The Political Ideas of St. Thomas Aquinas

by Thomas Aquinas

Originally published in The Hafner Library of Classics in 1953, The Political Ideas of St. Thomas Aquinas provides important insights into the human side of one of the most influential medieval philosophers. St. Thomas Aquinas (c. 1226–1274) is recognized for having synthesized Christian theology with Aristotelian metaphysics, and for his spirited philosophical defense of Christianity that was addressed to the non-Christian reader. In this collection, editor Dino Bigongiari has selected Aquinas’s key writings on politics, justice, social problems, and forms of government, including the philosopher’s main works: Regimine Principus (On Kinship) and The Summa Theologica.

In an authoritative discussion of the historical background and evolution of St. Thomas Aquinas’s political ideas, Dr. Bigongiari’s commentary explains this philosopher’s enduring influence and legacy. Accompanying explanatory notes and a helpful glossary of unusual terms and familiar words help to make this practical volume an ideal text for students and general readers alike.

Genres: Philosophy, Politics, Theology, History, Religion, Nonfiction, Classics

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1953

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

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once in a while I get a book in my Books To Read bookcase that looks intimidating; and indeed, this book was intimidating, but I did manage to read it all, and with some profit to my soul, I think.


The book begins with an Introduction of some forty pages, summarizing the conclusions of Aquinas; then, in the book itself, we have selections from the Summa Thelologica. Each of these Selections is set up the same way; Aquinas introduces a Question (for example, Of The Natural Law), then subdivides each Question into several Articles (or Sub-Questions), then, for each Article he states a Thesis, at least three Objections to this Thesis, then quite methodically destroys the Objections and affirms the correctness of his Thesis. (It is said that late in his life, while working to complete the Summa, Aquinas suddenly gave up as just so much straw; considering the denseness of this volume of extracts, his failure to finish his work is the world’s loss, and perhaps my gain.)

However, things perk up again in the last section of the book, which is a straightforward discussion extracted from On Kingship (De Regimine Principum). In this section, Aquinas considers the best form of leadership, and decides that kingship is the best; and while tyranny is the worst, it is still better than a leadership by the many. (He goes so far as to state, in this English translation, “If, finally, the bad government is carried on by the multitude, it is called a “democracy”, i.e., control by the populace, which comes about when the plebian people by force of numbers oppress the rich.” (He reserves the term “polity” for a just government administered by many.)

In the final analysis, I hate to criticize the great Aquinas, but the Summa is very heavy going, and the Introduction and the section On Kingship are the best features of this book.

[Evie Lyons · Rating 2 out of 5]

I guess it doesn’t help that I don’t believe in God. Sorry Thomas.

[James Violand · Rating 4 out of 5]

He is one of my heroes in life, so I tend to think only in superlatives for his writings.

[Russell Kapryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent rendition of St. Thomas Aquinas' contemporary 13th Century political thought. The most enlightening aspect from reading this book to me is his declaration that the best form of governance is through that of a king. Indeed. He says that one ruler is better than many because it is best having decisions made by one than by many because when many are in charge indecisiveness ensues and decisions cannot be made.

Aquinas equates this to having a battering ram aimed at a castle gate. If many are in charge of orienting the direction of the ram there will surely be some form of disagreement about how best to orient said ram. Wherein when one is in charge there will be no conflict about how best to orient the ram.

The teachings of Aquinas were apparently missed by the Founding Fathers of the United States in the 18th Century because they would have done well to have supported this superior form of governance (that is, monarchical rule) than the conflicting mess of Congress that is commonly seen where no one can readily agree on anything because too many are in charge of making decisions.

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

This illuminating and erudite book was a discussion of natural law, justice, and forms of government. I found it was helpful for me to understand the first principles on which morality is based. However, I found bits of it to be a little too legalistic for me. I could have used a bit more annotation to place this part of the summa in its proper context.