Jurisprudence
By Tori, Paola, Brad, and Adam
The Philosophy of Law
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The most common question a lawyer asks
themselves is: what is the law on a
particular issue? This question differs
according to a particular jurisdiction in
which they are asked.
In comparison, the philosophy of law deals
with the more general question of what is
law? This question about the nature of law
predicts that the law is a unique social and
political experience with more or less
universal characteristics that can be
determined through philosophical analysis.
The philosophical inquiry of the nature of
law is known as the general jurisprudence.
It says that the law possesses certain
aspects through nature, essence, law, and
where and when it occurs.
The Philosophy of Law
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There is an intellectual interest in perceiving
such a complex social experience in the
philosophy of law. Law can also have normal
social practices including purposes to guide
human behaviour, giving reasons of action.
These two practices of law are strongly linked.
Not only is law about culture, morality, religion,
social convention, and etiquette; it is also about
guiding human conduct in relation to law.
Therefore, to understand the nature and
philosophy of law, we must understand how
law differs from these similar normative
domains, how it interacts with them, and
whether it depends on other normative orders.
Biography: St. Thomas Aquinas
St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)
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Dominican friar who incorporated Aristotle’s theories
into theology a priest and doctor of the Church
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Aquinas said that ethics comes from the end that is
inscribed in the nature of all creatures at a person’s
core is a desire for the good
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Aquinas equated God with the highest good the
fullness a good life is not to be found on earth; the full
good life only comes in the resurrection as God’s pure
gift
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People can live the good life by using their intelligence
and other capabilities such as their senses, and by
following natural law “nothing other than the light of
understanding placed in us by God; through it we
know what we must do and what we must avoid.”
Biography: St. Thomas Aquinas
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Believed successful people have four virtues, also known
as the cardinal virtues, the hinges that support life
(cardo-latin for hinge):
1) prudence (know how to reason well in moral decision
making)
2) temperance (remain moderate in the exercise of
emotions)
3) fortitude (how to be courageous in the face of life’s
difficulties)
4) justice (how to act well in relation to others)
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God’s gift of Jesus and the Holy Spirit changes the way
we define what is good the theological virtues of faith,
hope and charity begin as a pure gift. I.e. charity: it is
because God lives us that we can love others
Our response this gift is to accept it, give praise and
thanks, and live in
accordance with the gift
Summary: St Thomas Aquinas
Medieval Christian Theologians played a
huge influence in the nature of law.
Medieval thinkers believed that unity of
the spirit and earthly worlds, where
science and rationalism were consistent
with Christian truth. The belief of unity
supported a theory of law in which churchmade laws were to rule over civil/human
made laws. Saint Thomas Aquinas was a
Dominican monk. He believed that law
mirrored a natural world order made
known to humans by their own process of
reasoning and by the divine relation of
Christian philosophers. St. Thomas wrote
his works “Summa Theologica” and was
greatly influenced by Plato and Aristotle.
Influence on St. Thomas Aquinas
Aristotle’s Influence:
Similar to Aristotle,
Aquinas believed that
there is a strong
connection between
law and reason.
(Aquinas says that
reasoning ultimately
results to good and
avoids the bad)
Plato’s Influences:
Similar to Plato,
Aquinas believed of
the example of
refusing to restore
goods held in trust
to an owner who
intended to use them
in a revolt against
the state.
Quote: Aristotle
Quote: Plato
“Good people do
not need laws to
tell them to act
responsibly,
while bad people
will find a way
around the
laws.”- Plato
St. Thomas: The Good
St. Thomas Aquinas confirmed
that doing good and avoiding evil
is the first rule from which all
others derive. He says that all the
order of rules of natural law
accords with natural human
inclinations to preserve human
life, to reproduce, to educated
offspring, to know the truth
about God, to live society, to shun
ignorance, and to avoid offending
others.
St. Thomas: Eternal, Natural and Human Law
Aquinas was concerned with
Eternal, Natural and Human
law. He said that eternal law
is the eternal government
that is followed by the divine
will of God. The natural law
was the imprinting of eternal
law on humans. Lastly,
human law was view as
training and habituating to
become virtuous.
St. Thomas Aquinas Contribution to
Jurisprudence
St. Thomas’ philosophy of law is heavily
influenced by the teachings and doctrines
of the Roman Catholic Church. St Thomas
Aquinas contributed to jurisprudence
through his teachings and belief that
justice and rights spring from natural law
rather then human law. Aquinas is
credited with having a major influence on
modern human rights theories on law. St.
Thomas Aquinas has also drawn
distinctions among eternal law natural
law and human law.
Charter of Rights and Freedoms in Relation to
Natural Law
The Charter of Rights and
Freedoms recognizes the
principles of Natural law.
This means that we are
governed by the will of God
and that law is most
important. The Charter
cannot take away any rights
or freedoms that are essential
to preserving human life.
Our Beliefs As A Group
We believe that humans in their nature strive to perform
good acts, and one of these good acts is to from society for
protection. If we were not born to do these things our
original societies would never have been formed. If these
people in those societies were not good to one another
these cities would fall apart. We believe that all humans
strive to find out their origins and try to better
understand why we are and what our purpose is that we
are to fulfil with our time on earth, but we would not say
it is a call to God though, but instead and understanding
of why we are.
Quick Facts
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The patron of Universities and Students  considered by
many Catholics to be the Catholic Church's greatest
theologian and philosopher.
Born c.1225 at Aquino, Naples, Italy
Memorial Day / Feast Day: 28th January
Date of Death: Saint Thomas Aquinas died on 7 March
1274 at Fossanova Abbey, Lazio, Italy
Cause of Death: Natural Causes  was a Confessor 
Confessors are people who died natural deaths
Youtube
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hzb-HcxUl4
(info video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYCxtvlqmeA
(Eucharist video – 2 min)
Multiple Choice Questions:
#1) What natural law did St. Thomas Aquinas believe in?
a)
Culture
b)
Morality
c)
Religion
#2) What were the three types of laws Aquinas was concerned with?
a)
Eternal, Natural, and Human
b)
Unity, Spiritual, Good
c)
Eternal, Unity, Natural
#3) Aquinas believed that successful people have four virtues, what are they?
a)
Prudence, Love, Faith, Justice
b)
Faith, Self Control, Respect, Temperance
c)
Justice, Respect, Kindness, Faith
d)
Temperance, Prudence, Justice, Fortitude
Multiple Choice Answers:
#1) What natural law did St. Thomas Aquinas believe in?
a)
Culture
b)
Morality
c)
Religion
#2) What were the three types of laws Aquinas was concerned with?
a)
Eternal, Natural, and Human
b)
Unity, Spiritual, Good
c)
Eternal, Unity, Natural
#3) Aquinas believed that successful people have four virtues, what are they?
a)
Prudence, Love, Faith, Justice
b)
Faith, Self Control, Respect, Temperance
c)
Justice, Respect, Kindness, Faith
d)
Temperance, Prudence, Justice, Fortitude