敲破传统的外壳,注入时代的内涵--简论托马斯·阿奎那的自然法思想

自然法是西方政治文化中的核心观念,在其发展过程中经历了不同的形态。托马斯·阿奎那对中世纪的自然法概念进行了梳理,结束了这一概念在使用过程中的混乱,并赋予了这一概念以典型的中世纪特色。在阐述其自然法思想的过程中,他强调了理性的作用,指出了自然法的可变性,并最终把私有制纳入了自然法的内涵。这对缓和教会与国家的关系、社会经济的发展、自然权利观念的成长和理性主义都有着十分重要的意义。

A Brief Discussion on Thomas Aquinas'''' Theory of Natural Law

Natural law is a key conception of the Western political culture,it has gone through various forms during its development.Thomas Aquinas summed up and sorted out many ideas concerning this conception,put an end to the confusion in the application of it,and conferred a typical medieval characteristic on it.In his elaboration of natural law,Thomas Aquinas placed a distinguishing stress on human reason,pointed out its alterability and put the private ownership into its connotation at last,which is meaningful to the mitigation of the relationship between the state and the church,the development of the social economy,as well as the formation of the conception of natural rights and the rise of modern rationalism.