On Law, Morality, and Politics [Paperback]

Saint Thomas Aquinas (Author), William P. Baumgarth (Editor), Richard J. Regan (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1988 | ISBN-10: 0872200310 | ISBN-13: 978-0872200319 | Edition: 1

The second edition retains the selection of texts presented in the first edition but offers them in new translations by Richard J Regan -- including that of his Aquinas, Treatise on Law (Hackett, 2000). A revised Introduction and glossary, an updated select bibliography, and the inclusion of summarising headnotes for each of the units -- Conscience, Law, Justice, Property, War and Killing, Obedience and Rebellion, and Practical Wisdom and Statecraft -- further enhance its usefulness.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, Latin (translation)

About the Author

Richard J. Regan is Professor of Political Science, Fordham University.

William P. Baumgarth is Associate Professor of Political Science, Fordham University. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 316 pages
• Publisher: Hackett Pub Co Inc; 1 edition (April 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0872200310
• ISBN-13: 978-0872200319
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #468,258 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Persuasive dialectic by the angelic doctor, December 1, 2009

By 

John M. Balouziyeh (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: On Law, Morality, and Politics (Paperback)

In this volume, William Baumgarth and Richard Regan of Fordham University offer the reader selections from Aquinas's Summa Theologica (summary treatise on theology), which is comprised of Part I, dealing with God, creatures, and human nature; Part I-II, dealing with the human end, human acts, virtue, and law; Part II-II, dealing with specific moral virtues and human acts; and Part III, dealing with Christ's redemptive sacrifice (never completed). The portions of the Summa selected for the present volume revolve around the questions of law and morality and thus come mainly from Parts I-II and II-II of the Summa. The individual chapters of the present work treat the following topics: conscience, law, justice, property, war and killing, obedience and rebellion, tolerance and church-state relations, and practical wisdom and statecraft. Some of these questions are drawn not only from the Summa, but from Aquinas's Commentary on the Sentences of Peter Lombard as well. The following is a review of some of Aquinas's questions treated in the present volume:

1. Law (Summa I-II)
A law is a promulgated ordinance of right reason for the common good that is created by the person who is charged with the care of the community. A good law has the effect of making men's behavior good. There are four kinds: (i) the eternal law; (ii) the divine law; (iii) the natural law; and (iv) the human law.
The eternal law is the eternal and unchanging Will of God. Although we cannot see it, we can perceive its effects through the rational orderliness of the universe. The eternal law is reflected in the divine law, which can only be known through God's revelation in the old law of the Old Testament and in the new law of the New Testament. The divine law is necessary to "give direction to human life" (p. 21).
The natural law is the participation in the divine law that man knows by virtue of his rational nature. All men have this law written on their hearts--to pursue good and to shun evil--which is the same for all people: "the natural law regarding general first principles is the same for all persons both as to the principles' rectitude and as to the knowledge of them" (p. 47).
As already mentioned, the human law is created by the governor who has care over the community and is promulgated. It should not aim to prohibit all vices and promote all virtues. A human law derived from the eternal law is a just law. However, the human law should not seek to "punish or prohibit all evil deeds," for by doing so it would inevitably "thereby also take away many goods" (p. 21).

2. Justice (Summa II-II)
Aquinas defines justice as "the constant and perpetual will to render to others what is due to them" (p. 105). Because it makes human acts and human beings good by correctly directing their actions, justice is a virtue. It does not inhere in the "irascible and concupiscible powers" (p. 111), but rather, in the power of the will of its subject. Furthermore, justice is the most important moral virtue because it "inheres in the more excellent part of the soul" (the will) and because "justice is in one respect the good of others" (p. 122). As Aristotle has written, "The greatest virtues are necessarily those that are the most worthy in the eyes of others, since virtue is beneficent power. People most honor the brave and the just because courage benefits others in time of war, and justice benefits others both in war and in peace" (p. 122).

3. Property (Summa II-II)
It is natural and lawful for people to possess, acquire, and dispense of material things, but with respect to their use, they "should not possess external goods as their own but as common possessions, namely, in such a way that they readily share the goods when others are in need" (p. 133). Although theft is a sin, it is lawful to take another's property "if the necessity is so pressing and clear that one has an immediate need of things at hand" (p. 140). When a certain degree of material possessions is necessary, acquiring more than the proper amount is a sin, and is related to covetousness, which Aquinas defines as "the immoderate desire to possess" (p. 159).

4. Obedience and Rebellion (Summa II-II)
Regarding the question as to whether Christians are to obey secular authority, Aquinas concludes that they are obliged to do so, as the Apostle Peter affirms: "For the sake of God, be subject to every human creature, whether to kings as to supreme rulers or to governors as the rulers' deputies" (1Pe 2:13-4). Christians should even do so when the promulgated law is unreasonable. However, when the law is unjust, the Christian is not obligated to obey it. Civil disobedience may be the proper course of action, unless disobedience would cause "scandal or danger" (p. 185). Scandal or danger may result if the disobedience of a law would cause a disturbance to one's fellow citizens or would cause a misunderstanding leading others to sin. Under such circumstances, it is preferable to obey rather than to disobey an unjust law.
Aquinas does not, however, allow for this exception when the temporal law contradicts God's divine law. In this situation, Christians are always obligated to obey God's law and disregard the temporal law. "Therefore," writes Aquinas, "if the emperor should command one thing, and God another, you should obey God and disobey the emperor" (p. 183).

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review of Hackett's 'Aquinas on Law', November 13, 2009

By 

Ryan S. Mease "scott.godwin" (Chicago, IL, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: On Law, Morality, and Politics (Paperback)

I found this an extremely effective collection of Aquinas. To my knowledge, Aquinas' writings are very scattered, but this volume does a good job of pulling his political and ethical writings together coherently. A full reading offers the knowledge of Aquinas' political theory, and a fair acquaintance with his ethical outlook. Not contained in this volume are writings on logic or metaphysics.

I have no complaints about the format of this text. It uses good footnotes, has introductions to several formats, and lays out everything in clear language (or as clear as Thomist doctrines can be, in any case).

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting but hard read, May 21, 2001

By 

Christopher J Truffer (Sykesville, Maryland United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: On Law, Morality, and Politics (Paperback)

The excerpts of Thomas Aquinas' "Summa Theologica" are well-presented in this book. Aquinas blends together his Christian faith and ancient philosophy, especially Aristotle, to examine questions about law, human nature, faith, politics, and ethics. I read this for a class on political philosophy and found it particularly interesting, a bridge between the ancients (Aristotle, Plato, Sophocles) and the more modern philosophers (Machiavellie, Locke, Hobbes).

It is also a hard read. The structure of each section is rigid: Aquinas poses a question, gives three objections to his answer, quotes other sources to support his answer (be it Greek philosophers, early Christians like Augustine, or the Bible) and then explains his answer and refutes the objections. To read it straight through is tedious, but to read several sections and consider Aquinas' whole thoughts on subjects can be very interesting, especially in the study of philosophy or theology.

For a student of theology or philosophy, I think Aquinas is important to read and understand, even if from another version of his writings. This book does a good job in presenting Aquinas. Aquinas and his beliefs are more interesting than the reading itself, but it's worth a look if you are interested in studying faith and theology or philosophy. As a light read, though, this is not the book.