On Law, Morality and Politics, 2nd Edition

by Thomas Aquinas, Richard J. Regan (Translator), William P. Baumgarth (Editor)

The second edition of Aquinas, On Law, Morality, and Politics retains the selection of texts presented in the first edition but offers them in new translations by Richard J. Regan--including that of his Aquinas, Treatise on Law (Hackett, 2000). A revised Introduction and glossary, an updated select bibliography, and the inclusion of summarizing headnotes for each of the units--Conscience, Law, Justice, Property, War and Killing, Obedience and Rebellion, and Practical Wisdom and Statecraft—further enhance its usefulness.

Genres: Philosophy, Politics, Theology, Religion, Classics, Law, Political Science

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1274

About the author

Philosophy of Saint Thomas Aquinas, a Dominican friar and theologian of Italy and the most influential thinker of the medieval period, combined doctrine of Aristotle and elements of Neoplatonism, a system that Plotinus and his successors developed and based on that of Plato, within a context of Christian thought; his works include the Summa contra gentiles (1259-1264) and the Summa theologiae or theologica (1266-1273).

Saint Albertus Magnus taught Saint Thomas Aquinas.

People ably note this priest, sometimes styled of Aquin or Aquino, as a scholastic. The Roman Catholic tradition honors him as a "doctor of the Church."

Aquinas lived at a critical juncture of western culture when the arrival of the Aristotelian corpus in Latin translation reopened the question of the relation between faith and reason, calling into question the modus vivendi that obtained for centuries. This crisis flared just as people founded universities. Thomas after early studies at Montecassino moved to the University of Naples, where he met members of the new Dominican order. At Naples too, Thomas first extended contact with the new learning. He joined the Dominican order and then went north to study with Albertus Magnus, author of a paraphrase of the Aristotelian corpus. Thomas completed his studies at the University of Paris, formed out the monastic schools on the left bank and the cathedral school at Notre Dame. In two stints as a regent master, Thomas defended the mendicant orders and of greater historical importance countered both the interpretations of Averroës of Aristotle and the Franciscan tendency to reject Greek philosophy. The result, a new modus vivendi between faith and philosophy, survived until the rise of the new physics. The Catholic Church over the centuries regularly and consistently reaffirmed the central importance of work of Thomas for understanding its teachings concerning the Christian revelation, and his close textual commentaries on Aristotle represent a cultural resource, now receiving increased recognition.

Reviews

[Davis Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading Aquinas is like Navy SEAL camp for the mind, led by the world's most muscular and athletic thinker. It can be dizzying and even tortuous during the reading experience, but you come out a stronger and better human at the other end. I can't rightly give St. Thomas anything less than five stars because he impresses me wildly, but I certainly have more trouble reading him than with any other philosopher I've read (even Kant and Hegel). He is so remorselessly methodical that you can't gloss over the meaning of any sentence if you want to understand his arguments. One feels in the presence of a very obviously superior human being, and one submits to his authority with gladness. I will say, however, that I found this particular edition to contain some confusing and perhaps overly literal translations that often made for stilted reading. I suppose I ought to tackle the Summa in the original language, which may actually be easier in some ways because it clarifies so many of the terms and distinctions that he makes.

[Matt · Rating 1 out of 5]

Combining the Neo-Platonist influenced theological and political thoughts of St. Augustine with Aristotelian influenced reasoning, St. Thomas Aquinas drastically changed medieval theology and political thought which would far-reaching consequences ever since. On Law, Morality, and Politics is a selection of excerpts from Aquinas’ Summa Theologica and two from On Kingship that provide the reader a glimpse at his thinking.

Of the roughly 280 pages in this collection, almost four-fifths of dedicated to the exploration of law and justice in various facets. The minute differences between types of law (divine, natural, and human) that Aquinas discusses in full then the various types of justice is a mind-numbing exercise of reading that almost makes one throw away the book. The final fifth of the book of selections features a little morality but mostly on politics from leadership to church-state relations of various types. With exception of the two selections from On Kingship, Aquinas’ style of listing objections to the points he is about to make then stating his opinion and finally replying to the previous objections is rather self-aggrandizing. Yet save for a short introduction, there was no commentary to help the layman reader to understand what Aquinas was saying—though in the last fifth of the book it was easier because Aquinas’ thoughts were straightforward compared to the law and justice sections—and making it hard to keep reading.

On Law, Morality, and Politics by St. Thomas Aquinas is a collection of excerpts, with two exceptions, from his most famous work yet only the last fifth of the book is clear cut and straightforward. The lack of commentary to help the read understand what Aquinas is trying to make clear and why it is important makes understanding the thinking of the man hard.

[Nicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aquinas' writing was rather rough to read, at least to start, once in the flow of things though it was easy to get at what he was saying. There is an obvious strength to the unique structure of his writing but I do believe at times he sets up straw man arguments for himself in order to strengthen a conclusion he wished to achieve at the beginning of many of his questions, to the point were his rebuttals are used no to counter but build his argument, meaning he ignores some of the more distinct counters optioned by others such as Augustine's approach to heretics. That being said I did enjoy his concepts of law, particularly how human, natural and eternal law are all interconnected and important to the formation of just society. I liked his emphasis of law above many of the other concepts such as justice and politics, instead addressing these as important but also influenced and interconnected to law. As someone who wishes to be a future lawyer, I had somewhat of a inclination to Aquinas's emphasis of it.

[feifei · Rating 3 out of 5]

"the best thing abt aquinas is that I can just read this to enjoy without having to hold it up to see whether it's accurate or not" -genevieve

gave me intense saint joan flashbacks (heretics must first be excommunicated before they are executed...sounds way too familiar) so shout out to shaw for his medieval christian theology crash course <3 when i read this i just imagine a tiny monk (with jarrod lee's face) hunched over his table furiously scribbling things down in candlelight before he's called away for grape picking duty or something

i really appreciate how meticulously this is structured even though that meant i had to read every Question twice (once to see where he's going with his argument, second time to match each objection to each reply). favourite sections: Old/New Law (Q100), heresy (Q11), spiritual/secular power (CSII, CSIV), and of course "how to prevent kings lapsing into tyranny" even though he ends with a bit of a cop-out LOL

[K · Rating 2 out of 5]

Excerpts mostly from Summa Theologica. This book was a misery to read. Arguments proceed like walking ass-backward into a room. What do I remember. Aquinas kinda is a combination of Christian thought of Augustine (Heaven is the ultimate goal) with reason-based political thought of Aristotle. Because man & his rationality were made by God, man, in exercising his rationality and perfecting his earthly existence, fulfills God's plan for him. Also, killing heretics is okay. Something about natural law. Stuff about two swords of church and state.

[Nabil]

Only selections.

[Jonathan]

None

[Don · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wonder if a generation of sweaty-palmed young Republicans will take to portly old Aquinas now that Paul Ryan has given him a "plug"? Probably not.

[Carlston Floyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow...this dude is way smarter than me.

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

*Read selections

[Phillip · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect for presenting the core of St. Thomas' teachings on law, morality, and politics!

[Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was intriguing to hear the voice of a prominent intellectual and monk from the Middle Ages. Much of Aquinas’ philosophy draws from Aristotelianism which he blended with Catholic theology. Aristotelianism is a commonsense philosophy that is plausible and fits well with human intuitions. The result of this mix of Aristotelian philosophy and catholic theology was a much more successful and rational philosophical system than Aristotle’s (in my opinion), known as Thomism. Natural Law theory is absolutely fascinating and quite intuitive indeed. Also interesting was how Aquinas addressed issues around free will and human volition. A good read if you are interested in moral philosophy as the words in this book are just as relevant and thought-provoking today as they were hundreds of years ago. Not to say there aren’t some archaic views (such as Aquinas’ views on heretics and freedom of religion, etc), but even these are nonetheless culturally instructive.

[Joe Beery · Rating 4 out of 5]

Never a substitute for the fullness of Aquinas' corpus, this is a sound attempt at synthesizing some key concepts. There are a few questionable translations (e.g. the rendering of "ordinatio") but overall the text is well-composed.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

My summer reading group read parts of this edition alongside The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis. Aquinas dissects complex ideas in a straight forward and forthright way that endears him to me. I really love his life story, and I am glad to have now read a small portion of his writings.

[Lewis Burik · Rating 2 out of 5]

You have to admire Aquinas’ intellectual rigor and principles based approach to philosophy. But this is a slog to read for the armchair theologians among us

[Isabela Herckes · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think that this edition of Thomas Aquinas isn't particularly good, which didn't help my opinion of Thomas Aquinas' arguments themselves.

[Thomas Carpenter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Based

[bron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why would I listen to you?

[A · Rating 4 out of 5]

8.5/10.

His section on usury was killer. It’s too bad that the French Revolution happened and released the prescriptions on usury, as well as let loose the usurers.

[Ian]

Really interesting legal philosophy

[Sam Ghali · Rating 3 out of 5]

Almost a socialist

Missed me with that natural law/holy governance shit though.

[erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

trust me, listening to charli xcx and azealia banks while reading this will make you understand aquinas more

(read selections for philosophy of law class)

[Darlene · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
I liked it at first and then it just kept going. Neat formatting tho. Requires some outside knowledge and context to fully understand

[Emma Morton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hard to read at first, but then began to understand the flow of his writing. Kind of a philosophical catch all.

[Chell]

Adding this here as compensation for the suffering this essay caused me

[May Ling · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard to give this book anything less than 4 stars because it really is one man throwing down the gauntlet on a host of different philosophical issues that had no framework when he was writing. Do I agree, no. Do I think the world has moved past him? Sure. But do I think it's relevant, important, and a must read. Sure.

Aquinas's work would be akin to learning postulates in math. He very clearly articulates where he is coming from given his framework the late 13th century. Most stuff is new. So like, if God created everything for his children, but people own property, do they really? That is a serious question. What does it actually mean to own property given a framework where there is God and he wants you to help your fellow man? And on top of that, what then might it mean if you steal from someone, given that God made the earth for all of us.

If you think about all the socialization that has happened subsequently to create a system of justice that supports a concept of individual property it's pretty fantastic. In Aquinas's time these things were still working themselves out.