The 60-Second Aquinas
Lesson
Adding to the Natural Law: An Illustration
November 5, 1998
I have invented the zinglebot. It is a human action, in that one voluntarily decides whether or not to zinglebot.
At this point, you have no idea whether or not you ought to zinglebot. That is because your reason cannot comprehend what the zinglebot is. Natural law does not say anything about the zinglebot, because the action is not known.
Yet, in that natural law pertains to all human acts, whether or not one ought to zinglebot will become an issue of natural law. Once you determine what the act is, the natural law imprinted on the hearts of men will tell you whether the zinglebot is a good that ought to be done or an evil that should be avoided (the first precept of natural law as seen in ST I-II, Q. 94, Art. 2). In this manner, the invention of the zinglebot will cause an addition to the natural law.
Now, if I define the zinglebot as a verb meaning to dance in front of a train in an effort to commit suicide, then the natural law and your reason would dictate this is an evil to be avoided.
If to zinglebot means to dance in front of an infant in an effort to get the child to smile for a picture, then the zinglebot is a good that ought to be done.
In either case, the invention of the new act causes an addition to the natural law.
Explanation of The 60-Second Aquinas Lesson
