Natural Law

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Natural Law

• Rels 300 / Nurs 330
• 17 sep 2008

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NATURAL LAW THEORY

• 2 main components or elements
• rationality
• teleology
• RATIONALITY
• human persons are rational creatures
• morality is grounded in the human capacity for
  reasoning / intelligence
• humans are free and autonomous
• i.e. Make own choices carry them out

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Natural Law (contd)

• TELEOLOGY
• Natural law is embedded in the nature of the
  universe
• Everything in the universe has its own natural
  purpose or end
• discovered, not created, by people
• e.g. Thomas Aquinas
• God created universe and persons
• Gods purposes are inscribed in nature
• Gods moral law rooted in creation

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TELEOLOGY

• telos end
• in the sense of purpose or goal of the natural
  order
• e.g. the purpose or goal of sexual intercourse is
  to fertilize an egg leading to conception,
  implantation, gestation and birth
• using contraceptives frustrates the natural telos
  or goal of the sexual act
• ? contraception is immoral

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Natural Law (contd)

• Aristotle
• the moral law exists as part of the natural order
  of the world
• feelings and opinions morally irrelevant
• moral law is embedded in the structure of
  rational thought
• universal and binding on all people

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Principle of totality

• Health care intervention such as surgery
• Surgery involves harm
• Unnecessary surgery should not be done
• Surgery must serve the overall good of the body,
  i.e. the totality of the person

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Principle of Double Effect

• If an action has 2 effects an intended good
  effect and an unintended bad effect the action
  may be taken IF
• The intended good effect is equal to or greater
  than the unintended bad effect AND
• The bad effect is not the means of producing the
  good effect

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Example of Double Effect

• Increasingly large doses of morphine
• Intended good effect pain relief to suffering
  patients
• Unintended bad effect depression of breathing
  and potential shortening of life
• Hastening death is not an intended effect
  relieving pain is the intended effect
• Hastening death is not the MEANS by which pain is
  relieved

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Catholic Moral Theology

• Many sources, all taken in balance
• Natural law is rooted in Gods creation of
  everything
• Every creature has goals or purposes that are
  ordained by God
• Gods law is eternal and unchanging
• All human persons are capable of discerning Gods
  natural law

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Catholic Moral Theology

• Gods natural law is revealed through
• Holy Scriptures
• Interpretation of Scripture by the Church
• Historical tradition of the Church itself
• Teachings of the Church formulated to guide the
  actions of its members
• Conscience of the faithful is formed by knowing
  and following this revelation

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Analyze this case using natural law using
Catholic moral theology

• In 1994, Rosanna Della Corte, a 62-year-old
  Italian woman, gave birth to a healthy son,
  Riccardo. Her egg was artificially inseminated
  by the sperm of her 63-year-old husband, Mauro,
  at Dr. Severino Antinoris fertility clinic in
  Rome, Italy. Rosanna Della Corte had earlier
  lost her only son at 17 in a terrible car
  accident. She had often tried to adopt another
  son, but in vain.
• These were the reasons she turned to the
  procedure.
• In reaction, restrictions were introduced in the
  Italian legislature in the wake of a papal
  encyclical, Evangelium Vitae, condemning in vitro
  fertilization and many other high-tech fertility
  procedures.

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Summary

• You should be sure that you understand these
  terms
• Natural law
• Rationality
• Teleology
• Catholic Moral Theology

• What are the 4 sources of divine command in
  Catholic tradition?
• Why are all of these regarded as part of
  universalism rather than relativism?
• Define Principle of Totality and Principle of
  Double Effect

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Practise Case Study

• Mary Jodie, conjoined twins