St.

Thomas Aquinas -

ESSENCE OF LAW

Humans are rational beings --- capacity to free will and reason. Because of this, we are able to do
judgments and direct our actions one way or the other particularly towards attaining goods that we
desire. Goods are sometimes referred to as end of actions since we act in a certain way to pursue them.
However, just because we think that a certain end is good and desirable, does not necessarily mean that
it is indeed good. That is why we use reason for our actions to be rightly directed toward their ends. But
that does not imply that just because we used reason to pursue something that we thought that is good
for us, our actions and ends are right. We need to carefully think what is REALLY good for us.

So what is really good for us? Is it our own good? Well, the answer is no. Aquinas reminds us that "we
cannot simply act in pursuit of our own ends or good without any regard for other people's ends or
good." We belong in a community and we have to consider not just our own good but also the good of
the community. This is what we call common good.

It is good for us to not simply be free to act in whatever way we like. We should recognize the proper
measure or the limits in our actions that would allow us to direct our acts in such a way that we can
pursue ends, both our own and also that of others, together. The determination of the proper measure
of our acts can be referred to as law. As Aquinas put it, "the law must regard properly the relationship to
universal happiness." Therefore, law is a common good if we are not considering the reality of inequality
and injustice associated to it. In law-making, it can be done by the whole people or a public person who
has care for the common good of the community or the people.

It is also necessary for rules or laws to be communicated to the people involved in order to enforce
them and to better ensure compliance. This is referred to as promulgation. Aquinas' own
summary of this point is worth citing: "The definition of law may be gathered; and it is nothing else than
an ordinance of reason for the common good, made by him who has a care of the community, and
promulgated."

Now, what if we think of the community as something greater? What if it's the whole universe and
everything in or in other words, all of being thought possible? Is there Someone in charge of this
community, guiding all toward their common good and directing all with His wisdom?

VARIETIES OF LAW

Aquinas writes: "He governs all the acts and movements that are to be found in each single creature, so
the type of Divine Wisdom, as moving all things to their due end, bears the character of law." This line
involves the assertion that the divine wisdom that directs each being towards its proper end can be
called as the eternal law. All things partake in the eternal law, meaning, all beings are already created by
God in a certain way intended to return to Him. Thus, we can find them in the very imprint of the rule
and measure of the acts by which they are guided.

Irrational creatures are participating in the eternal law although we cannot say that they are being
"conscious" of it. Aquinas notes that "we cannot speak of them as obeying the law, except by the way of
similitude" --- instinctual following of their nature as these creatures are moved by the divine
providence.

Rational beings participates more fully and perfectly in the law given the capacity for reason, of telling
what is good or what is evil. So Aquinas writes: "Wherefore it has a share of the Eternal Reason,
whereby it has a natural inclination to its proper act and end: and this participation of the eternal law in
the rational creature is called the natural law."

Reflecting on our human nature provides us the precepts of natural law, however, it can be general that
is why it needs to be more specific and more concrete in the actual operation of human acts. That is why
there is also human law. It is the instances wherein human beings construct and enforce laws in their
communities. The basis of assessing the validity of a human law is if it conforms to natural law (common
good). If it does not, then that law is unjust and violent.

As mentioned in the essence of law, it must provide universal happiness. According to Aquinas, there
are two forms of happiness: (1) happiness obtained by means of natural principles or human nature and
(2) supernatural happiness obtained through the power of God alone. To direct us toward our
supernatural end, we had been given further instructions in the form of divine law. This term refers
specifically to the instances where we have precepts or instructions that come from divine revelation.

While it is Aquinas' concern that our end should return to God, it is not ours since we are talking about
ethics. One does not need to rely on divine law in order to be moral. Although the natural law theory is
deeply rooted in Christian values and vision, it grounds a sense of morality not in faith but on human
nature. Aquinas writes: "So then no one can know the eternal law, as it is in itself, except the blessed
who see God in His essence. But every rational creature knows it in its reflection, greater or less . . . Now
all men know the truth to a certain extent, at least as to the common principles of the natural law . . . "

The Natural Law

Summa Theologiae 1-2, Question 94, Article 2
Thomas Aquinas

"Good has the nature of an end, and evil, the nature of a contrary, hence it is that all those things to
which man has a natural inclination, are naturally apprehended by reason as being good, and
consequently as objects of pursuit, and their contraries as evil, and objects of avoidance. Therefore,
natural inclinations, which are bases of moral valuation are the order of the precepts of the natural law."
In Common With Other Beings

"First inclination is inclination to good in accordance with the nature which he has in common with all
substances: every substance seeks the preservation of its own being whatever the means are and
warding off obstacles, belongs to the natural law." Therefore, it would be a violation of the natural law,
and it is unethical to take the life of another and ethical if acts promote the continuation of life since
they are in line with the natural law.

In Common With Other Animals

"Second inclination is the inclination to things that pertain to him more specially, according to its nature
which he has in common with other animals: those things belong to the natural law, "which nature has
taught to all animals", such as sexual intercourse, education of offspring and so forth." The intrinsic
connection between the sexual act and fecundity gives rise to a number of notions of what is acceptable
and unacceptable in varying degrees of contentiousness.

Uniquely Human

"Third inclination is the inclination of man to good, according to the nature of his reason, which nature is
proper to him: thus man has a natural inclination to know the truth about God, and to live in society: and
whatever pertains to this inclination belongs to the natural law; for instance, to shun ignorance, to avoid
offending those among whom one has to live, and other things." Aquinas does not go into great detail
enumerating what specific acts would be clearly ethical and unethical. Instead, he gave certain general
guideposts: the epistemic concern and social concern. The question of what particular acts would be in
line with these or not is something that we have to determine for ourselves through the use of reason
since human being is rational.

Summary

Natural law theory is instrumental to ethics rooted in Christian faith. Aquinas synthesized concepts of
the ancient Greeks to put forward an intellectual grounding that can overcome the limitations of a
simplistic divine command theory. We are also provided of objective basis for ethics: our natural
inclinations which are given by God, providing us the path toward perfection. These are: (1) desire to
preserve our own being, (2) sexual act and its fecundity, and (3) use of reason.