Jurisprudence

1. Jurisprudence By Tori, Paola, Brad, and Adam

2. The Philosophy of Law • The most common question a lawyer asks themselves is: what is the law on a particular issue? This question differs according to a particular jurisdiction in which they are asked. • In comparison, the philosophy of law deals with the more general question of what is law? This question about the nature of law predicts that the law is a unique social and political experience with more or less universal characteristics that can be determined through philosophical analysis. • The philosophical inquiry of the nature of law is known as the general jurisprudence. It says that the law possesses certain aspects through nature, essence, law, and where and when it occurs.

3. The Philosophy of Law • There is an intellectual interest in perceiving such a complex social experience in the philosophy of law. Law can also have normal social practices including purposes to guide human behaviour, giving reasons of action. These two practices of law are strongly linked. Not only is law about culture, morality, religion, social convention, and etiquette; it is also about guiding human conduct in relation to law. • Therefore, to understand the nature and philosophy of law, we must understand how law differs from these similar normative domains, how it interacts with them, and whether it depends on other normative orders.

4. Biography: St. Thomas Aquinas St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) • Dominican friar who incorporated Aristotle’s theories into theology a priest and doctor of the Church • Aquinas said that ethics comes from the end that is inscribed in the nature of all creatures at a person’s core is a desire for the good • Aquinas equated God with the highest good the fullness a good life is not to be found on earth; the full good life only comes in the resurrection as God’s pure gift • People can live the good life by using their intelligence and other capabilities such as their senses, and by following natural law “nothing other than the light of understanding placed in us by God; through it we know what we must do and what we must avoid.”

5. Biography: St. Thomas Aquinas • Believed successful people have four virtues, also known as the cardinal virtues, the hinges that support life (cardo-latin for hinge):1) prudence (know how to reason well in moral decision making)2) temperance (remain moderate in the exercise of emotions)3) fortitude (how to be courageous in the face of life’s difficulties)4) justice (how to act well in relation to others) • God’s gift of Jesus and the Holy Spirit changes the way we define what is good the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity begin as a pure gift. I.e. charity: it is because God lives us that we can love othersOur response this gift is to accept it, give praise and thanks, and live inaccordance with the gift

6. Summary: St Thomas Aquinas Medieval Christian Theologians played a huge influence in the nature of law. Medieval thinkers believed that unity of the spirit and earthly worlds, where science and rationalism were consistent with Christian truth. The belief of unity supported a theory of law in which church-made laws were to rule over civil/human made laws. Saint Thomas Aquinas was a Dominican monk. He believed that law mirrored a natural world order made known to humans by their own process of reasoning and by the divine relation of Christian philosophers. St. Thomas wrote his works “Summa Theologica” and was greatly influenced by Plato and Aristotle.

7. Influence on St. Thomas Aquinas Aristotle’s Influence: Similar to Aristotle, Aquinas believed that there is a strong connection between law and reason. (Aquinas says that reasoning ultimately results to good and avoids the bad) Plato’s Influences: Similar to Plato, Aquinas believed of the example of refusing to restore goods held in trust to an owner who intended to use them in a revolt against the state.

8. Quote: Aristotle “It is in justice that the ordering of society is centered”- Aristotle

9. Quote: Plato “Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws.”- Plato

10. St. Thomas: The Good St. Thomas Aquinas confirmed that doing good and avoiding evil is the first rule from which all others derive. He says that all the order of rules of natural law accords with natural human inclinations to preserve human life, to reproduce, to educated offspring, to know the truth about God, to live society, to shun ignorance, and to avoid offending others.

11. St. Thomas: Eternal, Natural and Human Law Aquinas was concerned with Eternal, Natural and Human law. He said that eternal law is the eternal government that is followed by the divine will of God. The natural law was the imprinting of eternal law on humans. Lastly, human law was view as training and habituating to become virtuous.

12. St. Thomas Aquinas Contribution to Jurisprudence St. Thomas’ philosophy of law is heavily influenced by the teachings and doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church. St Thomas Aquinas contributed to jurisprudence through his teachings and belief that justice and rights spring from natural law rather then human law. Aquinas is credited with having a major influence on modern human rights theories on law. St. Thomas Aquinas has also drawn distinctions among eternal law natural law and human law.

13. Charter of Rights and Freedoms in Relation to Natural Law The Charter of Rights and Freedoms recognizes the principles of Natural law. This means that we are governed by the will of God and that law is most important. The Charter cannot take away any rights or freedoms that are essential to preserving human life.

14. Our Beliefs As A Group We believe that humans in their nature strive to perform good acts, and one of these good acts is to from society for protection. If we were not born to do these things our original societies would never have been formed. If these people in those societies were not good to one another these cities would fall apart. We believe that all humans strive to find out their origins and try to better understand why we are and what our purpose is that we are to fulfil with our time on earth, but we would not say it is a call to God though, but instead and understanding of why we are.

15. Quick Facts • The patron of Universities and Students  considered by many Catholics to be the Catholic Church's greatest theologian and philosopher. • Born c.1225 at Aquino, Naples, Italy • Memorial Day / Feast Day: 28th January • Date of Death: Saint Thomas Aquinas died on 7 March 1274 at Fossanova Abbey, Lazio, Italy • Cause of Death: Natural Causes  was a Confessor  Confessors are people who died natural deaths

16. Youtube • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hzb-HcxUl4 • (info video) • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYCxtvlqmeA • (Eucharist video – 2 min)

17. Multiple Choice Questions: #1) What natural law did St. Thomas Aquinas believe in? • Culture • Morality • Religion #2) What were the three types of laws Aquinas was concerned with? • Eternal, Natural, and Human • Unity, Spiritual, Good • Eternal, Unity, Natural #3) Aquinas believed that successful people have four virtues, what are they? • Prudence, Love, Faith, Justice • Faith, Self Control, Respect, Temperance • Justice, Respect, Kindness, Faith • Temperance, Prudence, Justice, Fortitude

18. Multiple Choice Answers: #1) What natural law did St. Thomas Aquinas believe in? • Culture • Morality • Religion #2) What were the three types of laws Aquinas was concerned with? • Eternal, Natural, and Human • Unity, Spiritual, Good • Eternal, Unity, Natural #3) Aquinas believed that successful people have four virtues, what are they? • Prudence, Love, Faith, Justice • Faith, Self Control, Respect, Temperance • Justice, Respect, Kindness, Faith • Temperance, Prudence, Justice, Fortitude