POLITICAL THEORIES I WRITTEN REPORT GROUP V

MAIN POINTS
SECTION VI – THE TWO REALMS: THE LAST PHASE

GENERAL OVERVIEW: Conflicts on the Separation of Church and State; Dispute over Control of
Secular
Matters (Whether the Pope or the State shall take hold); Struggle for Supremacy

DANTE ALIGHIERI (De Monarchia/On World Government)

 He was an Italian (Florentine) poet. He produced the best literary work in the Italian language
(Divine Comedy/Commedia/Divina).
 He was born in 1265, Italy. He died in 1321, Italy.
 Two separate ends for man: Earthly (Emperor) and Eternal (Pope)
 The Pope and the Emperor are both guides to both ends. Independent from each other, they
have supremacy in their own dominion.
 The need for universal peace and the life of reason meant a universal ruler, the Emperor –
independent of both the Pope and the Church.

MARSILIGIO OF PADUA (Defensor Pacis/Defender of Peace)

 He was an Italian scholar, trained in Medicine, who practiced a variety of professions. He was
also an important 14th century political figure.
 He was born in 1275, Italy. He died in 1342, Germany.
 Secular rule is different from religion.
 Marsiligio on the State:
 Individuality and aggressiveness of man justifies the need to maintain peace and order in the
community.
 Civil society is dependent on all in contributing to the common good.
 Man’s religion and inner life is private; external acts are subject to control.
 A law crafted by the “Human Legislator” (the whole political community) and headed by the
“ruling section”, the executive, needs to obtain community approval through the people or “its
weightier part”. Both quality and quantity are taken into account.
 A prince is controlled by legislative power of which he is the servant.
 Marsiligio on the Church:
 Ultimate ecclesiastical authority should be “the whole body of the faithful including both
clerics and laymen.”
 The Pope’s role is a subordinate one.
 The General Council, elected by secular authority, is the governing body of the church and
has power over the Pope and has the ultimate decision over all spiritual questions.
 Arguments such as: people is the source of law; the ruler is agent; power vested in the
community; and state is omnipotent in temporal matters must not be viewed as modern
democratic theory. Instead, it points the way to theories of secular liberalism, representation, and
constitutionalism.

THOMAS AQUINAS (Summa Theologica & On Kingship)

 He was an Italian Dominican friar, Philosopher, Catholic Priest, and Doctor of the Church. He is
an immensely influential philosopher, theologian, and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism within
which he is also known as the Doctor Angelicus and the Doctor Communis.
 He was the kinsman of the Emperor, member of the Dominican order and friend of the Pope.
 He was born in 1225, Italy. He died in March 7, 1274.

INTRODUCTORY CONTENT 22 AUGUST 2019

INTRODUCTORY CONTENT POLITICAL THEORIES I

 Reconciliation of Greek Philosophy and Christianity was the great contribution Aquinas did to
Political Philosophy.
 Accepted two of Aristotle’s thesis:
 Man is a social animal and that the state was a natural phenomenon.
 Happiness as the end of man and the importance of the temporal world.
 Augustine and the Church Fathers held that governmental institutions were the results of sin.
Aquinas argued that though the element of sin exists, political organization is natural to man and
necessary for his proper development.
 All political authority came from God but political purposes such as the securing of justice is
something that government should fulfill.
 The principal end of man is supernatural; salvation of his soul and future eternal blessedness.
 Future life is superior over earthly existence. The Church is concerned with the future life and the
directing guide of secular power.
 Four different types of law:
 Eternal Law – It governed the universe.
 Natural Law – It enabled those possessing reason to understand and conform to Eternal Law.
 Human Law – It detailed variable rules in accordance with Natural Law.
 Divine Law – It is the ultimate will of God.
 Law is rational and binding.
 Extent of Power: Political authority is only binding if it conforms to natural law, divine law, and the
common good. If it did not conform, governmental power is tyrannical and might be resisted.
Excessive tyranny permits disobedience organized by public authority.
 Ecclesiastical power was emphasized but autonomy of the state is acknowledged.

IDEAS OF REPRESENTATION

 Divisions and struggles within each realm (Church and State)

 On the State:
 Laws were introduced such as the Roman law and had limited the ruler as governmental
power was derived from the community.
 Secular rulers had to take account of subjects not bound by feudal ties, townsmen, guilds and
corporations.
 Consultations increased in secular states.
 On the Church:
 The Pope’s absolute monarchy was opposed by cardinals, bishops, and canon lawyers who
were bypassed.
 Church Councils: The General Council has authority immediately from Christ. This meant that
the Church is the monarch, not the Pope; and it had the authority to validly interpret the truth
[of the church].
 Rulers, both secular and religious, had to take into account grievances of the people.