Natural law

1. NATURAL
LAW
ETHICS | 2nd Sem

2. OBJECTIVES
At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:
• Importance of Essence and Varities of Law
• identify the aspect of the natural law
referring to what is shared by all beings;
• identify the aspect of the natural law
referring to what is shared by animals;
• and enity the aspect of the natural law
referring to what is uniquely human.

3. LESSON 2: ST. THOMAS
AQUINAS AND THE
CHRISTIAN
CONTEXT

4. THOMAS AQUINAS (1225-1274)
• Hailed as a doctor of the Roman Catholic Church. He is one of
the figures who have fundamentally shaped the way we
understand the Christian faith. He was a Dominican friar
who has become thee preeminent intellectual figure of the
scholastic period of the Middle Ages, arguably contributing
to the doctrine of the faith more than any other figure of his
time.
• The SUMMA THEOLOGIAE, Aquinas’s magnum opus, is a
voluminous work that comprehensively discusses many
significant points in Christian Theology. He was canonized
in 1323

5. THE CONTEXT OF THE CHRISTIAN
STORY
The fundamental truth maintained and
elaborated by Aquinas in all his work is the
promise right at the center of the Christian
faith: that we are created by God in order to
ultimately return to Him.

6. SUMMA THEOLOGIAE (3 PARTS)
• 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.
• Deals with man or the dynamic of human life. This is
characterized by our pursuit of happiness, which we should
realize rests ultimately not on any particular good thing that
is created by God, but in the highest good which is God
himself.
• It focuses on Jesus as our Savior.

7. THE CONTEXT OF AQUINAS’S ETHICS
Aquinas puts forward that there is within us a conscience that directs our
moral thinking. This does not refer to some simple intuition or gut feeling.
For Aquinas, there is a sense of right and wrong in us that we are obliged to
obey. However, he also adds that this sense of right and wrong must be
informed, guided, and ultimately grounded in an objective basis for morality.
We are called to heed the voice of conscience and enjoined to develop and
maintain a life of virtue. 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.
Given the problems off this 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:
human nature itself

8. LESSON 3: THE GREEK HERITAGE
Since its beginnings around the sixth century before Christ,
Greek philosophy has shaped-and continues to shape- the
way we think. Using abstract ideas like soul and substance,
or asking questions about love and beauty, or debating the
best form of governance or the use of words in politics- all
these, and much more, can be traced back to the literature
of Greek philosophizing.

9. LESSON 3: THE GREEK HERITAGE
• The central belief of the Christian Faith - God Creates – He cares for
and thus governs the activity of the universe and of every creature
this has been shaped and defined by an idea stated in the work of
the ancient Greek philosopher – Plato.
• Plato’s most compelling and enduring idea: the notion of a supreme
and absolutely transcendent good He envisioned the ideal society
through his work The Republic. It provides an objective basis and
standard for the striving to be moral.
• “Why should I bother trying to be good?” “Why cannot good be
whatever I say it is? Plato’s answer is placed on the mouth of the
main character of The Republic
“..the good is real and not something that one can pretend to make up or
ignore” - Socrate

10. THE IDEA OF THE GOOD
The enigmatic passage of the idea of the good which is prior to all
being and is even the cause of all beings becomes the source of
fascination and inspiration of later thinkers - neoplatonists.
• We can see from the text the positing of a good which, while
difficult to comprehend, can at least be said to be a reality, not
just a mere idea in someone’s head. The sun, as we know,
through its light allows for thee possibility of seeing, and thus, of
knowing. And because of both its light and its warmth, the sun
also allows for the growth of plants, and from this follows the
nutrition of animals, and thus in short, the possibility of beings.
In a vague and yet grand statement put forward here in the text,
we are told that the good is like the sun in all that it does, but
even more so.

11. THE GOOD AND THE ONE
Neoplatonists caused Idea of the Good to become The
One and The Beautiful. The Platonic idea of the good continued
into the era of Christian Middle Ages, thought anew in a more
personal way as a creative and loving God.
• We have a clearer and stronger restatement of the idea
that everything else in the universe is derived from the
power of the singular Good. From this Good, all beings
come forth, and their motion in the universe is set to
ultimately return to and rest in the Good once again.

12. ARISTOTELIAN BEING AND BECOMING
Any being, according to Aristotle, can be said to
have four causes.
1. Material cause embraces the concept that any
being is corporeal, composed of certain
materiality or physical stuff, individuated,
unique individual as is made up of particular
stuff.
2. The shape that makes a being a particular kind
is called its form, and is referred to as the formal
cause.

13. 3. It is thought that there is always something that
brings about the presence of another being, and this is
referred to as efficiency cause.
4. A being has an apparent end goal and Aristotle
referred to it as its final cause.
This then perhaps exhaust the number of ways in
which the term “cause” is used.
ARISTOTELIAN BEING AND BECOMING

14. SYNTHESIS
• All beings are only possible as participating in the first being, which is
God Himself and His act, like an emanation of light, is the creation of
beings. God is the First Efficient Cause in that from which all beings
come.
• It is God’s will and love that are the cause of all things in every
existing thing. Creation therefore is the activity of the outpouring or
overflowing of God’s goodness and this makes each being in some
sense good.
• The goodness possessed by beings remains imperfect for only
God in the fullness of His being and goodness is perfect. God did not
create beings to remain imperfect and to stay that way. God, in His
infinite wisdom directs how we are to arrive at our perfection

15. SYNTHESIS
Divine providence is a notion how beings are properly ordered
and even guided toward their proper end which is to reach
the highest good, is to return to the divine goodness itself.
Divine goodness is the end of all actions. All things come from
God and are created in order to return to Him.
The presence of capacity for reason is the prime characteristic
of the kind of beings we are, and how this is the very tool
which God had placed in our human nature as the way to our
perfection and return to Him.

16. ESSENCE AND
VARITIES OF
LAWS

17. ESSENCE
• As rational beings, we have FREE WILL. Through capacity of
reason, human beings are able to judge between possibilities
and to choose to direct our actions in one way or the other.
• Our actions are directed towards attaining ends or goods that
weldesire.However, just because we think that a certain end is
good and it is therefore desirable does not necessarily mean it
is indeed good. That is why it is important for REASON to
always be part of the process.
• Acts are rightly directed toward their ends by reason. It is
necessary to think carefully of what really is in fact good for us.

18. ESSENCE
• Aquinas reminds us that we cannot simply act in pursuit of our
own ends of goods without considering other people's ends or
goods since we are not isolated beings and do belong to a
community. We have to consider what is good for the community
as well as our own good or the so called COMMON GOOD.
• Since we must consider not only our own goods but also the ends
or goods of the others, there would have to be some kind of
measure to our own acts. We must recognize the proper measures
or the limits in our actions that would lead to the ends or goods of
ourselves and at the same time the others. This determination of
the proper measures of our acts can be referred to LAW.

19. ESSENCE
• Example of law as limits or measures is the traffic
rules. A motorist cannot just drive in any way he likes
but must respect traffic rules. These rules which
impose limits to a motorist is something that is good
both for him and for the others as it helps to prevents
motor accident.

20. ESSENCE
• Therefore, a LAW is concerned with the COMMON
GOOD.Making of law belongs to a public person or
group of people who care for the common good or
the concern for the good of the community or of the
whole people.
• It is necessary for rules or laws to be communicated
to the people involved in order to enforce them and
to better ensure compliance. This communication
refers to PROMULGATION.

21. VARITIES OF LAW
4
DIVINE LAW
NATURAL LAW
HUMAN LAW
ETERNAL LAW

22. ETERNAL LAW
• Aquinas writes "He (God) governs all the acts
and movements that are to be found in each
single creature, so the type of Divine wisdom, as
moving all things to their due end, bears the
character of law." This involves the assertion
that Divine wisdom direct each being towards its
proper end can be called ETERNAL LAW.

23. ETERNAL LAW
• ETERNAL LAW refers to what God wills for creation,
how each participant in it is intended to return to Him.
Human beings as rational, unlike animals and plants,
participates more fully and perfectly given the
capacity for reason.
• Irrational creatures such as plants and animals are
participating inETERNAL LAW although they are not
conscious of this law. They are complying simply
through their instinctual following of their nature and
moved by divine providence.

24. NATURAL LAW
• * Aquinas writes "Wherefore it has a
share of Eternal Reason, whereby it
have natural inclination to its proper act
and end: and this participation of the
eternal law in the rational creature is
called the NATURAL LAW.

25. NATURAL LAW
• This simply means that human individuals as rational
creature shares eternal reason as they participate in the
eternal law which is part of what God's will.Human
individual as a rational being has a natural inclination to
these eternal law.
• Therefore, by looking at our human nature, at the natural
inclinations given to us by God, we can determine the rule
and measure that should be directing our acts. These rules
and measures can be referred to NATURAL law

26. HUMAN LAW
• * This refers to all instances wherein human beings
construct and enforce laws in their communities.
According to Aquinas, one who have a basis for assessing
the validity or invalidity of human law is whether or not in
conforms to natural law.
• Meaning, human law should always conforms with the
natural law in order to assess its validity. Natural law is
general while human law is specific and more concrete to
actual operation of human acts.

27. DIVINE LAW
• Instructions that can direct us to supernatural end.
Supematural and refers to more complete happiness that
surpasses human nature and can be obtained through the
power of God alone.
• This law refers specifically to instances where we have
instructions that come from divine revelation. Ex. What is
handed to us by sacred Scriptures such as the Ten
Commandments.This is different from eternal law because it
simply tell that there is a divine wisdom that directs each
beings or creature. Divine Law has written revelation that can
be found in say for example Gospels.

28. DIFERRENCES OF 4
• ETERNAL LAW - there is a divine wisdom that
directs our acts.
• NATURAL LAW- it is the natural inclination of
human beings to eternal law as they participate
on it.
• HUMAN LAW- the more specific or more concrete
to human acts.
• DIVINE LAW- instructions coming from divine
revelations (gospels, Ten Commandments)

29. THE NATURAL LAW
Summa Theologiae 1-2, Question 94,
Article 2
Thomas Aquinas

30. THOMAS AQUINAS
• He is the leading medieval theologian and
a Poet, he was born on 1224/25 at
Roccasecca, near Aquino, Terra di Lavoro,
Kingdom of Sicily [Italy]
• He died on March 7, 1274 in Fossanova,
near Terracina, Latium, Papal States
• Offered as a prospective monk
• His family doubtless hoped that he would
someday become an “Abbot”

31. THOMAS AQUINAS
• The emperor expelled the monks
because they were too obedient to
the pope
• Thomas decided to join the Friars
Preachers, or Dominicans.
• He became a saint on July 18, 1323 *
and his feast day was January 28,
originally March 7

32. THOMAS AQUINAS
He has 2 Masterpiece
-Summa Theologica
-Summa Contra Gentiles

33. THOMAS AQUINAS
He developed his own conclusions from Aristotelian
Premises
- St. Aquinas is the leading medieval theologian,
Aristotelian metaphysics and ethics are easier to use
when it comes down to theology.
- Aquinas was the master theologian in merging the
theological teachings of the church and the
Aristotelian philosophy.
- His work integrates Aristotelian philosophy with
Christian theology, emphasizing that morality is
rooted in human nature and reason.

34. THE NATURAL LAW
Summa Theologiae 1-2, Question 94, Article 2
Thomas Aquinas
Since, however, good has the nature of an end, and evil, the nature of a
contrary, hence it is that all those things to which man has a natural
inclination, are naturally apprehended by reason as being good, and
consequently as objects of pursuit, and their contraries as evil, and
objects of avoidance. Wherefore according to the order of natural
inclinations, is the order of the precepts of the natural law. Because in
man there is first of all an inclination to good in accordance with the
nature which he has in common with all substances: inasmuch as every
substance seeks the preservation of its own being, according to its
nature: and by reason of this inclination, whatever is a means of
preserving human life, and of warding off its obstacles, belongs to the
natural law.

35. THE NATURAL LAW
Summa Theologiae 1-2, Question 94, Article 2
Thomas Aquinas
Secondly, there is in man an inclination to things that pertain to him
more specially, according to that nature which he has in common with
other animals: and in virtue of this inclination, those things are said to
belong to the natural law, "which nature has taught to all animals,"
such as sexual intercourse, education of off spring and so forth.
Thirdly, there is in man an inclination to good, according to the nature
of his reason, which nature is proper to him: thus man has a natural
inclination to know the truth about God, and to live in society: and in
this respect, whatever pertains to this inclination belongs to the
natural law; for instance, to shun ignorance, to avoid off ending those
among whom one has to live, and other such things regarding the
above inclination.

36. In Common With
Other Beings

37. IN COMMON WITH OTHER
BEINGS
- According to Thomas Aquinas, we need to consider
how we, human beings, are both unique and at the
same time participating in the community of the
rest of creation.
- Our presence in the rest of creation does not only
mean that we interact with creatures that are not
human, but that there is also in our nature
something that shares in the nature of other beings.

38. IN COMMON WITH OTHER
BEINGS
- Aquinas thus identifies first
that there is in our nature,
common with all other beings, a
desire to preserve one's own
being.

39. IN COMMON WITH OTHER
BEINGS
- For this reason, Aquinas tells us
that it is according to the
natural law, and therefore
unethical to take the life of
another.

40. IN COMMON WITH OTHER
BEINGS
On a more positive note, we can
confidently posit that acts that
promote the continuation of life
are to be lauded as ethical
because they are in line with the
natural law.

41. In Common With
Other Animals

42. IN COMMON WITH OTHER
ANIMALS
-Aquinas then goes on to say that there
is in our human nature, common with
other animals, a desire that has to do
with sexual intercourse and the care of
one's offpring.

43. IN COMMON WITH OTHER
ANIMALS
-According to Aquinas, the intrinsic connection
between the sexual act and fecundity gives rise
to a number of notions of what is acceptable and
unacceptable in varrying degrees of
contentiousness. From the natural law, the act of
preventing the emergence of new life would be
considered unacceptable.

44. IN COMMON WITH OTHER
ANIMALS
-With regard to the sexual act, the moral
judgements get more volatile. This
arguments seems to provide ground for
rejecting various forms of the sexual act
to take place, but inhibit procreation.

45. IN COMMON WITH OTHER
ANIMALS
-To explain, Thomas writes: "certain special
sins are said to be against nature; thus
contrary to sexual intercourse, which is
natural to all animals, is unisexual lust,
which has recieved the special name of the
unnatural crime."

46. IN COMMON WITH OTHER
ANIMALS
- For this reason, Aquinas tells us
that it is according to the
natural law, and therefore
unethical to take the life of
another.

47. Uniquely
Human

48. UNIQUELY HUMAN
• Aquinas argues that humans have a natural
inclination toward good, guided by reason.
This includes pursuing truth, maintaining
social harmony, and avoiding ignorance and
deception.
• However, he does not provide a detailed list of
ethical actions but instead offers general
principles: an epistemic concern (seeking
truth) and a social concern (living
harmoniously).

49. UNIQUELY HUMAN
• Reason is central to human nature and
should guide moral decision-making,
including how we engage with natural
inclinations like self-preservation and
sexuality.
• Additionally, human laws can evolve to
support the common good, aligning with
natural law through rational additions,
such as traffic rules or taxation.

50. ETHICS| 2025
THANK YOU