MODULE: VAL02 – ETHICS

CHAPTER 7 - ST. THOMAS' NATURAL LAW ETHICS

A. Articulate what natural law ethics is

B. Apply natural law ethics

Natural law and Other Laws

Natural law is the "ordinance of Divine Wisdom, which is made known to us by reason and which
requires the observance of the moral order." It may also be defined to be "The eternal law as far as it
made known by human reason." By the eternal law we mean all that God necessarily decrees from
eternity. That part of the eternal law which reason reveals as directive of human acts, we call the natural
law.

Eternal law is what God wills for creation. We are part of God's creation and so we are part of Gods
eternal law. We may not be able to understand the eternal law fully given our limitations. However, by
reason we have a grasp or a sense of the eternal law. This is natural law.

There is in man an inclination to good, according to the nature of his reason, which nature is proper to
him; thus man has a natural inclination to know the truth about God, and to live in society; and in this
respect, whatever pertains to this inclination belongs to the natural law; for instance to shun ignorance,
to avoid offending those among whom one has to live, and other such things regarding the above
inclination. (Summa Theologiael-2 Question 94, Article 2) - St. Thomas Aquinas

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Rev. Charles Coppens, S.J. explains the various kinds of law according to St. Thomas:

A law decreed by Almighty God is a divine law; one established by man is a human law. Those laws
for human conduct which God, having once decreed creation, necessarily enacts in accordance with
that decree, constitute the natural law; those which God or man freely enacts are positive laws. Now,
between the natural law and positive laws, there are these
four points of difference: 1. The natural law, unlike positive
laws, does not depend upon the free will of God; its
requirements flow from the intrinsic difference between right
and wrong, which is determined by the very essences of
things. Hence, under this law, certain acts are not evil
primarily because they are forbidden, but they are forbidden
because in themselves they are evil. 2. Consequently, the
natural law is the same at all times, in all places, and for all persons; but this is not true of positive laws,
which may be changed with changing circumstances, or, if the law-giver so wills it, even without change
of circumstances. 3. The natural law emanates from God alone; but positive laws may be enacted by
men. 4. The natural law is promulgated through the light of reason; positive laws require for their
promulgation a sign external to man.

In summary, we have an eternal law, God's law for the whole creation, which we cannot fully grasp
given our limitation. But with our gift of reason we have a grasp of that eternal law, that is natural law.
Divine law is decreed y God while human law is decreed by man.

Natural Law as a Universal Formula

As an ethical framework, the natural law or maxim may be applied as implicitly illustrated in the
following:

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A universal formula which contains in brief an expression of the whole natural law is this: "Keep the
moral order," or "Observe right order in your actions." Some writers state it simply as, "Do good and
avoid evil." Now, the right order of human acts consists evidently in their proper direction to man's last
end, which is, subjectively, his perfect beatitude and, objectively, God Himself. God must direct His free
creatures to their last end, hence He commands them to observe the moral order and forbids them to
depart from it.

Natural and ethical for a human person is to "keep the moral order, to "observe right order," to "do good
and avoid evil" to preserve his/ her being. Suicide and murder work against preservation of human life,
therefore, are a violation of the natural law.

St. Thomas Aquinas grounded the directedness of nature in God. All of creation is directed toward
their final end God, God Himself. To direct us to Himself, He gave the divine law. The divine law given
to us in the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament and the new commandment of "love God..." and
"love your neighbor..." by Jesus Christ in the New Testament. And in the we were St. Thomas
synthesized faith and reason. He believed that natural law is part of the divine law, that the "natural law
shares in the eternal law." All of creation is directed
Analogous to logical reasoning, it may be applied as follows: Premise: Stealing is immoral and an evil
to avoid. Second Premise: The act of taking someone's property without his consent is stealing.
Conclusion: Therefore, the act of taking someone's property, which I actually intend to do, is immoral
and an evil to be avoided, which I should do avoid.

Law Defined
 The natural law is promulgated through the light of reason. Positive laws require for their
promulgation a sign external to man. Laws that are enacted are called positive laws.
 Law in general as "an ordinance of reason which is for the common good, and has been
promulgated by one having charge of the community." For a law to be a law, it must have the
four requisites, namely, a) ordinance (order, command) of reason, b) for the common good,
c) promulgation, and d) by one who has charge of the community.
 an unreasonable law is not law; a law that favors one to the prejudice of another or does not
equally protect all is not a law; a law that is not promulgated or published or made known to all,

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is not a law; and a law that is enacted by unauthorized persons is not a law.

A Law - must be a product of reason not purely of emotion. When the heart rules the mind, we can be
highly unreasonable.
 Is promulgated for the common good because we are meant to be social, we belong to a
community.
 That favors the male gender at the expense of the female gender cannot be a law.
 Must be promulgated by one whose primary task is to care for his/her people, the community.
The primary task of our lawmakers is to care for and protect their people by legislating laws for
the common good.
 Must be made known or communicated to all people to ensure correct understanding and
compliance.
 That is promulgated does not take effect immediately. In the Philippines, laws take effect after
fifteen days following the completion of the publication in the Official Gazette or a newspaper of
general circulation unless it is otherwise provided.

Kant's Deontological Ethics: The Duty Framework

Kant's Deontological Ethics

Kant's Ethics is now referred to as deontological. The term deontological has its root from the Greek
"deon" which means "duty". Hence deontological ethics focuses on "duty, obligation, and rights"
instead of consequences or ends. An act that proceeds from the will which wills it because it can be
the will of all is a right action. Willing and doing the will of all is a duty, regardless of the consequences.

The following clarifies Kant's duty-based approach:

The duty-based approach, sometimes called deontological ethics, argued that doing what is right is not
about the consequences of our actions (something over which we ultimately have no control) but about
having the proper intention in performing the action. The ethical action is one taken from duty, that is,
it is done precisely because it is our obligation to perform the action. Ethical obligations are the same
for all rational creatures (they are universal), and knowledge of what these obligations entail is arrived
at by discovering rules of behavior that are not contradicted by reason. Kant's famous formula for

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discovering our ethical duty is known as the "categorical imperative." It has a number of different
versions, but Kant believed they all amounted to the same imperative. The most basic form of the
imperative is: "Act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should
become a universal law." So, for example, lying is unethical because we could not universalize a maxim
that said "One should always lie." Such a maxim would render all speeches meaningless. We can,
however, universalize the maxim, "Always speak truthfully," without running into a logical contradiction.
(Notice that the duty- based approach says nothing about how easy or difficult it would be to carry out
these maxims, only that it is our duty as rational creatures to do so.) In acting according to a law that
we have discovered to be rational according to our own universal reason, we are acting autonomously
(in a self- regulating fashion), and thus are bound by duty, a duty we have given ourselves as rational
creatures. We thus freely choose (we will) to bind ourselves to the moral law. For Kant, choosing to
obey the universal moral law is the very nature of acting ethically. (Mackinon, B. and Fiola A., 2015)

The example, borrowing money with no intention to pay back, cannot be universalized and therefore
cannot be ethical. If this becomes universalized, there will be no more lenders and all banks will close.

The Duty Framework

In the Duty framework, we focus on the duties and obligations that we have in a given situation, and
consider what ethical obligations we have and what things we should never do. Ethical conduct is
defined by doing one's duties and doing the right thing, and the goal is performing the correct action.
This framework has the advantage of creating a system of rules that has consistent expectations of all
people; if an action is ethically correct or a duty is required, it would apply to every person in a given
situation. This even-handedness encourages treating everyone with equal dignity and respect. This
framework also focuses on following moral rules or duty regardless of outcome, so it allows for the
possibility that one might have acted ethically, even if there is a bad result. Therefore, this framework
works best in situations where there is a sense of obligation or in those in which we need to consider
why duty or obligation mandates or forbids certain courses of action. However, this framework also has
its limitations. First, it can appear cold and impersonal, in that it might require actions which are known
to produce harms, even though they are strictly in keeping with a particular moral rule. It also does not
provide a way to determine which duty we should follow if we are presented with a situation in which

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two or more duties conflict. It can also be rigid in applying the notion of duty to everyone regardless of
personal situation.

Kant's theory of right

The "universal principle of right" is that "an action is right if it can coexist with everyone's
freedom in accordance with a universal law, or if on its maxim the freedom of choice of each
can coexist with everyone's freedom in accordance with a universal law" (6:230). In other words,
your exercise freely whatever rights you have on your property but only in accordance with universal
law. Universal law means a maxim that can be the maxim of all. You can use, dispose, enjoy its fruits,
but only in such a way that you do not violate the rights of others. This exercise of a right bearin g in
mind the obligation to respect the right of others is tantamount to good faith or good will.

Legally and Morally Right

What is legal must be at the same time moral. An action is legally right if it is at the same time in
accordance with universal law, that is, in accordance with the categorical imperative. In another context,
what is legal is not necessarily moral. For instance, what is legal is limited to compliance with law, be it
laws of a state or country; but being moral may not be just following the law, but doing more than what
the law requires like responding to the need of another. Paying an employee his minimum wage is
legal; but paying more than his minimum. Wage because of care and concern of his needs is more than
what is legal.

Good will
"Nothing can possibly be conceived in the world, or even out of it, which can be called good without
qualification, except a good will."-Kant
"good will". An act is said to be right or wrong depending on whether it is done with or without good
will. The rightness or wrongness of an action depends on one's good will or intentions. The usual
criticism, or weakness cited, regarding this concept is that "The road to hell is paved with good
intentions."- Kant's criteria or framework of what is right or wrong

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Categorical Imperative:

Two (2) versions of the categorical imperative.

1. "I never to act other than so that I could will that my maxim should become a universal law." If
one cannot wish or want that a certain rule or maxim becomes the maxim of all, that it is not right
to follow it. For instance, one cannot will that "thou shalt steal" becomes a rule to be followed by
all because others may ultimately and steal his property. One cannot wish that "killing" becomes
the maxim of all because he would not of course wish that someone will come to kill him.
2. "Always treat humanity, whether in your own person or that of another, never simply as a means
but always at the same time as an end." Treating the another merely as a means to an end
means equating him to a mere instrument, a tool, an object which is cast aside after use, or can
be sold or exchanged when no longer needed, or has value only for as long as it is useful. Such
act makes one a "user." In contemporary philosophy, like Marcel or Buber's term, it is treating
the other as an IT, a thing. That's why they call the act as "thing-ization." In the parable of "Hope
for the Flowers" by Trina Paulus, Stripe's climbing the caterpillar's pillar to reach to top, where
all that could be seen as a reward of climbing are other caterpillar's pillars, was no other way
than stepping on other caterpillars as a means of moving up higher.

Ought implies Can

If and only if we can or are free to act in certain ways can we be commanded to do so? This is one
more moral principle ascribed to Kant, derived from two passages in his works.
"For if the moral law commands that we ought to be better human beings now, it inescapably follows
that we must be capable of being better human beings."
"The action to which the "ought" applies must indeed be possible under natural conditions." The
Situation Ethics author, Joseph Fletcher, used this maxim several times to illustrate his situationism. In
full statement the saying would be, "If I ought to do something, then I can do it." By way of logical
analysis, the statement means, one's ability to do something is a necessary condition for his being
obliged to do it. In Fletcher's terms, "you are obliged to do only what you can where you are."

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ETHICS book
Ruben A. Corpuz, AB English-Philo, LIB, PhD
Brenda B. Corpuz, BSE, MAED, PhD
(https://batasnatin.com/law-libraray/civil-law/persons-and-family/