Resumen

MIRANDA MONTECINOS, Alejandro. Obligatory Nature of a Nonscience, Unfair Law and Distinction between Action and Omission. A Review based on the Thomistic Tradition. Scripta Mediaevalia [online]. 2020, vol.13, n.1, pp.17-48. ISSN 1851-8753.

In this paper the Thomistic principles on moral conscience and the obligation to act according to it are studied. The purpose of the author is to develop an analysis of the conflicts between conscience and law and of the so-called “conscientious objection”. The thesis underlying this analysis is that an adequate understanding of the subject requires identifying to what extent it is relevant to distinguish between actions and omissions. The work is divided as follows. First, it explains what moral conscience is and why there is an obligation to follow it. Secondly, the conflicts between conscience and law are analyzed, and a proposal is presented on the exact scope of the duty to oppose unjust laws. Third, an analysis of the phenomenon of conscientious objection is offered in the light of the Thomistic categories. The paper ends with an evaluation of some proposals that attempt to solve problems about conscientious objection by appealing to the distinction between action and omission.

Palabras clave : moral conscience; obligation; unjust law; distinction between action and omission.

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