The State, Law, Religion, and Justice in Cicero’s The Republic and The Laws: An Aristotelian-Thomistic Interpretation
The writings of Marcus Tullius Cicero are often referred to by natural law theorists. But how do various points of Cicero’s philosophy of law—and of religion, justice, and the state—compare with similar themes from Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas? In this paper, I suggest a Thomistic-Aristotelian r...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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International Étienne Gilson Society
2019-08-01
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| Series: | Studia Gilsoniana |
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| Online Access: | https://www.academia.edu/40148478/The_State_Law_Religion_and_Justice_in_Cicero_s_The_Republic_and_The_Laws_An_Aristotelian-Thomistic_Interpretation |
| _version_ | 1818286751160991744 |
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| author | Jason Morgan |
| author_facet | Jason Morgan |
| author_sort | Jason Morgan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The writings of Marcus Tullius Cicero are often referred to by natural law theorists. But how do various points of Cicero’s philosophy of law—and of religion, justice, and the state—compare with similar themes from Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas? In this paper, I suggest a Thomistic-Aristotelian reading of Cicero as a way to contextualize and supplement the Roman philosopher’s work with more robust insights from Aristotle and St. Thomas, and especially from Aristotle as interpreted by St. Thomas in the later light of the Incarnation. I also show that Cicero’s natural law philosophy is inconsistent when taken on its own terms. Therefore, Cicero’s natural law philosophy—as well as his philosophy of religion, justice, and the state—should be subjected to a more critical examination by natural law scholars today. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T01:29:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-83d2ddbe7d9e42629eb98f50a6d0da8a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2300-0066 2577-0314 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T01:29:34Z |
| publishDate | 2019-08-01 |
| publisher | International Étienne Gilson Society |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Studia Gilsoniana |
| spelling | doaj.art-83d2ddbe7d9e42629eb98f50a6d0da8a2022-12-22T00:04:02ZengInternational Étienne Gilson SocietyStudia Gilsoniana2300-00662577-03142019-08-018364568010.26385/SG.080325The State, Law, Religion, and Justice in Cicero’s The Republic and The Laws: An Aristotelian-Thomistic InterpretationJason MorganThe writings of Marcus Tullius Cicero are often referred to by natural law theorists. But how do various points of Cicero’s philosophy of law—and of religion, justice, and the state—compare with similar themes from Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas? In this paper, I suggest a Thomistic-Aristotelian reading of Cicero as a way to contextualize and supplement the Roman philosopher’s work with more robust insights from Aristotle and St. Thomas, and especially from Aristotle as interpreted by St. Thomas in the later light of the Incarnation. I also show that Cicero’s natural law philosophy is inconsistent when taken on its own terms. Therefore, Cicero’s natural law philosophy—as well as his philosophy of religion, justice, and the state—should be subjected to a more critical examination by natural law scholars today.https://www.academia.edu/40148478/The_State_Law_Religion_and_Justice_in_Cicero_s_The_Republic_and_The_Laws_An_Aristotelian-Thomistic_InterpretationCiceronatural lawSt. Thomas AquinasRoman philosophystatecraftpolisAristotlereligionjustice |
| spellingShingle | Jason Morgan The State, Law, Religion, and Justice in Cicero’s The Republic and The Laws: An Aristotelian-Thomistic Interpretation Studia Gilsoniana Cicero natural law St. Thomas Aquinas Roman philosophy statecraft polis Aristotle religion justice |
| title | The State, Law, Religion, and Justice in Cicero’s The Republic and The Laws: An Aristotelian-Thomistic Interpretation |
| title_full | The State, Law, Religion, and Justice in Cicero’s The Republic and The Laws: An Aristotelian-Thomistic Interpretation |
| title_fullStr | The State, Law, Religion, and Justice in Cicero’s The Republic and The Laws: An Aristotelian-Thomistic Interpretation |
| title_full_unstemmed | The State, Law, Religion, and Justice in Cicero’s The Republic and The Laws: An Aristotelian-Thomistic Interpretation |
| title_short | The State, Law, Religion, and Justice in Cicero’s The Republic and The Laws: An Aristotelian-Thomistic Interpretation |
| title_sort | state law religion and justice in cicero s the republic and the laws an aristotelian thomistic interpretation |
| topic | Cicero natural law St. Thomas Aquinas Roman philosophy statecraft polis Aristotle religion justice |
| url | https://www.academia.edu/40148478/The_State_Law_Religion_and_Justice_in_Cicero_s_The_Republic_and_The_Laws_An_Aristotelian-Thomistic_Interpretation |
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