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¶ … Letter From a Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King, Jr., and St. Thomas Aquinas' views on law. Specifically it will discuss the structure of law according to Aquinas. Aquinas divided law into four specific types, but both men agree there are just and unjust laws. Both men talk about the types of laws and whether they are just or unjust, and both have distinct philosophies about when to follow laws and when to ignore them.
Aquinas believed there were four basic types of law (1) eternal law, (2) natural law, (3) human law, and (4) Divine law. Each type of law carried certain characteristics and responsibilities, and each could be interpreted differently. His concept of eternal law is caught up in Divine law and argues that because of Divine Reason, a law can indeed be eternal. That natural law is a result of Divine law, and it is purely rational and natural for humans to undergo natural law. He writes, "It is therefore evident that the natural law is nothing else than the rational...
He also believed that man, being reasonable, created certain human laws, and that Divine law came from man's relationship with God and the universe's creation.
Yes, Aquinas' account of the order of the laws provides a good framework for King's claim that humans can know the justice of law without deferring to majority rule. Aquinas says, "Nor is it necessary for every measure to be altogether unerring and certain, but according as it is possible in its own particular genus" (Aquinas). That leaves a margin for error, and in King's view, there were errors in unjust laws, and that it was his duty to point out and not follow those laws that were unjust. His examples of course are the laws that existed before the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which created so much racial tension throughout the nation. Blacks were segregated and treated unequally under these unjust laws, and Blacks formed the Civil Rights movement to oppose these laws.…
References
Aquinas, St. Thomas. The Summa Theologica. Benziger Bros. edition, 1947.
Even if they may not have the same force as divine law, the laws should not contradict the laws of heaven. This binding injunction to the people to obey also applies to rulers -- monarchs should not contradict the will of the divine, and endeavor to create a state that mirrors that of God. For example, Aquinas prohibited usury, or charging money at interest given Christ's condemnation of money
Plotinus, Augustine, Aquinas The school of thought of Neoplatonism has had much influence in the philosophies of three major characters, all of which have studied heftily under the same overall pretense of the existence of God and his relation to nature. Plotinus, St. Augustine, and Thomas Aquinas all have certain reasoning regarding the nature of human existence and the hierarchies of creation. In their writings, the three men have indicated the
Therefore the Old Law should have been given to all nations, and not to one people only. (Aquinas: 811) Aquinas responds in these words: Although the salvation, which was to come through Christ, was prepared for all nations, yet it was necessary that Christ should be born of one people, which, for this reason, was privileged above other peoples, according to Rom. ix. 4: To whom, namely, the Jews, belongeth the
" When these words of mine were repeated in Pelagius' presence at Rome by a certain brother of mine (an Episcopal colleague), he could not bear them and contradicted him so excitedly that they nearly came to a quarrel. Now what, indeed, does God command, first and foremost, except that we believe in him? This faith, therefore, he himself gives; so that it is well said to him, "Give what
Augustine is a Christian father of the late Roman Empire -- the traditional date of the "fall" of the Roman Empire is about a half-century after Augustine's death -- while Thomas Aquinas is a thinker of the medieval period. It is worth noting this substantially large time difference -- eight hundred years separates Augustine from Aquinas, just as another eight hundred years separate Aquinas from ourselves -- because we need
Augustine and Aquinas Saint Augustine and Aquinas are both very well-known because of their theological and philosophical explorations, with Augustine writing in late fourth to the early fifth century while Aquinas in the thirteenth century. They are both well-known for their efforts of trying to reconcile ancient philosophy and Christianity however they did these using different ways. Augustine took Platonic route while Aquinas was more focused on the Arstotelian way.