Aquinas on Natural Law: Principles and Inclinations

"Among the things / natural inclinations."

In the text, Aquinas makes a parallel between speculative reason and practical reason to try to show that the precept of natural law is unique. Like the first thing to be understood is the entity, the second captures "good." And like in that there is a first principle of any demonstration, obvious and provable, the principle of contradiction, in this there is a first principle: "Good is what all people crave," which is derived from the first moral precept of natural law: "We must act and pursue good and avoid evil." This bill, only natural, immutable, indelible, and universally valid, is that which serves as a criterion for evaluating all moral actions of man, all the ethical, "All other precepts of natural law are based on this," like all the shows are based on that principle. St. Thomas specifically, in the second paragraph that expresses the natural law, clarifying their mandates overlap with the natural inclinations of man, for it says that "the order of the precepts of natural law is parallel to the order of natural inclinations."

"So, / natural law."

The paper tries to demonstrate the universality of natural law, meaning that it is the same for all men. All must meet the same moral standards, which can also be known through the use of reason. This is the main thesis, also clearly marked by "one must conclude ..." However, Thomas Aquinas then introduces an important qualification that this universality is concerned: not the same for the general principles to particular consequences. Regarding the former, the universality is total, "both the content and the degree of knowledge", i.e. the general principles (such as "must look good and avoid evil") are universally accepted and known with certainty absolute. Regarding the specific standards, "which are like conclusions from universal principles," the situation changes, exceptions may occur due to special circumstances that were not taken into account in understanding the general principles (e.g., but do not lie this is perhaps the only way not to harm others, or perhaps kill a dangerous madman is the only way to prevent the occurrence of a slaughter ...), or, what is more frequent, that our reason cannot know these specific rules so clearly because their content is too close to our interests may conflict with them ("some are right obscured by a passion, a bad habit or a twisted natural disposition"). It is therefore easy to find, and Thomas gives an example, views contrary to the specific mandates of the law of nature.

On the other hand, I prevent its destruction."

The fragment belongs to Article 2 of the item entitled "On the natural law," which raises the question of how many articles (one or many) that includes natural law. The answer to Thomas Aquinas gives to this problem is: Although the natural law contains several precepts, all can be reduced to one ("good to be sought, evil must be avoided.") The text seeks to develop this general precept, showing the way is embodied in the many commands that form the natural law. The good must be sought, but what particular assets? Thomas says: good reason to know, which "captures the reason as well," is "everything to which man is naturally inclined." This is because, following Aristotle says, "the good end is right, everything seeks its own good, and this trend is in the nature of each thing, also the man has a nature or essence, universal and permanent time it takes to find a range of goods. But human nature can be seen from three points of view (in the text appears only the first one): as a substance, thing or individual being in general, as a living animal, and finally as being endowed with reason. Therefore man has three types of natural inclinations, the first of which is that "it is common to all substances": the tendency to "keep one's self, to remain in existence. This is the most basic human tendency, but not senior, and she inferred as belonging to natural law all positive terms which seek "the preservation of human life and prohibitions that prevent its destruction."