Primary and Secondary Precepts in Thomistic Natural Law Teaching

Primary and Secondary Precepts in Thomistic Natural Law Teaching
Author: R.A. Armstrong
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 224
Release: 1966
Genre: Gardening
ISBN:

Never before in the history of mankind has there been a period when hitherto accepted moral principles have been more severely tested. The agonized cry of a world smitten by two major wars in a handful of years leaves no doubt in the minds of many that natural law ethics, ifit is to have relevance and to survive, must provide at least the outline of an answer to the problems of every day living. To date, many hundreds of books and articles have been written setting forth with great eloquence the basic and immutable principles of natural law ethics. But too often these discussions fail to consider, in their agonizing detail, situations where there is a choice between conflicting values, conflicting loyalties, conflicting ideas and duties, each of which has a claim to recognition. It is only in the isolation of the particular case that the frightening dilemmas of natural law can be most clearly experienced. To give just two illustrations.

Primary and Secondary Precepts in Thomistic Natural Law Teaching

Primary and Secondary Precepts in Thomistic Natural Law Teaching
Author: R.A. Armstrong
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 210
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9401193886

Never before in the history of mankind has there been a period when hitherto accepted moral principles have been more severely tested. The agonized cry of a world smitten by two major wars in a handful of years leaves no doubt in the minds of many that natural law ethics, ifit is to have relevance and to survive, must provide at least the outline of an answer to the problems of every day living. To date, many hundreds of books and articles have been written setting forth with great eloquence the basic and immutable principles of natural law ethics. But too often these discussions fail to consider, in their agonizing detail, situations where there is a choice between conflicting values, conflicting loyalties, conflicting ideas and duties, each of which has a claim to recognition. It is only in the isolation of the particular case that the frightening dilemmas of natural law can be most clearly experienced. To give just two illustrations.

The Problem of Natural Law

The Problem of Natural Law
Author: Douglas Kries
Publisher: Lexington Books
Total Pages: 218
Release: 2008
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9780739120378

The Problem of Natural Law examines the understanding of conscience offered by Thomas Aquinas, who provided the classic statement of natural law. The book suggests that natural law theory could be improved by bracketing Thomistic conscience and then shows how a natural law pos...

Richard Hooker and Anglican Moral Theology

Richard Hooker and Anglican Moral Theology
Author: A. J. Joyce
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages:
Release: 2012-02-23
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0191613355

Richard Hooker (1554-1600) is often credited with being the founding father of Anglican moral theology. This book is the first major study to examine in depth the extent to which this claim is justified, and to evaluate the nature of Hooker's contribution to this aspect of Anglican tradition. The study roots Hooker firmly within his own historical context and considers his text principally on its own terms; thus it avoids many of the problems that have bedevilled modern Hooker scholarship, particularly where attempts have been made to 'claim' him for one particular theological tradition over another, or to approach his work primarily with an eye to its continued relevance to contemporary debate within Anglicanism, both of which can lead to significant distortions in the way in which Hooker is read and interpreted. What emerges amounts to a significant re-evaluation of much of the conventional wisdom about Hooker's place within Anglicanism, as well as a range of original insights into the nature, content, and style of his work and its wider significance.

Natural Reason and Natural Law

Natural Reason and Natural Law
Author: James Carey
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 398
Release: 2019-04-05
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1532657749

Natural law, according to Thomas Aquinas, has its foundation in the evidence and operation of natural, human reason. Its primary precepts are self-evident. Awareness of these precepts does not presuppose knowledge of, or even belief in, the existence of God. The most interesting criticisms of Thomas Aquinas’s natural-law teaching in modern times have been advanced by the political philosopher Leo Strauss and his followers. The purpose of this book is to show that these criticisms are based on misunderstandings and that they are inconclusive at best. Thomas Aquinas’s natural-law teaching is fully rational. It is accessible to man as man.

Thomas Hobbes and the Debate over Natural Law and Religion

Thomas Hobbes and the Debate over Natural Law and Religion
Author: Stephen A. State
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 261
Release: 2013-07-18
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1134050542

The argument laid out in this book discusses and interprets the work of Hobbes in relation to religion. It compares a traditional interpretation of Hobbes where Hobbes’ use of conventional terminology when talking about natural law is seen as ironic or merely convenient despite an atheist viewpoint, with the view that Hobbes’ morality is truly traditional and Christian. The book considers other thinkers of the age in tandem with Hobbes and discusses in detail his theology inspired by corporeal mechanics. The position is that there are significant senses in which Hobbes can be said to be a traditional natural law theorist.

The Evolution of Altruism and the Ordering of Love

The Evolution of Altruism and the Ordering of Love
Author: Stephen J. Pope
Publisher: Georgetown University Press
Total Pages: 186
Release: 1995-04-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9781589014404

In this book, Stephen J. Pope argues that contemporary scientifically-based theories of the evolution of altruism provide important insights into one of the fundamental moral problems of Christian ethics, the natural basis of love and its ordering. He explores the contributions evolutionary theory makes to our understanding of the biological foundations of kin preference and reciprocal care, the limits of love, and the need for an ordering of love—issues relevant to any ethic that accords a central role to the deeply natural affections found in friendship, marriage, and the family. He proposes that understanding human nature in its broader evolutionary context brings to ethics a needed balance between the personal and biological dimensions of human nature. In the context of Catholic ethics, Pope points out functional similarities between Thomas Aquinas's use of then-available scientific theories in his interpretation of the natural basis of primary relationships and Pope's own efforts to avoid the deficiencies that characterize contemporary Catholic interpretations of love based on personalism and existentialism. He concludes with a call for a multidimensional interpretation of love, one that incorporates scientifically-based theories about human nature together with an appreciation of the significance of motives, intentions, and freedom, for the ordering of human affections and moral responsibility. This book will be of interest to moral theologians, especially those concerned with the topics of love, justice, and natural law ethics.

Thomistic Renaissance - The Natural Moral Law

Thomistic Renaissance - The Natural Moral Law
Author: Jr. Reverend John Trigilio
Publisher: Universal-Publishers
Total Pages: 148
Release: 2004
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1581122233

This dissertation seeks to establish that there is a renaissance of Thomistic Philosophy in the Post-Conciliar Catholic Church, specifically a reawakening of Scholasticism, as evidenced by Pope John Paul II in his encyclical Veritatis Splendor. The Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) ushered in a new era for the Roman Catholic religion prompted by the desire of Pope John XXIII to have the 2,000 year old institution catch up with the modern world and address current problems as well as present the ancient faith in contemporary ways. Prior to Vatican II, there was a monolithic way to explain faith and reason. Theology and Philosophy were rigidly taught via textbook manuals according to a norm established under Pope Pius X who vigorously denounced the errors of Modernism in his encyclical Pascendi (1907). His immediate predecessor, Pope Leo XIII had issued Aeterni Patris (1879) which directed a restoration of the pre-eminence of Thomistic philosophy. Unfortunately, the neo-Thomism of the Leonine papacy was not as resilient as the classical Thomism before it.The staunch Thomism which existed from 1879 to 1965 had been preceded by an era of anti-Scholasticism among the European centers of learning during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The Protestant Reformation, the advent of Humanism and the chaos of the French Revolution proved to be formidable foes for Thomistic philosophy. Scholastic reasoning alone could not address the Biblical questions being posed by Luther and the other Reformers. Logical distinctions which are the hallmark of Thomism were too complicated for world which at times violently left the Mediaeval era behind it.Leo XIII after the conclusion of the Napoleonic wars and while Europe was relatively at peace, saw the need to resurrect the philosophy he deemed perennially valid to combat religious and political errors which he saw as the causes for the wars and discord among peoples and nations. Leonine strategy was to aggressively promote and proliferate a centralized control over Catholic education, especially at the seminary and university levels. The first half of the twentieth century ironically experienced the horrors of two world wars and demonstrated the depth of human depravity and capacity for evil. No one, however, in 1879 could have envisioned the wars, hot and cold, which would define global existence.Just as Aquinas was originally suspected and rejected by many of his contemporaries in the thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries and later vindicated in glory, so, too, Thomistic Philosophy would wax and wane through the centuries. The aftermath of Vatican II when the Latin Mass was replaced with the vernacular and ecumenical dialogue was sought with the non-Catholic religions, Thomism again took a back seat. Post-Conciliar scholars of philosophy and theology wanted to break the chains of manual style textbooks. Existentialism and Phenomenology were the predominant philosophies. Thomistic Philosophy and Scholasticism were viewed as relics of the past. Thirty years after the Second Vatican Council, Pope John Paul II, known for his penchant for Phenomenology and Personalism, issues Veritatis Splendor which in essence restores the pride of place the Natural Moral Law doctrine once held before. A true student and subscriber to the moral reasoning used in Humanae Vitae (1967) by Pope Paul VI, John Paul II shakes the dust in Catholic intelligentsia by canonizing the Natural Moral Law as the only valid means to do good moral theology. Veritatis Splendor ignited a firestorm of debate, essays, discussions and dissertations on the age old principle known as the Natural Law.This paper intends to show the development of the Natural Moral Law doctrine from its beginnings to its most famous herald followed by a systematic review of Veritatis Splendor in order to show that Thomism is indeed alive and well in Catholic thought and has once again captured the imprimatur of Papal endorsement.

Rewritten Theology

Rewritten Theology
Author: Mark D. Jordan
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2008-04-15
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0470775386

Responding to the recent upsurge of interest in Thomas Aquinas, this book goes straight to the heart of the contemporary debates about Thomism. Focuses on the concept of authority, both in terms of Aquinas’s own attitude to authority, and how the Church authorities have used Aquinas’s texts. Engages with appropriations of Aquinas’s work by a range of theologians, from liberal Catholics to the creators of radical orthodoxy. Argues for future readings of Aquinas which are substantially different from those which have gone before.