MODULE 6

NATURAL LAW

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this module, you should be able to:

1. Define Natural Law Theory

2. Identify the natural law in distinction and in relation to, the other types of law
mentioned by Aquinas; eternal law, human law, and divine law and;
3. Apply the precepts of the natural law to contemporary moral concerns.

Introduction

This module aims to introduce the natural law theory of St. Thomas Aquinas to the
students and how is it significant to our decision-making process in our daily life. St.
Thomas Aquinas’s natural law theory is one of the most significant thoughts of human
civilization. Let us delve into his idea of natural law and look and understand its
concepts so that you will be able to apply it to any contemporary issues in our society.

1. The Background of Aquinas’s Natural Law Theory

The Context of Aquinas’s Ethics

St. Thomas Aquinas emphasized that in our pursuit of happiness, we always
act towards a particular end. Our emotions or passions are the driving force that is
involved in this process, yet require proper order. Our actions arise from habits that
reinforce our actions. Good habits will lead to virtue while bad habits will have
resulted in a vice.
To develop good habits, we need to make good choices, if not, therefore, it
becomes immoral choices which is vice. However, Aquinas asserts that human beings
have a conscience that becomes our guide for moral thinking. This conscience is not
our direct intuition or gut feelings but Aquinas’s called it “a sense of right and wrong
in us that we are obliged to obey”. But he also added that our sense of what is right
and wrong should be guided by an objective basis of morality:

“So, we are called to heed the voice of conscience and enjoyed developing and maintain
a life of virtue…We need a basis for our conscience to be properly informed and we
need a clearer guidepost on whether certain decisions we make lead us toward virtue or
vice. Being told that one should heed one’s conscience or that one should try to be
 virtuous, does very little to guide people as to what specifically should be done in a given
situation. Thus, there is a need for a clearer basis of ethics, a ground that will more
concretely direct our sense of what is right and wrong. For Aquinas, this would be a
natural law”. (Dimmock, 2017)

To differentiate Aquinas’s notion of natural law, it is so important to discuss the

Divine command theory, since Aquinas tries to find ways based on his natural law,
which is not directly coming from Divine commands but coming from human nature
itself.

2. Euthyphro Dilemma and the Divine Command Theory

The divine command theory described that the sources of morality come from the
laws, commands, and statutes derived from God. Christians, Muslims, Hindus, or any
other religions derived their understanding of morality from their sacred books.

In Plato’s dialogue entitled Euthyphro, the question of whether morality comes from
divine command theory has been put into question by Socrates in his dialogue with
Euthyphro on the idea of holiness. The ideas go as follows:

“Either God commands something is right because it is, or it is right because God
commands it. If God commands something because it is right, then God’s commands do
not make it right, His commands only tell us what is right. This means God simply drops
out of the picture in terms of explaining why something is right. If on the other hand,
something is right because God commands it then anything at all could be right;
murdering innocents or destroying non-Christian places of worship could be morally
acceptable. But if a moral theory says this then that looks as if the theory is wrong.”
(Dimmock, 2017)
Most theists choose the second option more than the first one- that God’s
command makes something moral. The “arbitrariness problem” becomes a dilemma for
St. Thomas Aquinas that he decided to give up the Divine Command Theory. So, what
does God’s role when it comes to morality? For Aquinas:
“God’s commands are there to help us to come to see what, as a matter of fact, is right
and wrong rather than decide what is right and wrong. That is, Aquinas opts for the first
option in the Euthyphro dilemma as stated above” (Dimmock, 2017)

But a question remains; “If it is not God’s commands that make something right and
wrong, then what does?” (Dimmock, 2017). Does God fall away from the picture? It is in
this situation that Natural law comes in.
3. The Law in General

St. Thomas Aquinas, in his Summa Theologiae, defines law as “an ordination of
the reason for the common good from him who has care of the community, which
is promulgated or made known” (Thomistic Institute , 2020). Aquinas’s understanding
of the law is not what many think. It is not primarily about commandments or obligations,
nor command from a superior or ruler, “but rather is a rational and reasonable
principle of order by which things are directed to their ends.” (Thomistic Institute ,
2020). A law is also like a ruler that measures our actions and guides our actions to
make sure it is upright and ordered for the benefit of the common good.
As stated above, the law is an ordination of reason, which means the law is not a
command from a superior or a ruler, but an expression of reason towards the
common good. The second definition defined law as ordered for the common good.
Law’s end or purpose is for the common good.
But what is a common good? A pizza is not a common good because it can’t be
consumed by all. The common good is good that can be shared without
diminishing. Good such as justice, truth, charity, etc. are some of the examples of
the common good. A common good might be compared to a team, who works together
through effort and teamwork, and once they won the competition, they shared the same
victory.
Going back to the law, Aquinas provides us with four types of laws, with their
particular sequence and hierarchy. This hierarchy of laws happens since the lower
participates in the higher type of law.
 Eternal law: a law that exists in God’s mind, it refers to the whole plan of
creation, which God made His creation with the proper end and goal.
 Natural law: it is the rational creature’s participation in the eternal law, an
inclination to know what is right and wrong in accordance with reason.
 Divine law: God’s statutes and commands written in the religious sacred books.
 Human law: legal laws that are promulgated in society.

4. The Natural Law Theory

Looking at the varieties of laws, we can only understand the idea of natural law
and its relation to other laws through the eternal law. Eternal law, for Aquinas,
means:
“God’s rational purpose and plans for all things and because the Eternal Law is part of
God’s mind then it has always, and will always, exist. The Eternal Law is not simply
something that God decided at some point to write.” (Dimmock, 2017)

For Aquinas, every being that exists has a purpose and follow a particular
plan. Aquinas, being influenced by Aristotle’s philosophy believed that all things
have telos, purpose, or end in themselves. An acorn has a telos or purpose to
become an oak tree. A pencil has a purpose which is for writing. But what about
humans? For Aquinas, the purpose of a human being is to reason, and it is in this
quality that we are distinct from animals. As God’s creation, we are given by God
all the necessary qualities on how to live a good life.
The eternal law does not only exist God’s mind but also imprinted on His rational
creatures, like human beings, and St. Thomas Aquinas called it natural law. Natural law
is a human being’s participation in the eternal law. What does it mean? We as
rational creatures, bestowed by God with the capacity to reason, understand what
is happening around us, and do what is good and right.
The definition of natural law defines how our rationality has the power to
recognize what is right and wrong, and we have a natural inclination to know
what is right and wrong through the use of our reason. That is why, using our
reasoning, we can be able so to sense and suspected, if an action is good or bad
because it is part of our nature. It is in our nature to have inclination to understand and
make choices. We are not just governed by our instincts; we are also guided by the
power of our reason.
Now let’s go back to St. Thomas Aquinas’s eternal law, “that God has imprinted
in creatures their inclinations to their proper acts and ends in accordance with God’s
eternal plan”(Thomistic Institute , 2020), so that human creature possessed these
natural inclinations. Aquinas mentioned five principal natural inclinations which he
also called primary precepts: “the inclination to Good, protect and preserve
human life, Reproduce and educate one’s offspring, Know the truth, (and) Live in
a society”.
Aquinas clarifies that these inclinations are not imposed on us by the Divine, but
they are part of our being and how we are designed. By the use of our freedom, we
freely participate in God’s plan according to our purpose or ends.
5. Relationship between Natural law and other types of Laws

We already discussed that natural law is a participation with the eternal law. But
what is the relationship between natural law the human law and Divine or positive law?
According to Aquinas, a human law which he called secondary precepts can only be
just when it accords with the natural law. If a particular legal or human law in our society
does not bind with the natural law, then it is not morally binding. That is why, it is an
important task for our lawmakers to “specify and apply the general precepts of the
natural law in particular context and for a particular community.” (The Thomistic
Institute , 2020). What about the Divine Law? Aquinas, though he claimed that natural
law is imprinted in us and not impose, he did not abandon the significance of the role of
the Divine. Divine law or God’s divine revelation in the sacred scriptures (Bible) is
important because as a human being, we have flaws and possessed imperfections.
Looking at this example, we can see the role of the Divine law in our lives. The story
described a married man who happened to have an affair with another woman. He
came to a minister and asked advice if he would finish his affair. His reasoning says: “I
am having an affair which just feels so right, we are both very much in love and surely
God would want what is best for me! How could it be wrong if we are so happy?”
(Dimmock, 2017)
The minister, in response, opened his Bible to the ten commandments reading to
him the commandments that stated “don’t commit adultery”. What is important here is
that God’s rules and commands can help us when we do not follow the natural law
because of our imperfections.

Conclusion
St. Thomas Aquinas’s Natural law theory asserts that a human being has a
natural inclination imprinted in us by God, to know what is right and wrong
through the use of his/her reason. This law is not imposed by God, but it is part of
human design.
The natural law is a participation of the eternal law. We are participating in the
eternal plan of God which put purpose and end to his creation. We all have an idea of
what is good and bad because they are part of nature.
According to Aquinas, human law should be following natural law so that
lawmakers must reflect and recognized the general precepts of the natural law and
apply them to a particular situation and community. However, even if God does not
impose a rule on us, His divine command will help and guide us because as a human
person, we are imperfect. Divine law will be there to guide us once again so that we will
be able to recognize what is right and wrong despite our imperfections and errors.

References

Bulaong, Jr., O.,Calano, M.J., Lagliva, A., Mariano, M.N., Principe, J.D. (2018).
Utilitarianism, Ethics: Foundations of Moral Valuation, 144, 29-38. 1st ed. Manila: Rex
Bookstore.
Dimmock, Mark., Fisher, Andrew., (2017). Natural Law, Ethics for A-Level, 235, 65-70.
1st ed. Cambridge: Lightning Source for Open Book Publishers
https://human.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Philosophy/Book
%3A_Ethics_(Fisher_and_Dimmock)/4%3A_Aquinas
%E2%80%99s_Natural_Law_Theory

The Thomistic Institute, (2020), The Natural in General (Aquinas

101https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYc-7lxDrNU&t=466s
The Thomistic Institute, (2020), The Natural law (Aquinas 101) retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjlmnqcJuO8&t=364s