St. Thomas And Locke Compare And Contrast

The world today is a combination, a blend of the two extremes fleshed out by the four authors we studied. St. Thomas and Locke display a world viewed through rose colored glasses. As much as people today want to believe that everyone exhibits behavior that Locke and St. Thomas consider good if they are left to their own devices with only laws to keep them in place, it is an unrealistic view of the world as we know it. In order for the world to run effectively, people have adopted a system closer to the societies Hobbes and Machiavelli described—one of safety under a sovereign ruler. People recognize the need to retain some fear to ensure that they are safe from other people. Most would rather give up some of their freedom for safety from central governance then attempt to fend for themselves because they know that although the world isn’t as chaotic as Hobbes and Machiavelli describe, it is not as peaceful as the world envisioned by St. Thomas and Locke.
Thomas believes that rational human beings first recognize the importance of preserving life to any extent. Additionally, to achieve rationality, humans must actively seek out all that preserves life, including undertaking what is necessary for survival and happiness. Third, St. Thomas emphasizes that knowledge is “acquired by the efforts of reason” (18). In order for humans to be rational, they must embrace the desire to learn and understand God, nature, and themselves. Locke proclaims that people are rational and that all men live in a state of equality so “men are perfectly free to order their actions…in any way they like…subject only to limits set by the law of nature” (3). Therefore, to be rational in the eyes of Locke, humans must follow the law of nature, and failure to follow this natural law results in a punishment to fit the crime. These authors describe a world where rationality permits happiness and freedom, but only to the extent that it is enjoyed within the natural