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Natural Law Lesson 5
Virtues, Real and Apparent Goods
Learning objectives
• Know the cardinal
and revealed
• Know what Aquinas
meant by ‘real’ and
‘apparent’ goods.
• Apply real and
apparent goods to
particular situations
Knowledge test
1. According to Aquinas what is humanities final
God-given purpose?
2. What other purpose do individual humans
have?
3. What is human reason?
4. What are the five primary precepts? List
5. Explain what secondary precepts are – without
examples.
6. Are secondary precepts absolute?
Recap -Essay Skills
Read the essay on Aquinas and primary precepts
Identify
• Key vocab
• Any links to natural law
Evaluate the answer – three stars and a wish
Consolidation task
Summary of primary and secondary precepts
1.Write up your own summary of primary and
secondary precepts – in any note taking style you
find helpful
What precepts are
What the five are – why they are important
What secondary precepts are
Examples of secondary precepts
2. Make revision notes/cards on the four levels of
law, purpose, reason etc.
In your notes ….Virtues
The word virtue comes from the Greek word
‘arête’ which means ‘excellence’ in terms of
personal qualities of character.
Aquinas said virtues are important to help
humans live a moral life and achieve their final
cause/purpose which is . . .
Revealed/Theological Virtues
People must be infused by the Divine law to
achieve these, they can not be attained through
human effort. They were revealed in the
Scriptures (St Paul in 1 Corinthians 13).Humans
can aspire to them but can’t attain perfectly in
this life.
• Faith,
• Hope,
• Charity/love (agape)
Impact
• These 3 virtues define and direct all other virtues –
They are absolute and perfect!
• However, they are also aspirational, and can not
necessarily be achieved in this world, but we should
all aim for it.
• They help us, with the Grace of God, to achieve
perfection (supernatural union with God).
• ‘Beatific vision’ - human beings ‘attain their last end
by knowing and loving God’ (Aqinas)
What do they mean?
Faith is an act of will
for Aquinas: ‘an act of
intellect which
assents to the divine
truth at the command
of the will, moved by
God’s Grace’. Faith
involves the whole
person and is ac
active thing no just a
thought...Faith in
Action.
Hope and trust in achieving the
beatific vision. Inspired state of
being that drives a person to reach
the final end. Pure form of desire
focused on the highest goal.
The greatest of them
all is love. Love for
God reflected in the
love for one’s
neighbour – this is the
key to Aquinas’ view
of morality. Love
directs all other
virtues to God 1
Corinthians 13
explains that without
Love all other virtues
are ‘nothing’
Cardinal Virtues
Aquinas identified four qualities that reflect the moral
life. They are known as the cardinal virtues because the
Latin term ‘cardo’ means ‘hinge’. They are believed to
form the basis of a moral life. They can be achieved
through reason.
You should have used the textbook 81 to write up
detailed definitions . .
Prudence Justice Temperance Fortitude/Courage -
1. Prudence
• Requires sound judgements
and reasoning.
• Application of ‘wisdom
concerning human affairs’
that is ‘right reason with
respect to action’.
• Being aware of principles of
NML and applying them to
the specific situations –
Prudence is the basis of
casuistic endeavour.
True and good course of action
through;
1. Council – consideration of
possible actions.
2. Judgement – picking a
course of action.
3. Command – application of
judgement.
This is the art of casuistry
2. Temperance
• This is all about moderation.
• We can see this through the
doctrine of the mean.
• It involves sobriety and
restraint;
‘sensible and bodily goods...are
not in opposition to reason,
but are subject to it as
instruments which reason
employs in order to attain its
proper end’
3. Fortitude
• Endurance is about
discipline/patience/enduranc
e and perseverance in the
face of difficulties either
physical, moral or spiritual.
• This virtue encourages the
nobility of character, to not
be controlled by fear (1 John
4:16-18) on one hand or
recklessness on he other
(doctrine of the mean) .
4. Justice
• The other 3 virtues which focus on
the individual, this is the only one
to focus on others, more
specifically our actions towards
them.
• Justice to Aquinas is about goods
and responsibilities being ‘fairly
apportioned among people who
stand in social community and in
due proportion’
• He does not mean equality for all
but recognises individual needs,
relative to circumstances.
Why are these virtues important to
Aquinas?
Virtue - Memory Aid
Virtues
Revealed
Faith
Hope
Love
Cardinal
Prudence
Justice
Temperance
Courage/fortitude
Mnemonic
Chunking
Break into two fives
Read
Remove
Remember
Silly story – sillier the better
Knowledge Test
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
What does virtue mean
List the four cardinal virtues.
What enables us to identify the cardinal virtues?
Which virtue is defined as - Courage, possessing the
ability to confront fear and uncertainty in order to
achieve one’s goal.
Why are virtues important?
Why are they called ‘revealed’ virtues?
List the three revealed or theological virtues?
List the five primary precepts? WORLD
Explain what secondary precepts are.
Answers – out of 18
1. The word virtue comes from the Greek word ‘arête’ which
means ‘excellence’ in terms of personal qualities of character.
2. Fortitude, Prudence, Justice, Temperance
3. Reason
4. Fortitude
5. Help us re-establish right relationship with God
6. Revealed by God in scripture – can’t work out using reason
7. Faith, Hope and Charity
8. Worship God, ordered society, reproduce, learn, defend the
innocent
9. Flexible guidelines to help us fulfil the primary precepts
Consolidation task
Virtues
Write up your own explanation of virtues
What virtue means
Why we need to develop them
What are the two types and what they mean
e.g. cardo means . . .
Exam focus task - 20
• Read the sample essays on pages 14, 15 and
16
You are the examiner – what are your comments
What should they add or remove from the
introduction?
Any other development points?
How might these people’s actions be seen
as ‘good’?
The IAAF scandal: A timeline of the
3
1
2
5 doping allegations engulfing athletics 15
Jan 2016
New York City police have
found up to 70 bags of
suspected heroin inside
actor Philip Seymour
Hoffman's home a day
after his death, US media
report.
The Oscar-winning star,
46, was found dead at his
Greenwich Village home
on Sunday with a syringe
in his arm.
Claims of state sponsored doping in
Russia have spiralled into a scandal which
has everyone in athletics questioning the
very foundations of the sport
4
Charlie
Hedbo
shootings
6
Real Goods - information
Thomas Aquinas believed that humans were mainly good
because we are created by God, and that natural law is
within all of us. He believed that we are orientated
towards the achievement of good – this is the synderesis
rule (Opposed to St Augustine)
“No evil can be desirable, either by natural appetite or by
conscience will”. He believed that actions which were not
in the pursuit of good could be explained as the pursuit of
the apparent good.
The pursuit of a real good is the correct use of reason in
accordance with natural law and therefore in line with our
outlined purpose.
Real Goods - questions
1 What is a real good?
2 Why does Aquinas argue that we would never
knowingly pursue evil?
• We are naturally inclined to do good and avoid
evil in order to reach the highest good and fulfil
our purpose. Human nature is essentially good
because there is natural law in everyone as
humans were created by God.
3 How do we know what is ‘good’ / how to act?
• REASON God given – developed through virtues
Apparent Goods - information
Something that does not fit with the perfect human ideal. “A
fornicator seeks pleasure which involves him in moral guilt”. The
adulterer commits adultery because he or she believes it is good.
This (for Aquinas) is an error in reason, because the action of
adultery prevents the person from drawing close to what God
intend (purpose).
• Example of the Child and the TV.
• To distinguish between real and apparent goods the human
must use reason correctly and to choose the right thing to
do. Aquinas realised that this was not always easy. We may
be tempted to do things we enjoy, which may not be good
for us.
Apparent Goods - questions
4 What is an apparent good?
• Apparent good = Thinking something is good
when it isn’t really! Taking us further away from
what God intended for us.
5 How might this happen?
• Misguided reason. E.g. The adulterer thinks s/he’s
in love and it is a good thing to do!
Recap - Real good = the right use of reason, leading
to action that is leads us towards perfection.
Apparent Goods - example
Breivik carried out the shootings in Norway
because he believed that the governing Labour
Party was promoting multiculturalism and thus
endangering Norway's identity. He argued that
Muslims were destroying European society.
5 What is sin?
• Apparent goods = SIN!
• Being less than God intended us to be –
seeking apparent good rather than real good.
Real and Apparent Goods
TASK
• This task is to help you to learn which is
one of the Primary Precepts!
Read page 19
1. Complete the child and TV example
2. Fill in the missing words on the ‘Real and
Apparent Goods’ task on page 17.
Natural Moral Law
Exterior and Interior
Acts
L O’s
To understand Aquinas’ ideas of real
and apparent goods and interior and
exterior acts
To be able to explain any problems
you have found with Aquinas’ theory
To create a summary of natural law
Recap - Real and Apparent Goods
Out of 20
1. What are real goods
2. Give an example
3. What are apparent goods?
4. Give an example
5. What are the four cardinal virtues?
6. What are the three revealed or theological
virtues?
7. What are the four levels of law?
8. What the five primary precepts?
Interior and Exterior Acts
Interior acts = Intention
Exterior acts = the act itself
• Aquinas believed BOTH the
intention and the act itself were
important.
Interior and Exterior Acts
• Acting in a good way for the wrong reason is
to perform a good exterior act but a bad
interior act.
• To help an elderly lady cross the
road (good exterior act) to impress
someone (bad interior act) is wrong.
• It should be done out of charity and
not for the sake of admiration for
others.
• Write your own example.
Interior and Exterior Acts
• Good intentions don’t always lead to good
actions.
• If I steal money (exterior act) to give it to a
friend (interior act), the theft isn’t made good
by my intention to help my friend.
• Write your own example.
• The only end that Aquinas values
is God.
Interior and Exterior Acts
• Aquinas believes that acts are intrinsically good
or bad (good or bad in themselves) because
when human beings act in accordance with their
ultimate purpose, God is glorified.
• The act of helping the elderly lady across the road
is good in and of itself, because it accords with
the true human nature and in accordance with
their final purpose, and that glorifies God.
• This demonstrates Aquinas’ deontological
approach to Natural Law. Explain how
Exterior and Interior Acts
Use the information in the textbook to complete
the page 17 on exterior and interior acts.
Think of examples of interior and exterior acts
and add them to your notes
Double Effect
Make notes on double effect – page 83
• Complete the task below
For example:
A Roman Catholic doctor prescribes contraceptive pills to
a woman to regulate her menstrual cycle, so preventing
painful and irregular periods.
1. What is the primary reason?
2. What would the consequences be?
3. Would this be accepted if you use a Natural Law
approach to ethics?
Casuistry 142
• ‘Casuistry is the science of judging cases of
conscience, or moral problems.’ Holmes
AO2 Problems with double effect
• The principle of double effect is often seen as a weakness
of the natural law theory for a variety of reason.
• Write up the points below on post its, explain why they are
seen as problems and then prioritise them in order of most
and least important.
• It is case dependant
• Can be manipulated
• Hard to identify one motive for an action
Natural Law
Summary
Learning objectives
•Know what interior and
exterior acts are
• Explain how these
relate to real/apparent
goods and reason
•To explain how to make
decisions using Aquinas’
Natural Law approach
Starter
Key word bingo
Draw a nine square grid, fill it with nine words
from the list below
divine law, eternal law, natural law, human law,
real goods, apparent goods, primary precepts,
secondary precepts, deontological, reason,
purpose, absolutist, cardinal virtues, revealed
virtues, final cause
Natural Law
Stepping Stones
Moral dilemma?
What ‘steps’ would a follower of Aquinas have to
take to move from being faced by a moral dilemma
and making the correct decision?
High Grade - What mistakes could they make on the
way? Apparent goods, misuse of reason?
• Create ‘stepping stones’ that a supporter of
natural law would have to follow if placed with a
moral dilemma.
Activity Morally correct
decision!
Flow diagram on application of natural
law to an ethical issue
Issue -
Purpose and
reason
Five primary
precepts and
secondary
precepts
Homework
•
Create a summary triangle for natural moral law, use all your notes and booklets – you could use this triangle or another idea.
Most important idea?
How do we know our purpose?
Explain Aquinas’ natural law theory.
For Aquinas the highest good is rational understanding
/following God's final purpose, purpose of human life outlined
in the five primary precepts which are developed in the
secondary precepts.
Communal nature of human life just as important as
freedom/dignity of individual; reason in agreement with nature;
absolute morality – clearly defined and universally applied
moral rules; not consequentialist;
three revealed virtues (faith, hope and charity) four cardinal
virtues (prudence, justice, fortitude, temperance). Aquinas' four
levels of law –eternal, divine, natural and human. The
differences between interior/exterior acts, real/apparent goods,
etc. [30 AO1]
To what extent is Aquinas’ NL meaningless without a belief in a creator God
See Bowie
• Meaningless
Purpose – heaven
Reason from God
Divine law – pluralism
Revealed virtues based on
St Paul
Interior acts – private
Goods – real achieve
teleos – union with God
Not meaningless
All got reason
Cardinal virtues – Aristotle
– available to everyone
Goods – real good if
achieve alternative teleos
Primary precepts – four
human goods
Clarke