Premium Essay

St. Thomas Aquinas Research Paper

Submitted By
Words 528
Pages 3
St Thomas Aquinas was a priest from Italy who lived during the 13th century. His philosophical views on both spiritual and intellectual thinking strongly influenced how men during the Middle Ages thought, which eventually helped shape what is now the western world. Aquinas is renowned for his view on law which he categorized into three sections which include: natural, positive and eternal. Natural law governs a man’s sense of right and wrong. Positive law is the law imposed by government and is extended by natural law. External law is when man acts in accordance to his free will based upon what he deems rational behaviour. Aquinas states that these laws are natural to humanity and are very important to the social welfare of civilization. The three laws have a …show more content…
However, positive law would not be possible without natural law to determine what people deem is right and wrong. Neither of these laws would exist if humans did not have the ability to act in accordance to the external law of free will. These three laws of men are bound together and without them the social welfare of society would crumble. The Summa Theologica is one of Thomas Aquinas’ most known writings and it contains all the main theological teachings of the Catholic Church. In this book Aquinas explains how the existence of god can be proven, the strongest argument for this is that natural beings could not be intellectual if it was not taught and given by God. Irrefutable evidence of this is shown through man’s relationship with dogs. Humanity taught dogs how to be loving and intelligent creatures. Dogs will do anything to make their masters happy and without them they would still be wild (i.e. Dingo’s). This is what Aquinas is trying to say about man and God. If God did not teach human’s how to be civil and care for one another and to worship a higher power, then who did? It would be impossible for humanity to obtain intelligence on their own just as it is impossible for a dog to tame

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

St. Thomas Aquinas Research Paper

...Religion vs. Politics, human law vs. divine law, and good government vs. bad government, are all things that hold strong influence over the people in society, and determine their behavior towards one another. Laws are created to maintain order amongst the people, and therefore, should be reflective of everyone as a whole. For those who cause trouble should be the only ones subjected to the law. And, despite the law holding so much power, many people still break it. In this paper, I will explore the religious, philosophical, and political views of St. Thomas Aquinas in relation to the law in society, through his following works: The Doctrine of Necessary Being, the Weakness of Will, and his views on the City, Province, and Empire in the Subsidiarity, Federalism, and Best Constitution. I will then explore his reasoning about why religion and state should co-exist independently, but overlap in the governing of the people. Thomas Aquinas is one of the most renowned Saints in the Dominican Order. He was born in Roccasecca, Italy in 1225. From the age of five to thirteen he attended a...

Words: 1763 - Pages: 8

Free Essay

Sample Paper

...considered a right. This argument’s corollary is that, given that we cannot touch without being touched, appropriate touch normally is and should be a source of pleasure to both giver and receiver. The proposed paper will respond to these theses with a caution: contemporary literature on child sexual abuse points out that abusers of children also, and especially, profess to embrace these beliefs. Neither a simple boundary distinction (do not touch particular persons in particular places) nor a test for intent (do not intend to harm or violate) adequately responds to the challenge posed by this fact. Thus it will argue that an adequate Christian ethic of touch depends on the possibility of developing powerful psychological and theological distinctions between nurturing and violating touch. The psychological prong of this argument will draw upon extensive contemporary research on child sexual abuse to argue that abusers either pursue an imagined egalitarian mutual love with their victims or use abuse to gain a sense of empowerment over them. In theological terms the root problems are a mis-labeling of the object of love (the good the lover desires); of the object’s true needs (the gift the lover offers); and of the union with the beloved (the character of mutual delight). The paper will argue that, theologically, “good touch” is a matter of rightly-ordered love and that a critical, feminist retrieval of love theology yields categories and distinctions that begin to illumine the so-far...

Words: 423 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Church and the State

...Title: The relationship between the Church and the State Group 7 2A11 I. Abstract The study of this research is to further explain the relevance of the two said unions and how their roles towards developing the welfare of the human person. This study will also explain the foundation and the sole purpose of the political community. The significance of the political community of today can somehow be depressing because some are doing not their jobs right thus creating some issues. This paper will explain the issues on how the church and the state doesn’t come in to terms but we won’t go further into it. Also the explanation of the political authority’s foundation, roles and its rights. They might have the right to lead us into become a better society but God has more dominion over us than them. Also this paper will be presenting different Christian Challenges that will be answered by us personally and as a group. It is concluded that relationship between the church and the state might be bad at the start but what they are doing are for the welfare of the people and seeks to it that the people are able to achieve their ultimate happiness. II. Introduction The Relationship between the Church and the State has been a very intriguing for past centuries. In the Roman Era, Christianity was considered a Jewish Cult and the Christian at that time spent their practice in hiding so that they will not be persecuted by the Romans. It was in the time of Emperor Constantine...

Words: 704 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

History Paper

...mystic that Meister Eckhart excelled. In his day Meister Eckhart enjoyed success as a popular preacher and churchman of high rank in his order, the Dominicans. However, Meister Eckhart was the only theologian of the medieval period to be formally charged with heresy. The shock of his trial for heresy and the condemnation of some of his work by Pope John XXII in Argo Dominco has cast a shadow over his reputation and a lingering suspicion over his orthodoxy that has lasted to this day. This research paper will focus on the intellectual and social history of Meister Eckhart. The development in thought of any theologian emerges from the life world of the theologian. [4] The life world is formed by the meeting of the cultural, social, and religious history of the day. Theologians are continually searching for new and meaningful ways to interpret religious experience. Meister Eckhart interpreted the religious experience of his day in a way that no others at the time did. I will explore in this paper some of the intellectual forces at work at the time and how he interpreted and connected with these. Secondly, it is important to understand the social history of the time. No theologians' thought is ever formed by simply offering commentary on previous thinkers. As a preacher Meister Eckhart would certainly have been aware of the needs and various expressions of the community. I will explore some of the religious social movements that emerged from the life world of the era, particularly...

Words: 8164 - Pages: 33

Free Essay

Book Critique

...mystic that Meister Eckhart excelled. In his day Meister Eckhart enjoyed success as a popular preacher and churchman of high rank in his order, the Dominicans. However, Meister Eckhart was the only theologian of the medieval period to be formally charged with heresy. The shock of his trial for heresy and the condemnation of some of his work by Pope John XXII in Argo Dominco has cast a shadow over his reputation and a lingering suspicion over his orthodoxy that has lasted to this day. This research paper will focus on the intellectual and social history of Meister Eckhart. The development in thought of any theologian emerges from the life world of the theologian. [4] The life world is formed by the meeting of the cultural, social, and religious history of the day. Theologians are continually searching for new and meaningful ways to interpret religious experience. Meister Eckhart interpreted the religious experience of his day in a way that no others at the time did. I will explore in this paper some of the intellectual forces at work at the time and how he interpreted and connected with these. Secondly, it is important to understand the social history of the time. No theologians' thought is ever formed by simply offering commentary on previous thinkers. As a preacher Meister Eckhart would certainly have been aware of the needs and various expressions of the community. I will explore some of the religious social movements that emerged from the life world of the era, particularly...

Words: 8164 - Pages: 33

Free Essay

Laboratory Report: Structure and Function

...Laboratory Report: Structure and Function (24) M. Author, C. O. Author, and C. O. Authortwo (11) Performed 20 November 2006; submitted 27 November 2006 (10) Abstract-Limit the abstract to four to five sentences stating the following: (a) statement of the problem, (b) methodology, (c) pertinent results, and (d) conclusion. Avoid numbers and symbols in the abstract. After you have written the abstract, write the title. In not more than 13 words, choose a title that would reflect your abstract. To do this you may use the “variable-method” structure, e.g. “Measuring a car’s acceleration using a pendulum.” Here the variable is the gravitational acceleration and the method is the simple pendulum. Another way is to use the “dependent-independent variable” structure, e.g. “Angular displacement of a pendulum in an accelerating car.” Here the dependent variable is the angular displacement of a pendulum and the dependent variable is the car’s acceleration. Note: do not mention any keyword in the title that you will never discuss in your report. A title is a promise that you must keep. (9) I. INTRODUCTION (8) The main purpose of the introduction is to give a motivation for the problem in the laboratory experiment performed. There are many ways to do this. One way is to start with mention something familiar to your reader, then slowly lead him to something unfamiliar—your problem. Along the way, define the terms in the title starting from the subject to...

Words: 1370 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Aristotle's Idea of Philia as Foundation for Human Relationships

...Chapter I The Problem and Review of Related Literature Introduction Man is a rational being who feels emotions. Our emotions make up a part if not most of our humanity. It can be also called passions like how it was used in antiquity. One of these emotions is love. To feel love and to reciprocate it is proper to rational beings such as the human person. But the term “love” has taken quite different meanings around the globe, a lot of persons even have their own notion of love. It is the one of the most elusive and abused term of mankind. It eludes definition for the reason that one really cannot exhaust love in one specific definition. As Benedict XVI said (2006, p. 7) “In our present context, the term “love” has become one of the most frequently used and misused of words, a word where we attach quite different meanings.” We human persons are capable of expressing and accepting love, since we are endowed with intellect and will aside from our passions. These faculties make it possible for a human to feel being loved and to love back in return. The faculty intellect is the one that perceives and comprehends love, where we can interpret it, while the faculty of the will is the one that is responsible for conveying and reciprocating love. Our acts as human beings such as loving are very much different from those of the animals’. This is because human acts require the use of both the intellect and the will. It requires knowing and willing a particular act, making...

Words: 5565 - Pages: 23

Free Essay

Professor of Theology

...Historical Evidence of The Gap Theory Pre-Geologic Age Almost without exception, the Gap theory is credited to Dr. George Chalmers of Edinburg University in 1814. Supposedly Dr. Chalmers introduced this theory in an attempt to harmonize the Genesis account with the vast periods of time demanded by uniformitarian geologists. It is then claimed that George H. Pember further elaborated the theory in his work (Earth’s Earliest Ages) in 1876, and the theory was finally popularized in the footnotes of the Scofield Reference Bible beginning in 1917. Today, it is said that only pinheads and nitwits of dubious scholastic background maintain a belief in the “Gap Theory”. If, as it is today asserted, the theory can only be traced back to Dr. Chalmers, then the statement of its reason for introduction should not be discounted. On the other hand, if the theory antedates both Dr. Chalmers and any uniformitarian geologist, then it should and indeed must be investigated by any serious student of scripture to determine why such a Gap exist. Mark E. Howerter, in his work “Creation VS Evolution: The Gap Theory Explained”, follows the now accepted view when he wrote: Uninformed Christians have propagated two theories that have tried to reconcile the Bible with evolution. They have done this because from kindergarten through graduate school it is taught that evolution is a proven scientific fact. Christians have swallowed this hook, line and sinker. They have tried...

Words: 4453 - Pages: 18

Free Essay

World of Religion Syllabus

...York University College of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies Department of Humanities AP/HUMA 1860 6.00 The Nature of Religion: An Introduction Term Y Section A Course Director: Dr. Jason C. Robinson Y: Fall/Winter 2014-2015 Office: 126 Founders CollegeOffice Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays by appointment | Email: jasonro@yorku.ca Class Time: Tuesday 4:30-6:30 | Classroom: Curtis Lecture Halls (CLH) C | Tutorial Leaders and Times | Type | Day | | Start Time | Duration | | | Location | Instructor | | LECT 01 | T | | 4:30pm | 120 | | | CLH  C | Jason Robinson | jasonro@yorku.ca | TUTR 01 | T | | 7:00pm | 60 | | | ACE  012 | Jason Robinson | jasonro@yorku.ca | TUTR 02 | T | | 7:00pm | 60 | | | SC  220 | Cristiana Conti | menrua19@yorku.ca | TUTR 03 | T | | 7:00pm | 60 | | | SC  223 | Irfaan Jaffer | irfaanjaffer@gmail.com | TUTR 04 | T | 8 | :00pm | 60 | | | ACE  012 | Cristiana Conti | menrua19@yorku.ca | TUTR 05 | T | | 8:00pm | 60 | | | BC  325 | Irfaan Jaffer | irfaanjaffer@gmail.com | TUTR 06 | T | | 8:00pm | 60 | | | MC  215 | Janet Melo-Thaiss | janetmt@yorku.ca | | | Note: This is an approved LA&PS General Education course Course credit exclusions: AP/HUMA 1865 6.00, AP/HUMA 2800 9.00 (prior to Fall 2014), AP/SOSC 2600 9.00 (prior to Fall 2014). PRIOR TO FALL 2009: Course credit exclusions: AK/HUMA 1860 6.00, AS/HUMA 2800 9.00, AS/SOSC 2600 9.00. Camtasia Recording This...

Words: 9291 - Pages: 38

Premium Essay

Philosophy Syllabus

...Republic of the Philippines BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Gov. Pablo Borbon Main Campus I Batangas City COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, ARCHITECTURE AND FINE ARTS GENERAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT Second Semester, AY 2015-2016 COURSE SYLLABUS HUM 102 INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY 3 Units Prerequisite: None UNIVERSITY VISION A University which shapes a global Filipino imbued with moral courage nurtured through values and excellent education. UNIVERSITY MISSION Batangas State University commits to develop productive citizens by providing the highest standard of instruction, research, extension service and production through value-laden learning experiences, community partnership and internationalization initiatives. Course Title: Introduction to Philosophy | Course Code: HUM 102 | Pre-co-req.: None | Credit Units: 3 | Instructor: Maria Melinda O. Gainza | Year Level: 1st Year | Email: ordonez_ortega@yahoo.com | Semester: 2nd Sem 2015-2016 | Mobile No.: 0918-617-7777 | Schedule: | Room: | | 1.0 PHILOSOPHY This course introduces the students to the field of philosophy which is said to be the queen of all sciences. It is about how a person understands his nature as well as the world, how he makes decisions in life. What actions he chooses are influenced by the philosophy he develops and adopts. He then begins to have a better understanding of himself, his fellow human beings, the real world and the meaning of life. With philosophical foundation, he will be able to meet the demands...

Words: 1574 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Consequence of Religious Tolerance/Intolerance

...Consequence of Religious Tolerance/Intolerance This paper will first define several words related to the title, expose some consequences of religious intolerance, and finally explain how religion connects with our culture. Our team discovered while looking at different religions that there were many religions than what we will define here. It is certain that a discussion about religion will at some point bring up the subject matter of there being so many different religions, and do they have any common components. Our group agreed that although that are many differences, there are some similarities, impacting four basic areas, such as : what people believe, what people do, what people think, and what people feel. For many people religion is their way of life. David Barrette in an a weekly column writes, “it is well known that those who think about their own religion often work hard to establish what they believe to be the correct interpretation for the time in which they live.” Another thing to take into consideration before moving on to the next definition is behavior. Behaviors of religion according to David Barrette could include rituals, meditation, and prayer, much of this list is learned after joining a particular religion, and again these all in turn become a way of life. In each particular religion, most members live very close to others practicing the same religion for comfort, strength, and in order to keep growing stronger in order to help newer members as...

Words: 2492 - Pages: 10

Free Essay

The Return of Natural-Law Economics

...be because economists have decided to sit down and learn from philosophers (or, God forbid, theologians)—nothing could be farther from their minds—but for the same reason as the last seismic shift in economics, which began in the 1870s: a growing number of economists are finding the current state of economic theory a professional embarrassment. Of course, I may be underestimating the average economist’s threshold of embarrassment. But let me explain the nature of that * John D. Mueller is Associate Scholar of the Ethics and Public Policy Center and president of LBMC LLC, a financial-markets forecasting firm. For most of the 1980s he was Economic Counsel to the House Republican Conference (caucus) under chairman Jack Kemp. The research on which this article is based was made possible by The Lehrman Institute and the James Madison Program at Princeton University. 2 embarrassment, why only a renewed “natural law economics” will relieve it, and why non-economists should care. A Brief History of Economics. The most emblematic moment for economic theory since the Second...

Words: 10147 - Pages: 41

Premium Essay

Q&a Jurisprudence

...R outledge Revision: Questions & Answers  Jurisprudence 2011–2012 Each Routledge Q&A contains approximately 50 questions on topics commonly found on exam papers, with answer plans and comprehensive suggested answers. Each book also offers valuable advice as to how to approach and tackle exam questions and how to focus your revision effectively. New Aim Higher and Common  Pitfalls boxes will also help you to identify how to go that little bit further in order to get the very best marks and highlight areas of confusion. And now there are further opportunities to hone and perfect your exam technique online. New editions publishing in 2011: Civil Liberties & Human Rights Commercial Law Company Law Constitutional & Administrative Law Contract Law Criminal Law Employment Law English Legal System Routledge Q&A series Equity & Trusts European Union Law Evidence Family Law Jurisprudence Land Law Medical Law Torts For a full listing, visit http://www.routledge.com/textbooks/revision R outledge Revision: Questions & Answers Jurisprudence 2011–2012 David Brooke Senior Lecturer in Law and Module Leader in Jurisprudence at Leeds Metropolitan University Fifth edition published 2011 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the U S A and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2011...

Words: 105136 - Pages: 421

Premium Essay

Specific Therapeutic Intervention

...anyway? An exploration of five contemporary ethical issues that pertain to the psychiatric nursing care of the person who is suicidal: Part one John R. Cutcliffe1,2,3 and Paul S. Links4,5 1 ‘David G. Braithwaite’ Department of Nursing, University of Texas, Tyler, USA, 2Stenberg College, Vancouver, Canada, 3University of Ulster, Jordanstown, UK, 4Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto; and 5 Arthur Rotter Somnerburg Chair in Suicide Studies, St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada ABSTRACT: It is self-evident that ethical issues are important topics for consideration for those involved in the care of the person who is suicidal. Nevertheless, despite the obvious relationship between Mental Health nurses and care of the person who is suicidal, such nurses have hitherto been mostly silent on these matters. As a result, this two-part paper focuses on a number of contemporary issues which might help inform the ethical discourse and resultant Mental Health nursing care of the person who is suicidal. Part one of this paper focuses on the issues: Whose life is it anyway? Harming of our bodies and the inconsistency in ethical responses and, Is suicide ever a reasonable thing to do? The authors find that this contemporary view within the suicidology academe and the corresponding legal position in most western (developed) countries is that the individual owns his/her own body. Yet given that contemporary mental healthcare policy and associated practice positions do not reflect...

Words: 7425 - Pages: 30

Premium Essay

A Theory of Cross -Culture Buying Behaviour

...A HISTORY OF BUSINESS ETHICS The history of “business ethics” depends on how one defines it. Although the term is used in several senses and varies somewhat for different countries, its current use originated in the United States and became widespread in the 1970s. The history of business ethics in the United States can be viewed as the intersection of three intertwined strands. Each of these in turn can be divided into at least two related branches. The first strand, which I shall call the ethics-in-business strand, is the long tradition of applying ethical norms to business, just as it has been applied to other areas of social and personal life. This strand can be divided further into the secular and the religious branches. The second strand is the development of an academic field, which has been called business ethics. It also has two main branches, one being the philosophical business-ethics branch, which is normative and critical, and the other the social-scientific branch, which is primarily descriptive and empirical. The third strand is the adoption of ethics or at least the trappings of ethics in businesses. This again subdivides into the integration of ethics into business and business practices on the one hand and the commitment to corporate social responsibility on the other. Business ethics was introduced into Europe and Japan in the 1980s although the term did not translate easily, and the development in each country varied from that in the United States because...

Words: 7549 - Pages: 31