Legal Philosophy in the Middle

Ages
Jurisprudence
 2

Jurisprudence

St. Augustine’s view

• St. Augustine – firm belief in the Golden Age –
free from vices – even death
• Fall – Original Sin
• Greed, Passion and lust for power dominated
• ‘Reason’ devised practical means and
institutions for the changed circumstances
• Government, law, property, State – appeared as
a derivative of the deteriorated condition
 3

Jurisprudence

St. Augustine’s view (contd.)

Law of God (lex aterna)

Conform to the demands of higher law

Law of Man (lex temporalis)

 4

Jurisprudence

St. Thomas Acqinas’s 4 types of Law

• Eternal Law (lex aeterna)

• Natural Law

• Divine Law

• Human Law (lex humana)

 5

Jurisprudence

Eternal Law (lex aeterna)

• Divine reason and wisdom directing all
movements and actions in the universe.

• No man is fully capable of knowing the eternal

law to the fullest extent.
 6

Jurisprudence

Natural Law
• Participation of humans in the above set of laws.

• An imperfect and incomplete reflection of the

dictates of divine reasons

• Enables man to know at least some principles of

lex aeterna.
 7

Jurisprudence

Natural Law (contd.)

• Precepts of ‘Good’ and ‘Evil’

• Good – natural inclination of man – act

according to reason – act virtuously.

• Evil – irrational, antisocial, criminal acts –

deviation from our normal nature.
 8

Jurisprudence

Divine Law

• Natural law supplemented by more specific

direction from God as to how to conduct their
lives.

• Revealed through Holy Scriptures.

 9

Jurisprudence

Austin’s Classification
• Divine Law
• Man made Law
• Improperly called Law
• Metaphorical So Called