Natural Law Lesson 3.pptx

Natural Law

1. St. Thomas Aquinas, Natural Law, and the Common Good

2. Who is Thomas Aquinas?

3. St. Thomas Aquinas, a medieval Roman Catholic scholar, reconciled the political philosophy of Aristotle with Christian faith. In doing so, he contended that a just ruler or government must work for the "common good" of all. Aquinas came to think that one should believe only what is self-evident (e.g., human beings use reason) or can be deduced from self-evident propositions (e.g., human reason can discover truth).

4. The context of Aquina’s Ethics In the pursuit of happiness, we direct our actions toward specific ends. We might explore how our emotions “ the passions ” are involved in this process, and therefore require a proper order if they are to properly contribute to good life. We might explore how our actions are related to certain dispositions (often referred to as “ habits ” in a dynamic way since our actions both arise from our habits and at the same time reinforce them. Christian life therefore, is about developing the capacities given to us by God into a disposition of virtue inclined toward the good. Our conscience directs our actions and moral thinking.

5. ARISTOTELLIAN BEING AND BECOMING Aristotle proposes 4 concepts/causes which provide a way of understanding any particular being 1. material- 2. formal-3. efficient- 4. final We recognize that any being we can see around is corporeal, possessed of a certain materiality or physical stuff or “ material cause ”- a being is individuated- this material takes a particular shape- “shape”- makes a being a particular kind called its form . “it has formal cause .” There is something which brings about the presence of another being (efficient cause), Since a being has an apparent end or goal- we can speak of (final cause) All these give a way to understand any being Knowledge is the object of our inquiry

6. What is natural law? Natural law is a theory in ethics and philosophy that says that human beings possess intrinsic values that govern our reasoning and behavior. Natural law maintains that these rules of right and wrong are inherent in people and are not created by society or court judges.

7. What is natural law? Aquinas wrote most extensively about natural law . He stated, "the light of reason is placed by nature [and thus by God] in every man to guide him in his acts." Therefore, human beings, alone among God’s creatures, use reason to lead their lives. This is natural law.

8. What are the basic principles of natural law theory? (1) the natural law is given by God; (2) it is naturally authoritative over all human beings; and (3) it is naturally knowable by all human beings.

9. What are the 4 natural laws according to Aquinas? Aquinas recognizes four main kinds of law: the eternal , the natural , the human , and the divine . The last three all depend on the first, but in different ways. Were we to arrange them in a hierarchy, eternal would be at the top, then natural, then human.

10. What are the 4 natural laws according to Aquinas? Eternal law was God’s perfect plan, not fully knowable to humans . It determined the way things such as animals and planets behaved and how people should behave.

11. What are the 4 natural laws according to Aquinas? Divine law , primarily from the Bible, guided individuals beyond the world to "eternal happiness" in what St. Augustine had called the "City of God.".

12. What are the 4 natural laws according to Aquinas? While natural law applied to all humans and was unchanging, human law could vary with time, place, and circumstance. Aquinas defined this last type of law as " an ordinance of reason for the common good" made and enforced by a ruler or government . He warned, however, that people were not bound to obey laws made by humans that conflicted with natural law.

13. Law in General Aquinas describes law as " a certain rule and measure of acts whereby man is induced to act or is restrained from acting ." (q90, a1) Because the rule and measure of human actions is reason, law has an essential relation to reason; in the first place to divine reason; in the second place to human reason, when it acts correctly, i.e., in accordance with the purpose or final cause implanted in it by God. Law is directed by its nature to the good, and especially to the universal or common good. (q90, a3) It is addressed not primarily to private persons but to the whole people meeting in common or to persons who have charge of the community as a whole.

14. Promulgation --i.e., the application of the law to those to whom it is applied and the communication of this law to them--is essential to the nature of the law. The natural law is promulgated by God: "God has instilled it into human minds so as to be known by them naturally." Divine and human laws can be promulgated by word of mouth or, even better, by writing.

15. Kinds of Law Laws are also important, says Thomas, for other reasons noted by Aristotle. (1) It is easier to find a few wise persons who can make good laws than to find many who, in the absence of laws, can judge correctly in each instance. (2) Lawmakers can deliberate at length before making laws while many particular cases must be judged quickly, when they arise. (3) Lawmakers judge in the abstract and are less likely to be swayed by emotions evoked by concrete circumstances or by the kinds of things that tend to corruption. There is less danger of perversion of law, which is formulated in general, than there would be perversion of judgment in particular cases where no law exists to guide judgmen

16. Kinds of Law Law is directed to the common good , and human law is no exception. The promotion of virtue is necessary for the common good, and human laws are instruments in the promotion of virtue. Aristotle already pointed out that most people are kept from crime by fear of the law. Thomas accepts this judgment, suggesting (r. Ad 1, p. 57) that by coercion even men who are evilly disposed may be led in the direction of virtue.

17. Aquinas further developed the meaning of "just war" that had been discussed by the Roman statesman Cicero and by St. Augustine. For a war to be just, there must be these three conditions: 1. A declaration by the ruler to defend the "common good" against enemies. 2. A "just cause" for an attack on an enemy "because they deserve it on account of some fault" such as avenging wrongs they have committed. 3. A "rightful intention" to advance good or avoid evil such as punishing evil-doers and not simply grabbing land or goods. These conditions for a "just war" later influenced the development of international laws of war.

18. Gracias! Gamsahapnida ! Arigatou gozai mashi ta! Thank you! Ma raming sala mat!