The discussion explores St. Thomas Aquinas's transformative vision of law, contrasting the closed pagan world with the open world of grace. It highlights how human governance can align with divine order and emphasizes the unique role of each individual within a community. The interplay between power, service, and true fulfillment is examined, showcasing the necessity of divine guidance. Additionally, the journey towards humility and self-transcendence is celebrated as essential for discovering deeper truths and creativity.
Aquinas contrasts the closed, cyclical politics of paganism with a Christian perspective that engages soulful governance toward the common good.
The integration of eternal, natural, and human law in Aquinas' thought showcases the divine guidance necessary for societal flourishing and virtue.
Sin complicates human inclinations, highlighting the essential role of divine grace in shaping laws that genuinely foster moral development and community well-being.
Deep dives
The Transition from Paganism to Christian Political Thought
The discussion highlights a critical shift from pagan concepts of politics, as articulated by Plato and Aristotle, to a Christian framework represented by Thomas Aquinas. The speakers emphasize that pagan thought presents a closed-world system characterized by a physics of power, where each part of the city competes for dominance. In contrast, Christianity is not a rejection of politics but rather an engagement with the political problem, offering a profound understanding that surpasses those pagan limitations. Aquinas focuses on the care of the common good and views the political community as an ideal that transcends the limits of human power and understanding.
Aquinas on Law and Common Good
Aquinas builds upon Aristotle's insights, asserting that law is an ordinance of reason directed towards the common good. This implies that law is inherently connected to virtue, as the fulfillment of societal roles contributes to overall happiness, which is now understood as supernatural rather than merely political. In this context, politics transforms from being merely the highest science in Aristotle's realm to a calling that helps direct society toward its divine purpose. The seamless integration of human law and natural law emphasizes that political engagement should aspire to advance virtue and community well-being.
Divine Law as the Fulfillment of Human Aspiration
The podcast highlights that Aquinas posits a coherent relationship among eternal law, natural law, and human law, where divine law acts as the ultimate guide for human aspirations. Human laws must align with natural inclinations to serve the common good, but they cannot achieve divine ends without acknowledging a higher power. The process of lawmaking is described as a rational participation where humans craft laws that embody their shared inclinations towards good. This creates an environment where both individuals and society prosper and grow closer to achieving their ultimate supernatural fulfillment.
The Role of Sin and the Educational Function of Law
The speakers elaborate on the role of sin in distorting human inclinations and the complexities it introduces into law. Sin creates a pivotal need for a remedial function within the law that goes beyond mere instruction, necessitating laws that limit an individual's inclination towards vice. Yet, it is acknowledged that these laws require a lawgiver whose superior virtues can enact genuine change and prevent the cyclical nature of sin. The inability for human law to entirely extricate itself from vice underscores the necessity for divine grace to foster true moral development.
The Historical Context of Law in the Age of Nature
The concept of the 'age of nature' discussed refers to the state of humanity in the absence of divine law, illustrating the topographical political condition of pagan societies. During this period, human beings rely solely on natural law, subjected to their innate inclinations without the corrective light of grace. The degradation within these societies serves as an example of what happens when the relationship with the divine is severed, leading to a deepening crisis of virtues. This exploration of the historical context aids in understanding the perils of a politics disconnected from a divine framework, highlighting the necessity of both law and grace in human affairs.
The pagan cosmos is a closed world: the city is never truly self-sufficient, requiring natural slaves and war; regimes rise and fall cyclically; the regime's justice is never true justice. In the Treatise on Law (ST I-II, Q.90-108), St. Thomas Aquinas presents a different vision: the open world of grace. God orders the world through the eternal law; rational creatures participate in providence through human law; divine law is necessary to bring man to his final end. In this episode of the Politics of Paganism, Alex Denley and Dr. Andrew Jones discuss how St. Thomas' vision of law answers the closed world of the pagans.
