Finnis' Basic Goods in Natural Law
John Finnis identifies seven basic human goods that structure natural law reasoning: life (health, bodily integrity), knowledge, play, aesthetic experience, friendship, practical reasonableness, and religion (connection with divine). These goods are self-evident, incommensurable, and serve as foundations for deriving specific moral norms.
Real World
Finnis's basic good of 'practical reasonableness' underpins human rights law: the UN Declaration of Human Rights (1948) protects goods like life, knowledge, and community in ways that directly parallel his seven basic goods, showing natural law reasoning embedded in global legal frameworks.
Exam Focus
Memorise all seven basic goods by name; 'evaluate' questions require you to contrast Finnis's incommensurability claim against utilitarian trade-offs.
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