ST. THOMAS AQUINAS’ NOTION OF LAW: EXPOSE AND CRITIQUE

EXPOSE AND CRITICIZE THE NOTION OF LAW IN ST. THOMAS AQUINAS

The aim of this study is to expose and criticize the notion of law in St Thomas Aquinas.

Also, this work is, therefore, a thought pattern, which seeks to unravel the Thomistic Viewpoint as a case study. This work will access every argument for and against law after making a historical survey of the notion of law.

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CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Man in his very nature is argued to be a free being, but man is known to be guided by laws, therefore law helps to keep the infringement of people’s freedom in check so as to maintain order. This work considers St Thomas Aquinas notion of law. The concept of law occupies a central position in the moral theory of Thomas Aquinas. Thomas Aquinas, natural law is that law which the ultimate efficient cause (GOD) infused in man commanding him to do good and avoid evil in order that he (man) may attain his end. Natural law appeals to reason that nature has the capacity of discovering it. Natural law, Thomas maintains, is based on the rationality of human nature. Thomas holds that the natural law has such properties as knowability, universality, immutability, indelibility, and indispensability. However, in spite of these properties of the natural law, it still lacks coercion, that is, the physical force of law. As a result it is not always obeyed by all. To this effect, natural law needs to be supplemented by human positive law. This is due to the differences inherent in human nature. Consequently, human positive law is needed to ensure an ordered society. Human law lucidly defines and coercively guides social interactions among men. Hence, it greatly contributes to the achievement of the common good.

It is an indubitable fact that every law should seek to protect the common good of the people. It is also a well-established truth that morality has to do with the good of the people. Consequently, law and morality are always seen as two sides of a coin. Unfortunately, certain human laws are not based on moral standards. That is to say that there are some human laws that do not consider the common good. For instance, certain governments enact tyrannical laws. Some others enact laws that are immoral. In this kind of situation, the purpose of the law, which is to ensure common good and happiness, is not realized. A man by nature is a social animal, and every natural being would testify to the fact that a society of whatever level which does not establish and apply the law to its subjects is comparatively similar to a train full of people headed to the Atlantic Ocean. Law gives us some sort of regulation that governs our actions and affairs; it involves something more than mere reprobation.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Law is no doubt viewed in relation to morality. Again every society has one system of law or the other. Yet our society today is witnessing some legal and moral disorder; some laws that are in existence today have no bearing on morality any longer. This makes one question the link between law and morality.

St Thomas Aquinas conceives law as an ordinance of reason promulgated by one who has ordered us to act as well as human beings; our actions should proceed from a reason of what we are about to do. According to Mary Clark, who stated that man, if perfect in virtue is the best of animals, but if he becomes separated from the law he becomes worst than animals.

Law connotes some sort of regulation that governs our actions and affairs. It involves something more than mere reprobation. However just as all men perceive that there are good acts, so also they acknowledge some kind of compulsion to do good and evil. In the same manner, having observed certain development caused by man in many societies, a medieval philosopher, St Thomas Aquinas, took it upon Him and deemed it necessary to render a good example by stressing the significance of law, and as well advocating the various concept of law.

1.3 Aim and Objective of the Study

The aim of this study is to expose and criticize the notion of law in St Thomas Aquinas.

Also, this work is, therefore, a thought pattern, which seeks to unravel the Thomistic Viewpoint as a case study. This work will access every argument for and against law after making a historical survey of the notion of law.

1.4 Method of the Study

The method employed in this work is an expository and critical analysis of the notion of law in St Thomas Aquinas. It is expository in the senses that it exposes the concept of law in St Thomas Aquinas.

1.5 Significance of the Study

The significance of this work is to bring to light the importance of the notion of law in St Thomas Aquinas and at the same time to point out some inherent problems in it.

The work will add to extant materials in this area; thus providing literature to those who are interested in further research in the Thomistic (concept) notion of law.

1.6 A Brief History of St Thomas Aquinas

The son of Landulph, Count of Aquino, St. Thomas Aquinas was born in Circa in  Rocca Secca, Italy, near Aquino, Terra di Lavoro, in the Kingdom of Sicily. Thomas had eight siblings and was the youngest child. His mother, Theodora, was Countess of Teano. Though Thomas’s family members were descendants of Emperors Frederick I and Henry VI, they were considered to be of lower nobility. However before St. Thomas Aquinas was born, a holy hermit shared a prediction with his mother, foretelling that her son would enter the Order of Friars Preachers, become a great learner and achieve unequaled sanctity. Following the tradition of the period, St. Thomas Aquinas was sent to the Abbey of Monte Cassino to train among Benedictine monks when he was just 5 years old. In Wisdom 8:19, St. Thomas Aquinas is described as ‘a witty child’ who ‘had received a good soul’. At Monte Cassino, the quizzical young boy repeatedly posed the question, ‘What is God?’ to his benefactors.

St. Thomas Aquinas remained at the monastery until he was 13 years old when the political climate forced him to return to Naples. St. Thomas Aquinas spent the next five years completing his primary education at a Benedictine house in Naples. During those years, he studied Aristotle’s work, which would later become a major launching point for St Thomas Aquinas ‘s own exploration of philosophy. At the Benedictine house, which was closely affiliated with the University of Naples, Thomas also developed an interest in more contemporary monastic orders. He was particularly drawn to those that emphasized a life of spiritual service, in contrast with the more traditional views and sheltered lifestyle he had observed at the Abbey of Monte Cassino. From 1245 to 1252, St. Thomas Aquinas continued to pursue his studies with the Dominicans in Naples, Paris, and Cologne. He was ordained in Cologne, Germany, in 1250, and went on to teach theology at the University of Paris. Under the tutelage of St. Albert the Great, St Thomas Aquinas subsequently earned his doctorate in theology. Consistent with the holy hermit’s prediction, Thomas proved an exemplary scholar. St Thomas Aquinas penned close to 60 known works ranging in length from short to tome-like. Handwritten copies of his works were distributed to libraries across Europe. His philosophical and theological writings spanned a wide spectrum of topics, including commentaries on the Bible and discussions of Aristotle’s writings on natural philosophy.

In January 1274, St. Thomas Aquinas embarked on a trip to Lyon, France, on foot to serve on the Second Council, but never made it there. St. Thomas Aquinas died at the monastery of Fossanova on March 7, 1274. He was canonized by Pope John XXII in 1323.