Politics Aquinas Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Politics Aquinas - Essay Example However, despite influences on Aquinas from the political climate of that time, we can perhaps find out the essence of his view on the mentioned problem that still would be relevant for our todays situation. Thomas Aquinas lived at a pivotal period for the Western philosophy when the return of the Aristotelianism combined with scholasticism to reignite debates about the correlation between reason and faith. Aquinas became fully acquainted with this school of philosophy after he joined the Dominican Order and for several years studied with Albertus Magnus (1193-1280), a scholastic philosopher who worked on restating of the Aristotelian heritage. This acquaintance of Aquinas is considered to be the most significant influence on his world view, which turned him into an erudite scholar devoted to the Aristotelian method (McInerny, 1992, p. 16). In general, Scholastics of that time promoted empiricism and voiced support for policies and doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church. They stood in opposition to Christian mysticism as well as to concepts of dualism of mind and of the evil nature of the world promoted earlier by Plato and St. Augustine (McGrade, 2003, pp. 33-34). What interests us in relation to the problem that we have raised is Aquinas' theory of natural law. To better understand this theory, it must be pointed out that Aquinas views philosophy as a general term which relates to a set of sciences. To diverse philosophical fields Aquinas ascribes the following due order for their study: logic, mathematics, natural philosophy, moral philosophy, and metaphysics, which is the apex of philosophical study. Aquinas' theory of natural law concerns moral philosophy, for which the notion of the human good is central. Aquinas sees a difference between acts of a man and human acts, as the former acts can be also seen in non-human agents, while human acts stem from knowledge and will and always aim at a known good. But Aquinas points out that as a certain good is not the same as the goodness itself, then what holds together all the human actions is what he terms as the overarching goodness which is the ultimate end. Therefore, any human action is direct ed towards the ultimate end (Lisska, 1998, pp. 132-133). Now that we have uncovered the basic ground of the morality for Aquinas, we can better understand his views towards what he called the natural law. In fact, what forms the essence of the natural law moral theory is the view that morality stems from the nature of the world and of the human beings. For Aquinas, main morality-generating principle of human nature is its rationality, for instance manifested in human pursuit of a certain good, which underlies any moral law. Therefore, as humans are born rational, it is morally right to behave in correspondence with our rational nature. In this way Aquinas connects moral laws with the human nature and this connection forms the basis of the "natural law", that

Physical and Mental Effects of Down Syndrome Research Paper

Physical and Mental Effects of Down Syndrome - Research Paper Example According to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Down syndrome can be found in approximately 1 child in every 800-1,000 births and is a life-long condition. Seeking to explain the aspects of Down syndrome to the lay reader, the following will discuss Down syndrome in a thorough and comprehensive attempt to understand this disorder. The following research paper will commence with an overview of the condition, the factors which may lead to the occurrence of Down syndrome and discuss the ramifications of this condition on the life of an affected child as well as on later life. This research paper will begin with a concise introduction to Down syndrome as an inherited condition and will explore the health ramifications found among people with this condition. Following this, an exploration of the physical and mental effects of Down syndrome will provide much insight into the ramifications of this condition on the lives of the people it affects. After a concise an alysis of the multitude of health ramifications of this disorder, an overview of the relationship between dementia and Down syndrome will focus on the correlation between these two important health issues. This will be followed by a thorough overview of the ethical issues surrounding Down syndrome and the increased likelihood of elective abortion when this condition is present. Seeking to provide a thorough introduction to guide this analysis, this research paper now turns to an introduction to Down syndrome (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 2009; Selikowitz 2007). Down syndrome is caused by a random event which occurs during the formation of reproductive cells during the early stages of a pregnancy. It has traditionally been believed that there is a link between maternal age at the time of conception and the incidence of Down syndrome among newborn babies.

Physical and Mental Effects of Down Syndrome Research Paper

Physical and Mental Effects of Down Syndrome - Research Paper Example According to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Down syndrome can be found in approximately 1 child in every 800-1,000 births and is a life-long condition. Seeking to explain the aspects of Down syndrome to the lay reader, the following will discuss Down syndrome in a thorough and comprehensive attempt to understand this disorder. The following research paper will commence with an overview of the condition, the factors which may lead to the occurrence of Down syndrome and discuss the ramifications of this condition on the life of an affected child as well as on later life. This research paper will begin with a concise introduction to Down syndrome as an inherited condition and will explore the health ramifications found among people with this condition. Following this, an exploration of the physical and mental effects of Down syndrome will provide much insight into the ramifications of this condition on the lives of the people it affects. After a concise an alysis of the multitude of health ramifications of this disorder, an overview of the relationship between dementia and Down syndrome will focus on the correlation between these two important health issues. This will be followed by a thorough overview of the ethical issues surrounding Down syndrome and the increased likelihood of elective abortion when this condition is present. Seeking to provide a thorough introduction to guide this analysis, this research paper now turns to an introduction to Down syndrome (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 2009; Selikowitz 2007). Down syndrome is caused by a random event which occurs during the formation of reproductive cells during the early stages of a pregnancy. It has traditionally been believed that there is a link between maternal age at the time of conception and the incidence of Down syndrome among newborn babies.

Physical and Mental Effects of Down Syndrome Research Paper

Physical and Mental Effects of Down Syndrome - Research Paper Example According to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Down syndrome can be found in approximately 1 child in every 800-1,000 births and is a life-long condition. Seeking to explain the aspects of Down syndrome to the lay reader, the following will discuss Down syndrome in a thorough and comprehensive attempt to understand this disorder. The following research paper will commence with an overview of the condition, the factors which may lead to the occurrence of Down syndrome and discuss the ramifications of this condition on the life of an affected child as well as on later life. This research paper will begin with a concise introduction to Down syndrome as an inherited condition and will explore the health ramifications found among people with this condition. Following this, an exploration of the physical and mental effects of Down syndrome will provide much insight into the ramifications of this condition on the lives of the people it affects. After a concise an alysis of the multitude of health ramifications of this disorder, an overview of the relationship between dementia and Down syndrome will focus on the correlation between these two important health issues. This will be followed by a thorough overview of the ethical issues surrounding Down syndrome and the increased likelihood of elective abortion when this condition is present. Seeking to provide a thorough introduction to guide this analysis, this research paper now turns to an introduction to Down syndrome (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 2009; Selikowitz 2007). Down syndrome is caused by a random event which occurs during the formation of reproductive cells during the early stages of a pregnancy. It has traditionally been believed that there is a link between maternal age at the time of conception and the incidence of Down syndrome among newborn babies.