235. The Effects of Law: Command, Prohibition, Permission, and Punishment

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Proper Effect of Law #

• Whether law’s effect is to make men good
• The distinction between law directing human acts and virtue perfecting the person
• How virtue (which makes its possessor good) differs from law (which directs toward virtue)
• The relationship between acquired virtue (from repeated acts) and infused virtue (from God)

The Four Acts of Law #

Thomas identifies four acts of law that must be examined:

1. Command (Praecipere/Imperare)
2. Prohibition (Prohibere)
3. Permission (Permittere)
4. Punishment (Punire)

Each addresses a different category of human acts:

Command: Applies to acts good from their genus (acts of virtue)

• Law commands all acts of virtue
• Example: the command to honor father and mother
• These are acts whose very nature is good

Prohibition: Applies to acts bad from their genus (acts of vice)

• Law prohibits vicious acts
• Example: do not murder, do not steal
• These are acts whose very nature is evil

Permission: Applies to acts indifferent from their genus

• Acts neither naturally good nor bad
• Example: which side of the street to drive on
• Law permits these without commanding or forbidding

Punishment: The enforcement mechanism

• Stands apart from the first three as the means of ensuring obedience
• Creates fear that leads to habituation and eventual virtue
• Only belongs to one with proper authority (minister/servant of law)
• Distinguished from reward

How Law Leads to Virtue #

Law is a dictate of reason that leads subjects into obedience. This follows the natural property of reason to lead from one thing to another:

• In demonstrative sciences: reason leads from premises to conclusion
• In practical reason: law leads from its precepts to obedience
• In logic and calculation: reason leads from one number/statement to another

Thomas distinguishes three types of obedience to law:

1. From servile fear (fear of punishment): Does not make the act truly good, but through habituation can lead to genuine virtue
2. From dictate of reason: A certain beginning of virtue
3. From perfect virtue: The mature obedience of the virtuous person

The Problem of Punishment and True Goodness #

Objection: Law that only uses fear of punishment does not make men truly good

• Servile fear makes one do something good, but not do it well
• Yet punishment is necessary and proper to law

Resolution:

• Punishment is a tool of habituation that can lead to genuine virtue
• Through repeated experience of avoiding evil due to fear, a person may eventually come to avoid evil from love of virtue itself
• This is the “law of pedagogy”: punishment trains the will until virtue becomes natural

Key Arguments #

Does Law’s Effect Include Making Men Good? #

Objections:

• Men are made good through virtue, not law
• Virtue comes from God alone
• Obedience to law requires prior goodness in the person
• Some laws are tyrannical and do not intend the good of subjects
• Punishment does not create true goodness, only fear-based compliance

Thomas’s Resolution:

• Law’s proper effect is to lead subjects into their proper virtue
• The virtue of a subject consists in being well-ordered to the ruler/prince
• Two types of virtue require law’s assistance:
  • Acquired virtue: caused by repeated acts; law habituates men to good deeds
  • Infused virtue: disposed and preserved by law; law prepares the soul
• Law does make men good either simply (aimed at true common good) or secundum quid (aimed at a particular regime)

The Acts of Law Are Suitably Assigned #

Objections:

• All law is a common precept, so command encompasses the others
• Counsel about greater good should replace command
• Reward should be included alongside punishment
• Punishment does not make men truly good

Thomas’s Resolution:

• The first three acts address the nature of human acts themselves (good, bad, or indifferent)
• Punishment stands apart as the enforcement means
• These four acts together constitute the complete function of law
• Isidore distinguishes them by the effects they produce: permission (reward), command, or punishment

Important Definitions #

Lex (Law): A dictate of reason by one in authority, ordered to the common good, directing human acts toward virtue

Praecipere/Imperare (Command/Precept): The act of law addressing acts good from their genus (virtuous acts)

Prohibere (Prohibition): The act of law addressing acts bad from their genus (vicious acts); technically a form of command in the broad sense

Permittere (Permission): The act of law addressing indifferent acts; law permits without commanding or forbidding

Punire (Punishment): The enforcement mechanism of law; creates fear leading to habituation and eventual virtue

Virtus (Virtue): That which makes its possessor good in their own act; perfects a power or faculty

Discursus (Discourse): The movement of reason from one thing to another; characteristic of reason’s operation

Demonstratio/Apodeixis (Demonstration): The showing of mind that something must be so and cannot be otherwise; syllogism making us know the cause

Examples & Illustrations #

Habituation Through Fear #

• Child discipline: A child obeys the law because of fear of punishment (the parent’s belt), not from virtue. Through repeated habituation, the child may eventually obey from genuine virtue.
• Military discipline: Soldiers initially obey from fear of court-martial for cowardice, but through habituation develop genuine courage.

Acts of Different Kinds #

• Virtuous acts commanded: Honor father and mother; courage in battle; temperance regarding alcohol
• Vicious acts prohibited: Murder, theft, rape
• Indifferent acts permitted: Which side of the street to drive on; how to arrange daily activities

Obedience in Different Regimes #

• Tyrannical laws: Create only servile obedience through fear; do not make men truly good
• Just laws: Aim at common good and genuine virtue; create habitual obedience that becomes genuine virtue

Questions Addressed #

Is the Effect of Law to Make Men Good? #

Resolution: Yes, the proper effect of law is to make those to whom it is given good, either simply (if aimed at true common good) or secundum quid (if aimed at a particular regime or ruler).

Are the Four Acts of Law Suitably Assigned? #

Resolution: Yes. The first three acts (command, prohibition, permission) address the nature of human acts themselves (good, bad, or indifferent). The fourth act (punishment) stands apart as the enforcement mechanism. Together, these four constitute the complete function of law in directing human acts toward virtue and the common good.