Natural vs Normative

Last updated on: October 13, 2012 at 6:00 pm by Leah Libresco

Natural vs Normative 2012-10-13T18:00:12-04:00 Leah Libresco

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I appreciate the Christians weighing in on why they oppose gay marriage and trying to explain how they think people are harmed. One genre of response has turned up in thread and is fairly widespread, so I’ll try to address it. Anonymous wrote:

Many people are wondering why infertile heterosexual marriages are considered moral and praise worthy while homosexual “marriages” are not. The reason is that in an infertile heterosexual marriage the sexual organs are, at least, being used for the purpose for which they were created, or if you prefer the purpose for which they evolved. In homosexual sex the sexual organs are abused. Penises were not meant to be rammed in to an anus. Yes, this means oral and anal sodomy are considered immoral even in heterosexual relations. Societies lacking Divine revelation had to formulate moral laws based on what was available to them namely Nature. This is why there are still laws against these kinds of behaviors in some places.

…Animals are not rational creatures so are not expected to follow Natural moral law. Humans should be expected to act according to reason.

When I read this claim, it sounds like Anonymous is conflating two ideas: Natural Law and the Law of Nature. Before I go on, here comes the caveat: I’m not sure precisely how Christians use these terms, so don’t try and use this distinction in other contexts and don’t complain in the combox that I’ve used them incorrectly (but feel free to suggest better or clearer terms).

Natural Law is normative. It’s the moral law we see as binding on humans and tolerably accessible whether through intuitions or reason or what have you. This is the law written on the hearts of man — it is accessible to all (or practically all) people without revelation or belief in a particular god. A Christian wouldn’t hold me to account for missing Mass on a Holy Day of Obligation, since I don’t understand it’s a sin, but they would fault me for committing murder, since I can be assumed to know it is wrong.

Laws of Nature are biases, heuristics, instincts, adaptations and all manner of evolutionary cruft that has built up during the genesis of our species. Remember, evolution isn’t survival of the fittest, it’s the propagation of the just fit enough to work (refer back to “This is NOT How Evolution Works”).

The mechanics of sexual organs falls into the Laws of Nature category for me, so they don’t get a privileged spot in my moral calculus. It may be unnecessary for procreation to put some protuberances in certain orifices, but there’s no great evolutionary justification for enthusiastically bringing together the entrances to our alimentary canals and I don’t hear many people railing against kissing for pleasure.

To convince me that gay sex is morally indefensible (whether as part of a committed relationship or not), you’re going to have to bring the discussion back into the Natural Law side of the debate and tell me more about who it hurts and how. Remember, I’ve got major transhumanist and gnostic sympathies, so you have a lot of heavy lifting to do to convince me that thwarting some of the inclinations or actions of the body is wrong.

Epistemology/Philosophy

Previous Post

July 1, 2011

7 Quick Takes (7/1/11)

Next Post

July 2, 2011 Turing Test Teaser

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 7 Quick Takes Apologetics Atheism Book Conversion Debate Tactics Debates Epistemology/Philosophy Housekeeping Ideological Turing Test Marriage Morality in Practice Parsing Catholicism Possibly Heretical Radio Reviews/Recommendations Sequence Index Spiritual Practice Uncategorized

Select a Month April 2017 March 2017 January 2017 December 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which country has the largest number of Christians?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Russia United States Brazil Germany