO.
3
TOPIC: NATURAL LAW
DATE/WEEK NO. OCTOBER 24, 2021- WEEK 5
VOCABULARY BUILDING
Forfeiture - the loss or giving up of something as a penalty for wrongdoing.

Heritage- is the full range of our inherited traditions, monuments, objects, and culture.
Includes, preserving, excavating, displaying, or restoring a collection of old things.
Precepts- a general rule intended to regulate behavior or thought.
Theology- is the study of religion that covers a lot of subjects, like rituals, divine beings,
the history of religions, and the concept of religious truth.
TOPICAL CONTENT
I. Natural Law
- The belief that certain laws of morality are inherent by human nature, reason,
or religious belief, and that they are ethically binding on humanity.
- Throughout history, the phrase “natural law” has had to do with determining how
humans should behave morally.
- It is universally applicable at all places, at all times, and applies to all human races.
II. Thomas Aquinas

 He was a 13th century philosopher and Christian priest.
He was known for combining theology with philosophy and putting forward theories that
combined faith with logical reasoning. Aquinas theorized that both faith and reasoning
ultimately comes from God.
 He believed in theology and wrote about it in his book: The Summa Theologica.
As its title indicates, it is a “theological summary.” It seeks to describe the relationship
between God and man and to explain how man’s reconciliation with the Divine is made
possible at all through Christ. Also, deals with the purpose of man, habits, types of law,
vices and virtues, prudence and justice, fortitude and temperance, graces, and the
religious versus the secular life.
 Aquinas adopted Aristotle’s view (theologist) that all things have a purpose.
If the object (non-living things and living things) has a purpose, definitely the object is
good.
 He says you can find that purpose by looking at the natural world and the bible.
Humans are free but not lawless. The law of nature restricts us in some ways and Natural
Law restricts us in others. We are able to go against natural law, although this would be
a conscious choice, but not the laws of nature.
Humanity was given the ability to reason and the freedom to choose what is right.
Natural Law is the rational understanding and following of God’s final purpose.
Two Principles of Natural Law
The Principle of Forfeiture

- a person who threatens the life of an innocent person forfeits his or her own right
to life.
- If I threaten your life, I forfeit my right to life. Thus, killing in self- defense is morally
permissible.
Under the principle of forfeiture, the innocents grant a right to self-defense because the
aggressor who threatens another’s life has forfeited his or her right to life, thus the victim
does not commit a crime by killing the aggressor in self-defense.
The Principle of Double Effect

- refers to situations where there is an intended outcome and another significant but
unintentional outcome.
- Sometimes it is permissible to perform an action that has, besides its desired
(good) effects, a second effect that it would be impermissible to bring about, either
as an end or as a means.
The principle of double effect states that doing something morally good has a morally bad
side effect. It’s ethically permissible to do it as long as the bad side effect wasn’t intended.
It is permissible to perform an act that will have evil effects only if:
a) The act is good in itself or at least morally indifferent.
b) We do not wish evil effects and make all reasonable efforts to avoid them.
c) The direct effect is morally acceptable.
d) The good effect is sufficiently good to compensate for allowing the evil effect.
III. Greek Heritage
 Plato (437-347 BCE) According to Plato “the form of the good is the cause of all
things and when it is seen it leads a person to act wisely.” (anyone who really knew
what good was would do good.)
 Aristotle (384-322 BCE) “Law, which regulates human life in the state has this as
its highest purpose as to help citizens use their faculty of reason to reach their
greatest potential and by doing so to live a good life.”
 Cicero (106-43 BCE) “Law is a natural force. It is the mind and reason of the
intelligent man by which justice and injustice are measured.”
 St. Augustine (354-430 CE) “Ideal justice can be achieved only when the City of
God comes on earth, meaning when God came back on earth and Christian justice
reigned supreme.”
 St. Thomas Aquinas “Law is chiefly ordained to the common good, and that the
intention of the law-maker should be to lead men to virtue.”
 Socrates (470-399 B.C) “Human insight has the capacity to distinguish between
good and bad and is able to appreciate moral values. Therefore, Virtue is
knowledge and whatever is not knowledge is sin.”
IV. Essence and Varieties of Law
Essential properties of law
 An order of practical reason- it binds or obligates the person to a particular

behavior.
Example: You have a free will to reach the maximum speed limit of your car.
However, your free will is bound to the obligation to obey the speed limit at EDSA
highway with only 60 kilometers per hour.
 Directed towards common good- this means the law is meant to further the
interests and the overall happiness of the community.
 Made by someone who cares for the community- the community should be
permitted to make their own laws. There must be a representative who works well
on behalf of the common good.
 Promulgated, or publicized- the law must be promulgated or made publicly

known in order to notify the community in order to be obligated to follow them.
B. Varieties of Law
Aquinas Natural theory contains different types of law. In order to understand these four
laws and how they connected to one another is through eternal law.
1. Eternal law
2. Natural law
3. Human law
4. Divine law
Eternal law
- the divine plan of the universe.
- God’s plan for all things and he commanded us to follow it.
- Since God is part of the eternal law, it will always exist.
As God plans for all things, Aquinas believes everything has a purpose and follows a
plan. For example, the seed has a telos (a Greek word that refers to purpose or function
of an object) and it was supposed to grow into a plant or tree, then it’s good. But, how
about people? What purpose could say that you are a good person? And that is where
St. Thomas' second law comes in.
Natural law
- Human being’s participation in the eternal law.
- If a person acts according to reason, then we are partaking the natural law.
- According to St. Thomas, natural law refers to the human intrinsic values that
command our reasoning and behavior.
Aquinas also stated that people have a First primary precepts (the good is to be pursued
and done and evil avoided.) It means that, as people, we already know what is right and
wrong without being told so or checked by laws and books. Therefore, he gave a list of
primary precepts that are absolutely correct in all instances.
First primary precepts consider:
Life Avoid Offense

Reproduce Shun ignorance
Educate one’s spring
Seek God
Live in society
Human law
- An ordinance of reason for the common good made and enforced by a ruler or
government.
Secondary precepts (imposed by governments, groups, clubs, societies etc.) It is not

always morally acceptable to follow secondary precepts. It is only morally
acceptable if they are consistent with the Natural law. If they are, then we follow. If
they are not, then we ought not.
Example: Women who live in Saudi Arabia are not allowed to drive.
For Aquinas, it is practically irrational because it treats people differently based on
arbitrary difference (gender). He would reason that if it is morally wrong to follow a law
that says men can and women cannot drive. There is no practical reason to think that
there is one correct side of the road on which to drive.
Divine law
- The historical laws of scripture given to us through God’s will and revelation.
Example: A man confessed to a priest and asked for advice. He said, “I am having an
affair which just feels so right, we are both very much in love and surely God would want
what is the best for me! How could it be wrong if we are so happy?”
Response: The priest opened the Bible to the Ten Commandments and pointed out that
it is wrong to commit adultery.
References
https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/theology
https://languages.oup.com/google-dictionary-en
https://www.umass.edu/chs/about/whatisheritage.html
https://languages.oup.com/google-dictionary-en
https://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/aquinas/section1/
https://books.openedition.org/obp/4422?lang=en

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GROUP NO.

Forfeiture - the loss or giving up of something as a penalty for wrongdoing.

II. Thomas Aquinas

Two Principles of Natural Law

The Principle of Forfeiture

The Principle of Double Effect

IV. Essence and Varieties of Law

Essential properties of law

 An order of practical reason- it binds or obligates the person to a particular

 Promulgated, or publicized- the law must be promulgated or made publicly

Life Avoid Offense

Secondary precepts (imposed by governments, groups, clubs, societies etc.) It is not

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