Lesson 2:

St. Thomas Aquinas and the

Christian Context
 Learning Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:
1. be familiar with the philosopher in question in this unit, St.
Thomas Aquinas
2. show understanding of the Christian context to which Thomas
belonged; and
3. show understanding of the broader picture of Aquinas's moral
thought.
 The fundamental truth maintained and elaborated by
Aquinas is the promise right at the center of the Christian faith:
that we are created by God in order to ultimately return to
Him. The Christian life, therefore, is about developing the
capacities given to us by God into a disposition of virtue
inclined toward the good. Aquinas teaches that there is a sense
of right and wrong in us that we are obliged to obey, and this
sense of right and wrong must be informed, guided, and
ultimately grounded in an objective basis for morality.
There have been various thinkers and systems of thought emerging
throughout history that could be said to present a natural law
theory. Among them, the one we will be focusing on, is the
medieval thinker Thomas Aquinas. It has to be recognized,
however, that this natural law theory is part of a much larger
discussion, which is his moral theory taken a whole. This moral
theory, in turn, is part of a larger project, which is Aquinas's vision
of the Christian faith. Before we turn to the natural law theory, let
us try to at least get some glimpse of these contexts.
THINK
In what follows we take a quick glance at our philosopher, Thomas
Aquinas, the Christian context within which he lived and strove to
make more comprehensible, and the larger ethical framework
within which one can find the natural law theory.
Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)
Hailed as a doctor of the Roman Catholic Church, one of the figures
who have fundamentally shaped the way we understand the
Christian faith, Thomas Aquinas was a Dominican friar who has
become the preeminent intellectual figure of the scholastic period
of the Middle Ages, arguably contributing to the doctrine of the
faith more than any other figure of his time, and perhaps even in
the whole history of the Church. The Summa Theologiae, Aquinas's
magnum opus, is a voluminous work that comprehensively
discusses many significant points in Christian theology. He was
canonized in 1323.
The Context of the Christian Story The fundamental truth
maintained and elaborated by Aquinas in all his works is the
promise right at the center of the Christian faith: that we are
created by God in order to ultimately return to Him. The structure
of his magnum opus Summa Theologiae follows the trajectory of
this story.
The Life of St. Thomas Aquinas and His Greatest
Work
The Church has told us countless times to go to St. Thomas
for guidance in matters of philosophy and theology.  Over
the centuries this authoritative counsel has been a source of
motivation for countless schools and seminaries, teachers
and scholars.  But just who was this saint, what were the
main lines of his life, and what are the characteristics of his
major works?  Such questions are ever more relevant as
fewer know their answers.  That is the reason for the
following all-too-brief account.
The seventh son of a noble family, Thomas was born in 1225
at Roccasecca in Italy, near Aquino, not far from the
Benedictine Abbey of Monte Cassino, where as a boy he
received instruction in liberal arts, literature, and catechism. 
At the age of 14, Thomas commenced his undergraduate
studies at the University of Naples, where newly-discovered
works of Aristotle were studied more eagerly and freely than
was the case in Paris.
 In Naples he encountered radiant friars of the newly-
founded Order of Preachers, whose life of poverty and
preaching he embraced in 1244.  His parents having
already marked out their son as future abbot of Monte
Cassino enriched with all rights and privileges appertaining
thereunto, Thomas’s decision to join a band of poor itinerant
preachers was not greeted with enthusiasm.  Thomas was
kidnapped by his brothers and kept for a year at the family
estate to get him to change his mind, but he remained firm
in his resolve.
In the autumn of 1245, Friar Thomas entered the University of Paris,
where he began a period of studies under the tutelage of Albert the
Great, a Dominican famed for his encyclopedic knowledge and his
proficiency in Aristotle.  Thomas accompanied Albert to Cologne in 1248
to continue his studies, and there he was ordained to the priesthood. 
As Thomas was a quiet and studious pupil with a stout physique, he
earned at this time the nickname “dumb ox”; yet Albert, impressed by
his pupil’s unusual gifts, is said to have remarked: “We call him the
dumb ox, but the bellowing of that ox will resound throughout the whole
world.”  Returning to Paris in 1252 to complete his advanced degree, he
was granted special permission in 1256 to take a chair in theology at
the University, despite protests from the incumbent professors who
distrusted Dominican and Franciscan “upstarts.”
Under orders from his superiors, Thomas went to Italy in
1259 to spend several years working for his order and for the
papal court.  During this time he produced the first of his
great mature works, the Summa contra gentiles (a summary
of Catholic theology refuting pagan and heretical errors), and
worked on numerous other projects, including a line-by-line
commentary on the four Gospels, the Catena aurea, woven
mainly from Patristic sources.  This work reveals a
marvellous familiarity with both Latin and Greek Fathers:
Thomas drew upon 22 of the former and a whopping 57 of
the latter.
Meanwhile, intense theological controversies were brewing
in Paris, owing in large part to an extreme Aristotelianism
that threatened to divorce reason from faith, and an equally
extreme conservatism that could not come to grips with
newly discovered pagan learning.  In response to the crisis,
Thomas, again at his superiors’ request, returned to that city
in 1268 for an unusual second term or “regency” as
professor of theology.
Among the duties of a medieval professor was the holding of strenuous
public debates or quaestiones disputatae at which all faculty and
advanced students were present as interlocutors.  The “determination”
of the questions was left to the master, who, on the day following the
dispute, handed down his considered judgment on the issues.  Either a
glutton for punishment or an angel in superhuman endurance, Thomas
initiated numerous debates in both of his regencies, sometimes to clarify
pressing questions of the day (for example, the true nature of
evangelical poverty; the immateriality of angels; the personal
possession of intellect), and other times to advance the knowledge of
traditional subjects (truth, the soul, evil, divine power).
 At the end of his Roman period and the beginning of his second Parisian
regency, Thomas began work on his monumental Summa theologiae; but,
as if this project and the academic debates were not enough to keep him
busy, he produced at the same time a series of detailed commentaries on
the major works of Aristotle to help out struggling students.  Throughout
his career, Friar Thomas also responded generously to requests for his
“expert opinion” on legal, canonical, philosophical, or theological topics
—advice he was well qualified to give, having committed to heart the
Bible as well as the writings of the Fathers and the philosophers.  (It was
said that when Friar Thomas first arrived at a monastery or priory he
had never been to before, his first stop was at the chapel, and,
immediately afterwards, he was off to the library to seek out any books
he had not seen before.  Having secured these volumes, he promptly
committed their contents to memory.)
After a tremendous mystical experience traditionally said to
have occurred on the feast of St. Nicholas (December 6) in
1273, Thomas found himself utterly unable to write or dictate
any more of the Summa.  “All I have written now seems like
straw in comparison with what I have seen,” he told his
secretary Reginald of Piperno.  “Straw” refers to the chaff, the
outer husk, as compared with its kernel or inner core; Thomas
felt keenly that limited human words were utterly inadequate
to the infinite mystery of the God whose glory had been
opened for a moment to his eyes.
 Thomas became ill en route to the General Council of
Lyons and died, on March 7, 1274, at the Cistercian
monastery of Fossanova after having received the last
sacraments.  His final words in the presence of the Blessed
Eucharist are well worth pondering: “I receive Thee, price
of my soul’s redemption, I receive Thee, viaticum of my
pilgrimage, for love of whom I have studied, watched,
labored; I have preached Thee, I have taught Thee. . .if I
have taught anything poorly on this sacrament or the
others, I submit it to the judgment of the Holy Roman
Church, in obedience to which I leave this life.”
In a time such as ours when routine disobedience to the teaching of the
Church has become the norm among clerics in many dioceses, we are
rightly amazed and challenged by the sheer self-denial and humility
implied in Friar Thomas’s attitude at the threshold of his passing into
eternal life.  Obedience is the only criterion for him, as it was for Christ in
the Garden of Gethsemane.  Thomas is completely detached from all his
work, all his writings, all his life; he asks the Church to decide what is
worth saving and what should be discarded.  The humanistic concept of
authorship, which is not far from Pilate’s “what I have written, I have
written,” is absent from his mind.  I am sure we could all use a dose of
this unshakable confidence in the divinely-guided wisdom of the Catholic
Church.
Thomas the Saint
Our picture of the life of this great thinker would be incomplete if we failed to
remember several things about Thomas the saint.  As a “Master of Theology”—
which in the Middle Ages meant one who had attained great proficiency in
understanding and interpreting the Bible—Thomas not only taught classes on the
word of God but preached many sermons, often to simple unlettered people, and
wrote detailed commentaries on Scripture for the benefit of fellow preachers.  As
those who knew him testified, Thomas was a man of palpable holiness, humble,
obedient, and selfless in seeking the kingdom of God.  Nor was he a cold
reasoner, however rationalistic some of his later disciples may have been.  In
response to a request from Pope Urban IV he composed a magnificent Office for
the Feast of Corpus Christi, containing hymns which are counted among the most
beautiful specimens of medieval poetry, full of unction and tender devotion.
So well did he write on the angels and so pure was his practice of the
Christian life that he earned the title “Angelic Doctor” soon after his
death; and so profound were his contributions to sacred theology that
he gained a greater title still: that of Common or Universal Doctor of
the Church.  Canonized in 1323, Thomas thereafter received the
accolades of every pope, many of whom put him forward
authoritatively as the model and chief guide for students of theology—
the most notable being Leo XIII, whose encyclical Aeterni
Patris (1878) inaugurated a strong renewal in the study of St. Thomas
which lasted well into this century.  In spite of false impressions to the
contrary, the Magisterium has never revoked the preeminent status of
St. Thomas, as the documents of Vatican II and of recent popes bear
witness.
 Synthesis of faith and reason
The hallmark of Thomas’s approach to theology is the synthesis of reason and faith.  To speak of such a
synthesis means that sacred theology, while based firmly on the word of God, employs truths known by
reason in order to understand more deeply the mysteries God has revealed and to refute errors
concerning them.  More fundamentally, however, it means that both reason and revelation are gifts of
God intended to illuminate one another as man progresses on his pilgrimage towards heaven.  There is
always a certain reciprocity between them: is it possible to do away with reason when trying to grasp
the meaning of revelation?  (If we are supposed to believe without question every wandering preacher
who claims inspiration from the Holy Spirit, we would truly be the sorriest of creatures, persuaded one
day only to be deceived the next.)  The full truth of the Gospel and the Church could not be discerned,
much less embraced, unless the Holy Spirit was able to work within us, within our own powers of
knowing and loving.  A man whose will and intellect were absolutely corrupted—deaf to any truth,
hardened to all goodness—would be no different from a plank of wood.  God creates man with an
immortal soul, a reasoning mind, a capacity to know the truth and choose the good; this is the very
essence of man as imago Dei (image of God).  Sin damages human nature, it cannot corrupt its essence:
“nature is wounded, not destroyed” (Augustine).  It is precisely what is good and uncorrupted in man
that enables him to recognize the truth when he encounters it.  The grace of God does not work by
external imposition but by a renewal of the inner man and all his faculties; it confers new sanctity and
confirms old sanity, joining man to God and restoring man to himself.
It would thus be false to accuse St. Thomas of viewing the human intellect and will as if they
were “unfallen.”  He is well aware that sin has wrought terrible damage, and that, however
much man tries to acquire virtues and adhere to what is right, he cannot succeed without
God’s help.  Thomas’s theology is centered on God alone, the first beginning and last end of all
things (the First Part of the Summa theologiae); from this vantage, it focuses on man striving to
perfect the imago Dei within him by a harmonious interaction of free will and grace (the
Second Part of the Summa); and in between the infinite God and finite man stands the figure
of Jesus Christ, true God and true man, the Mediator who is God’s perfect self-revelation and
the path and goal of human righteousness (the Third Part).  The fact that man can acquire
natural knowledge of God shows that the Creator has remained, as he always was and is,
closer to us than we to ourselves.  As St. Paul declared to the Athenians: “He is not far from
each one of us, for in him we live and move and have our being, as even some of your poets
have said, for we are indeed his offspring” (Acts 17:27-28).  Even the pagans are without
excuse if they fail to gain true knowledge of God from His creation (Rom. 1:20-21, Wis. 13:1-9). 
To prepare the way for revelation, God sows throughout the world seeds of truth which can
take root and grow in human hearts, opening them towards the better seed of the Gospel
whose fruit is everlasting life.
The confidence with which St. Thomas leans upon rational arguments must be
understood within this greater context of God’s love for man, the Shepherd’s desire that
no sheep should go astray.  There can be no darkness so dark that the divine light no
longer shines in it.  This is also the context which enables us to appreciate the extensive
use Thomas makes of pre-Christian philosophers.  Rather than dismiss them as
unregenerate pagans, Thomas, in union with the entire Christian tradition up to his time,
sees them as witnesses to the truths accessible in the Book of Nature, which, coming
from the hand of a wise and loving God, can never contradict the Book of Revelation. 
Just as the world is God’s work, so is the preaching of Christ; and just as reason is God’s
first and most abiding gift to man, so the Gospel is reason’s ultimate salvation, not its
destruction.  The pagans could not know the Savior who had not yet come or had not yet
been preached, but, by following the footprints of God in the world, they did apprehend the
existence of a sovereign spiritual being, supremely true and good, and in this way they too
“preached an unknown God” (Acts 17:23) whom Christ made known in the fullness of
time.  The wisdom of Jesus Christ is foolishness to the Gentiles only when they have
closed their minds to God’s prior revelation of Himself in the world.
The Summa theologiae

The Summary of Theology, arguably the greatest work of St.

Thomas and one of the most influential books in Catholic
intellectual history, comprises some 3,122 articles or specific
queries on doctrine, grouped into thematic questions.  Thomas
set to work on this enormous project in the years 1265-66, and
was nearing completion of the final portion in December 1273
when he underwent the aforementioned mystical experience
that left him unable to write any further.  After Thomas’s death
in March of 1274, his students completed the final portion, now
referred to as the “Supplement,” by re-arranging material from
his earlier commentary on the Sentences of Peter Lombard.
The purpose of the Summa is stated in the opening prologue: the
teacher of Catholic doctrine should instruct beginners in a manner and
order that reflects the interrelationship of the various truths of the faith,
avoiding useless repetition and confusing digressions.  The breadth
and profundity of the Summa indicates the real intended audience:
graduate students of theology who have already received a grueling
training in logic, physics, metaphysics, and Sacred Scripture.  Although
some segments of the Summa are directly accessible to nonspecialists,
other segments are all but unintelligible without ample prior training. 
For this reason, it is wiser for the modern beginner to read a trustworthy
general introduction to the thought of St. Thomas along with a few of
his easier works before moving on to tackle the Summa itself.
The overall structure of the work is one of beautiful simplicity: the first
part (prima pars) speaks of God in Himself and God as the origin and
goal of creation in its entirety, the second part (secunda pars) of man’s
return to God by means of virtue and grace, and the third part (tertia
pars) of Jesus Christ as the way, the truth, and the life through whom
man returns to God.  The work traces out a broad circle of going forth
and coming back: the procession of all things from the Creator and the
providentially orchestrated return of creation, especially of man, to God
through the Mediator who is true God and true man.
There are three parts to this voluminous work.
There are three parts to this voluminous work. In the first part,
Aquinas speaks of God, and although we acknowledge that our
limited human intellect cannot fully grasp Him, we nevertheless
are able to say something concerning His goodness, His might, and
His creative power. Recognizing then that we are created by God,
we move on to the second part, which deals with man or the
dynamic of human life. the presence of God's grace and that grace
has become perfectly incarnate in the person of Jesus. Thus, the
third part focuses on Jesus as our Savior.
This is characterized by our pursuit of happiness, which we
should realize rests ultimately not on any particular good thing
that is created by God, but in the highest good which is God
Himself. Our striving for this ultimate happiness, while
important, will not in itself bring us to this blessed state. In
other words, salvation is only possible through
Given that our concern here is the question of ethics, it would
seem clear that what would be of greatest interest to us is the
second part or the section of this story that centers on human
life, and perhaps its striving toward God. However, bringing up
the notion that living a good life leads us to God could easily be
misunderstood as a simple exhortation to obey certain rules as
given to us in Church doctrine or to follow certain passages lifted
at random from sacred Scriptures..
In other words, we may fall into the danger of the divine
command theory, which we had explored in the first unit of this
book. Instead, we should hope to find that there is much greater
complexity, but also coherence, to the ethics of Aquinas.
The Context of Aquina's Ethics
A full consideration of Aquinas's ethics would require us to explore his
discussion of other matters, such as how, in our pursuit of happiness, we
direct our actions toward specific ends. We might explore how emotions-"the
passions"-are involved in this process, and therefore require a proper order if
they are to properly contribute to a good life. We might explore how our
actions are related to certain dispositions (often referred to as "habits") in a
dynamic way since our actions both arise from our habits and at the same
time reinforce them. We might explore his discussion of how we develop
either good or bad habits with a good disposition leading us toward making
moral choices, thereby contributing to our moral virtue, and a bad
disposition inclining us toward making immoral choices, bringing us to vice.
The Christian life, therefore, is about developing the capacities
given to us by God into a disposition of virtue inclined toward the
good. Aquinas also puts forward that there is within us a conscience
that directs our moral thinking. This does not refer to some simple
intuition or gut feeling. For Aquinas, there is a sense of right and
wrong in us that we are obliged to obey. However, he also adds that
this sense of right and wrong must be informed, guided, and
ultimately grounded in an objective basis for morality.
So, we are called to heed the voice of conscience and enjoined to
develop and maintain a life of virtue. However, these both require
content, so we need something more. We need a basis for our
conscience to be properly informed, and we need a clearer
guidepost on whether certain decisions we make lead us toward
virtue or vice. Being told that one should heed one's conscience or
that one should try to be virtuous, does very little to guide people
as to what specifically should be done in a given situation. Thus,
there is a need for a clearer basis of ethics, a grounding that will
more concretely direct our sense of what is right and wrong. For
Aquinas, this would be the natural law.
We can recall how the ethical approach called the divine
command theory urges one toward an unthinking obedience to
religious precepts. Given the problems of this simplistic approach
to ethics, we can contrast how the moral theory of Aquinas
requires the judicious use of reason. In doing so, one's sense of
right and wrong would be grounded on something stable: human
nature itself.
EXPERIENCE
Given that the Philippines is a predominantly Christian country,
there is a good chance that you either had a Christian upbringing,
or at least would have some familiarity with Christianity. Does
your understanding of Christian doctrine coincide with what we
find stated on the previous pages? Were you surprised by
anything in that discussion?
ASSESS
Consider the following questions:
1. What details can you recall about St. Thomas Aquinas?
2. Explain how the structure of the Summa Theologiae itself is
based on the main message of the Christian faith.
3. Explain the dynamic between acts and habits and why this is
important in ethics.
CHALLENGE
The term "conscience" has entered into popular thinking as
vaguely being something within us that is somehow involved in
our moral thinking. Consider some of the common ways that
people might construe this term. Now do some online research on
conscience as discussed by Thomas Aquinas, and compare and
contrast our philosopher's discussion of it with the popular
notions.
HARNESS
In the community that you belong to-village, school, or maybe
workplace-to what extent does the religious faith determine or at
least influence the rules and other norms to which people adhere?
Try to make an objective assessment of both the pros and cons of
this religious presence.
Lesson 1
The LGBTQ+ Question
 Learning Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:
1. identify the details of a report on an attempt to change
legislation for same sex marriage;
2. reflect on concerns of the LGBTQ+ community as concrete real-
world issues; and
3. recognize the real-world issue as the context from which we
begin our study of the natural law theory.
 Common reasons given against the LGBTQ+ community
vary, ranging from the opinion that it is unsightly, to the
statement that there is something “irregular” about it, even to
the judgment that two people of the same sex being together
is unnatural. But what exactly do the words “natural” and
“unnatural” mean? (pp.55−56)
What Does LGBTQ+ Mean?
LGBTQ+ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (or
sometimes questioning), and others. The "plus" represents other
sexual identities including pansexual and Two-Spirit. The first four
letters of the acronym have been used since the 1990s, but in
recent years there has been an increased awareness of the need to
be inclusive of other sexual identities to offer better
representation. 
The acronym is used to represent a diverse range of sexualities and
gender-identities, referring to anyone who is transgender and/or
same/similar gender attracted.
What Does Each Letter Mean?
•L (Lesbian): A lesbian is a woman/woman-aligned person who is
attracted to only people of the same/similar gender.

•G (Gay): Gay is usually a term used to refer to men/men-aligned

individuals who are only attracted to people of the same/similar
gender. However, lesbians can also be referred to as gay. The use of
the term gay became more popular during the 1970s. Today,
bisexual and pansexual people sometimes use gay to casually refer
to themselves when they talk about their similar gender attraction.
•B (Bisexual): Bisexual indicates an attraction to all genders.
The recognition of bisexual individuals is important, since there
have been periods when people who identify as bi have been
misunderstood as being gay. Bisexuality has included
transgender, binary and nonbinary individuals since the
release of the "Bisexual Manifesto" in 1990.
•T (Transgender): Transgender is a term that indicates that a
person's gender identity is different from the gender associated with
the sex they were assigned at birth. 
•Q (Queer or Questioning): Though queer may be used by people
as a specific identity, it is often considered an umbrella term for
anyone who is non-cisgender or heterosexual. But it is also a slur.
It should not be placed on all members of the community, and
should only be used by cisgender and heterosexual individuals
when referring to a person who explicitly identifies with it.
Questioning refers to people who may be unsure of their sexual
orientation and/or gender identity.
•+ (Plus): The 'plus' is used to signify all of the gender identities
and sexual orientations that are not specifically covered by the
other five initials. An example is Two-Spirit, a pan-Indigenous
American identity.
History of the LGBTQ+ Acronym
Where a variety of orientations and identities had previously been
referred to as "the gay community" and later "the gay and lesbian
community," the acronym eventually evolved as a way to be more
inclusive of other identities.

The original acronym has gained more letters designed to help

better represent other identities related to sexual orientation and
gender identity.1
Why has the acronym changed over time? One important thing to
remember is that words and meanings are always evolving.
Bisexual, as defined by Sigmund Freud, originally meant a person
was both a man and a woman. Being both a man and a woman is
now referred to as bigender (under the transgender umbrella), and
bisexuality is attraction to multiple/all genders.
Why the “Plus” Matters
While variations such as LGBT or LGBTQ are often used, many
advocates argue that the addition of the “plus” is important and
should not be overlooked. The purpose of the acronym is to
represent the tremendous diversity of people who are
same/similar gender attracted and transgender. The addition of
the plus is better able to fully capture that diversity.
“Coverage of LGBTQ issues has moved beyond simplistic political
dichotomies and toward more fully realized representations, not
only of the diversity of the LGBTQ community, but also of LGBTQ
people’s lives, their families, and their fundamental inclusion in
the fabric of American society,” explains GLAAD, or the Gay &
Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.
Related Terms to Know:

Some other terms that you may see or hear related to the LGBTQ+
community include:

•Asexual: Sometimes shorted to "ace," this term refers to someone

who has little or no sexual attraction; they may, however,
experience romantic attraction.
•Cisgender: This term refers to individuals whose gender identity
corresponds to the gender associated with the sex they were
assigned at birth.
•Intersex: A term to describe individuals who are born with
variations of sex characteristics that do not fit with binary definitions
of male or female bodies.

•Nonbinary: A person whose gender identity is neither exclusively

woman or man.

•Gender nonconforming: An individual whose gender identity or

expression is outside or beyond the traditional masculine/feminine
and woman/man norms.
A person's gender identity is their internal sense of gender,
whether that is woman, man, or a nonbinary gender.
A person's gender identity does not necessarily correspond to their
sex assigned at birth or with their gender expression. 
It is also important to understand that gender is not the same as
sex.
Sex is biological, while gender is influenced by social, cultural, and
environmental factors.
Why LGBTQ+ Representation Matters?

The LGBTQ+ acronym serves an important purpose—not only is it

designed to be more inclusive, but it also represents the self-
identities of people who are transgender and/or similar gender
attracted. 
Uses of the LGBTQ+ Acronym:

The acronym LGBTQ+ has become more popular and accepted.

Terms such as queer are sometimes used as well, but not all
members of the community are comfortable with it as it is still a
slur.

Regardless of what terms people choose to use, what matters is

that people have choice in self-identification and that others
acknowledge that identity. If someone tells you how they identify,
focus on honoring their individual identity.
In our everyday use of language, and the expression of our
opinions and biases, we are accustomed to using the words
"natural" and "unnatural," perhaps without giving much thought
as to what exactly we mean by that. Maybe reflecting on one
occasion in which that kind of valuation is impulsively made can
prove to be the best time for us to both reflect on what we might
actually mean when we use the term, and also to begin to learn
about an ethical theory that takes this notion of nature as its
starting point.
THINK
n October 2016, newspapers reported that Pantaleon Alvarez,
Speaker of the House of Representatives, was intending to draft a bill
which would amend the country's Family Code, thereby allowing for
the legalization of same-sex unions. This would result in the
possibility of two men together or two women together being legally
identified as a couple, with rights guaranteed and protected by the
law. However, as one newspaper report revealed, even before
anything could be formally proposed, other fellow legislators had
already expressed to the media their refusal to support any such
initiative."
The reasons given in the news article (cited in the notes) vary,
ranging from the opinion that seeing two men kiss is unsightly, to
the statement that there is something "irregular" about belonging
to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) community, and
positing the judgment that two people of the same sex being
together is unnatural.
We are used to hearing people justify doing some particular thing
by making the appeal that what they maintain is what is "natural,"
and therefore acceptable. Likewise, people would judge something
as unacceptable on the basis that it is supposedly "unnatural."
Thus, we are no longer surprised when we hear persons condemn
and label many different things as "unnatural": maybe receiving
blood transfusions, eating meat, or, as our news report shows,
engaging in sexual relations that one might consider deviant.
We also realize that sometimes we might find ourselves
astonished or perplexed as to what different people might
consider "unnatural." In order to proceed, it is therefore
necessary to ask: "What do the words 'natural' and 'unnatural'
mean?"
Sometimes, the word "natural" seems to be used to refer to some
kind of intuition that a person has, one which is so apparently true
to him that it is unquestioned. For example, a woman may claim that
it is simply "unnatural" to eat any kind of insect, and what this
means is that she has never done so, and when confronted with the
very idea of it, her immediate response is one of aversion. Along
similar lines, we also easily find people using the word "natural" to
refer to what seems common to them given their particular
environment. For instance, a Filipina may suppose that eating three
full meals of rice and ulam every day is what is "natural" because
everyone she knows behaves in that way.
Somewhat differently, in other instances, the word is used to try to
justify a certain way of behaving by seeing its likeness somewhere in
the natural world. For example, a man might claim that it is okay for
him to have more than one sexual partner, since, in a pride of lions,
the alpha male gets to mate with all the she-lions. In yet other
instances, the word "natural" is used as an appeal to something
instinctual or corporeal without it being directed by reason. For
example, a man may deem it all right if he were to urinate just
anywhere because after all he takes it to be a "natural" function of
the human body.
Given these varied meanings of the term "natural," we need to find
a more solid and nuanced way to understand the term. In this unit
we explore how Thomas Aquinas provides this, emphasizing the
capacity for reason as what is essential in our human nature. This
understanding of human nature anchored on our capacity for reason
will become the basis of the natural law theory, a theory which will
provide us a unique way of determining the moral status of our
actions.
EXPERIENCE
Recall from your own experience what things or actions you might
be inclined to deem natural and unnatural. Once you have listed
these down, reflect on the further question of what is the actual
meaning that lies behind each particular instance of the word's use.
ASSESS
Consider the following questions:
1. What reasons were given in the report for refusing to support
the same-sex initiative? Do you agree with those reasons that were
given?
2. What possible meanings of the word "natural" (or "unnatural")
were presented? Can you think of still other ways that the word
"natural" (or "unnatural") can be used?
CHALLENGE :
Thinking of the communities that you belong to-your family,
friends, classmates, clubs or organizations-what do you think is the
dominant attitude toward the concerns of the LGBTQ+ community?
Sympathy? Tolerance? Hostility? Something else? Whatever your
answer, provide your reasons for it, and discuss.
HARNESS
Not just in this country but around the world, the question of the
concerns of the LGBTQ+ community are a hotly contested matter.

There are those who are fighting for LGBTQ+ rights, and there
are also those who are against them. It is very possible that you
happen to have strong opinions one way or the other about this.
Whatever your personal take on this matter may be, it is best to
learn everything that you can.
 Do research on the various issues under consideration
(rights, employment, discrimination, etc.) and try to understand
the contesting views, those for and those against.

Avoid the temptation to pay attention only to those who you

know would confirm your own opinion on the matter.
Lesson 3
The Greek Heritage
 Learning Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:
1. understand the sense of transcendence introduced by
Neoplatonic sources;
2. understand the Aristotelian notion of causality in its four forms,
as well as the dynamic of potentiality and act; and
3. understand the synthesis made by Thomas Aquinas that
integrates the Greek sources into a framework to better
understand the Christian story.
 The integration of Greek ideas by Thomas will provide us a
way by which we can understand what we are called on to do,
and what we are called on to become. God’s will and love is the
creative act by which every existing thing comes into being as
good but imperfect beings. God, in His infinite wisdom, directs to
each being in the very way each being is created how it reaches
its highest good, its perfection. The unique way that we have
been created can be called our nature.
The recognition of Thomas Aquinas as a Christian thinker is
sometimes an obstacle to appreciating what he has given us in his
ethics; it is easy to make the simplistic assumption that all he is
telling us to do is to abide by the commandments and obey the
Church. There is actually much greater complexity to what he has
accomplished, which is to integrate ideas derived from the ancient
Greek philosophers in such a way that one can conceptualize the
Christian story, and in this conceptualization, arrive at a framework
by which one can better understand what it means to be human,
and what humans are called on to do and to be. In other words, this
conceptualization of the Christian story enlightens us on the moral
This lesson is about going into some detail about the Greek
thinkers whose work was utilized and synthesized by Thomas, such
that it will provide us the background necessary to better
understand the natural law theory.
THINK
Since its beginnings around the sixth century before Christ, Greek philosophy
has shaped-and continues to shape-the way we think. Using abstract ideas like
soul and substance, or asking questions about love and beauty, or debating
the best form of governance or the use of words in politics-all these, and
much more, can be traced back to the literature of Greek philosophizing.
Sadly, we are unable to discuss all of that here; instead, we focus on one idea
from Plato, and how this was developed by his followers, and also a couple of
ideas from Aristotle. The integration of these by Thomas will provide us a way
by which we can understand what we are called on to do, and what we are
called on to become.
Neoplatonic Good God creates. This does not only means that He
brings about beings, but it also means that He cares for, and thus
governs, the activity of the universe and of every creature in it. This
central belief of the Christian faith, while inspired by divine
revelation, has been shaped and defined by an idea that had first
been put forward more than a thousand years before Aquinas in the
work of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato. He is credited with
giving the subsequent history of philosophy one of its most
compelling and enduring ideas: the notion of a supreme and
absolutely transcendent good.
The Idea of the Good
Excerpt from The Republic
Plato
Now, that which imparts truth to the known and the power of knowing to the
knower is what would have you term the idea of good, and this you will deem
to be the cause of science, and of truth in so far as the latter becomes the
subject of knowledge; beautiful too, as are both truth and knowledge, you
will be right in esteeming this other nature as more beautiful than either; and,
as in the previous instance, light and sight may be truly said to be like the sun,
and yet not to be the sun, so in this other sphere, science and truth may be
deemed to be like the good, but not the good; the good has a place of honor
yet higher.
You would say, would you not, that the sun is not only the author of
visibility in all visible things, but of generation and nourishment and
growth, though he himself is not generation?
In like manner the good may be said to be not only the author of
knowledge to all things known, but of their being and essence, and
yet the good is not essence, but far exceeds essence in dignity and
power.
In his work The Republic, it is often supposed that Plato is trying to
envision the ideal society. But that plan is only part of a more
fundamental concern that animates the text, which is to provide
an objective basis and also standard for the striving to be moral. In
other words, it can be said that Plato was trying to answer
questions such as, "Why should bother trying to be good?" and
"Why cannot 'good' be just whatever I say it is?" His answer, placed
in the mouth of the main character Socrates, is that the good is
real and not something that one can pretend to make up or ignore.
We can see from the text the positing of a good which, while
difficult to comprehend, can at least be said to be a reality, and not
just a mere idea in someone's head. The good is not only taken to
be real, but is even more real than anything else. The sun, as we
know, through its light allows for the possibility of seeing, and thus,
of knowing. And because of both its light and its warmth, the sun
also allows for the growth of plants, and from this follows the
nutrition of animals, and thus, in short, the possibility of beings. In a
vague and yet grand statement put forward here in the text, we are
told that the good is like the sun in all that it does, but even more
so.
Through Neoplatonists like Plotinus, the Platonic idea of the good
would continue from the Classical Greek era well into the Christian
Middle Ages, inspiring later thinkers and allowing it to be thought
anew in a more personal way as a creative and loving God.
The Good and the One
Excerpt from The Enneads¹
Plotinus
So do not, I urge you, look for The Good through any of these other
things; if you do, you will see not itself but its trace: you must form
the idea of that which is to be grasped cleanly standing to itself not
in any combination, the un held in which all have hold; for no other
is such, yet one such there must be.
Now it is clear that we cannot possess ourselves of the power of
this principle in its concentrated fulness: so to do one must be
identical with it: but some partial attainment is within our reach.
You who make the venture will throw forward all your being but you
will never tell it entire-for that, you must yourself be the divine
Intellect in Act and at your utmost success it will still pass from you
or, rather, you from it. In ordinary vision you may think to see the
object entire: in this intellective act, all, less or more, that you can
take to mind you may set down as The Good.
It is The Good since, being a power, it is the cause of the intelligent and
intellective life as of life and intellect; for these grow from it as from the
source of essence and of existence, the Source as being One, simplex and
first because before it was nothing. All derives from this; it is the origin of the
primal movement which it does not possess and of the repose which is but
its absence of need; for neither rest nor movement can belong to that which
has no place in which either could occur; center, object, ground, all are alike
unknown to it, for it is before all. Yet its Being is not limited; what is there to
set bounds to it? Nor, on the other hand, is it infinite in the sense of
magnitude; what place can there be to which it must extend, or why should
there be movement where there is no lacking? All its infinitude resides in its
power; it does not change and will not fail; and in it all that is unfailing finds
duration.
We can see from the text an effort of struggling to think about the
Good (which will later in history be re-echoed in the attempt to
think about the attributes of God), but more importantly for our
purposes right now, we have a clearer and stronger restatement of
the idea that everything else in the universe is derived from the
power of this singular Good. From this Good, all beings come forth,
and their motion in the universe is set to ultimately return to and
rest in the Good once again. We will come back to this later.
Aristotelian Being and Becoming
In Aristotle's exploration of how to discuss beings, he proposes a
concept in four parts which provides a way of understanding any
particular being 'under consideration. Any being, according to
Aristotle, can be said to have four causes.
First, we recognize that any being we can see around is corporeal,
possessed of a certain materiality or physical "stuff." We can refer
to this as the material cause. A being is individuated-it become the
unique, individual being that it is-because it is made up of this
particular stuff. Yet, we also realize that this material takes on a
particular shape: so a bird is different from a cat, which is different
from a man, The "shape" that makes a being a particular kind can
be called its form. Thus, each being also has a formal cause.
One can also realize that a being does not simply "pop up" from
nothing, but comes from another being which is prior to it. Parents
beget a child. A mango tree used to be a seed that itself came from
an older tree. A chair is built as the product of a carpenter. Thus,
there is something which brings about the presence of another
being. This can be referred to as the efficient cause. Also, since a
being has an apparent end or goal, a chair to be sat on, a pen for
writing, a seed to become a tree, or a child to become an adult, one
can speak of the final cause of each being. Identifying these four
causes-material, formal, efficient, and final-gives us a way to
understand any being.
Four Causes
Excerpt from the Physics Book II Chapter 3; 194b17-195a5
Aristotle
Now that we have established these distinctions, we must proceed
to consider causes, their character, and number. Knowledge is the
object of our inquiry, and men do not think they know a thing till
they have grasped the "why" of (which is to grasp its primary cause).
So clearly we too must do this as regards both coming to be and
passing away and every kind of physical change, in order that,
knowing their principles, we may try to refer to these principles
each of our problems.
In one sense, then, (1) that out of which a thing comes to be and
which persists, is called "cause," for example, the bronze of the
statue, the silver of the bowl, and the genera of which the bronze
and the silver are species.
In another sense (2) the form or the archetype, that is, the
statement of the essence and its genera are called "causes" (e.g.,
of the octave the relation of 2:1, and generally number), and the
parts in the definition.
Again (3) the primary source of the change or coming to rest; for
example, the man who gave advice is a cause, the father is cause of
the child, and generally what makes of what is made and what
causes change of what is changed.
Again (4) in the sense of end or "that for the sake of which" a thing
is done, for example, health is the cause of walking about. ("Why is
he walking about?" we say.
"To be healthy," and, having said that, we think we have assigned
the cause.) The same is true also of all the intermediate steps which
are brought about through the action of something else as means
towards the end, for example, reduction of flesh, purging, drugs, or
surgical instruments are means towards health. All these things are
"for the sake of" the end, though they differ from one another in
that some are activities, others instruments. This then perhaps
exhausts the number of ways in which the term "cause" is used.
Of course, it would be wrong to think of being as something which is already
permanently set as it is and remains forever unchanging. So in addition to
describing a being using the four causes, Aristotle also has to explain to us the
process of becoming or the possibility of change that takes place in a being. A
new pair of principles is introduced by him, which we can refer to as potency
and act. A being may carry within itself certain potentials, but these require
being actualized. A puppy is not yet a full-grown dog. These potencies are
latent in the puppy and are actualized as the puppy grows up and achieves
what it is supposed to be. The process of becoming-or change-can thus be
explained in this way. Understanding beings, how they are and how they
become what they could be, is the significant Aristotelian contribution to the
picture we are now about to discover.
Synthesis
The idea of a transcendent good prior to all being resurfaces in
Aquinas in the form of the good and loving God, who is Himself the
fullness of being and of goodness; as Aquinas puts it, God is that
which essentially is and is essentially good. So, we recognize that all
beings are only possible as participating in the first being, which is
God Himself, God's act, like an emanation of light, is the creation of
beings.
Insofar as God is that from which all beings come, it is possible for us
to speak of Him as the first efficient cause. Insofar as God is that
toward which all beings seek to return, it is possible for us to speak
of Him as the final cause. We can see here the beginning of the
synthesis by noting how the Neoplatonic movement from-and back
to-the transcendent is being fused with the Aristotelian notion of
causes.
It must be noted, though, that this is not some mechanistic
unthinking process. It is God's will and love that are the true cause
of all things; the creative act by which every existing thing comes
into being is a matter of God willing some good 10 Creation is the
activity of the outpouring or overflowing of God's goodness. Since
each being in this way participates in God's goodness, each being
is in some sense good.
However, while beings are good because they are created by God,
the goodness possessed by beings remains imperfect. Only God in
the fullness of His being and goodness is perfect; all other beings
are participating in this goodness, and are good to that extent, but
are imperfect since they are limited in their participation." But,
once again, God did not create us to simply be imperfect and to
stay that way as He leaves us alone. Instead, God, in His infinite
wisdom, directs how we are to arrive at our perfection.
The notion of divine providence refers to how beings are properly
ordered and even guided toward their proper end; this end, which is
for them to reach their highest good, is to return to the divine
goodness itself. God communicates to each being His perfection
and goodness in a specific way. Each creature then strives to its own
perfection; thus it could be said that the end of all a being's actions
is not only some kind of particular good, but in truth ultimately the
divine goodness. Or to reiterate, all beings come from God and are
created by Him in order to return to Him.
Let us recall what we just said about beings having been created by
God in a particular way. It is not accidental how beings emerge into
existence; each being in the world is created as a determinate
substance, as a particular combination of form and matter. This
applies to all mundane beings, including man. The particular form
determines the materiality which makes a being a certain kind of
being; the materiality is the individualizing principle of the form into
this particular existent. The unique way that we have been created
can be called our nature.
This nature, as a participation in God's goodness, is both good and
imperfect at the same time. Coming from God, it is good, but in its
limitations, it has yet to be perfected. This means there is a need to
fulfil our nature the best we can, in order to fully realize what God
had intended for us to be. We accomplish this by fulfilling or
actualizing the potencies that are already present in our nature.
While all beings are created by God in order to return to Him, the
way the human being is directed toward God is unique.15 Given
that we are beings with a capacity for reason, our way of reaching
God is by knowing and loving him. It is of key importance then that
the presence of a capacity for reason is the prime characteristic of
the kind of beings we are, and how that capacity for reason is the
very tool which God had placed in our human nature as the way
toward our perfection and return to Him.
This applies not only to an individual human being, but also to all humankind.
But we should not forget how the whole community of being, which is the
universe itself, is directed toward its return to God. And while other beings
such as plants and animals may not seem to have intelligence (at least not in
the way humans do), the progression of all these beings towards God is not
an unthinking process, but is the very work of divine reason itself or God's
will. We can think, then, of the whole work of creation as divine reason
governing a community toward its end. Under the governance of the Divine,
beings are directed as to how their acts are to lead them to their end, which is
to return to Him. 16 Later, we shall try to understand this dynamic once again,
but thinking of it in terms of law.
EXPERIENCE
The Christian message and metaphysical picture contain an
affirmation that since all beings are created by God, all beings are
fundamentally good. Does your own personal experience make you
more inclined to agree with this belief or to question it? Explain your
reasons.
ASSESS
Consider the following questions:
1.Characterize the Neoplatonic idea of the Good.
2.Identify the four causes of Aristotle.
3.Explain the importance of the concepts of potency and act as a
way to account for becoming.
4.4. Identify the points of integration between the Neoplatonic and
Aristotelian sources.
CHALLENGE
Before we turn to what Thomas says about our human nature,
try to come up with you own way of characterizing human
nature.
HARNESS
In the context of Thomas Aquinas's thirteenth century Europe,
Christianity was more than a dominant religion; it was basically the
overarching worldview of the known world. While some travelers
and scholars might acknowledge other beliefs being held by other
people in far-flung areas, it was basically, for the majority of people,
a Christian world.
In our times, we are confronted by a complex difficulty. Given
modern secular political thinking, we are hesitant about using any
one religion and its ethical theory as our sole basis for ethics. And
yet the paradox that the natural law theory presents us is that it
makes the claim that what we should be grounding our ethics on is
not the religious doctrine which is its root, but human nature itself.
This raises for us an interesting question: can one maintain a
natural law theory while not necessarily maintaining the Christian
faith? Think about and do research on this question.
 Environmental ethics helps define man's moral and
ethical obligations toward the environment. But human
values become a factor when looking at environmental
ethics.

Environmental ethics and human values affect our ability

to understand and solve environmental problems.
 ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
 A complex and interlocking body of statutes, common
law, treaties, conventions, regulations, and policies.
Operate to regulate the interaction of humanity and
the rest of the biophysical or natural environment.

A purpose of reducing or minimizing the

impacts of human activity, both on the natural
environment for its own sake, and on humanity itself.
 P.D. # 389 – THE FORESTRY REFORM CODE
It codifies, updates and raises forestry laws in the country. It
emphasizes the sustainable utilization of forest resources.
P.D. #330 & P.D. #953 – Laws on penalizing illegal cutting of trees
P.D. #1153 – Laws on tree planting
P.D. #331 – Laws requiring all public forests be developed on a
sustained yield basis
Executive Order No. 263 - Adopts Community-Based Forest
Management as the National Strategy to ensure the
sustainable development of the country's forest lands.
Presidential Decree 704
- Covers fishery laws
 Presidential Decree 705
- Covers forestry laws
Executive Order 240

- Covers Integrated Fishery

Management
DENR Administrative Order No. 97-38 - Covers chemical
control order for mercury and mercury compounds.
DENR Administrative Order No.
97-05 - Procedures in the retention of areas within certain
distances along the banks of rivers, streams, and shore of
seas, lakes and oceans for environmental protection.

 DENR Administrative Order No. 142, Series of 1989

- Guidelines on the Disposition of Confiscated Wildlife
Species.
Republic Act No. 7907 - An Act Amending Republic Act No.
3844, as amended, otherwise known as the "Code of
Agrarian Reform in the Philippines".

Republic Act No. 6657 - The Comprehensive Agrarian

Reform Law of 1998.
Presidential Decree
Providing for the
Republic Act No. 3931, commonly known as the Pollution
Control Law.

Republic Act 8371

- The Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997, provides for
the recognition, protection and promotion of the rights of
indigenous cultural communities / indigenous people.
 Thank you! And keep our
mother nature safe everyday!
Lesson 5
Natural Law
 Learning Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:
1. identify the aspect of the natural law referring to what is
shared by all beings;
2. identify the aspect of the natural law referring to what is shared
by animals; and
3. identify the aspect of the natural law referring to what is
uniquely human.
 There is in our nature, common with all other beings, a
desire to preserve one’s own being. There is also in our human
nature, common with other animals, a desire that has to do with
sexual intercourse and the care of one’s offspring. After the first
two inclinations, Aquinas teaches that we have an inclination to
good according to the nature of our reason, a natural inclination
to know the truth about God and to live in society.
We have seen in earlier lessons the metaphysical picture of the
Christian story reframed using the concepts and terms of ancient
Greek thinkers. We then noted the recapitulation of this picture
using the more accessible political analogy, thinking of the same,
but now in terms of governance and rules. Since the topic of law
in its essence and its varieties have already been introduced, we
are now in a position to assess the details of the natural law
theory, and look more closely at how it provides a basis for moral
valuation..
THINK In what follows, we try to make sense of the natural law. Let us begin by looking
at the text of Thomas itself:
The Natural Law - Summa Theologiae 1-2, Question 94, Article 2
Thomas Aquinas - Since, however, 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. Wherefore according to
the order of natural inclinations, is the order of the precepts of the natural law.
Because in man there is first of all an inclination to good in accordance with the
nature which he has in common with all substances: inasmuch as every substance
seeks the preservation of its own being, according to its nature: and by reason of this
inclination, whatever is a means of preserving human life, and of warding off its
obstacles, belongs to the natural law.
Secondly, there is in man an inclination to things that pertain to him
more specially, according to that nature which he has in common with
other animals: and in virtue of this inclination, those things are said to
belong to the natural law, "which nature has taught to all animals," such
as sexual intercourse, education of off spring and so forth. Thirdly, there
is in man an inclination 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 in this respect,
whatever pertains to this inclination belongs to the natural law; for
instance, to shun ignorance, to avoid off ending those among whom one
has to live, and other such things regarding the above inclination.
In Common with Other Beings
In reading Aquinas, we have to consider how we, human beings, are both
unique and at the same time participating in the community of the rest of
creation, Our presence in the rest of creation does not only mean that we
interact with creatures that are not human, but that there is also in our
created nature something that shares in the nature of all other created beings.
Aquinas, thus, identifies first that there is in our nature, common with all other
beings, a desire to preserve one's own being. A makahiya leaf folds inward and
protects itself when touched. A cat cowers and then tries to run away when it
feels threatened. Similarly, human beings have that natural inclination to
preserve their being. For this reason, Aquinas tells us that it is according to the
natural law to preserve human life.
We can, thus, say that it would be a violation of the natural law,
and therefore unethical to take the life of another. Murder, for
instance, would be a clear example of a violation of the natural
law. On a more controversial note, it seems that taking one's own
life would be unacceptable, even in the form of physician-assisted
suicide. On a more positive note, we can confidently posit that acts
which promote the continuation of life are to be lauded as ethical
because they are in line with the natural law.
In Common with Other Animals
Aquinas then goes on to say that there is in our human nature,
common with other animals, a desire that has to do with sexual
intercourse and the care of one's off spring. As a matter of fact,
animals periodically engage in sexual intercourse at a specific time
of "heat," and this could result in offspring. In human beings, too,
that natural inclination to engage in the sexual act and to
reproduce exists
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. An ethical issue that is hotly contested in some
parts of the world is whether abortion is acceptable. From the stance of the
natural law, the act of preventing the emergence of new life would be
considered unacceptable. Not so controversial, perhaps, would be the
claims that we could more easily make about how it is good to care for the
young, to make sure that they are properly fed, sheltered, and educated.
On the other hand, it is bad to abuse the young, to force children into hard
labor, or to deprive them of basic needs or otherwise abuse them in a
physical or emotional way.
With regard to the sexual act, the moral judgments get more
volatile. This argument seems to provide ground for rejecting
various forms of contraception since these allow for the sexual act
to take place, but inhibit procreation. This also seems to justify the
claim that any form of the sexual act that could not lead to
offspring must be considered deviant. One of these is the
homosexual act. To explain, Thomas writes: "...certain special sins
are said to be against nature; thus, contrary to sexual Intercourse,
which is natural to all animals, is unisexual lust, which has received
the special name of the unnatural crime."
The question can be raised as to whether all animals "naturally"
engage in heterosexual (rather than unisexual or homosexual")
intercourse as Aquinas (with the much more rudimentary scientific
knowledge of his time) believed. Another question is whether there
must be a necessary connection between the act of sexual
intercourse and procreation.
Uniquely Human After the first two inclinations, Aquinas presents a third
point which states that we have an inclination to good according to the
nature of our reason. With this, we have a natural inclination to know the
truth about God and to live in society. It is of interest that this is followed by
matters of both an epistemic and a social concern. The examples given to
us of what kind of matters would be in line with this inclination are
shunning ignorance and avoiding offending those people with whom one
lives. We could surmise on this basis that acts of deception or fraud would
be unacceptable to Aquinas. This, as mentioned, is surmise because this is
not something we are told directly by Thomas.
In fact, a characteristic of the text which may be frustrating to
anyone trying to read Aquinas is that he does not go into great
detail here enumerating what specific acts would be clearly
ethical or unethical. Instead, he gave us certain general
guideposts: the epistemic concern, which is that we know we
pursue the truth, and the social concern, which is that we know
we live in relation to others. The question of what particular acts
would be in line with these or would not is something that we
have to determine for ourselves through the use of reason. Let us
elaborate on this further.
First, we had been presented with these three inclinations as bases
for moral valuation. In light of this, we know that preserving the
self is good. Contrary to common misconception, the sexual
inclination and the sexual act are considered good things, not
something to be deplored or dismissed. However, reason is not
only another inclination that we have that is in par with the others.
Instead, reason is the defining part of human nature. Thomas tells
us that there is a priority among the powers of our soul, with the
intellectual directing and commanding our sensitive and nutritive
capacities.
What this amounts to is the need to recognize that while our other
inclinations are good, as they are in our nature, what it means to
be human is, precisely, to exercise our reason in our consideration
of how the whole self should be comported toward the good. I
cannot simply say, "Sex is natural," if what I mean by that is that I
would just engage in the act in any way I like without thought or
care. Instead, we are enjoined to make full use of our reason and
determine whether the performance of our natural inclinations is
appropriate
Second, recognizing how being rational is what is proper to man,
the apparent vagueness of the third inclination that Aquinas
mentions is counter-balanced by the recognition that he is not
interested in providing precepts that one would simply.
unthinkingly, follow. To say that the human being is rational is to
recognize that we should take up the burden of thinking carefully
how a particular act may or may not be a violation of our nature. It
is to take the trouble to think carefully about how our acts would
either contribute to, or detract from, the common good.
For this reason, in making human laws, additions that are not at all
problematic for the natural law are possible. At first glance, it may
seem like there is nothing "natural" about obeying traffic rules or
paying taxes. However, if it has been decided that these contribute
to the common good, then they could, in fact, be proper
extensions of the natural law. As Aquinas puts it, nothing hinders a
change in the natural law by way of addition, since our reason has
found-and can still find many things that benefit individual and
communal human life.
EXPERIENCE
Do you observe these natural inclinations being manifest in
your own experience? How? Are these regulated by reason?
Why or why not?
ASSESS
Consider the following questions:
1. What is characteristic of the nature shared by all beings?
2. What is characteristic of the nature shared by all animals?
3. What concerns emerge from the nature of human beings as
rational?
CHALLENGE
Can you think of human laws that are proper extensions of the
natural law? Explain how this is so. Can you think of other
human laws that violate the natural law? Explain how this is so.
HARNESS
Post-truth We find the lines blurred between fact and opinion,
between news reports and advertisements. We have become
accustomed to hearing and reading fake news. We are told to
consider alternative facts and to not take seriously everything we
might hear our political leaders say. We read and revel in and
then repost the most hyperbolic and hysterical statements we
find in social media without asking ourselves whether we or
anyone else should reasonably maintain this. We are now in the
"post-truth" era.
This label of "post-truth" means that we are more and more
becoming habituated to disregard or at least to devalue the truth.
It has become a tendency to think of truth as insignificant in view
of other concerns: popularity, profit, or a certain social agenda
among others. And yet Aquinas claims that reason and concern
for truth are what make us human.
Go online and look for an instance of what might be "fake news."
See whether you are able to determine the veracity of the news
report. Detail your findings and opinion below.
In view of Aquinas's assertion that reason is what makes us
uniquely human and that being reasonable opens up both an
epistemic concern for truth and also a social concern of being in
relation with others, provide an assessment on the value or
disvalue of post-truth phenomena such as fake news or alternative
facts.
SUMMARY
In this chapter, we have seen how a natural law theory is instrumental to an
ethics that is rooted in the Christian faith. In elaborating this, we explored
how Aquinas had synthesized concepts of the ancient Greeks to put forward
an intellectual grounding that can overcome the limitations of a divine
command theory. Instead of that more simplistic idea of ethics, we are
provided a complex structure that is rooted in an objective basis for ethics:
our own natural inclinations. Since these are given by God, they provide us
the path toward our perfection. Our natural inclinations enumerated by
Aquinas include the desire to preserve our being, the sexual act and its
fecundity, and our use of reason. This last one is of greatest significance
insofar as it is through our very use of reason that we are able to think of
how to best fulfil the whole of our human nature.
Summary
In this unit we see how a natural law theory is
instrumental to an ethics that is rooted in the Christian faith.
We explore how Aquinas had synthesized concepts of the
ancient Greeks to put forward an intellectual grounding that
can overcome the simplistic limitations of a divine command
theory, and had provided a complex structure that is rooted in
an objective basis for ethics: our own natural inclinations. It is
through our very use of reason that we are able to think of
how to best fulfill the whole of our human nature.
KEY WORDS Idea of the Good
Formal Cause
Material Cause
Efficient Cause
Final Cause
Act
Potency
Eternal Law
Human Law
Divine Law
Natural Law
Lesson 4
The Essence and Varieties of
Law
 Learning Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:
1. define the essence of law;
2. identify the varieties of law; and
3. explain the relations among each other of the different varieties
of law.
 A law is concerned with the common good. The making of a
law belongs either to the whole people or to a public person who
has care for the common good or is tasked with the concern for
the good of the community or of the whole people. What if we
think of the vast community which is the entire universe and
everything in it, or in other words, all of being? Is it possible that
there is Someone in charge of this community, guiding all toward
their common good and directing all with His wisdom?
In the first part of the Summa Theologiae, Thomas makes some
preliminary remarks on sacred doctrine before starting with the
discussion on God, and then moving on to creation, and later still
to man, and then he speaks of the whole again-of the relation
between God and His creation-in terms of governance. The
difficult metaphysical picture, speaking of ultimate realities, is
made more easily comprehensible accessible by giving us the
more accessible political analogy. And governance is basically
guidance towards the good desired through rules determined by
reason, or more simply, according to law. And so it is in these
terms that we recapitulate the synthesis we had seen earlier.
THINK
In what follows, we try to make sense of what the law is, not by
immediately positing a one-sentence definition, but arriving at it
after a discussion on the use of reason to pursue goods, and how
this requires proper measure. Once this brings us to the essence
of law, we explore the varieties of law designated by Thomas,
which will later allow us to better focus on the natural law.
Essence
As rational beings, we have free will. Through our capacity for reason, we are
able to judge between possibilities and to choose to direct our actions in one
way or the other.17 Our actions are directed toward attaining ends or goods
that we desire. We work on a project to complete it. We study in order to
learn. My mother bakes in order to come up with some cookies. Maybe my
brother practices playing his guitar in order to get better at it. Or It can also
be, simply, that he enjoys playing the guitar, in the same way that I read
comic books because I enjoy doing so. These are goods, and we act in ways to
pursue them, so goods are sometimes referred to as the ends of actions.
There are many possible desirable ends or goods, and we act in such ways
as to pursue them. However, just because we think that a certain end is
good and is therefore desirable does not necessarily mean that it is indeed
good. It is possible to first suppose that something is good and to desire it,
only to realize later that doing so was a mistake. This is why it is important
for reason to always be part of the process. Acts are rightly directed toward
their ends by reason. But this does not simply mean that through reason we
can figure out how to pursue something that we already had thoughtlessly
supposed to be good for us; what is necessary is to think carefully of what
really is in fact good for us.
In thinking about what is good for us, it is also quite possible that
we end up thinking exclusively of our own good. Aquinas reminds
us that this will not do; we cannot simply act in pursuit of our
own ends or good without any regard for other people's ends or
good. We are not isolated individuals, but beings who belong to a
community. Since we belong to a community, we have to
consider what is good for the community as well as our own
personal good. This can be called the common good.
What exactly the common good is might not always be easy to
determine as there are many variables to consider, such as the
particular community we are thinking of (a club, a school, or a
barangay), or the particular ends that the community might be
pursuing. But that need not occupy us right now. What matters for
us here is the recognition that, generally speaking, since we must
consider not only our own good but also that of others, we cannot
act in just any which way, maybe without thought, maybe thinking
only of our own selves.
There would have to be some kind of proper measure to our acts.
It is good for us-and the community-to not simply be free to act in
whatever way we like. We should recognize the proper measure or
the scope and 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.
Using a simple example, we can think of traffic rules. A motorist
cannot just drive in any way he likes, but must respect traffic rules.
These rules seem to measure or place a limit on his driving, for
example, by placing a maximum speed he can travel on a
particular road. Such a limit or such a rule is something good, for
both him and for others as it helps prevent motor accidents. The
law may seem to be an irritating constraint, but, as Aquinas puts
it, the law is directed toward universal happiness.
So a law, as we have seen, is concerned with the common good. In
a way, the making of a law belongs either to the whole people or
to a public person who has care for the common good or is tasked
with the concern for the good of the community or of the whole
people.
Consider some of these examples. On a modest scale, imagine a student organization of
twenty members. Together, all the members decide that it would be best if they were to
meet on Friday afternoons or that they all had to contribute for lunch in their meetings.
On a larger scale, a teacher who is in charge of a class of 40 students has to put some
rules in place so that things will go smoothly. Perhaps, she would maintain that students
may not just walk in and out of the classroom and that they are not supposed to chatter
loudly with their seatmates. The teacher imposes these rules not on a whim, but for the
good of the class. On a still larger scale, city officials put up ordinances concerning, for
example, garbage collection, traffic schemes, or zoning to control building sites. Ideally
speaking, these all are done in view of what would be best for the community.
Finally, 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.
In an ideal sense, without considering the reality that sometimes rules
seem to not have been properly thought out, or sometimes they seem to
favor select persons or groups rather than the common good, without
considering the reality that sometimes the implementation of rules
becomes problematic, but just looking ideally at law in its essence, we can
speak of law as a form of restriction and direction of human actions in such
a way that the common good is promoted. Aquinas's 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 care of the community, and promulgated."
Now, in thinking about a community, what if we thought more
grandly, not just a small group, a class, a city, or even a country?
What if we think of the vast community which is the entire
universe and everything in it, or in other words, all of being? Is it
possible that there is Someone in charge of this community,
guiding all toward their common good and directing all with His
wisdom?
Varieties
We have noted earlier how God, by His wisdom, is the Creator of all beings.
By saying this, we do not only recognize God as the source of these beings,
but also acknowledge the way they have been created and the way they
could return to Him, which is the work of His divine reason itself. This
includes the proper measure governing the acts of these beings. 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 toward its proper end can be called
the eternal law.
"Eternal law" refers to what God wills for creation, how each participant in it
is intended to return to Him. Given our limitations, we cannot grasp the
fullness of the eternal law. Nevertheless, it is not completely opaque to us.
We can and should recognize that first, we are part of the eternal law, and
second, we participate in it in a special way. All things partake of the eternal
law, meaning, all beings are already created by God in a certain way
intended to return to Him. Thus, we can find in the very way there were
created-their nature-the very imprint of the rule and measure of the acts by
which they are guided. These can be determined in the very inclinations
that they possess, directing their acts toward their proper ends.
Therefore, irrational creatures (e.g., plants and animals) are
participating in the eternal law, although we could hardly say that
they are in any way "conscious" of it. Aquinas notes that we
cannot properly speak of them as obeying the law, except by way
of similitude, which is to say that they do not think of the law or
choose to obey it, but are simply, through the instinctual
following of their nature, complying with the law that God has
for them, so they look as if they were obeying the law, More
appropriately, these creatures can be said to be moved by divine
providence.
On the other hand, the human being's participation is different.
The human being, as rational, participates more fully and perfectly
in the law given our capacity for reason. The unique imprint upon
us, upon our human nature by God, is the capacity to think about
what is good and what is evil, and to choose and direct ourselves
appropriately. 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."
Therefore, by looking at our human nature, at the natural
inclinations given to us by God, we can, with the use of reason,
determine the rule and measure that should be directing our
acts. These are the precepts of the natural law, which we will
study more closely in the next lesson.
However, before ending, let us mention first two more kinds of law provided by Aquinas.
Aquinas points out that while reflecting on our human nature will provide us the
precepts of the natural law, these are quite general and would have to be made more
specific and at the same time more concrete in the actual operation of human acts. For
this reason, there is also human law. Human law refers to all instances wherein human
beings construct and enforce laws in their communities. Given the larger picture of
Aquinas's view, one would have a basis for assessing the validity or invalidity of a human
law: this would be whether or not it conforms to the natural law. Insofar as a human law
goes against the common good and what nature inclines us toward, it is not properly
speaking a law-in the ideal sense of directing us to the common good-but instead is
unjust and can be called a matter of violence.
Finally, Aquinas asks us to recall that there is a certain form of
happiness that is proportionate to our human nature, which we
can obtain by means of our natural principles. However, there also
is another, more complete, happiness that surpasses human's
nature, a supernatural happiness that can be 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, often confused with eternal law, refers specifically to the
instances where we have precepts or instructions that come from
divine revelation.
. For example, we have what is handed down to us in the sacred
Scriptures (e.g., the Ten Commandments in the book named
Exodus in the Old Testament or Jesus's injunction to love one's
neighbor in the Gospels). While this is necessary for Aquinas as he
sees our end as the blessed return to God, it is not our immediate
concern here. We are looking for a foundation for ethical thinking,
and we have the natural law theory for that; while the divine law
is there to help us achieve the ultimate end of salvation, we are
not looking at the divine law as our basis for ethical thinking.
Of interest then about this natural law theory of Aquinas is that
while it is clearly rooted in a Christian vision, it grounds a sense of
morality not on that 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. For every
knowledge of truth is a kind of reflection and participation of the
eternal law.... Now all men know the truth to a certain extent, at
least as to the common principles of the natural law....
The statement is a remarkable claim: anyone, coming from any
religious tradition, just by looking at the nature that she shares
with her fellow human beings, would be able to determine what is
ethical. The complication one may have over an overtly religious
presentation is dispelled when we recognize the universal scope
that Aquinas envisions.
EXPERIENCE
From your own experience and observation, which of the
following do you think seems to have the greatest influence on
the behavior of people: natural law, human law, or divine law?
Explain your answer.
ASSESS
Consider the following questions:
1. Explain how rule is a measure of acts.
2. Explain why promulgation is necessary for the law.
3. Distinguish eternal law from divine law.
4. Explain the relationship of the natural law to eternal law.
CHALLENGE
Consider from your own experience examples of laws that are
clearly directed toward some common good, and also examples
of laws whose connection to the good seems questionable.
HARNESS
Do some research on a particular set of rules or laws operative
in your community. Do they meet the ideal picture of law as
presented in our discussion on the essence of law? If not,
explain in what way they seem to be problematic.