St.

Thomas Aquinas was an Italian Catholic priest

in the Dominican Order, and an immensely
influential philosopher and theologian in the
scholastic tradition, known as Doctor Angelicus,
Doctor Universalis and Doctor Communis. He was
the foremost classical proponent of natural
theology, and the father of the Thomistic school of
philosophy and theology. His influence on Western
thought is considerable, and much of modern
philosophy was conceived as a reaction against,
or as an agreement with, his ideas, particularly in
the areas of ethics, natural law and political
Aquinas is held in the Catholic Church to be the
model teacher for those studying for the
priesthood. The works for which he is best-known
are the Summa Theologica and the Summa
Contra Gentiles, One of the 33 Doctors of the
Church, he is considered by many Catholics to be
the Catholic Church's greatest theologian and
philosopher. Consequently, many institutions of
learning have been named after him.
Aquinas was born c. 1225 in the kingdom of Sicily.
At the age of five, Aquinas began his early
education at Monte Cassino. After his elementary
education, he went on to study at the University
of Naples, where he studied for six years before
leaving when he was 16. Aquinas had come under
the influence of the Dominicans, who wished to
enlist the ablest young scholars of the age. The
Dominicans and the Franciscans represented a
revolutionary challenge to the well-established
clerical systems of Medieval Europe.
His superiors saw his great aptitude for theological
study. In late 1244, they sent him to the Dominican
school in Cologne, where Albertus Magnus was
lecturing on philosophy and theology. In 1245, Aquinas
accompanied Albertus to the University of Paris here
they remained for three years. During this time,
Aquinas threw himself into the controversy between
the university and the Friar-Preachers about the liberty
of teaching.
Aquinas then graduated as a bachelor of theology. In
1248, he returned to Cologne, where he was appointed
second lecturer and magister studentium. This year
marks the beginning of his literary activity and public
life.
The philosophy of Aquinas has exerted enormous
influence on subsequent Christian theology, especially
that of the Roman Catholic Church, extending to
Western philosophy in general, where he stands as a
vehicle and modifier of Aristotelianism, which he fused
with the thought of Augustine. Philosophically, his
most important and enduring work is the Summa
Theologica,in which he expounds his systematic
theology of the quinquae viae.

Aquinas believed that truth is known through reason

Aquinas believed "that for the knowledge of any
truth whatsoever man needs Divine help, that the
intellect may be moved by God to its act."
However, he believed that human beings have the
natural capacity to know many things without
special divine revelation, even though such
revelation occurs from time to time, "especially in
regard to [topics of] faith. Aquinas was also an
Aristotelian and an empiricist. He substantially
influenced these two streams of Western thought.
 Resurgence of Christianity during the 12th
and 13th centuries
– the theological supplement to the teleological
concept of the nature of the law gained
ascendancy

St. Thomas Aquinas - thought of the law as an

institution ordained by God
•The ultimate source of laws was substituted by
the power of God who governs all things by the
rational arrangement and distribution of his divine
providence.

•The Church was considered as the authoritative

interpreter and final arbiter.
The doctrines of right and justice were blended
with the basic principles of Christianity as
interpreted by the Church.

THOMISTIC PHILOSOPHY OF LAW

-Primacy of a higher law over positive law

St. Thomas Aquinas believed in the rational

capacity of men to know the absolute good.
“Reason“ influenced by “sensation” is not sufficient to
bring men to a correct understanding of what is right
and just.

Right reason (sophia) is the governing idea to bring

man to his well being that is in real harmony with his
social relations.

Summa Theologica
•-St. Thomas Aquinas introduced a combination of right
reason and justice and equity, infusing it with profound
Law (jus) - is an ordinance of right reason for the
common good and happiness, laid down by him
who has the care and welfare of the whole
community, and made public by those in authority
to those who are subject to it.

Law (lex) - a rule and measure of acts, whereby

man is induced to act or is restrained from acting.
Two Aspects:

- As an ethical (moral)
virtue
- As a juristic (secular)
norm
As an ethical or moral virtue
-Justice is considered to be inherent in
every person

As a juristic or secular norm

-- “habit whereby man renders to each one
his due by a constant and perpetual will
•Puts an emphasis on the fundamental idea
of consideration for others and the basic
principle of equality of men in their relation
with one another.

•Justice in its secular sense cannot be

separated from ethical or moral justice.
- What is one’s due depends on the norms
of ethical or moral justice
•Best application of juristic or secular
justice:

3.It must come from one in and with

authority
4.It must come from one with a particular
disposition or propensity for justice
5.It must conform to right judgment
•The public welfare or the common
happiness is the first concern of the people
since anything concerns a person to whom
the end or purpose belongs.

•The law is ordained for the sake of

lawness or the common good and
happiness
•The task “belongs either to the people or
to someone who is the vicegerent of the
people”

•The compulsive force or authority to

determine the form and content of the
legal precepts inheres and emanates from
the people
•There is need to emphasize that changes do
occur in the subsequent applications of the
law and that these changes may be by
expansion or contraction in accordance with
the civilization of time and place.

•The reason why there are changes in the

subsequent applications of the first principle
is that human decisions vary in the choice of
means to realize the ends that are implicit in
the first principles.
Change may be through:

•Extension
•Contraction
•Super imposition of something
different
Basis: assumption that it is for the
welfare of the community

Ex. Concept of ownership

General freedom and liberty
Freedom of expression