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St. Thomas Aquinas, known as the "Angelic Doctor", developed influential philosophical theories on ethics and natural law. He argued that natural law reflects God's eternal law, allowing humans to use reason to discern good from evil and achieve happiness. According to Aquinas, true happiness can only be found in God. While earthly happiness is finite, divine happiness is perfect and immortal.

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218 views2 pages

13 PDF

St. Thomas Aquinas, known as the "Angelic Doctor", developed influential philosophical theories on ethics and natural law. He argued that natural law reflects God's eternal law, allowing humans to use reason to discern good from evil and achieve happiness. According to Aquinas, true happiness can only be found in God. While earthly happiness is finite, divine happiness is perfect and immortal.

Uploaded by

Lem Masangkay
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Ethics

1
The Philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas

Module 13 The Philosophy of St. Thomas


Aquinas

At the end of this module, you are expected to:


1. To get a brief background of The Angelic Doctor
2. To learn The Natural Law
3. To understand St. Thomas Aquinas’ definition of Happiness

St. Thomas Aquinas – The Angelic Doctor


St. Thomas Aquinas is also known as Doctor Angelicus or “Angelic Doctor” because of his
chastity that remained with him until he died. Angels are pure and being a Doctor of the Church he
was called as such. He was born on 1224 at Roccasecca, near Aquino, in Sicily where he got his
surname. He died on March 7, 1274 at Fossanova, Italy; and was canonized as saint on July 18,
1323. He was an Italian Dominican theologian and one of the leading Scholars of the Medieval
Period. He developed his own conclusions based on Aristotelian logic, notably in the study
of Metaphysics (the study of the existence of God) that personality, creation, and Providence. As
a theologian he was responsible for the masterpieces namley, the “Summa Theologica” – a
compendium, of church teachings for the laity and the “Summa Contra Gentiles” (Summary
against the Gentiles) which is a guidebook for missionaries who might debate Moslems and Jews
in the East. As a poet, he wrote some of the most gravely beautiful eucharistic hymns for church
services.
St. Thomas Aquinas on The Natural Law
What is the Natural Law: Do Good and Avoid Evil. Man is born intrinsically good and being
molded in the image and likeness of God this law is natural to every human being. St. Thomas
Aquinas based his doctrine on the aforementioned law being a prelate himself. Based on his
theory, the Natural Law is a reflection of the Eternal Law (in God). In order to explain the existence
of the Eternal Law, he gave a definition of all laws: Law is an ordinance of reason promulgated by
the one in charge of the society. Laws are dictated by reason and it is the reason or intellect of the
ruler that propels the creation of laws. The purpose of law is for a well-ordered function of
community under the sovereign’s care. (This political theory of St. Thomas Aquinas believed that
rulers rule for the sake of the governed. By well-being, we mean the good and betterment of his
subjects.) With his idea that God rules the world with his reason, Aquinas concludes that God has
an idea on how to govern the world. This Idea, in God, for the governance of things is the eternal
law.
The Natural Law, which is an extension of the Eternal Law applies to human beings,
requires greater precision because of the fact that we have reason and free will. It is the nature of
humans to act freely (by being free from outside intervention and coercion) by synchronizing our
acts and ends. Human beings must exercise our natural reason to discover what is best for us in
order to achieve the end to which their nature inclines. Natural Law tells us that it is natural for
Course Module
humans to achieve their ends through reason and free will. In other words, the Natural Law is
humans' participation in the Eternal Law, through reason and will that helped them discern good
from evil thereby giving them a happy contented life.
The Philosophy of Happiness and The Universal Man
In relation to Human happiness, Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas agreed that man is
constantly searching for happiness. But St. Thomas believed that with the immortality of Human
Soul happiness can be achieved and it can be found in God alone. The Universal Man, according to
Aristotle whom he also calls “The Whole Man” is a reasonable man. St. Thomas believed that while
man exists on earth he must possess an eternal and infinite perfection. Despite the presence of
material things, man is not perfectly happy. While man lives on earth his happiness is mortal finite
and perfect but upon the attainment of the Supreme Purpose man’s happiness is divine, immortal
and perfect.

References and Supplementary Materials


Books and Journals
1. Montemayor, Felix; Ethics the Philippines; Navotas Metro Manila; National Book Store

Online Supplementary Reading Materials


1. St. Thomas Aquinas on the Natural Law;
http://www.aquinasonline.com/Topics/natlaw.html

Written by:
Christopher S. Espiritu
AMACC Caloocan Campus

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