who was thomas aquinas?
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St. Thomas Aquinas (1224-1274) was a Dominican priest, theologian, and philosopher. He grew in a town called Aquino, in the south of Italy, hence where he got his surname from. Called the Doctor Angelicus (the Angelic Doctor,) Aquinas is considered one the greatest Christian philosophers to have ever lived. Two of his most famous works, the Summa Theologiae and the Summa Contra Gentiles, are the finest examples of his work on Christian philosophy. Aquinas was an authority of the Roman Catholic Church, and he believed that the truths of faith are above human understanding. His theory links with those of Aristotle, a Greek philosopher from 384-322 BC, who claims that good humans are those who fulfilled the purpose of human life just as good as a knife cuts, however, Aquinas argued that we can find out about what God expects us to do and what is right by considering natural purposes and functions. The natural law theory is most closely associated with St Thomas Aquinas, and naturalists believe that natural law principles are an inherent part of nature and exist whether or not the government rejects or enforces them. Furthermore, naturalists believe that governments must incorporate natural law principles into their legal systems before justice can be achieved. Aquinas also argued the cosmological argument, that everything has to come from something, therefore meaning that there has to be a 'First Cause' that created these things, and that the 'First Cause' was God. Natural law claims that everything is created to a particular design and for a particular purpose, and that purpose is what is 'good' to which everything aims.
Would the natural law theory and thomas aquinas approve of ivf?
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Natural law theory would disapprove of the use of IVF because this process is not natural. By using IVF, a child would have been conceived in the way that God would not want us to reproduce, therefore meaning that this process does not consider our natural purpose to produce babies with the fusing of the egg and sperm inside the womb. Furthermore, this theory would result in the destruction of embryos, and the natural law theory would disapprove of this destruction because the first primary precept of this theory demands the protection of innocent life. Additionally, natural law is an absolute theory and does not take into any account any consideration of the outcomes of an action, whether these be the creation of new life or the health benefits from research on spare embryos. Catholic ethics are based on natural law, meaning that they are positive about advances in science that improve human life, however, because this theory is at the expense of human life the Catholic Church object to the use of IVF. However, the Catholic Church recognises the need for humans to use their God-given intelligence to transform and humanise the world, but without the loss of (potential) human life, which is threatened by the use of IVF. The Catholic Church rules out embryo research and IVF as being unnatural and destroying human life, but it approves of genetic engineering and genetic testing which respects human life and human rights on the basis of its help for the individual and society.
The basic principle of natural law states that everything is created for a purpose and when this is examined by human reason, a person should be able to judge how to act in order to find ultimate happiness. The second precept of natural law theory states 'no embryo research' as it destroys life, therefore meaning that this theory does not agree to IVF as it effectively 'destroys life', however it could be argued that the research can be justified, as it preserves life by curing diseases. St. Thomas Aquinas states that 'it would be better to be excommunicated than to act in a way that contradicted one's conscience'. Therefore, due to this opinion from Thomas Aquinas, this quote proves that Aquinas would disapprove of the use of IVF because it destroys the life of many embryos, where their fate has been decided by lab technicians, rather than God. Moreover, Aquinas believed that we should do as God wishes by following natural principles and functions, therefore meaning that Aquinas would believe that humans should reproduce by sexual intercourse which is how God originally wanted humans to reproduce, as by following this moral principle we will follow God's orders.
To conclude, Thomas Aquinas and the natural law theory would object to the use of IVF because the process is not natural due to the fact that the embryo is produced outside a woman's womb. Aquinas and this theory would also disapprove of IVF because in order for this process to work embryos need to be destroyed, which will not protect what could, in the future, become human life. The first rule of natural law theory protects innocent lives, which IVF objects to. Additionally, the belief from the Catholic Church disapproves of the idea of destroying life, and this links with natural law theory, because the second rule of this theory objects to the killing of innocent lives. Moreover, Aquinas would furthermore disapprove of IVF because by using this method to reproduce we would not have produced babies how God would have wanted us to, which defies the point in natural law theory that states that we should perform actions by following natural principles in order to do as God wishes. By not reproducing naturally, humans are defying this point. Therefore, due to all these points, St. Thomas Aquinas and the Natural Law Theory would object to the use of IVF.
The basic principle of natural law states that everything is created for a purpose and when this is examined by human reason, a person should be able to judge how to act in order to find ultimate happiness. The second precept of natural law theory states 'no embryo research' as it destroys life, therefore meaning that this theory does not agree to IVF as it effectively 'destroys life', however it could be argued that the research can be justified, as it preserves life by curing diseases. St. Thomas Aquinas states that 'it would be better to be excommunicated than to act in a way that contradicted one's conscience'. Therefore, due to this opinion from Thomas Aquinas, this quote proves that Aquinas would disapprove of the use of IVF because it destroys the life of many embryos, where their fate has been decided by lab technicians, rather than God. Moreover, Aquinas believed that we should do as God wishes by following natural principles and functions, therefore meaning that Aquinas would believe that humans should reproduce by sexual intercourse which is how God originally wanted humans to reproduce, as by following this moral principle we will follow God's orders.
To conclude, Thomas Aquinas and the natural law theory would object to the use of IVF because the process is not natural due to the fact that the embryo is produced outside a woman's womb. Aquinas and this theory would also disapprove of IVF because in order for this process to work embryos need to be destroyed, which will not protect what could, in the future, become human life. The first rule of natural law theory protects innocent lives, which IVF objects to. Additionally, the belief from the Catholic Church disapproves of the idea of destroying life, and this links with natural law theory, because the second rule of this theory objects to the killing of innocent lives. Moreover, Aquinas would furthermore disapprove of IVF because by using this method to reproduce we would not have produced babies how God would have wanted us to, which defies the point in natural law theory that states that we should perform actions by following natural principles in order to do as God wishes. By not reproducing naturally, humans are defying this point. Therefore, due to all these points, St. Thomas Aquinas and the Natural Law Theory would object to the use of IVF.