Znaczenie pojęcia „natury” w prawie naturalnym

Abstract

Progress in science and technology brings about new moral dilemmas. There are no ready solutions to the vast majority of them. Some dilemmas were not even thoroughly addressed within the broad resources of the moral teaching of the Roman Catholic Church. The Church Magisterium tells that we pursue solutions within the natural moral law. However, there are numerous misunderstandings, as well as misinterpretations, of that law in the contemporary moral debate. One of the main problems is the meaning of „nature” within the natural law: It is a matter of debate to what „nature” the natural law refers. It seems also controversial how some biological properties become morally significant. Some participants of the debate think that the natural moral law is identified with the biological properties which would be the error of the natural fallacy. This is just the exemplary misunderstanding which concerns the Church’s teaching about the natural law.