“Common Good: the Law’s End”
“COMMON GOOD: The Law’s End”
(A Commentary on Summa Theologica Question 90, Article 2)
I. INTRODUCTION
“Et ideo omnis lex ad bonum commune ordinatur (Therefore every law is ordained to the common good).” This is the second component on the definition of law by St. Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologica. For him, law “is nothing else than an ordinance of reason for the common good, made by him who has care of the community, and promulgated.” In this definition of St. Thomas, he provides four main elements of the law namely: an ordinance of reason, for the common good, made by the legislator, and promulgated. He distributes each one of these factors into four articles with the main heading of the essence of law. In this commentary, I just want to focus on the second component which is the end-point of the law: the common good. I divide my work into three main parts in congruence with the style of St. Thomas Aquinas. The first part of this paper deals with the exposition of the main contention of St. Thomas with regards to the common good. This includes some of the objections that are in disagreement to the main argument of St. Thomas with regards to the common good. The second part, then, speaks of the main thoughts of St. Thomas on the concept of the common good as the end-point of law. This is subdivided into two main points. First is the relationship between the law and the human acts. Second is the relationship between the law and the common good. The third part of this commentary is the exposition and analysis of the responses of St. Thomas to the different objections raised around the concept of the common good. II.) THE COMMON GOOD AS THE END OF LAW
A.) The Main Thesis and Its Objections
In order to understand better the thoughts of St. Thomas, it is helpful to begin with the basic structure of his literary style in developing a topic for discussion. Generally, throughout his whole work of Summa Theologica, he has consistent
(A Commentary on Summa Theologica Question 90, Article 2)
I. INTRODUCTION
“Et ideo omnis lex ad bonum commune ordinatur (Therefore every law is ordained to the common good).” This is the second component on the definition of law by St. Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologica. For him, law “is nothing else than an ordinance of reason for the common good, made by him who has care of the community, and promulgated.” In this definition of St. Thomas, he provides four main elements of the law namely: an ordinance of reason, for the common good, made by the legislator, and promulgated. He distributes each one of these factors into four articles with the main heading of the essence of law. In this commentary, I just want to focus on the second component which is the end-point of the law: the common good. I divide my work into three main parts in congruence with the style of St. Thomas Aquinas. The first part of this paper deals with the exposition of the main contention of St. Thomas with regards to the common good. This includes some of the objections that are in disagreement to the main argument of St. Thomas with regards to the common good. The second part, then, speaks of the main thoughts of St. Thomas on the concept of the common good as the end-point of law. This is subdivided into two main points. First is the relationship between the law and the human acts. Second is the relationship between the law and the common good. The third part of this commentary is the exposition and analysis of the responses of St. Thomas to the different objections raised around the concept of the common good. II.) THE COMMON GOOD AS THE END OF LAW
A.) The Main Thesis and Its Objections
In order to understand better the thoughts of St. Thomas, it is helpful to begin with the basic structure of his literary style in developing a topic for discussion. Generally, throughout his whole work of Summa Theologica, he has consistent
Bibliography: 1.) Primary Source: ST. THOMAS AQUINAS, Summa Theologica, Mcgraw-Hill Book Company, New York 1966. 2.) Secondary Sources: FARRELL, W., A Companion to Summa (volume II), Sheed and Ward, London 1938. FERNANDEZ-LARGO, A.O., “Tratado de la Ley en General,” en Santo Tomas de Aquino, Suma Teologia, BAC, Madrid 1994. KEMPSHALL, M.S., The Common Good in Late Medieval Political Thought, Oxford University Press Inc., New York 1999.