Philosophy

4372 0356240 11-01-14 St. Thomas Aquinas On the Kingship by St Thomas Aquinas talks about the rule, their duties and the types of government. According to Aquinas is essential to have someone ruling, and gives each type of government a level in the scale from harmful to just. In the Summa of Theology by Aquinas, he argues the idea of happiness and explain the four types of law. Aquinas took some of the Aristotle’s ideas, but he interpreted in different ways.

In kingship Aquinas argues the idea that human are political and social animals, Aristotle’s idea. The need of human beings to be part of a community to interact with others to secure ourselves, and help each other to achieve the common good is why a man is defined as a political and social animal. Aquina believes that is necessary to have a rule to control the aimed of the common good for all members of the city, because the absence of a rule in a city could cause a split of the society. He explains, how the private good divide the people and the common good united them. The rule in charge to pursue the common good for everyone, not just for the private good.

Aquinas organized the governments from worst to best, and unjust to just. Tyranny, Oligarchy, and democracy are the unjust governments. Polity, Aristocracy, and King are the just governments. He argued that Tyranny was the worst type of government because is the opposite of the best of the governments, Kingship was the best. Then, he focused their attention on Tyranny and Democracy governments. He said that democracy was the less harmful of the unjust government because is weaker on the decision. Democracy is conformed by the many people ruling, so their decision is hardest to take and less weaker because the internal division. In other hand, Tyranny is just one in the rule