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The philosophical influences in the life of St Thomas Aquinas
The philosophical influences in the life of St Thomas Aquinas
The philosophical influences in the life of St Thomas Aquinas
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Among some of the subjects that Aquinas tackles in On Law, Morality, and Politics is the dilemma of War and Killing. Aquinas sums up the legality of war through three criteria: that the war waged is done by a legitimate authority, that the war is just because the enemy has done something grossly wrong, and the intention of the war is to solely right the wrong. Also we see Aquinas say that the killing of an innocent person is justified if God will's it. Aquinas argues that one of the objectives in order to make a war justified is when a legitimate authority declares it. Typical it is usually a country's top leadership that would count as legitimate authority, however in the United States it is not the President who can legally declare war but Congress (but after WWII, all the wars that United States was engaged in were not officially declared by Congress). However, even though the wars after WWII may not be official wars under the Constitution, to Aquinas they still the criteria of a war being waged by a President who is still a legitimate authority. “For it belongs to no privat...
2) The cause must be just. This is jus ad bellum because you decide if
He began to say that America had given its best efforts to mend the relationship between the countries, but even before the small battle, peace was not an option. “Mexico has passed the boundary of the United States, has invaded our territory and shed American blood upon American soil.” This evidence shows that the United States was justified in declaring war against Mexico because they were trying to protect their own country.
War is a hard thing to describe. It has benefits that can only be reaped through its respective means. Means that, while necessary, are harsh and unforgiving. William James, the author of “The Moral Equivalent of War”, speaks only of the benefits to be had and not of the horrors and sacrifices found in the turbulent times of war. James bears the title of a pacifist, but he heralds war as a necessity for society to exist. In the end of his article, James presents a “war against nature” that would, in his opinion, stand in war’s stead in bringing the proper characteristics to our people. However, my stance is that of opposition to James and his views. I believe that war, while beneficial in various ways, is unnecessary and should be avoided at all costs.
According to Jon Dorbolo “A just war must be initiated by a political authority within a political system that allows distinctions of Justice.” President Madison (1809-1817) made attempts to stop the war by exchanging the Embargo Act of (1807-1809) by President Jefferson with the Non-Intercourse act which opened up all other foreign markets except Britain and France. Due to the fact that the British and France markets where the biggest markets available this did little to nothing to improve the struggling U.S economy. After three years of failed negotiation, the pro-war voices in Congress were much stronger in America. In June 1812, swayed of the inevitability of war against Britain, P...
“Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime.” As depicted in the quote by Ernest Hemingway war is a difficult situation in which the traditional boundaries of moral ethics are tested. History is filled with unjust wars and for centuries war was not though in terms of morality. Saint Augustine, however, offered a theory detailing when war is morally permissible. The theory offers moral justifications for war as expressed in jus ad bellum (conditions for going to war) and in jus in bello (conditions within warfare).The theory places restrictions on the causes of war as well as the actions permitted throughout. Within early Christianity, the theory was used to validate crusades as morally permissible avoiding conflict with religious views. Based on the qualifications of the Just War Theory few wars have been deemed as morally acceptable, but none have notably met all the requirements. Throughout the paper I will apply Just War Theory in terms of World War II as well as other wars that depict the ideals presented by Saint Augustine.
Just war theory deals with the justification of how and why wars are fought. It is a set of conditions under which a resort to war is morally legitimate, also known as jus ad bellum. It also contains rules for the moral conduct of war, known as jus in bello. The theory is intended to prevent wars by showing that going to war except in certain circumstances is wrong, thus motivating states to find other ways of resolving conflicts. Among the suggested conditions for the legitimacy of war are that the cause be just, that the authority figure declares it, that all peaceful alternatives be exhausted, and that there be a plausible successful surmise.
Many, including the Catholic Church, judge the justifications of a war based on several factors given in the “just war theory,” which is used to evaluate the war based on its causes and means. The first required factor is a just cause, meaning that a nation’s decision to begin a war must be due to “substantial aggression” brought about by the opposition which cannot be resolved through non-violent solutions without excessive cost whereas armed conflict is not hopeless or excessively costly (“Just War Theory”1). In most cases, wars are started for a reason; however, many of these reasons are for the benefit of the governments who start the wars. The just war theory is widely accepted as a way to determine the moral standing of the reasons. This part of the theory is to ensure that the objective of a war is a reasonable and moral one. It prevents the needless bloodshed and loss of human lives over petty disputes while still protecting the rights and lives of the innocent by acknowledging the necessity of war in dire situations.
Even though many credit St. Augustine with founding the just war theory, this view is partially misleading. Augustine synthesized ideas from classical Greco-Roman and Christian philosophy to construct his theory, so credit can also be given to philosophers like Aristotle and Cicero. Since then, it has been modified by many notable thinkers such as St. Thomas Aquinas, Hugo Grotius, and Francisco Suarez (Orend). Technicalities aside, Augustine was a pivotal figure in developing our contemporary understanding of this tradition (Massaro 70).
part in official argument about war" (Walzer XI). He proceeds to discuss in a greater
Has it ever become evident to your mind that society influences you? It certainly plays a major part in your beliefs: what you consider to be deviant or not. For instance, we are socially conditioned to behave in a certain manner and to have similar insights on controversial topics to avoid violating social norms. In Robin Lakoff’s article, “From Greece to Iraq, the Power of Words in Wartime,” and John Berger’s essay “Hiroshima,” the concept of social conditioning has caused Americans to suppress the reality of things and consider them to be justifiable without acknowledging that war is a form of murder.
Throughout the course of the year, we’ve read many plays, novels, and articles that argued the various beliefs of many different philosophers about what it takes to be a just and righteous leader. But, just like any debate there’s always a contradiction, so they also explain the irrational and unjust qualities of a political leader as well. Possibly, the most important novel we read this school year is Just and Unjust Wars by Michael Walzer because it teaches us the laws and rights of war, along with explaining the traits and actions of a good political leader. For instance, a good political leader must obtain an equal and fair balance of morals that put no human in harm, unless it’s a dire situation. Also, I’m also going to use Walzer’s article
Augustine illustrated on the prevailing Roman doctrine of justum bellum and the Old Testament stories of wars fought on Israel’s behalf, as demanded by God. Augustine aimed that fighting on behalf of the Roman Empire was a Christian obligation since the empire was Christian. Augustine maintained that this was fighting on behalf of God against God’s enemies, just as Israel defended itself against God’s enemies in Old Testament times. Augustine’s thinking has backed greatly to the discussion of what makes warfare justifiable right up until the modern day.
He states, “Law is an ordinance of reason for the common good made by one who has care of the community, and promulgated” (Aquinas, section 90.4). Thus, Thomas Aquinas reflects this same purpose as Cathleen Kaveny; laws should be made “for the common good.” Additionally, Aquinas explains what it means for a law to be made “for the common good,” declaring, “The making of the law belongs either to the whole people or to a public personage who has care of the whole people” (Aquinas, section 90.2). It seems that usually, the latter is true. A “public personage who has care of the whole people” makes the laws, as in the University of St. Thomas’ Policy on Sexual Misconduct.
Thomas Aquinas was known as the “Dominican Philosopher and Theologian”, of his time. He also was an Italian Dominion priest to a catholic church; he was also known as “Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis and Doctor Universalis”. Nonetheless, Thomas was born in Aquinas a small town in Southern Italy in 1224 to parents of noble birth. His parents, the Count of Aquino and Countess of Teano, were relatives to Emperors Henry VI and Frederick II, and the Kings of Aragon, Castile, and France. At the time, they were in possession of the modest feudal domain of Aquino (a periphery constantly disputed about by the emperor and pope of the churches). Not much more was known about his parents other than that they were nobles and that his father was Lombain origin and his mother was of the later invading Norman strain.
Dr. Land’s seven criteria of just war have proven themselves justifiable throughout history. Though these criteria are proven and researched, they still have not convinced everyone in the Christian community that there is such a thing as just war (Land). Some people will continually see war as a bad thing, no matter how dire the circumstances. Even though the return of Christ and the creation of a new heaven and new Earth will be the result of war, people fail to see its value in society. As long as there is sin, there will be war; as long as there is God, He will justify