Aquinas's Moral Philosophy: Natural Law, Justice, and Governance

For Thomas Aquinas, following Aristotle's theory, the ultimate human goal is happiness, achieved through the realization of human potential. Thus, to determine moral standards of behavior, we humans rely on knowledge and reason.

Natural Moral Law: Aquinas's View

God created the world and its development, imposing a set of laws known as the eternal law. Natural law is a part of this eternal law and refers to human behavior that is dictated by reason. The rules governing human conduct, according to natural law, are:

• As a substance, humans tend to preserve their existence.
• As an animal, humans tend to reproduce.
• As a rational being, humans tend to know the truth and live in society.

Achieving these tendencies is considered the natural good.

Natural Law and Positive Law

As we have said, human beings tend to live in society, and therefore, there is a need for social norms. These are positive laws, which are human creations. They are valid and just if they align with natural law. Positive law aims to achieve the common good within the state, ensuring peace, upholding morality, and facilitating the proper disposition of property. Civil power has the authority to pursue these objectives. Citizens are not bound by unjust laws.

Justice in Aquinas's Philosophy

From a moral perspective, justice can be a personal virtue, while at the social level, it is divided into three types:

1. General/Legal Justice: Enforces laws leading to the common good.
2. Particular Justice: Allocates burdens and benefits among members of society.
3. Commutative Justice: Regulates relations between individuals based on equality.

Church and State: A Hierarchical Relationship

For St. Thomas, social organization should be hierarchical. The government, as a main organ, must be subordinated to a higher authority, as divine providence dictates that lower parts are administered by upper ones. The ideal monarchical government is led by a virtuous king who perfects society. The state is subordinate to the Church in religious matters and must also regulate affairs that lead to happiness, while forbidding those that lead to the contrary. The Church-State relationship is comparable to that between reason and faith.