51 The Natural Law, Central also in Aquinas ethics is his typology of laws By the term law, he means an

ordinance of reason for the common good, promulgated by someone who has care of the community.
Aquinas' laws should also be understood in terms of "rules and measures for people's conduct and as
"rational patterns or forms Obedience to the law is thus viewed also as participating in or being in
conformity with the pattern or form.

For Aquinas, there are four primary types of law-the eternal, natural, human, and divine. The (1) eternal
law refers to the rational plan of God by which all creation is ordered. As God is the supreme ruler of
everything, the rational pattern or form of the universe that exists in His mind is the law that directs
everything in the universe to its appointed end. To this eternal law, everything in the universe is subject.

The (2) natural law is that aspect of the eternal law which is accessible to human reason. Because
mankind is part of the eternal order, there is a portion of the eternal law that relates specifically to
human conduct. This is the moral law, the law or order to which people are subject by their nature
ordering them to do good and avoid evil.

The (3) human law refers to the positive laws. For natural law to be adhered to, more exact and forceful
provisions of human law are helpful. Because the natural law is too broad to provide particular
guidance, the human law's precise, positive rules of behavior are supposed to spell out what the natural
law prescribes. Moral virtues are also reinforced by and cultivated through these human laws. This
human law includes the civil and criminal laws, though only those formulated in the light of practical
reason and moral laws. Human laws that are against natural law are not real laws, and people are not
obliged to obey those unjust laws.

The (4) divine law serves to complement the other types of law. It is a law of revelation, disclosed
through sacred text or Scriptures and the Church which is also directed toward man's eternal end.
Though concerned also with external aspects of conduct, the divine law is more focused on how man
can be inwardly holy and eventually attain salvation.

Obviously, the type of law that is primarily significant in Ethics is the natural law. Part of this natural law
is our inherent natural tendency to pursue the behavior and goals appropriate to us.

According to Aquinas, this natural law is knowable by natural reason For instance, our practical reason
naturally comprehends that good is to be promoted and evil is to be avoided. By virtue of a faculty of
moral insight or conscience that Thomas called synderesis, we also have natural inclinations to some
specific goods. Aquinas enumerates three sets of these inclinations (1) to survive, (2) to reproduce and
educate offspring, and (3) to know the truth about God and to live peacefully in society. These
prescriptions to have families, love God and our neighbors, and pursue knowledge are but rationally
obvious precepts and simply stand to reason. Grasping the prescriptions of the natural law and using our
practical reason are necessary in determining which means will direct us to our ultimate end.
Accordingly, this concept helps us in judging some deeds as moral or otherwise. The principle is simple,
the closer an action approaches our end, the more moral it is; the further it departs, the more immoral.
Concerning sexuality, Thomas for instance argues that its ends involve procreation within the bond of
marriage and unifying the married couple. From this principle, it is not hard to judge fornication and
adultery as immoral since both acts never serve to fulfill the abovementioned purposes. Using the same
principle, homosexual affairs, for Aquinas, would be obviously unjust as well.

5.2 Features of Human Actions Aquinas evaluates human actions on the basis not only of their
conformity to the natural law but also of their specific features. He mentions at least three
aspects through which the morality of an act can be determined in terms of its (1) species, (2)
accidents, and (3) end.

The (1) species of an action refers to its kind. It is also called the object of the action. Human
deeds may be divided into kinds, some of which are good (e.g., improving one's own property),
some bad (e.g. theft), and some indifferent or neutral (eg. walking in the park). Aquinas holds
that for an action to be moral, it must be good or at least not in species.

The (2) accidents simply refer to the circumstances surrounding the action In ethically evaluating
an action, the context in which the action takes place is also considered because an act might be
flawed through its circumstances. For instance, while Christians are bound to profess one's belief
in God, there are certain situations in which it is inappropriate or even offensive and distasteful
to do so.

The (3) end stands for the agent's intention. An act might be unjust through its intention To
intend to direct oneself against a good is clearly immoral Aquinas gives murder, lying, and
blasphemy as instantiations of this Ill will. Correspondingly, a bad intention can spoil a good act,
like giving of alms out of vainglory. Nonetheless, an intention, no matter how good it may be,
cannot redeem a bad act. For Aquinas, theft is intrinsically bad. Hence, stealing to give to the
poor, as in the case of Robin Hood, is an unjust act. In this view, converting to a particular
religion, say Christianity, merely for material gains is an unjust act.

Aquinas ethical theory states that for an action to be moral, the kind it belongs to must not be
bad, the circumstances must be appropriate, and the intention must be virtuous.

5.3 Happiness, Moral Virtues, and Theological Virtues. Aquinas believes that all actions are
directed towards ends and that happiness is the final end. He also thinks that happiness is not
equated with pleasure, material possessions, honor, or any sensual good, but consists in activities
in accordance with virtue. A person needs a moral character cultivated through the habits of
choice to realize real happiness.

Aquinas defines virtue as "a good habit bearing on activity" or a good faculty-habit. Habits are
firm dispositions or "hard to eradicate" qualities that dispose us to act in a particular manner.
Notice that not all habits are virtue, but only those that incline us towards our good or end.
Aquinas differentiates between acquired and infused habits. The autonomous will of a person
plays a major role in acquired habits as they involve consistent deliberate effort to do an act time
and again and despite obstructions. The infused virtues, on the other hand, are independent of
this process as they are directly instilled by God in our faculties. These virtues are thus divine
gifts which elevate the activities of those who received them.

Aquinas mentions at least two kinds of infused virtues-the (1) moral and the [2) theological
Moral virtues have as their object not God Himself, but activities that are less virtuous and
inferior to the final end. To this kind belong the four basic virtues-(a) prudence. (b) fortitude, (c)
temperance, and (d) justice.

The theological virtues, on the other hand, are concerned directly with God They provide us with
true knowledge and desire of God and of His will. The virtues of (1) faith, (2) hope, and (3) love
serve to attune us to our final end, which is God Himself. Faith makes us recognize and believe
in the true God, hope makes us wish to be with Him, and love makes us desire and adore Him.
Unlike Aristotle's virtues, Christian virtues are not applications of the golden mean between
extremes. We ought to exercise these virtues according to what God demands of us and
according to our capacity as individuals.

Aquinas also treats the theological virtues in terms of the vices and sins which respectively
conflict with them. The virtue of faith has as its counterpart the sins of unbelief, heresy, and
apostasy; the virtue of hope, the sins of despair and presumption; and the virtue of charity or
love, the sins of hatred, envy, discord, and sedition.

6. An Analysis of Thomistic Ethics

One of Aquinas' accomplishments in Ethics is being able to mention, as much as possible, all of
the things that matter in ethical evaluation of actions. He holds that the goodness or badness of
an action lies in the interior act of will, in the external bodily act, in the very nature of the act,
and even in its consequences. Moreover, he avers that what matters in morality is not only what
one'actually does but also his intention in doing the act.

Being relatively complex but generally sensible, Thomistic ethics does not fall into just one neat
contemporary category of moral theory. By not giving emphasis on the result of actions in his so-
called features of actions, we can say that he is more of a deontologist or Kantian than a
utilitarian. Though his basic tenet that actions must be directed to what is good somehow relates
his theory to utilitarianism and consequentialism in general. By advocating the roles played by
virtues in morality.
Aquinas, like Aristotle, is a virtue ethicist. But while Aquines is in many ways Aristotelian, he
rejects the beliet normally ascribed to Aristotle that there are no universally true general
principles of morality. Aquinas' doctrine of natural law categorically discards wholesale
particularism

Because of his notion of the natural law, we can say that Aquinas is definitely against some
contemporary moral philosophies Sure enough, the doctrine is incompatible with nihilism or the
view that denies the existence of values. It is also irreconcilable with relativism and
conventionalism which state that values are completely relative to one's culture or determined
completely by mere convention Because Aquinas believes that some basic principles about
morality are in fact knowable by all, he is thus against absolute skepticism about value.

Thomistic ethics is comparatively applicable. His specific prescriptions to do good, avoid evil,
pursue knowledge, and live at peace with our neighbors suggest for instance, that governments
should uphold scientific and technological endeavors that intend to produce advantageous
outcomes. On the other hand, the theory recommends that no institutions should advocate the
production of weapons of mass destruction or the abuse of human beings by others.

Unsurprisingly, we can find many similarities between Aquinas' moral philosophy and that of his
co-theologian Augustine. (To be acquainted with Augustine's ethical theory, you may read the
Appendix C: "Augustine's Moral Philosophy of this book). Though to a large extent, Aquinas
departs from the Augustinian view of the world as sin-laden and disordered. He instead promotes
Aristotle's positive depictions of the world as rational, humane, and ordered. Compared to
Augustine, Aquinas is more inclined to view earthly happiness as also desirable, but insofar as
those present goods are directed toward and subordinated to the realization of everlasting ones in
heaven.