3 Natural Law Flashcards
(38 cards)
- doctor of the Roman Catholic Church
- Dominican friar and intellectual figure - Middle Ages
- canonized in 1323
THOMAS AQUINAS
- work of THOMAS AQUINAS
- his magnus opus
- a voluminous work discusses Christian Theology
Summa Theologiae/ Theologica
THE CONTEXT OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY
Aquinas elaborated and maintained in all his works the promise right at the center of Christian faith: that we are created by God in order to ultimately _.
return to Him
3 Parts of Summa Theologiae
- 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.
- It deals with man or the dynamic of human life. Salvation in only possible through the presence of God’s grace.
- It focuses on Jesus as our Savior.
THE CONTEXT OF AQUINAS’ ETHICS
In our pursuit of happiness, we direct our actions toward _
specific ends.
THE CONTEXT OF AQUINAS’ ETHICS
. Our emotions— “_ ”—are involved in this process and therefore require the proper order if they are to properly contribute to a good life.
the passions
THE CONTEXT OF AQUINAS’ ETHICS
Actions are related to certain _ in a dynamic way since our actions both arise from our habits and at the same time reinforce them
dispositions (“habits”)
THE CONTEXT OF AQUINAS’ ETHICS
Develop either good or bad habits with a good disposition leading us toward making _
immoral choices.
THE CONTEXT OF AQUINAS’ ETHICS
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
For Aquinas there is a sense of right and wrong in us that we are obliged to obey. However, he also adds that this must be _ , _ and ultimately grounded in an objective bass/e of morality.
informed
guided
- So we are called to heed the voice of conscience and enjoined to
develop and maintain a life 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 leads us toward _
virtue or vice.
There is a need for clearer basis of ethics,
a ground that will more concretely direct us sense of what is right and
wrong, this would be the _
natural law.
We can recall how the ethical approach called _ urges a person toward unthinking obedience to religious precepts.
divine command theory
Given the problems of he simplistic approach to ethics, we can contrast
how the moral theory of Aquinas requires judicious use of reason. In
doing so, one’s sense of right and wrong would be grounded on
something stable: _ itself.
human nature
The central belief of Christian faith—God creates does not only means
the He brings about beings, but also means that He cares for, thus
governs, the activity of the universe and of every creature.
NEOPLATONIC GOOD
The central belief of Christian faith—God creates does not only means
the He brings about beings, but also means that He _, thus _ , the activity of the universe and of every creature.
cares for
governs
Plato a Greek philosopher who was credited the notion of the idea of a
_ has shaped and defined the Christian Doctrine of Aquinas while inspired by divine revelation
supreme and absolutely transcendent good
It is the idea of the good—a good which is _ and is even the _ all being.
prior to all being
cause of
work os plato that is often supposed that Plato is trying to envision the ideal society.
The Republic
_ are scholars who decipher the wealth of ideas of Plato.
Neoplatonists
good is real and not
something that one can pretend to make up or ignore
Plato
Aristotle proposes four concepts which provide a way of understanding any particular being under consideration or can be said to have four causes
- material cause
- formal cause
- efficient cause
- final cause
We recognize that any being we can see around is corporeal, possessed of a certain materiality or physical “stuff”.
Material cause
