Thomas Aquinas:

Natural Law and

Happiness
St. Thomas Aquinas
• He was born in 13th century to a noble family in
the small town of Roccasecca, near Aquino, Italy,
in what was then the Kingdom of Sicily.
• He was a Dominican preist who was considered
as great philosopher and classical proponent of
natural theology during the period of
Scholasticism.
• His most important and enduring works are
Summa Theologica and Summa Contra Gentiles
(addressed to non-Christians).
Meaning and Nature of Law
Law is an ordinance of reason for the
common good made to regulate the actions
of the community. According to Aquinas, law
is “a certain rule and measure of acts
whereby man is induced to act or is
restrained from acting.”
Main Functions of
Law
• It is directed towards specific ends.

• It enduces man to act in a certain

way.

• It restrains man from acting in

certains ways.
 Basic Elements of Law
• A law is an order of practical reason. It blinds or obligates a person to a
particular behavior. It is based on an intelligent judgment of what is right and
wrong.
• The law is meant to further the interest of the entire community, and not just
of a few individuals.
• The people can enact their laws, or laws can be made through a genuine
representative who works on behalf of the common good.
• The people are expected to be properly oriented and informed about the law.
The law must be communicated clearly, publicized, or made publicly known.
 Kinds of Law
• Eternal law – according to Aquinas, this is the law that exists because of God’s divine
providence. It is what governs the nature of the entire universe. Eternal law is the basis
for all other kinds of laws.
• Natural Law – it indicates the system of right or justice held to be common to all
humans and derived from nature. Aquinas states that people participate in the eternal
law through the natural law. The basic formulation of the natural moral law is “do
good; avoid evil”.
• Divine Law – it is derived from eternal law as it appears to humans, especially through
revelation.
• Human Law – it is enacted and enforced in society. Promotion of virtue is necessary
for the common good and human laws are instruments in the promotion of virtue. Most
people are kept from crime by fear of the law.
Natural Law Ethics
Since the eternal law of divine reason, according to
Aquinas, is unknowable to human beings, the law of nature is
“nothing else than the participation of the eternal law in the
rational creature.”
According to Aquinas, the first concept of the natural law
is to do good and avoid evil. What is good and evil is derived
from the rational nature of human beings. Good and evil are both
objective and universal. It is human nature that one acts, whether
in the short-term or long-term, to achieve what is good.
Three Ends of Human Beings
• To preserve life

• To reproduce

• To belong in society
 The three ends of human beings spring from
their natural tendencies. Primary precepts (laws) are
derived from natural human inclinations. Humans
choose the ones that are instrumental to human
perfection. These inclinations are purified with constant
evaluation and reflection through the use of reason.
Objective goodness is revealed when the divine guides
one’s natural inclination and is made clearly
perceptible in the light of reason.
 Reason is not absolute because
human observation, interception, and
reasoning may err, and situations or
conditions may change. Human
reason continuously explores and
develops towards perfection.
 Conscience: Guide in Making Moral Decisions
For Aquinas, conscience is the natural faculty of human reason to
distinguish right from wrong. Aquinas believes that the conscience has two
parts: synderesis (the innate ‘right reason’ to know good and evil) and
conscientia (makes use of the synderesis to make appropriate decisions).
In order for one to truly know what is right from wrong, he/she
should have the virtue of making correct judgments. Aquinas maintains that
if one’s conscience tells him/her that something is right when it is actually
wrong, then he/she is excused from the wrongdoing because his/her
conscience is what is wrong. Children, for instance, do not have fully
formed conscience. As such they cannot easily determine what is right from
wrong.
 Virtue as the Source of Moral Strength
For Aquinas, virtue is the means to perfect human activity. It is
equivalent to strength or power that can be developed through constant
training or practice. Constant practice makes an act a habit that later
becomes a virtue which is the source of strength of the person’s character.
Virtue is a habit that helps one to live righteously. It is a habit
that shape one’s intellect, will, desires, and emotions. These human
faculties are what makes one human. Good habits are needed to properly
direct one’s capabilities to the goals or ends that fit his/her nature. All of
these of course, to lead the ultimate end which is happiness.
Three Main Categories of Virtues

• Intellectual Virtues
• Moral Virtues
• Theological Virtues
• Intellectual Virtues help perfect discipline of
the mind. The virtue of understanding gives
one the ability to properly discern why
something is right or wrong. The virtue of
wisdom, on the other hand, perfects one’s
understanding of what is right and wrong.
• Moral Virtues are the habits that make on a good
person. They equip an individual with the will to
always choose what is good. In traditional Christian
theology, there are four cardinal virtues: prudence,
justice, temperance, and fortitude. They are called
cardinal virtues, from the Latin word cardo (hinge),
because they are the necessary virtues required to
lead a virtuous life.
• Theological Virtues in theology and Christian
philosophy are the qualities associated with
enlightenment resulting from the grace of God. The three
theological virtues are faith (helps one to see and
understand everything with the eyes of God), hope (helps
one to trust in the goodness and power of God in times of
weakness and difficulties), and charity (helps one to love
everybody with the heart of God).
 The Ultimate End: Happiness in God
According to Aquinas, the ultimate end is the happiness in God. It is not
simply being in the state of happiness on one’s own but in union with God. Such
perspective of the ultimate end in Christian theology highlights an ultimate end
that lies beyond what one can attain through his/her human capacities.
In the teachings of Aquinas, everything begins and ends with God.
Therefore, the ultimate end of human beings is happiness in God. Only God can
satisfy one’s longing for perfect happiness.
Aquinas believes that it is not possible to find complete or perfect
happiness in this world. God is the Summum Bonum, the Highest Good, the Final
and Perfect Happiness. According to him, the ultimate end is the ultimate good
which is God, “who alone can fill our will to the brim because of infinite
goodness.”