PHIL 120: Chapter 6B Reading Guide

Vaughn, Doing Ethics — Chapter 6: Natural Law Theory

📖 Required Reading for this Module: Vaughn, Doing Ethics, pp. 130–134. Complete only this reading for this module; the rest of the chapter is covered in the paired module.
Instructions

This reading guide is designed to help you understand and answer the Review Questions for Module 6B. This assessment also verifies your active reading of the assigned pages. For each question below, please follow these steps:

Step 1: Navigate to the exact page and paragraph indicated. Locate the sentence using the provided beginning words and type the entire sentence verbatim into the first box.
Step 2: Answer the question based on your reading (no outside research needed or permitted) in your own words in the second box. (Page hints are provided in the answer boxes to help you locate the core answer).
⚡ Auto-Save Enabled: Your answers are automatically saved to this browser as you type. This guide is not submitted — use it to prepare for your module quiz. Use Export Answers to save a backup text copy, or Print to PDF to keep a personal record.

Review Question 1

On p. 130, (the paragraph beginning "The natural law theory of morality comes to us from ancient Greek..."), find the sentence beginning with the words: "The natural law theory of morality comes to us from..."

Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:

What are the historical origins of natural law theory, and why does it remain influential today?

Review Question 2

On p. 130, (the paragraph beginning "According to Aquinas, at the heart of the traditional theory is the notion..."), find the sentence beginning with the words: "According to Aquinas, at the heart of the traditional theory is..."

Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:

What is the core idea at the heart of natural law theory, and how can we discern moral principles from nature?

Review Question 3

On p. 130, (the paragraph beginning "What is it, exactly, that human nature aims at?"), find the sentence beginning with the words: "Aquinas says that humans naturally incline toward..."

Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:

What does Aquinas say human nature inclines toward, and how do these inclinations constitute "the good"?

Review Question 4

On p. 131, (the paragraph beginning "It follows from these points that the natural (moral) laws..."), find the sentence beginning with the words: "It follows from these points that the natural (moral) laws are..."

Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:

Why does natural law theory hold that moral laws are both objective and universal, and why isn't belief in God required to know them?

Review Question 5

On p. 131, (the paragraph beginning "Like Kant's categorical imperative, traditional natural law theory is..."), find the sentence beginning with the words: "Like Kant's categorical imperative, traditional natural law theory is..."

Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:

What actions does traditional natural law theory consider always wrong, and why do natural law theorists insist on these exceptionless rules?

Review Question 6

On p. 131, (the paragraph beginning "As we have seen, moral principles—especially absolutist rules—can give rise..."), find the sentence beginning with the words: "The natural law tradition gives a different answer: conflicts between duties are possible..."

Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:

What is the doctrine of double effect, and what four conditions must be met for an action with both good and bad effects to be permissible?

Review Question 7

On p. 132, (the paragraph beginning "Traditional natural law theory and its double-effect doctrine figure prominently..."), find the sentence beginning with the words: "In itself, the act of taking the chemotherapy is morally permissible..."

Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:

How does the doctrine of double effect apply to a pregnant person needing chemotherapy that will kill the fetus, and why is it morally permissible?

Review Question 8

On p. 133, (the paragraph beginning "Traditional natural law theory appears to contain no crippling internal..."), find the sentence beginning with the words: "The theory seems to fall short of Criterion 1..."

Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:

How does natural law theory fare against the evaluation criteria, and how does its absolutism conflict with commonsense moral judgments?

Review Question 9

On p. 134, (the paragraph beginning "The absolutism of natural law theory arises from the notion..."), find the sentence beginning with the words: "The absolutism of natural law theory arises from the notion that..."

Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:

Why is nature's teleological character central to natural law theory, and how does the scientific view of nature challenge it?

Review Question 10

On p. 134, (the paragraph beginning "Like Kantian ethics, natural law theory is universalist, objective..."), find the sentence beginning with the words: "Like Kantian ethics, natural law theory is universalist, objective..."

Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:

What features do Kantian ethics and natural law theory share, and how does natural law's emphasis on intention differ from consequentialist theories?