Aquinas on Natural Law

Summary

In this video, Dr. Gloria Frost from the University of St. Thomas explains Thomas Aquinas' theory of natural law. Aquinas believed that God created the world and remains intimately involved in it, desiring all creatures to flourish. He argued that humans, unlike animals, have the unique ability to use reason to understand and act on God's will. Natural law, according to Aquinas, is the combination of instincts and reason that guides humans toward moral behavior and flourishing. Through reflection, humans can derive moral precepts, such as doing good and avoiding evil.

Takeaways

• 📜 Aquinas' theory of natural law is grounded in his belief that God created the world and remains involved in it, wanting all creatures to flourish.
• 🌍 Natural law is God's wisdom imprinted in creatures, guiding them through instincts to perform actions that are good for their flourishing.
• 🐦 Animals follow their instincts automatically, but humans can reason about their instincts and make choices on how to act.
• 🧠 Humans partake in eternal law more perfectly than animals because they can reflect on what is good and use reason to make moral choices.
• ⚖️ Natural law is the human participation in eternal law, where reason helps determine how to best fulfill God's will for human flourishing.
• 💡 Aquinas describes natural law as the light of natural reason that helps discern good from evil, imprinted on humans by divine light.
• 📜 The first precept of natural law is 'do good and avoid evil,' serving as the foundation for all other moral rules.
• 🔍 Humans have four main natural inclinations: self-preservation, species preservation, the desire for truth, and the inclination to live in society.
• 👶 From these natural inclinations, humans can reason to specific precepts such as not harming others, educating offspring, and pursuing knowledge.
• 🏛️ Human laws are necessary to implement natural law in specific societal contexts, but they must be rooted in and consistent with natural law.

Q & A

Who was Thomas Aquinas and what is his significance in philosophy?

Thomas Aquinas was a medieval philosopher and theologian who lived from 1225 to 1274. He made important contributions to philosophy, particularly in developing the theory of natural law, which is foundational in understanding ethics and human nature.

What is Aquinas' theory of natural law?

Aquinas' theory of natural law suggests that human beings have instincts and reasoning that guide them toward actions that lead to their flourishing. This law is a reflection of God's eternal law and is imprinted on humans, allowing them to discern good from evil.

How does Aquinas explain God's involvement in the world according to natural law?

Aquinas believed that God not only created the world but is also constantly involved in it. He wills that all creatures flourish and has endowed them with instincts that guide them toward actions beneficial for their well-being.

How do instincts function in Aquinas' theory of natural law?

In Aquinas' theory, instincts are the natural inclinations given to creatures by God, guiding them to actions that help them flourish. For example, birds instinctively build nests, and humans have instincts to preserve life and reproduce.

What sets humans apart from animals in Aquinas' natural law theory?

Unlike animals, humans can reflect on their instincts using reason. While animals follow their instincts automatically, humans can deliberate on what is good for them and choose how to act, giving them a unique participation in God's eternal law.

What role does reason play in Aquinas' understanding of natural law?

Reason allows humans to reflect on their natural instincts and discern the best ways to act in accordance with those instincts. This reasoning helps them understand what leads to their flourishing and what moral rules to follow.

What is the first precept of natural law according to Aquinas?

The first precept of natural law, according to Aquinas, is to 'do good and avoid evil.' This is a general moral rule that underlies all other moral precepts. All actions that align with doing good or avoiding evil are following this precept.

What are the four main instincts Aquinas identifies in humans?

Aquinas identifies four main instincts in humans: the inclination to preserve life, the inclination to reproduce, the desire to know the truth, and the desire to live in society. These instincts help guide moral reasoning and behavior.

How does Aquinas derive specific moral rules from natural law?

Aquinas derives specific moral rules by reflecting on human instincts. For example, the instinct to preserve life leads to the rule that harming or killing others is wrong. The desire for truth leads to the rule that lying is wrong.

What role does human law play in Aquinas' view of natural law?

In Aquinas' view, human law plays the role of determining how general precepts of natural law are applied in specific societal contexts. Human laws must be consistent with natural law but take into account the unique conditions of each society.

Outlines

00:00

📜 Aquinas' View on God's Role in Creation

Dr. Gloria Frost introduces Thomas Aquinas' theory of natural law by first discussing Aquinas' beliefs about God's relationship with the world. Aquinas believed that God is not a distant creator but is continuously involved in the world, willing for all creatures to flourish. This flourishing is for creatures to fulfill their purposes: squirrels finding acorns, frogs catching flies, and humans maturing into virtuous beings who know and love God. Aquinas argues that God does not control creatures like puppets but allows them to thrive through their own instincts and natural inclinations.

05:01

🌱 Instincts and Natural Law

Aquinas asserts that God helps creatures flourish by giving them instincts that guide them toward actions beneficial to them. For example, birds have instincts to build nests and care for their young, and these instincts are seen as God's wisdom imprinted on them. In humans, these instincts are part of what Aquinas calls 'natural law,' which is a participation in God's eternal law. Human beings, unlike animals, can use reason to reflect on these instincts and make choices about how to fulfill them. This ability to reason allows humans to live well according to God's design for their flourishing.

🤔 Reason, Instinct, and Moral Reflection

Aquinas believed humans differ from animals in that they can reflect on and reason about their instincts. While animals act purely on instinct, humans use reason to determine how best to fulfill their natural desires. This allows humans to make moral choices, such as deciding when to have children or choosing what to eat. For Aquinas, natural law is a blend of instinct and reason, where reason helps humans discern the best ways to achieve flourishing. Aquinas refers to natural law as 'the light of natural reason,' which helps distinguish between good and evil.

📏 The First Precept: Do Good and Avoid Evil

Aquinas defines the first and most general moral rule of natural law: 'Do good and avoid evil.' All other moral rules stem from this principle. When we help others or refrain from harmful actions, we are following this precept. Aquinas also discusses four main instincts that guide human behavior: the instinct to preserve life, reproduce, seek truth, and live in society. These instincts help humans recognize what is good, and reflection on these instincts leads to general moral precepts, such as not harming others or educating offspring.

🔍 From Instinct to Moral Precepts

Aquinas uses human instincts to derive moral rules. For example, the instinct to preserve life suggests that we should not harm others, and the instinct to preserve the species implies that we should care for and educate children. Similarly, the instinct to seek truth leads to the precepts of not lying and pursuing knowledge. Aquinas emphasizes that humans are naturally inclined to seek community, leading to precepts like avoiding offense and promoting justice. Reflection on these instincts, combined with reason, helps humans know how to live well.

⚖️ The Role of Society and Law in Natural Law

Aquinas acknowledges that not everyone can easily discern what is morally right in all situations, especially those raised in corrupt societies. He believes even well-formed individuals need guidance to apply natural law in specific contexts. Human laws should reflect the general principles of natural law, adapting them to the needs of particular societies. While each society may have unique laws, they must all align with the fundamental precepts of natural law, ensuring they promote the flourishing of individuals and communities.

Keywords

💡Natural Law

Natural law, according to Thomas Aquinas, refers to the participation of humans in the eternal law of God. It is the idea that humans, through reason and instincts, can discern what is good and evil. The concept is central to the video, explaining how humans are guided by their natural inclinations and reason to achieve flourishing as intended by God.

💡Eternal Law

Eternal law is God's plan and wisdom governing the entire universe, which creatures partake in through their natural inclinations. Aquinas explains that all creatures, including humans, share in this law, which directs them toward their good and flourishing. For humans, this law is discerned through natural reason, a major theme of the video.

💡Instincts

Instincts are the natural inclinations that God gives creatures to help them achieve their own good. For example, birds have an instinct to build nests, and humans have instincts to protect their lives and reproduce. In the context of Aquinas's natural law, instincts reveal what is good for creatures and guide their actions toward flourishing.

💡Reason

Reason is the human capacity to reflect on instincts and make choices about how to pursue the good. Unlike animals, humans can reason about what it means to live well and how to fulfill their instincts in a morally appropriate way. This ability to reason is what allows humans to participate in natural law more perfectly than other creatures.

💡Flourishing

Flourishing refers to the state of being that God wills for all creatures, where they become the best versions of themselves. For humans, flourishing involves living a virtuous life, using reason to align with God's eternal law. The video emphasizes that humans achieve flourishing by following their instincts and reason in accordance with natural law.

💡Precepts of Natural Law

Precepts of natural law are moral rules that guide human behavior, derived from reflecting on natural inclinations. The most fundamental precept, according to Aquinas, is to 'do good and avoid evil.' Other precepts include not killing, caring for offspring, and seeking truth. These precepts help humans align with God's plan and achieve flourishing.

💡Inclinations

Inclinations are the natural tendencies humans and other creatures have toward actions that are good for them. For humans, inclinations include self-preservation, reproduction, seeking truth, and living in society. Aquinas argues that by reflecting on these inclinations through reason, humans can discern moral truths that guide their behavior.

💡Moral Formation

Moral formation refers to the development of a person's ability to reason and act according to the precepts of natural law. Aquinas notes that some people, due to upbringing or societal influences, may struggle to discern these precepts on their own. The video highlights the importance of guidance from wiser individuals in applying natural law in specific situations.

💡Human Law

Human law refers to the laws created by societies to regulate behavior in accordance with natural law. Aquinas believes that human laws should be rooted in natural law but adapted to the specific conditions of each society. The video discusses how human law helps clarify how general moral precepts apply in concrete situations, such as property rights or parenting.

💡Virtue

Virtue is the moral excellence that humans should strive for to align with God's will and achieve flourishing. Aquinas teaches that virtues, such as justice and honesty, are cultivated through following the precepts of natural law. The video touches on virtue as a key element of living a happy and healthy life in accordance with God's eternal plan.

Highlights

Thomas Aquinas lived from 1225 to 1274 and made significant contributions to philosophy and theology.

Aquinas believed that God remains intimately involved in the world, constantly willing for all creatures to flourish.

God's wisdom is imprinted on creatures as instincts or inclinations that help them achieve success and flourish.

Natural law, according to Aquinas, is the human being's participation in God's eternal law, guided by both instincts and reason.

Humans have natural instincts like other animals, but are unique in their ability to reason and reflect on what is good.

Humans can use reason to decide how to best act on their instincts, such as determining the right way to pursue relationships or careers.

Natural law involves instincts that reveal what is good and reason that helps us pursue those goods in the best way possible.

Aquinas describes the natural law as 'the light of natural reason' by which we discern good from evil.

The first precept of natural law is 'do good and avoid evil,' which underlies every other moral rule.

Aquinas identifies four key human instincts: preserving life, preserving the species, knowing truth, and living in society.

From the instinct to preserve life, we can reason that killing or harming others is wrong because life is valuable.

The instinct to know truth leads to moral precepts such as avoiding lies and shunning ignorance.

The instinct to live in society leads to precepts about promoting community, such as not offending others and promoting justice.

Aquinas acknowledges that not every person can easily discern the natural law due to upbringing or societal influences.

Human law, according to Aquinas, should be rooted in natural law and serve to implement it in specific societal contexts.

Transcripts

hi this is dr. Gloria Frost of the

university of st. thomas in this short

video I'm going to give you a brief

overview of the medieval philosophers

Thomas Aquinas theory of natural law

Aquinas lived from 1225 to 1274 and he

made many important contributions to

philosophy and theology in order to

understand Aquinas his theory of natural

law we need to begin with his beliefs

about God Christians like Aquinas

believed that God not only created the

world but he also remains intimately

involved in it he doesn't create it and

walk away and leave it to its own

devices God is constantly holding the

world in existence and willing at all

times that all creatures in the world

flourish this is to say that he wants

all things which exists to become the

best versions of what they are he wants

squirrels to be good at finding acorns

and building nests he wants frogs to do

well at jumping swimming and catching

flies and he wants us to mature into

happy healthy and virtuous people who

know and love him in each other the way

that God promotes and provides for our

and other creatures flourishing is not

by interfering in the world like a

puppet master Aquinas thinks that God

wants us and other creatures to achieve

success through our own actions and

operations the way that God helps us to

lead us toward our flourishing while

also having us achieve it through our

own activity is by creating his

creatures with instincts or inclinations

to perform the actions that are good for

them for example birds have instincts to

build nests and protect their eggs they

have instincts which attract them to eat

certain types of food that are good for

them rather than to eat any old physical

object Aquinas thinks that the instincts

that living organisms have to do the

actions that are good for them is God's

own wisdom imprinted upon them

- describes the inclinations of created

organisms toward the things that are

good for them as a sharing in God's own

eternal law natural law is the name that

Aquinas gives to the human beings

participation in eternal law like other

animals we have instincts perform

actions that are good for us for example

we have an instinct to protect our lives

in dangerous situations we similarly

have a natural instinct that inclines us

to reproduce our cell

it is clear that we are like other

animals and having these internal drives

to do things that are good for ourselves

yet Aquinas thought that we as human

beings partake in the eternal law most

perfectly that is because unlike any

other animal we are able to understand

God's view of what is good for human

being and we can use reason and choice

to follow it a bird cannot reflect on

what is good for it and choose to act in

certain ways a bird is no option but to

follow what its instincts drive it

toward this explains why all birds act

so similarly they cannot choose to go

against their instincts we as human

beings however can reflect on what it

means to be living well as a human being

we can reflect in the instincts which we

have we can similarly think about what

our good and bad ways to pursue them for

instance we could recognize that we have

a natural instinct to reproduce and we

can think about what are good or

reasonable ways to act on it

for example a young person can think

about whether they want to achieve a

certain relationship status or career

goal before becoming a parent dogs and

birds can't do this of course likewise

we have a natural instinct to eat like

other animals but unlike them we cannot

reason about how when and what we should

eat this reasoning is evidenced by the

countless cookbooks food magazines and

even diet tracking apps our society is

created these examples show that for us

as humans there are various ways in

which we can fulfill our god-given

instincts and we can use reason to

reflect on which will best line up with

the flourishing that God wills for us to

summarize natural law involves both

instincts and reason without

inclinations or instincts we would not

recognize certain things as desirable

and therefore as having value without

reasoning however we would not know the

best way to pursue the objects which are

inclinations reveal to us as having

value Aquinas describes the natural law

as quote the light of natural reason

whereby we discern what is good and what

is evil

end quote he also says that this light

we have within us allows us to know good

from evil that this light is an imprint

on us of quote the divine light end

quote

God creates us with both reason and

instincts and these capacities together

illuminate for us the path to true

flourishing or happiness Aquinas

believed that by reflecting on our

instincts with reason we could arrive at

certain moral rules which we should

follow in our behavior these are the

precepts of the natural law precept is

another word for a rule which is

intended to regulate behavior Aquinas

says that the very first of these rules

is to quote do good and avoid evil

unquote this precept is first in the

sense that it is the most general moral

rule whenever you are following another

moral rule you are necessarily following

this one for example if you help someone

in need you are thereby doing something

good if you refrain from insulting your

roommate when you're angry you are

thereby avoiding evil every other moral

precept is a specific way of either

doing good or avoiding evil so the

precept do good and avoid evil as the

first precept of the natural law in the

sense that it's presupposed by every

other precept we know other precepts of

the natural law by reflecting on the

specific inclinations that we have as

human beings and as great work the Summa

Theologica when he discusses natural law

Aquinas identifies four main instincts

that human beings have two of these

instincts are shared with other living

things while two are very specific to

human beings the instinct shared with

other living beings are the inclination

to preserve our individual life and to

preserve our species the other instincts

which are unique to us as human are the

inclination to know truth and the

inclination to live in society we are by

nature curious about the world and want

to know how things work we want the

truth this instinct has led our race to

pursue scientific inquiry into develop

arts we are also by nature social beings

even those of us who are shy or prefer

lots of alone time naturally have a

desire to know and be known by other

human beings and to live a shared life

together from these four instincts

Aquinas thinks that we can reason to

some very general precepts we should

live by so that we flourish and that

other human very beings flourish

alongside us

for example by reflecting on our desire

to preserve our lives we can realize

that life is good and valuable and that

we ought not harm or kill other human

beings when we harm or kill another

human we destroy something that is good

that we have a natural inclination to

preserve by reflecting on our desire to

preserve our species Aquinas thinks that

we can know that we ought to care for

and educate our offspring humans would

not survive if parents did not teach

their children what they needed to know

to live examples of precepts that are

derived from our desire to know the

truth or do not lie and shun ignorance

shun ignorance means to pursue knowledge

when there's something important that we

do not know our natural desire to know

truth reveals to us that the truth is

something good when we choose to remain

in ignorance we are choosing not to

pursue something that's good for us when

we lie to others we are depriving them

of the good of truth from reflecting on

our desire to live in society with

others we can reason to many other

general precepts about how to promote

this good an example from Aquinas is

that we should avoid offending others if

we don't take care not to offend others

it is very difficult to have a peaceful

community life there are many other

precepts having to do with justice in a

community such as do not steal which we

can also know through reflection on how

to best fulfill our natural desire to be

in community with others in some Aquinas

thought that our natural human

inclinations and the power of reasoning

we have provide us with a basis for us

to know how to live an excellent human

life it's worth pointing out that

Aquinas did not think that every single

human being could in practice easily

know what was required of him or her to

act well in every possible situation by

simply pausing and reasoning about his

or her inclinations Aquinas claims that

some people because of that upbringing

or living in a corrupt society could in

fact find it very difficult if not

impossible in practice to reason to the

precepts of the natural law furthermore

Aquinas thought that even people with

very good moral formations needed the

assistance of other wiser more

experienced people to help them apply

the natural law

civic situations in their lives the

precepts of natural law are very general

guidelines further reasoning is required

to know which more determinant acts in

concrete situations count as following

the precept or not following it for

example does taking one of your

roommates pens with you to class violate

the precept of do not steal does leaving

a ten-year-old child home alone for a

few hours go against the precept of

educating and caring for your offspring

Aquinas thought that the role of the

human law was to determine how the

general precepts of natural law should

in fact be implemented in specific

societal situations each society must

make its own human laws in light of the

very specific conditions of that society

but all human laws must be rooted in and

consistent with natural law