The Good Life: The Purpose Of Law

By: Carlisle K. 2008

According to Aristotle and Aquinas, the purpose of law is to aid the development of the intellectual and moral virtues. While other philosophers (e.g., Hobbes, Rousseau) claimed the polis to be an unnatural development born strictly out of negative necessity, the polis, according to Aristotle and Aquinas, is built by man by means of reason and culminates in the fulfillment of man’s political nature. Modern rugged individualism, in a sense, represents the antithesis of both Aristotelian and Thomistic political philosophy. Man by nature is political and has a positive desire to be in the company of other men. Man finds happiness by living the “good life,” a life of balance—a life of virtue. A good law helps man live the “good life.” A good legislator recognizes the importance of education, contemplation, and other leisurely activities necessary for man to grow in virtue. He recognizes that the ultimate aim of a good law is to aid man in the development of his soul: He recognizes that the state of the polis has everything to do with the state of mind of its citizenry.

According to Aristotle, man is by nature political. Aristotle offers three arguments for the political nature of man: He argues that the Polis completes and fulfills natural associations, that human nature is political, and that the polis is prior to the individual. In the first of the three arguments Aristotle points out that the family is not enough to fulfill its functions. He argues that something more is necessary for the family to be complete. In validating his second argument Aristotle tells us, “the naturalness of the polis is proved by the faculty of human speech.” In arguing the third argument Aristotle claims “the part cannot function without the whole.” Man cannot fully realize himself with out the polis. The polis is necessary for man to practice full virtue. Aristotle tells us in his Politics that the polis is “the highest form of community and aims at the highest good.” According to John Hittenger, Aristotle held “the village without a polis tends toward being lawless and absent of Justice. He tells us that the polis keeps us from arbitrary rule or living under a system based on selfish self-interests. The village really ignores political justice, essential to which is impersonal and impartial law.”

Aristotle claims that by breaking the polis down into its parts we can see how it differs from other communities. According to Aristotle, the polis consists of villages, villages consist of households, and households consist of individuals. The household, according to Aristotle, is founded on the natural relationship between man and woman. The household provides the basic needs for life; Aristotle categorizes the household as being “pre-political.” The village satisfies a broader set of needs than the household; however, the household or village alone cannot provide all of the things necessary for living the “good life.” For this the polis is necessary. The polis is a perfect and final association, and the aim of the household and the village. The purpose of the polis is to provide the necessary conditions for man to live the good life. The polis “finishes or completes what other relationships or associations have started and cannot finish or complete.”

The good life, according to Aristotle, is a life of virtue. Those who live the good life use material things with an aim toward benefiting the soul, not vice versa. The aim of the state is to foster virtue in its citizenry. But what exactly is virtue? The catechism of the Catholic Church, quoting Saint Paul, tells us, "Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."

The catechism goes on to give us a precise definition of virtue: “A virtue is a habitual and firm disposition to do the good. It allows the person not only to perform good acts, but to give the best of himself. The virtuous person tends toward the good with all his sensory and spiritual powers; he pursues the good and chooses it in concrete actions.“ Moral virtue is developed through habit. If a man continuously does good he will eventual do good by habit. If he regularly does what is bad he will form vice—the opposite of virtue.

In his Nicomachean EthicsAristotle writes, “Legislators make citizens good by forming habits in them, and this is the wish of every legislator, and those who do not effect it miss their mark, and it is in this that a good constitution differs from a bad one.” Aristotle tells us that it is the duty of legislators to legislate with an eye toward helping men achieve virtue. Aristotle held that education in virtue should start at a young age:
Aristotle also discusses the need to inculcate habits in the young prior to the age of reason. And to continue teaching through the way of music, poetry, in order to attune one's whole being to the good. “Goodness consists in feeling delight where one should and loving and hating aright”(VIII. 5). Therefore the city should cultivate in the youth “right judgments on and feeling delight in fine characters and good actions.
After Aristotle, Saint Thomas Aquinas wrote, “it is evident that the proper effect of law is to lead its subjects to their proper virtue: and since virtue is ‘that which makes its subject good,’ it follows that the proper effect of law is to make those to whom it is given, good, either simply or in some particular respect.”

Both Aristotle and Saint Thomas espoused the belief that the purpose of law is to make men good. However, it is important to note that by “making men good” Aquinas is not suggesting that law can completely destroy vice. Nor is he suggesting that the purpose of law is to force or coerce men into being good. No one can make another man “good.” One has to choose to be good. Saint Thomas Aquinas tells us, “in order that an act bearing upon any matter whatever be virtuous, it requires to be voluntary, stable, and firm, because the Philosopher says (Ethic. ii, 4) that in order for an act to be virtuous it needs first of all to be done ‘knowingly,’ secondly to be done ‘by choice,’ and ‘for a due end,’ thirdly to be done ‘immovably.’” Being good involves an act of the will. Being good is a matter of soul as much as it is of body. In fact, Aristotle and Aquinas both believed legislation could be taken too far. An excessive amount of legislation impedes the development of virtue. Such is the case with paternal rule, a government rule that echoes the healthy relationship between father and child.

Saint Thomas Aquinas defines law as “an ordinance of reason for the common good, decreed by the authorities in charge of the community.” Aquinas tells us that the natural law should be the basis for civil law. John Hittenger writes, “The natural law is a participation in the wisdom and goodness of God by the human person, formed in the image of the Creator. The natural law expresses the dignity of the person and forms the basis of human rights and fundamental duties.” Thomas distinguishes between various types of law. Natural law is the participation of a rational creature in the divine law. All temporal law should take into account the divine law. There is no legislator wiser than the divine. John Hittinger writes, “The natural law is a key to understanding the foundation of political authority. Positive law ultimately derives its authority from the foundation of what is right by nature.” Thus it is the duty of the legislator to understand the natural law and those ingredients necessary for human flourishing. Hittenger continues, “If the purpose of the polis is that of human flourishing then the lawmaker must know what are the elements of human flourishing. Thomas identifies the fundamental goods of human flourishing from the various inclinations of the human being and the intelligible good which is achieved through such activity.”
To grow in virtue, men need to be considered more than a commodity or simply “workers.” Josef Pieper alludes to Aristotle when he tells us that “Leisure” is the basis of culture. By “leisure” Pieper is referring to free time away from servile work, time set aside for education, contemplation, worship, or simply time devoted to entertaining those things necessary for living the good life. According to Pieper, in order to live the good life, man must have ample free time that can be dedicated to studying the various liberal arts or worshiping. A good legislator recognizes the importance of leisure and therefore legislates accordingly. Although it may seem trivial, a state that places emphasis on man as worker, rather than on man as man, will eventually fall by the wayside. It is therefore a duty of legislators to encourage leisure. Leisure is time taken by man to recognize his place in the world. Leisure is not for the sake of work. Pieper writes, “The soul of leisure, it can be said, lies in ‘celebration’. Celebration is the point at which the three elements of leisure come to a focus: relaxation, effortlessness, and the superiority of ‘active leisure’ to all functions.” According to Pieper, celebration or leisure that is merely a “stopping point” from work (or that is marked by work, rather than work being marked by leisure) is not truly leisure at all. Encouraging leisure helps make man good.
Education (a leisurely activity) is considered by Aristotle to be essential for the development of virtue; thus, it is essential for the health of the state that its citizenry are educated. A good regime must have good citizens. Aristotle points out that a virtuous citizen is the ideal citizen, and only through the proper education can man become virtuous. In his Ethics Aristotle quotes Plato regarding this matter: “As Plato says, so as both to delight in and to be painted by the things that we ought; for this is the right education.” Aristotle tells us that legislators should pay particular attention to educating the youth: “No one will doubt that the legislator should direct his attention above all to the education of the youth; for the neglect of education does harm to the constitution.” Aristotle goes on to write, “That education should be regulated by the law and should be an affair of the state is not to be denied, but what should be the character of this public education, and how young persons should be educated, are questions which remain to be considered.”

Before understanding Aristotle and Aquinas, modern man has to part with a certain pseudo understanding of freedom, the dreaded idea that freedom is squelched when a state attempts to “legislate morality.” In regard to legislating morality, modern man, generally speaking, has taken to asking the wrong question. The question should not be whether or not legislating morality is good or just, but, rather, what morality should be legislated. Any form of legislation presupposes a certain standard of morality. Some may argue that legislation that physically protects an individual from another individual is not the legislation of morality at all but the product of a kind of social contract. However, this is simply “morality” under another name. One may continue to argue that its not a matter of morality—that morality does not exist—but simply a matter of what is mutually beneficial. However, such a person then cannot logically protest against the legislation of morality if, according to his own views, morality does not exist. Some may argue that it’s oppressive to push one’s views on another; however, such a claim consists, in itself, of a view. There is no such thing as nothing.

This truth was second nature to Aristotle and Aquinas. The idea that “morality” should not be legislated would not only have been considered absurd by both philosophers but an aggressive attack against logic and reason. Regardless of what one believes, he believes something, and it has to be admitted that as long as there is legislation, somebody’s beliefs are going to be legislated. Aristotle and Aquinas did not set out in search of some subjective political philosophy that accorded with their own biases; they set out in search of truth. Thus did Saint Thomas, a Christian monk, take to the writings of Aristotle, a Greek pagan who lived years before Christ. The purpose of law, according to Aristotle and Aquinas, is not something subjective or based on opinion but something discoverable and absolute.

Another fallacy proven to be an obstacle to proper legislation is the modern understanding of “rights.” “Rights,” according to many moderns, are considered to be subjective. However, this is a modern notion. According to Aristotle and Aquinas people have rights within the purview of justice:
The very term "right" designates not a subjective claim to something as it does for the moderns, but rather an objective relationship between people. Right is said to be the "object" of justice (ST II-II 57.1). It is the equality or adjustment made between two people or groups. It is objective insofar as it is a matter of rational determination. Justice is one of the four cardinal virtues. It is defined as "the perpetual and constant will to render to each one his right" (ST II-II 58.1). Justice is always towards another.

Because the purpose of law is to make men good, allowing people a subjective set of rights would be contrary to the true purpose of law. Understanding the true path to happiness takes some time and study. Allowing the citizenry “rights” based on “animal instinct” or passionate desires, void of true reason, would be unjust. Justice is not a matter of pure self-interest but a matter of duty to others. A problem with modern man is that he cries for personal rights at expense of his duty. John Hittinger writes, “…the modern first considers his own subjective claim or want and thereby neglects what is owed to the community or another, which is the duty.”

George Will writes, “Justice depends, therefore, on a certain disposition. It depends on—in a sense, it is—a state of mind. A society that is organized socially and justified philosophically the way ours is must take special care to supply itself with the rhetoric, institutions and policies which encourage that state of mind.” The purpose of law is to make men good. To be good, is to be virtuous. The job of the legislator is to enact laws that take into account that man is composed of both body and soul—the soul being the substantial form of the body. A polis is what it is made of. It takes good citizenry to make a good polis. Legislators should recognize mankind’s place in the universe and acknowledge a natural law that should be prior to temporal law. In modern times it seems the ultimate aim of legislation has been redefined, made subjective, to appease certain self-interests. However, the fact remains that the purpose of law is to make men good. And what it means to be good is something objective—something absolutely true. The purpose of law is to foster the good life.



Notes


1John Hittenger, Political Philosophy: Man is Social and Political by Nature, http://home.comcast.net/~icuweb/c02701.htm, Dec. 23, 2008.

2

Hittenger, http://home.comcast.net/~icuweb/c02701.htm.


3Aristotle, Politics, The Basic Works of Aristotle, ed. Richard McKeon, (New York: Random House, 2001) p. 1114.


4Hittenger, http://home.comcast.net/~icuweb/c02701.htm.


5McKeon, ed., 1114.


6Hittenger, http://home.comcast.net/~icuweb/c02701.htm.


7McKeon, ed., 1114.

8

Hittenger, http://home.comcast.net/~icuweb/c02701.htm.


9Hittenger, http://home.comcast.net/~icuweb/c02701.htm.


10Catachism of The Catholic Church, #1803,

http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p3s1c1a7.htm


11Catachism,1803.

http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p3s1c1a7.htm


12Aristotle, Ethics, The Basic Works of Aristotle, ed. Richard McKeon, (New York: Random House, 2001) p. 952


13Hittenger, http://home.comcast.net/~icuweb/c02701.htm.


14St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, Internet Sacred Text Archive, http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/aquinas/summa/sum230.htm. 19th December, 2008.

15

St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, Internet Sacred Text Archive, http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/aquinas/summa/sum195.htm. 19th December, 2008.

16

St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, Internet Sacred Text Archive, http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/aquinas/summa/sum228.htm. 19th December, 2008.

17

John Hittenger, Political Philosophy: Natural Law and The Roots of Authority, http://home.comcast.net/~icuweb/c02707.htm, Dec. 23, 2008.

18

Hittenger, http://home.comcast.net/~icuweb/c02707.htm.


19Hittenger, http://home.comcast.net/~icuweb/c02707.htm.

20

Josef Pieper, Leisure: the basis of culture, (New York: Pantheon Books, 1964) p. 44.

21

John Hittenger, Political Philosophy: Education and Politics, http://home.comcast.net/~icuweb/c02709.htm. Dec. 23, 2008.


22Aristotle, Ethics, The Basic Works of Aristotle, ed. Richard McKeon, (New York: Random House, 2001) p. 954.


23Aristotle, Politics, The Basic Works of Aristotle, ed. Richard McKeon, (New York: Random House, 2001) p. 1305.

24

Aristotle, Politics, The Basic Works of Aristotle, ed. Richard McKeon, (New York: Random House, 2001) p. 1306.

25

John Hittenger, Political Philosophy: Man is Social and Political by Nature, http://home.comcast.net/~icuweb/c02701.htm, Dec. 23, 2008. (dlnotes)

26

John Hittenger, Political Philosophy: Justice and Rights, http://home.comcast.net/~icuweb/c02708.htm, Dec. 23, 2008. (dlnotes8)

27

George Will, State Craft is Soul Craft: What Government Does, (New York: Simon and Schuster) 1983, p. 131.





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Aquinas, Thomas. “Summa Theologiae.” Internet Sacred Text Archive, http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/aquinas/summa/index.htm 19th December, 2008.


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