Natural Law Theory 

 

Everything in nature has a purpose

 
  1. Aristotelian science
    1. Nature is an orderly, rational system

                                                              i.      Answers the question: “How the world is?”

    1. Anthropocentric

 
  1. Christian adaptation:
    1. this system is God’s plan

                                                              i.      Answers the question: “Why the world is?”

                                                            ii.      Answers the question: “How ought the world be?”

 
  1. Teleology

 

The laws of nature describe how things are and how they ought to be

 
  1. Moral rules derive from the laws of nature
  1. To violate the laws of nature is to be immoral

 

Moral Knowledge: determined via reason

 
  1. Aquinas: “Disparaging the dictate of reason is condemning the command of God”

 

 
    1. Duty of the Christian and non-Christian is the same
    2. i.e., right / wrong not limited to faithful
    1. “Conscience is the dictate of reason”

 

Problems:

 
  1. Conflate “is” & “ought”
  1. Worldview replaced by modern science