‘Natural Law Is the Most Reliable Approach When Making Decisions About Premarital Sex.’ Discuss.
‘Natural Law is the most reliable approach when making decisions about premarital sex.’ Discuss.
Natural Law, the basis for many of the teachings of the Catholic Church, is often considered a very conservative approach to sexual ethics, particularly to pre-marital sex. This allows for many interesting points for discussion in a modern society like our own. In this essay I will outline the Natural Law approach to pre-marital sex and evaluate its reliability. I will also outline and evaluate other ethical approaches to the topic in an attempt to determine if a more reliable approach is available. The Natural Law approach to pre-marital sex is relatively simple: sex is strictly for married couples only. This is because Natural Law is deontological and states that everything has a purpose, and that something is morally sound, or good, when it is fulfilling this purpose. The purpose of sex is to procreate; as that is what genitalia are designed for. The purpose of marriage is, traditionally, to bring two people together to raise a family. Therefore, the act with the purpose of making children should only take place in the union with the purpose of creating a family. Furthermore, as two of Aquinas’ primary precepts are to reproduce and live in society, it only makes sense from a Natural Law perspective to say that sex should only take place inside of marriage. This is because living in society involves structure, much of which is still formed around the institution of marriage. Producing children outside of the union would undermine this structure and therefore society. Thus, pre-marital sex is always seen as wrong in the eyes of Natural Law. This approach is most likely to be taken by traditional Christians. Having outlined the Natural Law approach to pre-marital sex, we can now evaluate it to determine its reliability. There are many flaws with this approach, most of which are generated by a more modern, liberal idea of sex. Firstly is the issue with
Natural Law, the basis for many of the teachings of the Catholic Church, is often considered a very conservative approach to sexual ethics, particularly to pre-marital sex. This allows for many interesting points for discussion in a modern society like our own. In this essay I will outline the Natural Law approach to pre-marital sex and evaluate its reliability. I will also outline and evaluate other ethical approaches to the topic in an attempt to determine if a more reliable approach is available. The Natural Law approach to pre-marital sex is relatively simple: sex is strictly for married couples only. This is because Natural Law is deontological and states that everything has a purpose, and that something is morally sound, or good, when it is fulfilling this purpose. The purpose of sex is to procreate; as that is what genitalia are designed for. The purpose of marriage is, traditionally, to bring two people together to raise a family. Therefore, the act with the purpose of making children should only take place in the union with the purpose of creating a family. Furthermore, as two of Aquinas’ primary precepts are to reproduce and live in society, it only makes sense from a Natural Law perspective to say that sex should only take place inside of marriage. This is because living in society involves structure, much of which is still formed around the institution of marriage. Producing children outside of the union would undermine this structure and therefore society. Thus, pre-marital sex is always seen as wrong in the eyes of Natural Law. This approach is most likely to be taken by traditional Christians. Having outlined the Natural Law approach to pre-marital sex, we can now evaluate it to determine its reliability. There are many flaws with this approach, most of which are generated by a more modern, liberal idea of sex. Firstly is the issue with