Key term
WJEC AS-Level Religious Studies 603-0277-X
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Aquinas and Natural Law
Fletcher and Situation Ethics
Utilitarianism
Inductive Arguments for the Existence of God
Deductive Arguments for the Existence of God
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Aquinas and Natural Law
- 4 subtopics
- 12 things to know
- AS Unit 2
What Aquinas and Natural Law covers
Aquinas and Natural Law is examined in AS Unit 2, An Introduction to Religion and Ethics and the Philosophy of Religion — Section A. It covers the four levels of law and the precepts, virtues, acts and goods in Natural Law, natural Law applied to abortion and voluntary euthanasia and Evaluating Aquinas' Natural Law.
The 4 subtopics
Each one has its own page. WJEC AS Religious Studies students sit this topic in the first year.
- The four levels of law and the preceptsFour levels of law Aquinas distinguishes, divine law and natural law.Open →
- Virtues, acts and goods in Natural LawFour cardinal virtues, virtue of prudence and virtue of temperance.Open →
- Natural Law applied to abortion and voluntary euthanasiaConditions of the doctrine of double effect, voluntary euthanasia and humanitarian criticism of the Natural Law position on dying.Open →
- Evaluating Aquinas' Natural LawRecall questions on human law shaped by it, absolutism in contemporary society, its strengths and weaknesses, injustice, dependence on a creator God, and the naturalistic fallacy charge.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
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Key term
Set out the case for and against Natural Law as a guide in a plural modern society.
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What is human law, and how should it relate to natural law?
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Define the virtue of prudence.
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Why does Aquinas' Natural Law presuppose a divine creator?
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Define the virtue of temperance.
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Which primary precept is most directly engaged by abortion?
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Give the case against shaping human law by Natural Law.
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What does Aquinas identify as the highest good for a human being?
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Define the virtue of fortitude.
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What secondary precept follows from the preservation of life for the unborn?
Key term
Argue that the absolutist character of Natural Law still works in contemporary society.
Take Aquinas and Natural Law further
The same content, four other ways.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
Name the four levels of law Aquinas distinguishes.
Model answer
They are eternal law, divine law, natural law and human law.
- 2
What is eternal law in Aquinas' scheme?
Model answer
It is God's own rational plan by which creation is ordered and governed, known in full only to God himself.
- 3
What is divine law, and why does Aquinas think it is needed?
Model answer
Divine law is what God has revealed in scripture, and it is needed because unaided reason cannot direct human beings to their supernatural end.
- 4
What is natural law, and how is it reached?
Model answer
It is the human share in eternal law, worked out by rational reflection on human nature and purpose rather than by revelation.
- 5
What is human law, and how should it relate to natural law?
Model answer
Human law is the law made by societies, and Aquinas holds it is only just where it is derived from natural law.
- 6
Why does Aquinas' Natural Law presuppose a divine creator?
Model answer
Purpose built into human nature implies a maker who gave it that purpose, so the theory rests on belief in a creator God.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Aquinas and Natural Law revision questions
- Is Aquinas and Natural Law examined at AS in WJEC Religious Studies?
- Yes. It sits in AS Unit 2, which you take in the first year, so it is on the AS paper as well as counting towards the full A level.
- What does Aquinas and Natural Law cover in WJEC AS-Level Religious Studies?
- 4 subtopics: the four levels of law and the precepts, virtues, acts and goods in natural law, natural law applied to abortion and voluntary euthanasia and evaluating aquinas' natural law. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Aquinas and Natural Law organised?
- By the WJEC 603-0277-X specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Aquinas and Natural Law, on a schedule.
Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.
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