The Dispensation of the Natural Law in Thomas Aquinas

The paper describes and explains the position of Thomas Aquinas regarding the possibility of the dispensation of certain precepts of the natural law by man. It situates this concept into the broader context of his views concerning God’s action within practical reason and human participation in providence which is also the basis of his comprehension of every law used by men. The meaning and the relationship between certain key notions (law, dispensation, obligation, moral, natural and divine law) in the discourse of Aquinas is explained. Aquinas is revealed to be a thinker who is very much aware of the limits bound to more particular rules in their attempt to translate the first imperatives of practical reason into a singular situation. Without despising these rules he asks for more than their blind application: he asks for their use in accordance with reason (and with reason) which has originated them and which sometimes requires it to be done otherwise.

Keywords: Natural Law; Divine Law; Dispensation; Obligation; Practical Reason; Secondary Precepts