231. Law as Ordered to the Common Good

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

Law Ordered to the Common Good #

Law properly pertains to the common good as its principal end, not to private goods:

• The common good is a good that many can share without diminishing it
• Particular precepts and commands have the character of law only insofar as they are ordered to the common good
• Even precepts about particular works must be referred to the common good by community of final cause

Bad Forms of Government vs. Good Government #

Tyranny, oligarchy, and democracy (in the pejorative sense) all aim at the good of a part rather than the whole:

• Tyranny: One part (the ruler) directs the state to his own good through military force
• Oligarchy: The rich direct the state to their good through wealth
• Democracy (perverted): The multitude/mob directs the state to their good through numbers
• In each case, something unjust occurs because one part usurps what should belong to the whole

The Ultimate End: Beatitude (Happiness) #

The last end of human life is felicitas (beatitude/happiness):

• Law must regard order to beatitude as its chief concern
• If one does not know the purpose of life, one cannot aim at it (like shooting an arrow without looking at the target)
• Virtue is the road to happiness; vice is the road to misery
• The relation of particular goods to the common good mirrors the relation of the beginning to the end in practical reason

The Whole and the Part #

Every part is ordered to the whole as the imperfect to the perfect:

• One man is a part of the perfect community (the city)
• The good of one man is not the last end but is ordered to the common good
• The good of one house is ordered to the good of the city
• When something is done about a part, it is for the sake of the whole

Key Arguments #

Against Law Being Ordered Only to the Common Good #

Objection 1: Precepts are ordered to some singular goods, not always the common good

• Response: Particular precepts have the character of law only according to their order to the common good

Objection 2: Human acts are in the particular, so law orders to particular goods

• Response: Particular acts can be referred to the common good by community of final cause (i.e., by being ordered to it as their end)

Objection 3: Isidore says law consists not only of what is ordered to the common good, but also to private good

• Response: Isidore elsewhere clarifies that law is in no way useful to something private, but is written for the common usefulness of citizens

The Proper Ordering of Law #

Law must regard order to beatitude/happiness chiefly because:

1. The last end of human life is felicity/beatitude
2. Practical reason’s first beginning is its last end (the end is like the beginning in practical matters)
3. Every part is ordered to the whole as imperfect to perfect
4. One man is a part of the perfect community
5. Therefore law properly regards order to the common happiness

Important Definitions #

Felicitas (Beatitude/Happiness) #

From the Latin for “fruitful,” denoting a life that has been blessed and fulfilled. This is the last end of human life and the proper concern of law.

Common Good #

A good that can be shared by many without being diminished through sharing, ordered as the final cause of law and legislative action.

Perfect Community (The City) #

The city (polis) is the perfect community because it contains everything necessary for the good life. Political philosophy gets its name from the polis.

Examples & Illustrations #

Military Justice and Particular Precepts #

• Laws about military justice (court martial) are particular precepts directed at specific individuals or cases
• But they have the character of law because they serve the common good of the state
• Example: Trying a traitor under the Uniform Code of Military Justice serves the common good even though it addresses a particular act

The Repair of a Chair #

• When repairing an arm of a chair, one acts on the part for the sake of the whole chair
• The part (the arm) is ordered to the whole (the chair’s sitting function)
• Similarly, particular laws about parts of the community are ordered to the whole community’s good

Three Levels of Human Action #

Berquist illustrates how the same person acts at different levels:

1. Individual level: Reading Shakespeare for one’s own perfection
2. Household level: Reading fairy tales to children for the family’s good
3. Political level: Voting with concern for the whole country’s good

Each level has its own proper concern, but ordered ultimately to the common good.

Knowledge of the End #

Without knowing the purpose (end) of life, one cannot aim at it properly:

• Like shooting an arrow without looking at the target—you will surely miss
• Reading the Nicomachean Ethics can reveal the purpose of life
• This knowledge shapes how one directs all particular actions

Questions Addressed #

Is law ordered always to the common good as its end? #

Answer: Yes, law is ordered chiefly and most of all to the common good. Particular precepts have the character of law only insofar as they are ordered to the common good.

How can particular precepts about singular goods be ordered to the common good? #

Answer: Particulars are referred to the common good by community of final cause—that is, by being ordered to it as their ultimate end, even though the precept addresses a particular work or case.

Why must law regard order to beatitude? #

Answer: Because beatitude is the last end of human life, and the first beginning in practical matters is the last end. Therefore, law must chiefly regard the order to this end.