NOTION OF FREEDOM AND LAW IN ST. THOMAS AQUINAS

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

Statement Of The Problem

Nobody in this world would claim that he/she was born free, because as an infant you never really knew who you were or what you were until later one attains the stage of self-consciousness. We are not born free  rather  we gain freedom. The struggle for freedom is in essence people’s struggle to be able to satisfy their own needs. Mankind continually advances on the road of the realization of freedom, which leads to the end of man in society.

The stages of evolution of freedom are equally the stages in the evolution of morality. Freedom! everybody pursues it; it makes man a human person. Poets write about freedom, government officials promise or proclaim it; some people nearly loose their precious lives to win this freedom for themselves and for others. But what actually is this freedom?

This work considered in the light of St Thomas Aquinas deals absolutely on freedom per se. It is neither a deterministic nor purely indeterministic solution to the problem of freedom and law; it is a compatibilist solution, arrived by reconciling the positions of freedom and law. As regards Aquinas’ proximate ends, man enjoys freedom of judgment and of choice, that is, of judging freely of the things to be done and not to be done.

Man’s experience of his own behaviors and decisions includes an awareness of his own freedom, of his own ability to decide for himself, to deliberate about what to do in various situations and to come to his own conclusion about what to believe and what to do.

But, turning to the other side of the work (Law) by Thomas, it is quite pertinent to understand fully what freedom is before delving into law. This is because they are almost two sides of the same coin, as we shall see. That is why in this work, I treated freedom first before law. In order for us to act well as human beings, our actions should proceed from knowledge of what we are about to do. According to Mary Clark:

Man, if perfect in virtue is the best of animals, but if he becomes separated from law and morality, he is the worst of animals. For man, unlike other animals, has the weapons of reason with which to exploit his best desire and cruelty!1

Man is by nature a social animal, and every rational being would testify to the fact that a society of whatever level which does not establish and apply freedom and law to its subjects, is comparatively similar to a train full of people, heading towards the Atlantic ocean. Law connotes some sort of regulations that govern our actions and affairs. It involves something more than mere reprobation.

Just as all men see that there are good acts and bad acts so also they acknowledge some kind of compulsion to do the good and avoid the evil. In the same manner, having observed certain development caused by man in many societies, a medieval theologian and philosopher, St. Thomas Aquinas, took it upon himself and deemed it necessary to render a good example by stressing the significance of, and as well advocating the existence of freedom and law.

Purpose Of Study

In the face of the contemporary clamour for true freedom, this work could be said to be both necessary and timely. This is corroborated by the fact that the natural law makes it intrinsic for every person to seek after freedom. This work is, therefore, a thought-pattern, which seeks to unravel the authenticity and credibility of this claim that the search for freedom is ontological to man. Taking the Thomistic viewpoint as a case study, this work will criticize every argument for and against the law and freedom, after making a historical survey of the meaning and notion of freedom.

Scope Of Study

In this thesis, we shall unveil the Thomistic notion of law and freedom as outlined in the four chapters. We shall also try to consult other authorities who have written or spoken on this very issue. However, this thesis may not exhaust the whole notion of freedom and law as Aquinas understood it, but can suffice as a mere appraisal of the notion

Method Of Study

Because of the nature and the purpose of this work, its major methodology will be critical analysis. However, I will also employ exposition, history and interpretation in order to give this work a reasonable approach.

Division Of Work

In the first chapter, we shall in detail examine the general and Thomistic notion of freedom. The second chapter deals with the term ‘law’ in general and equally the Thomistic notion of the same. Chapter three deals with the two major sub-headings of this thesis, that is, freedom and law and justifies them with morality. Finally, chapter four deals with the appraisal of the whole work through evaluation and conclusion.

1 Mary T. Clark [ed], An Aquinas Reader {New York: Doubleday and company, 1972,} P. 307

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