Lesson 10 – NATURAL LAW Flashcards
spearheaded natural law
Tommaso d’Aquino
Treatise on Law
SUMMA THEOLOGIAE
“nothing else than an ordinance of reason for the common good, made by him who has care of the community, and promulgated”
law as defined by St. Thomas Aquinas
The essential properties of law are:
a) to be directed to the common good
b) to direct human behavior according to the order of rightness
c) to urge people to do what is jurisdically prescribed
the divine and rational model according to which God created the world
Eternal Law
the divine plan of the universe
Eternal Law
Aquinas argued that the world is ruled by ___, that is, the whole community of the universe is governed by ___
Divine Providence or ‘Divine Reason’
Divine Reason
Aquinas argued, however, that nobody except ___ and ___ can know this law in itself.
God
the blessed
For every knowledge of truth is a kind of ___ of the eternal law
reflection and participation
according to the order of eternal law, do all creatures participate in eternal law?
Yes. Because each creature has some imprint of Divine Reason. This imprint directs creatures to their proper operations and ends
derived from God and guides man to perform acts in order to reach his or her end which is ‘eternal happiness’ the divine revelation expressed in the Holy Scriptures which assists man in understanding the requirements of law and morality.
Divine Law
Aquinas argued that man’s natural inclination is towards ___, and that by acting according to reason, man acts in accordance with virtue
virtue or goodness
St. Thomas Aquinas maintained that man’s ‘good’ tendencies are to:
preserve human life
to have children
to live in society
to know God.
For him, the purpose of law was to promote the ‘___’, which leads to the ‘___’
common good
perfect community
St. Thomas Aquinas argued that the Divine Law is given to men to reduce the ___ and to increase ___
quantity of human error
the certainty of what should be done and what should be avoided
Divine Law is necessary for four reasons:
a) man is ordained to a supernatural end which surpasses his natural reason
b) because of the uncertainty of human judgments, different and contradictory laws result
c) human law could not sufficiently direct interior acts
d) human law cannot punish or forbid all evil deeds
St. Thomas Aquinas argued that the Divine Law is ___, therefore it is not the result of ___ but the gift of Divine Grace
given directly by God
human judgment
Divine Law does not contradict human reason, but completes it by ___
presenting additional rules for life and behavior.
the process whereby man, as a rational being, participates in the Eternal Law.
Natural Law
Aquinas said that the natural law is “___” and “nothing else than the rational creature’s ___”
something appointed by reason
participation of the eternal law
Aquinas argued that Natural Law is called ‘law’ only because of ___
man’s participation
Are irrational creatures subject to the eternal law?
Yes, but they cannot participate in a rational manner.
Summarize natural law in 4 words
Do good, avoid evil
Natural law simply implies three essential points:
a) it is appointed by reason
b) it is an inclination towards the good (to do good and avoid evil)
c) it is man’s participation of the eternal law
emerges when a public person entrusted with ‘care of the community’ exercise human reason in order to interpret the Eternal Law and create laws
Human Law
the application of natural law to particular societies by way of “conclusions” and “determinations”.
Human Law
A private person cannot make laws because he or she does not have ___
coercive power, or the power to ‘inflict penalties
Man possesses reason – ___ and ___
speculative (intellect)
practical (will)
Man’s intellect is always inclined towards the ___ while his will, towards the ___
Truth
Good
The concept of good is the most fundamental concept of the practical sphere which is related to the fundamental precept of natural law that ___
“good is to be done and pursued, and evil is to be avoided”.
The ___ is the beginning of ethics
natural law’s precept
___ understands the precepts of natural law as human good, and is able to decide how to fulfill them without recourse to evil actions.
Practical reason
The ability of practical reason to discern moral principles, rules and duties, made Aquinas call the natural law, ___
“the light of natural reason”
True or False: man has innate orientations on how to live and behave in this world
True
True or False: The first natural inclination to preserve its own being is common to all substances. Therefore, “whatever is a means of preserving human life, and of warding off its obstacles, belongs to the natural law”. Hence, man is obliged to preserve his own existence.
True
True or False: The second level of natural inclination is directed to the preservation of the species. Thus, “in virtue of this inclination, those things are said to belong to the natural law, ‘which nature has thought to all animals’, such as sexual intercourse, education of offspring and so forth”
True
The third level of inclinations belong those which are according to reason. Aquinas indicates two of them: “___, and ___”
to know the truth about God
to live in society”
True or False: The third level of inclinations involves faith, truth and social relations
True
