Societas
According to Rosmini, society is not a man-made entity or creation, but rather a theistic
institution, since it originates from the will of God. Accordingly, human society is founded
in the order of Godâs Creation. The freedom of the form of human society is realised in a
variety of differentiated social forms, namely civil societas, domestic societas and
ecclesiastical societas. Rosmini states that social forms are not reducable to simply civil
societas, but include human social togetherness. Neither can one social form derive
authority from the next. Unlike Thomas Aquinas who models the principles subsidiarity on
the principles of hierarchy, autonomy and intervention, Rosmini emphasises the
independence of each social form and in doing so he achieves a well-rounded doctrine of
human society and social forms. He is of the opinion that the various social forms are
closely bound, which means that a human society cannot be discussed without taking
domestic societas, ecclesiastical societas and civil societas into account. Each social form
forms part of an independent freedom and fulfils a responsibility before God. Rosmini
endorses the Thomistic subsidiary principle to the extent that civil societas merely lends
assistance and support to, for instance, domestic societas, should the latter community be
unable to preserve its interests. On this basis, civil societas may not interfere with the
interests of the other two forms.
According to Rosmini, every society has a moral substructure which serves as a basis for
the rights and obligations necessary for the maintenance of natural law. Social justice is
expressed in society by means of the principles of goodwill. Rosmini relates to classical
viewpoints where societies are bound to the fundamental moral principles of the central
commandment of love, since all human rights are based on fundamental duty. On these
grounds, Rosmini presents a platform for cultural discourse and ethical involvement across
ideological boundaries insomuch as he is of the opinion that society as a whole stands
beneath the general revelation of God.
Natural law
In Rosminiâs explicit stance on natural law he maintains a primarily Thomistic opinion which
originates from his perspective of Divine Providence. Natural law is a manifestation of
practical rationality. For example, to come to the knowledge of human rights, human nature
and reasoning must be used as guidelines. As such, Rosmini upholds a paradigmatic
perspective of natural law where there is a close correlation between natural law and the
maintenance of justice in human society. Natural law and justice culminate in the
relationship between rights and duties. Rosmini holds that natural law and justice are built
upon the maintenance of important moral duties. On this basis, moral values have
significant constitutional implications which give expression to the universal principle of
love. In this way, natural law forms the foundation of human rights.
Human Rights
Rosminiâs point of view regarding human rights rests principally on his natural
jurisprudence. His focus on justice in human society supports his standpoint on human
rights, the jurisprudence of which originates from the Scriptural principle of love towards
God and oneâs neighbour. On this basis, Rosminiâs stance regarding human rights is
closely linked to his theocentric idea of manâs personal relationship with God. His human
rights teachings embrace both individual and social rights, the latter being reflected in
social, ecclesiastical and domestic societas. Rosmini holds that social justice can only be
ensured by the balanced maintenance of all natural rights on both individual and social
levels. He is of the opinion that the natural rights of individuals in social entities originate
most deeply in the human cry to God. Accordingly, Rosminiâs human rights teachings can
be illustrated by his points of view regarding human dignity.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ufs/oai:etd.uovs.ac.za:etd-06192008-101719 |
| Date | 19 June 2008 |
| Creators | Swartz, Nico Patrick |
| Contributors | Prof AWG Raath |
| Publisher | University of the Free State |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en-uk |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.uovs.ac.za//theses/available/etd-06192008-101719/restricted/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University Free State or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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