Recovering the Natural: Humanizing Politics

2019 ◽  
pp. 291-330
Author(s):  
Jens Zimmermann
Keyword(s):  
Natural Law ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Christian Tradition ◽  
Jacques Maritain ◽  
Public Reasoning ◽  
Natural Law Theory ◽  
The Common ◽  
Secular Society ◽  
State Relations ◽  
The Church

Chapter 8, sketching out Bonhoeffer’s political vision to argue its validity for modern, secular states, falls into two main parts. The first section offers a detailed analysis of Bonhoeffer’s recovery of the natural for Protestant theology in the contexts of Protestant and Catholic thought of his time. It becomes clear that prompted by Nazi atrocities, Bonhoeffer recovers Reformational natural law theory in a particular Christ-centered way that is similar to the nature-grace relation proposed by Henri de Lubac, and to the concept of natural law propounded by Jacques Maritain. The second part of the chapter describes Bonhoeffer’s political theology as reflected in his view of church-state relations. The chapter shows that Bonhoeffer appropriates the greater Christian tradition from Augustine to Luther’s two-kingdom theory for his own day. He envisions a secular society and forum of public reasoning on the basis of the natural, a society in which the church bears witness to Christ’s true humanity and labors for the common good of a humane society.

The Origins of “Social Justice” in the Natural Law Philosophy of Antonio Rosmini

2018 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert P. Kraynak
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Natural Law ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Social Teaching ◽  
Equal Rights ◽  
Theory Of Justice ◽  
Social Nature ◽  
The Social ◽  
Natural Law Theory ◽  
The Common

Abstract“Social justice” is a powerful idea today, but its origins and meaning are unclear. One of the first to use the term was Antonio Rosmini, author of The Constitution under Social Justice (1848) and other works of moral philosophy. I argue that Rosmini arrived at his idea of social justice by developing Thomistic natural law theory into a novel view of the common good that balances two principles: (1) the equal rights and dignity of persons as ends-in-themselves, a version of “personalism” influenced by Kant and Christianity; and (2) unequal rewards for those who contribute most to society, a version of Aristotelian “proportionalism” based on the social nature of man. I conclude by comparing Rosmini's idea of social justice to John Rawls's “theory of justice” and Catholic social teaching.

New Natural Law Theory and the Common Good of the Political Community

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 293-303
Author(s):  
Daniel Mark ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Law ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Group Membership ◽  
Political Community ◽  
The Political ◽  
Human Flourishing ◽  
The Common Good ◽  
The Family ◽  
Natural Law Theory ◽  
The Common

Some critics question new natural law theorists’ conception of the common good of the political community, namely, their interpretation of St. Thomas Aquinas and the conclusion that the political common good is primarily instrumental rather than intrinsic and transcendent. Contrary to these objections, the common good of the political community is primarily instrumental. It aims chiefly at securing the conditions for human flourishing. Its unique ability to use the law to bring about justice and peace and promote virtue in individuals may make the common good of the political community critically important. Nevertheless, it is still not an intrinsic aspect of human flourishing. Unlike the family or a religious group, membership in a political community is not an end in itself.

scholarly journals Natural law as a way to achieve the common good: an interpretation of Thomas Aquinas and John Finnis arguments

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 609-617
Author(s):  
Anton Didikin
Keyword(s):  
Natural Law ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Thomas Aquinas ◽  
Instrumental Approach ◽  
The Common Good ◽  
Decent Life ◽  
Natural Law Theory ◽  
The Common ◽  
John Finnis ◽  
Conceptual Foundations

The paper interprets the arguments of Thomas Aquinas on natural law as a way to achieve the common good, which had a significant impact on John Finnis’ natural law theory. The author reveals the conceptual foundations of J. Finnis’ understanding the morally justified actions of people in the community aimed at the obtaining of basic benefits, and the debatable issues of his theory in modern philosophical and legal research. The author arrives to the conclusion that the reinterpretation of J. Finnis analysis of the grounds for ethically significant actions leads him to formulate an instrumental approach to natural law as a rational way to implement a decent life.

scholarly journals Bien común = Common good

2018 ◽  
pp. 191
Author(s):  
Timothy Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Natural Law ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Thomas Aquinas ◽  
The Common Good ◽  
Natural Law Theory ◽  
The Common

Resumen: Existen varias concepciones o versiones del concepto de bien común. Este artículo trata de presentar un breve repaso de algunas de las más importantes. Se ofrecen ejemplos del bien común en la “nueva” teoría del derecho natural; en los pensamientos liberal y utilitario; y en los pensamientos comunitario, republicano y hegeliano. Así mismo, se añaden algunos comentarios a modo de conclusión.Palabras clave: Bien común, Aristóteles, Santo Tomás de Aquino, “nueva” teoría del derecho natural, utilitarismo, liberalismo, comunitarismo, republicanismo, hegelianismo.Abstract: There are several conceptions or versions of the concept of the common good. This article aims to provide a brief overview of some of the most prominent conceptions. Accounts are offered of the common good in new natural law theory; in liberal and utilitarian thought; and in communitarian, republican, and Hegelian thought. Some commentary is provided in a brief conclusion.Keywords: The common good, Aristotle, St. Thomas Aquinas, new natural law theory, utilitarianism, liberalism, communitarianism, republicanism, Hegelianism.

Political Parties and the Overlapping Consensus

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matteo Bonotti
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Public Reason ◽  
Overlapping Consensus ◽  
The Common Good ◽  
Creative Agency ◽  
Public Reasoning ◽  
The Common ◽  
Comprehensive Doctrines ◽  
Political Liberal

This chapter rejects the ‘extrinsic’ view of public reason examined in Chapter 4, and argues that political parties can play an important role in helping citizens to relate their comprehensive doctrines to political liberal values and institutions. Once we understand the distinctive normative demands of partisanship, this chapter claims, we can see that there is no inherent tension between them and the demands of the Rawlsian overlapping consensus. This is because partisanship (unlike factionalism) involves a commitment to the common good rather than the sole advancement of merely partial interests, and this implies a commitment to public reasoning. The chapter further examines three distinctive empirical features of parties that particularly enable them to contribute to an overlapping consensus. These are their linkage function, their advancement of broad multi-issue political platforms, and their creative agency.

Theology as Work: The Mandatum and the Rights of Labor

Horizons ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 128-134
Author(s):  
Patrick T. McCormick
Keyword(s):  
Academic Freedom ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Catholic Social Teaching ◽  
Social Teaching ◽  
The Common Good ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Church ◽  
Safe Working

ABSTRACTMany oppose the mandatum as a threat to the academic freedom of Catholic scholars and the autonomy and credibility of Catholic universities. But the imposition of this juridical bond on working theologians is also in tension with Catholic Social Teaching on the rights and dignity of labor. Work is the labor necessary to earn our daily bread. But it is also the vocation by which we realize ourselves as persons and the profession through which we contribute to the common good. Thus, along with the right to a just wage and safe working conditions, Catholic Social Teaching defends workers' rights to a full partnership in the enterprise, and calls upon the church to be a model of participation and cooperation. The imposition of the mandatum fails to live up to this standard and threatens the jobs and vocations of theologians while undermining this profession's contribution to the church.

scholarly journals Luther and Economic Questions

1910 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 131-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Alfred Faulkner
Keyword(s):  
Common Good ◽  
Kingdom Of God ◽  
The Other ◽  
Word Of God ◽  
The Common Good ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Special Knowledge ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Church

There are two facts to be borne in mind in regard to Luther's whole attitude to social and economic questions. The first is that ordinarily this was a territory to be confined to experts, in which ministers should not meddle. He believed that a special knowledge was necessary to deal with some of these matters, and that they had better be left to those to whom Providence had assigned them, whether the jurists, those clever in worldly knowledge, or the authorities. The other fact is that the Church after all has social duties, and that Church and clergy must fight flagrant abuses and try to bring in the Kingdom of God on earth. The Church must use the Word of God against sin and sinners, and so by spiritual ministries help the needs of the time. The authorities on their part shall proceed by strict justice against evil doers. But there is another fact here which it is necessary to mention to get Luther's whole attitude, viz., that the State's function is not simply to administer justice, but to secure the general weal. They shall do the very best they can for their subjects, says Luther. “The authorities shall serve their subjects and use their office not petulantly [nicht zu Mutwillen] but for the advancement of the common good, and especially for the poor.” The princes shall give laws which shall limit as far as possible social misery and national dangers. They should listen to the proposals of the Church to this end, and on the ground of wise counsels of churchmen, do away with old laws and make new ones.

Saeculum–Ecclesia–Caliphate: An Eternal Golden Braid

2019 ◽  
pp. 94-107
Author(s):  
Paul J. Griffiths
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
Common Good ◽  
The United States ◽  
Catholic Theology ◽  
The Common Good ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Church ◽  
Catholic Perspective ◽  
Secular State

The secular state, the church, and the caliphate are associations that each hold universal aspirations, at least implicitly. While the universal aspirations of the church and caliphate may be obvious enough, every state seeks dominion over the whole world. (“Secular” describes states that limit their vision to this world, as opposed to the transcendence to which both the church and caliphate appeal.) As an essay in Catholic speculative theology, Griffiths asks two questions: Whether Catholic theology supports or discourages the variety of political orders, and whether these orders could be ranked in terms of goodness from a Catholic perspective? In response to these questions, Griffiths appeals to two aspects of St. Augustine’s political thought: Political rivalries serve the common good; and the principal indicator of the degree to which a state serves the common good is its explicit service to the god of Abraham. The United States (a secular state) is compared with ISIS (an attempted caliphate).

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