Natural Law Theory: Crash Course Philosophy #34

Summary

This video script explores Thomas Aquinas' Natural Law Theory, which argues that God designed humans with an inherent understanding of what is good, known as the 'basic goods.' Aquinas believed we naturally seek self-preservation, reproduction, community, and knowledge, all leading us to follow God's moral laws. The script discusses how Aquinas' ideas influenced Catholic and Protestant teachings, while also examining criticisms such as the 'is-ought' problem posed by David Hume. Ultimately, it highlights how instinct and reason guide us toward morality, while recognizing the theory’s limitations.

Takeaways

• 📜 Thomas Aquinas was a key philosopher of the 13th century, focusing on morality and its universal importance.
• 🤔 Aquinas introduced Natural Law Theory, stating that God pre-programmed us with tools to understand what is good.
• 🌍 Natural law is based on the idea that God's creation has predictable, goal-driven systems that sustain life and guide us to good actions.
• 💡 The 'basic goods' are seven instinctual desires: self-preservation, reproduction, educating offspring, seeking God, living in community, avoiding offending others, and shunning ignorance.
• 🧠 Reason helps humans understand and derive natural laws from the basic goods, meaning we don't need religious texts to recognize moral truths.
• ⛪ Aquinas' natural law theory is influential in both Catholic and Protestant traditions, shaping views on morality and purpose.
• ❓ Natural law answers why people don't always follow God's plan: ignorance or emotions overpower reason, leading to mistakes.
• ⚖️ A major critique of natural law comes from David Hume's 'is-ought' problem, which argues it's fallacious to derive moral duties from natural instincts.
• 🔍 Critics also challenge the application of natural law to things like sex and reproduction, asking if reproduction is always 'good' or necessary.
• 🧐 Despite its influence, natural law theory faces philosophical objections, leading later philosophers like Immanuel Kant to search for alternatives.

Q & A

Who was Thomas Aquinas, and why is he considered significant in philosophy?

Thomas Aquinas was an Italian Christian monk and a prominent philosopher of the 13th century. He is significant for his contributions to moral philosophy, especially his development of Natural Law Theory, which has had a lasting influence on Catholic and Protestant thought.

What is the main question that concerned Aquinas regarding morality?

Aquinas was concerned with how people could follow God's moral rules—known as divine commands—if they had no knowledge of God or the Bible. He sought to explain how morality could be universal despite this ignorance.

What is Natural Law Theory according to Aquinas?

Natural Law Theory, according to Aquinas, is the idea that God preloaded all humans with the tools needed to know what is good. It suggests that by using reason, people can derive moral laws from natural instincts and the basic goods designed by God.

What are the 'basic goods' as proposed by Aquinas?

The basic goods are fundamental desires that Aquinas believed all creatures are built to seek. For humans, these include self-preservation, reproduction, educating offspring, knowing God, living in society, avoiding ignorance, and maintaining harmony with others.

How does Aquinas believe humans recognize and follow the natural law?

Aquinas believed humans instinctively recognize the basic goods through their desires and survival instincts. By using reason, they can derive natural laws from these goods, like prohibitions against killing and promoting the well-being of others.

What are some challenges or criticisms of Natural Law Theory?

Critics of Natural Law Theory, such as philosopher David Hume, raise issues like the is-ought problem, which questions the assumption that because something exists in nature, it ought to be considered good. Other challenges include ethical dilemmas around instincts like survival and reproduction, which can sometimes lead to morally questionable actions.

How does Aquinas explain why people violate natural law despite its intuitive nature?

Aquinas explained that people violate natural law due to ignorance or emotions overpowering their reason. Sometimes they mistakenly pursue what they think is good, or emotional impulses lead them to act against their better judgment.

How does Natural Law Theory address the grounding problem in moral philosophy?

Natural Law Theory grounds morality in God's creation of the natural order. According to Aquinas, following natural law is beneficial because it aligns with the purpose God intended for humans and makes their lives function better.

What are the positive and negative laws derived from the basic goods?

For each basic good, there are both prohibitions and positive injunctions. For example, the prohibition 'Do not kill' corresponds to a positive injunction to promote life, which can involve caring for the sick or making healthy choices.

How does Aquinas view the relationship between religion and understanding natural law?

Aquinas believed that humans do not need religious teachings, such as the Bible, to understand natural law. Instead, he argued that natural law is evident through instincts and reason, making it accessible to all, regardless of religious exposure.

Outlines

00:00

📜 Thomas Aquinas and Natural Law: An Introduction

Thomas Aquinas, a 13th-century philosopher, pondered how people could follow God's moral rules if they hadn't heard of God or the Bible. He proposed that God pre-loaded humans with the tools to recognize what's good, an idea called natural law theory. Aquinas believed that morality was intrinsic and accessible through reason, making his views influential in Catholicism and major Protestant traditions. He emphasized that God created us to be awesome and to follow the natural order He designed.

05:03

🌱 The Basic Goods: What We Naturally Seek

Aquinas' natural law theory revolves around basic goods—things all creatures naturally desire. The first basic good is self-preservation, followed by reproduction, educating offspring, and socializing. Humans, in particular, seek to know God and to live harmoniously within their communities. These desires, according to Aquinas, are God-given and promote the functioning of life. Aquinas stressed that these basic goods guide us toward making right moral choices based on natural law, even without explicit knowledge of the Bible.

🚫 Prohibitions and Positive Injunctions

For every moral prohibition (e.g., 'Do not kill'), there’s a corresponding positive injunction (e.g., 'Promote life'). Aquinas argued that these rules stem from our understanding of basic goods, such as the good of reproduction, which leads to prohibitions against birth control and encouragement to procreate. However, the theory raises questions about why people often violate natural law. Aquinas' answers are ignorance and emotion, which can lead to poor decisions even when we know what is morally right.

🧠 Problems and Criticisms of Natural Law

Natural law theory faces challenges, especially for non-believers who reject the idea that God created the world according to natural laws. David Hume's 'is-ought' problem criticizes the assumption that just because something exists in nature (like survival instincts), it must be morally right. Hume suggests that simply observing nature doesn’t give clear moral direction, and the theory's reliance on instincts like survival and reproduction can sometimes lead to immoral acts. Aquinas’ theory opens philosophical debates about the validity of natural law.

🎓 Recap and Further Discussion

The video concludes by summarizing Aquinas' natural law theory, explaining how basic goods and reason help us recognize the natural law. However, it also acknowledges significant criticisms, like the 'is-ought' problem from Hume. Despite these issues, natural law theory remains foundational in philosophy, providing a system of morality grounded in God's creation. The video also hints at further philosophical discussions, particularly the contributions of Immanuel Kant, to be explored next.

Keywords

💡Thomas Aquinas

Thomas Aquinas was a 13th-century Christian philosopher and theologian, central to the video's theme. His theory of natural law forms the backbone of the script, suggesting that God built humans with an innate ability to understand moral principles, even without direct exposure to religion. Aquinas' ideas are foundational to Christian ethics and have had a lasting influence on Western philosophy.

💡Natural Law Theory

Natural law theory is the philosophical idea that God designed the world according to certain moral laws, which are knowable by human reason and instinct. In the video, Aquinas' version of natural law is highlighted as the belief that humans are born with the capacity to know what is morally good based on basic desires and instincts, like survival and reproduction. This theory continues to influence modern Christian ethics.

💡Basic Goods

Basic goods refer to the fundamental things that Aquinas believed all creatures are naturally inclined to pursue, such as self-preservation, reproduction, and knowledge. These goods form the foundation of Aquinas’ natural law theory. For example, the instinct to avoid danger reflects the basic good of self-preservation, and the desire to reproduce ensures the continuation of life.

💡Self-preservation

Self-preservation is one of the seven basic goods identified by Aquinas. It is the natural instinct to protect one’s own life. The video explains that this drive is innate in all creatures and is used to argue that avoiding danger is a natural law because it supports the good of survival.

💡Reproduction

Reproduction is another basic good in Aquinas' natural law theory. It refers to the natural drive to create new life, which Aquinas argued was encouraged by God through the sex drive. The video humorously explains that reproduction is vital not just for humans but for all creatures, ensuring the survival of species.

💡Divine Command Theory

Divine Command Theory is a philosophical concept mentioned in contrast to natural law theory. It posits that morality is determined by God’s explicit commands, rather than being innate. Aquinas’ natural law offers a different perspective, asserting that moral knowledge is built into us, whereas divine command theory relies on the direct revelation of God's laws.

💡Is-ought Problem

The is-ought problem, introduced by philosopher David Hume, challenges natural law theory by questioning whether something that exists in nature (an 'is') necessarily means it should be (an 'ought'). The video uses this problem to critique natural law theory, arguing that just because survival instincts or sex drives exist doesn’t mean they are morally good in all cases.

💡Reason

In the context of Aquinas’ natural law theory, reason refers to the human ability to use logic and thought to discern what is morally good. The video explains that humans are capable of deriving moral laws, like 'do not kill,' through reason, based on their recognition of the basic goods, such as the value of life.

💡Ignorance

Ignorance is one of the reasons Aquinas gives for why people fail to follow natural law. Even though humans are designed to seek the good, they can sometimes be wrong about what is truly good due to a lack of knowledge. The video uses the example of cigarettes, once thought to promote health, to show how ignorance can lead to morally wrong choices.

💡Emotion

Emotion, according to Aquinas, can overpower reason and cause people to act against the natural law, even when they know what the right action is. The video highlights this as a key factor in why people sometimes fail to 'be awesome,' giving emotion as a counterforce to the rational pursuit of the good.

Highlights

Thomas Aquinas thought morality was important for everyone and being a good person was a vital part of God's plan.

Aquinas theorized that God made us pre-loaded with the tools to know what is good, which became known as natural law theory.

Aquinas' version of natural law theory is the most influential and longest-standing, especially in Catholicism and major Protestant denominations.

Natural law theory is based on the idea that God wants us to want things, particularly good things.

God created the world according to natural laws, and everything functions smoothly through predictable, goal-driven systems.

Aquinas identified seven basic goods, starting with self-preservation, the instinct to sustain life.

Aquinas said humans have an instinctual desire to know God, and this is a basic good.

Aquinas thought humans are naturally social animals, and living in community is part of the basic good.

He argued that humans are built to shun ignorance, and knowledge is another basic good that promotes survival.

Natural law theory posits that right acts are those in accordance with the natural law, which is understood through reason.

Aquinas believed that ignorance and emotion often lead people to violate the natural law.

Natural law theory helps ground morality in God and provides a reason to be moral since following the law improves life.

A key critique, known as the is-ought problem by David Hume, challenges the assumption that what 'is' must necessarily 'ought' to be.

Hume's critique suggests that natural law theory falls into a logical fallacy by assuming natural instincts are inherently good.

Despite its criticisms, natural law theory remains influential, though philosophers like Immanuel Kant sought alternative approaches.

Transcripts

Thomas Aquinas was no dummy.

Remember him? The Italian fella? Christian monk? Philosophical superstar of the 13th century?

Aquinas thought morality was important for everyone, and that being a good person was a vital part of God’s plan for each of us.

But he knew that not everyone had been exposed to the Bible, or had even heard of God.

So, what bothered him was:

How could people follow God’s moral rules – also known as the divine commands – if they didn’t even know about the guy who made the commandments?

Aquinas just couldn’t believe that God would have expectations for us, if he didn’t also give us – all of us – a way to meet them.

So, Aquinas’ theorized that God made us pre-loaded with the tools we need to know what’s Good.

This idea became known as the natural law theory.

And there are a lot of versions of this theory still circulating around today.

But Aquinas’ original take on natural law is by far the most influential, and the longest standing.

How influential?

Well, if you’re Catholic or a member of any of the major Protestant denominations, or were raised in any of those traditions,

then you’re probably already familiar with how Aquinas saw the moral universe and your place in it.

Basically, God is awesome, and he made you. So, you are awesome.

It’s just important that you don’t forget to be awesome.

[Theme Music]

We all want stuff. Aquinas got that. And he said that it was OK.

In fact, the theory of natural law is based on the idea that God wants us to want things – specifically, good things.

Aquinas argued that God created the world according to natural laws, predictable, goal-driven systems whereby life is sustained, and everything functions smoothly.

And as part of this natural order, God made certain things that were good for his various creatures.

Sunlight and water are good for plants.

Meat is good for cats, and plants are good for bunnies.

And – because God is awesome – he instilled all of his creatures with an intuitive desire for the things that he designed to be best for them.

The things that we’re designed to seek are known as the basic goods, and there are seven of them.

The first thing that all living things just naturally want, Aquinas said, is self-preservation – the drive to sustain life.

Aquinas thought God built all creatures with a survival instinct.

And this appears to be pretty much true.

I mean, we naturally avoid dangerous situations like swimming with hungry sharks,

and when we find ourselves in danger, we don’t have to stop and ponder the options before getting ourselves to safety.

After preserving our own lives, our next most pressing basic good is to make more life – in other words, to reproduce.

Some beings are able to do this on their own, but since we need to coordinate matters with a partner, God kindly instilled us with a sex drive, and made the process feel good, to make sure that we do it.

Thanks, God!

But once we manage to achieve our second basic good – reproduction – we need to educate those kids we just made.

For humans, that’s going to mean stuff like school and lessons in morality.

But even non-human animals need to teach their babies how to hunt and avoid predators.

Otherwise, the offspring they worked so hard to create aren’t going to survive long enough to reproduce themselves, which, of course, is the goal of everything.

And while these first goods seem to apply to a pretty wide swath of creation, some of the basic goods are just for humans, because of the particular kind of being we are.

For instance, Aquinas thought we are built with an instinctual desire to know God.

He believed we seek him in our lives, whether we’ve been exposed to the idea of God or not.

Interestingly, the existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre agreed with Aquinas on this.

He said we’re all born with a god-shaped hole inside of us.

The tragedy, for Sartre, is that he was an atheist, so he believed this was an emptiness that could never be filled.

Next, taking a page out of Aristotle’s book, Aquinas also said that humans are naturally social animals, so it’s part of our basic good to live in community with others.

While short periods of solitude can be good, he believed that we’re basically pack animals, and our desire for love and acceptance, and our susceptibility to peer pressure, are all evidence of this.

Now, since we naturally want to be part a pack, it’s a good idea not to alienate our pack-mates.

So, basically, Aquinas said we recognize the basic good of not pissing everybody off.

I mean, he didn’t actually say it that way.

But if he did, I’m sure it sounded a lot better in Latin.

The point is, Aquinas said we feel shame and guilt when we do things that cause our group to turn against us, and that was another basic good.

And finally, Aquinas said we’re built to shun ignorance.

We’re natural knowers.

We’re inquisitive, and we want to be right.

This is another trait we share with non-human animals, because knowledge promotes survival, and ignorance can mean starving to death or ending up as someone else’s dinner.

So these are the basic goods, and from them, we can derive the natural laws.

We don’t need the Bible, or religion class, or church in order to understand the natural law, Aquinas said.

Instead, our instinct shows us the basic goods, and reason allows us to derive the natural law from them.

Right acts, therefore, are simply those that are in accordance with the natural law.

So how does this whole system work?

Well, I recognize the basic good of life, because I value my own life.

And that’s clear to me, because I have a survival instinct that keeps me from doing dangerous, stupid stuff.

Then, reason leads me to see that others also have valuable lives.

And from there I see that killing is a violation of natural law.

So, for each negative law, or prohibition, there’s usually a corresponding positive one – a positive injunction.

For example, ‘Do not kill’ is a prohibition, but there’s also a positive injunction that encourages us to promote life.

And I can take that positive injunction of promoting life to mean anything from feeding the hungry, to caring for the sick, to making healthy choices for myself.

And we could do the same thing with each of the basic goods.

The basic good of reproduction leads to a prohibition, don’t prevent reproduction, which is why the Catholic Church has been so opposed to birth control.

And the positive injunction there is: Do procreate!

Do all the procreating you want!

And if you think it through – using your God-given reason – you’ll be able to see how the other natural laws are derived from the basic goods.

But, of course, as with the Divine Command Theory, the theory of Natural Law raises plenty of questions.

For example, if God created us to seek the good, and if we’re built with the ability to recognize and seek it, then why do people violate the natural law all the time?!

Like, if this is supposed to be something so intuitively obvious that even plants and non-human animals can manage it, why is the world so full of people-killing and offending others and folks who do everything but seek God?

Aquinas had two answers for this: ignorance and emotion.

Sometimes, he said, we seek what we think is good, but we’re wrong, because we’re just ignorant.

And yes, that happens.

I mean, there once was a time when cigarettes were literally what the doctor ordered.

Back then, we thought we were promoting our health, but we were actually hurting it.

No matter how awesome God made you, or your desires, you have to have some understanding of how to be awesome.

But ignorance can’t account for all of the stupid things we do.

Aquinas, again following Aristotle here, said that, even though we’re rational, we’re also emotional creatures.

And sometimes, we see what we should do, but emotion overpowers our reason, and we fail to do the things we know we should.

So, in those cases, we just kinda forget to be awesome.

Now, as with the Divine Command Theory, Natural law gives us a handy answer to the grounding problem.

It tells us that morality is grounded in God, that he created the moral order.

It also gives us a reason to be moral – following the natural law makes our lives work better.

But while it seems to have a lot more going for it than divine command theory, natural law theory has its share of critics as well.

First of all, it’s not going to be super appealing to anybody who doesn’t believe in God.

You can tell me God set the world up according to natural laws, but if I reject that whole premise, there’s not a lot you can do to convince me.

Another objection comes from 18th century Scottish philosopher David Hume, in the form of what’s known as the is-ought problem.

And to investigate this, let’s pop over to the Thought Bubble for some Flash Philosophy.

Hume said it’s fallacious to assume that just because something is a certain way, that means that it ought to be that way.

But that’s basically what natural law theory does all day long.

We look at nature and see that creatures have strong survival instincts.

So from there we conclude that survival instincts are good.

But, are they?

I mean, to me, yeah, because it helps me stay alive.

But my survival instinct could also cause me to do all sorts of things that look immoral to other people.

Like killing you and crawling inside your still-steaming body, tauntaun-style, to stay alive in a blizzard.

Not that I would do that, but just for example.

Likewise, we can observe the existence of sex drives and conclude that reproduction is good.

But, sexual drive can also fuel terribly immoral things, like sexual assault.

And for that matter, is reproduction always good?

Is it something all beings have to do?

Am I sinning if I choose never to have children?

And what about bodies that can’t reproduce?

Or people who don’t want to reproduce or have partners that they can’t reproduce with?

Thanks, Thought Bubble!

As you can see, for all it has going for it, natural law theory can pretty quickly open some big ol’ cans of philosophical worms.

Which might be why 18th century German philosopher Immanuel Kant thought we needed a better option.

Which we’ll consider next time.

Today, we learned about natural law theory, as proposed by Thomas Aquinas.

We studied the basic goods and the way instinct and reason come together to point us to the natural law.

We also discussed some problems with the theory, in particular, the is-ought problem advanced by David Hume.

Crash Course Philosophy is produced in association with PBS Digital Studios.

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This episode of Crash Course was filmed in the Doctor Cheryl C. Kinney Crash Course Studio

with the help of these awesome people and our equally fantastic graphics team is Thought Cafe.