Explain Natural Law theory essay
‘Explain Natural Law Theory’!
(25 marks)!
!
Natural Law is an ethical system based on the view that humans have asset of natural inclinations that, if followed, will lead to the perfection of our being. Natural Law has its roots in Greek and
Roman philosophy and is traditionally associated with the work of Aristotle. The Bible taught
Aquinas that God had created the universe with order and purpose. Having discovered this thought scripture, Aquinas developed these ideas. His explanation of how Natural Law works is taken from
Aristotle. !
!
Aristotle argued that the universe contains both rational forms and material substances.The two are joined together; you cannot separate forms from substances. For example, human beings possess a body and a soul. The soul is the rational form behind both human beings in general and behind the particular individual. The soul or form comes first and is unchanging because it is conceptual. The body, which is always changing, develops to accommodate the form. This idea is equally true of parts of the body as it is of the human being as a whole. Each organ has a material substance and a rational form; a body and a soul. Aristotle explains this by referring to the eye.
How did the eye develop? Aristotle asserts that the idea of sight must come before the existence of the eye. he cities the story of a partially sighted man. The man is walking along and sees on the ground a ball of jelly. He says to himself that this looks like his other eye. He picks it up and inserts it into the empty socket of his other eye. But this is just a lump of jelly and he therefore, sees nothing through it. The lump of jelly may look the same as an eye but it does not possess the rational idea of sight. It is simply jelly. The example of the eye reveals Aristotle’s view that everything in nature has a function, purpose and an end, but as it is manufactured, human beings determine this. Aristotle believes that eudaimonia is the final end of all things; it
(25 marks)!
!
Natural Law is an ethical system based on the view that humans have asset of natural inclinations that, if followed, will lead to the perfection of our being. Natural Law has its roots in Greek and
Roman philosophy and is traditionally associated with the work of Aristotle. The Bible taught
Aquinas that God had created the universe with order and purpose. Having discovered this thought scripture, Aquinas developed these ideas. His explanation of how Natural Law works is taken from
Aristotle. !
!
Aristotle argued that the universe contains both rational forms and material substances.The two are joined together; you cannot separate forms from substances. For example, human beings possess a body and a soul. The soul is the rational form behind both human beings in general and behind the particular individual. The soul or form comes first and is unchanging because it is conceptual. The body, which is always changing, develops to accommodate the form. This idea is equally true of parts of the body as it is of the human being as a whole. Each organ has a material substance and a rational form; a body and a soul. Aristotle explains this by referring to the eye.
How did the eye develop? Aristotle asserts that the idea of sight must come before the existence of the eye. he cities the story of a partially sighted man. The man is walking along and sees on the ground a ball of jelly. He says to himself that this looks like his other eye. He picks it up and inserts it into the empty socket of his other eye. But this is just a lump of jelly and he therefore, sees nothing through it. The lump of jelly may look the same as an eye but it does not possess the rational idea of sight. It is simply jelly. The example of the eye reveals Aristotle’s view that everything in nature has a function, purpose and an end, but as it is manufactured, human beings determine this. Aristotle believes that eudaimonia is the final end of all things; it