Natural Law Theory: Crash Course Philosophy #34
Our exploration of ethical theories continues with another theistic answer to the grounding problem: natural law theory. Thomas Aquinas's version of this theory ...
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Thomas Aquinas was no dummy. Remember him? The Italian fella? Christian monk? Philosophical superstar of the 13th century? Aquinas thought morality was important for everyone, and that being a good person was a vital part of God’s plan for each of us. But he knew that not everyone had been exposed to the Bible, or had even heard of God. So, what bothered him was: How could people follow God’s moral rules – also known as the divine commands – if they didn’t even know about the guy who made the commandments? Aquinas just couldn’t believe that God would have expectations for us, if he didn’t also give us – all of us – a way to meet them. So, Aquinas’ theorized that God made us pre-loaded with the tools we need to know what’s Good. This idea became known as the natural...
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Thomas Aquinas was no dummy. Remember him? The Italian fella? Christian monk? Philosophical superstar of the 13th century? Aquinas thought morality was important for everyone, and that being a good person was a vital part of God’s plan for each of us. But he knew that not everyone had been exposed to the Bible, or had even heard of God. So, what bothered him was: How could people follow God’s moral rules – also known as the divine commands – if they didn’t even know about the guy who made the commandments? Aquinas just couldn’t believe that God would have expectations for us, if he didn’t also give us – all of us – a way to meet them. So, Aquinas’ theorized that God made us pre-loaded with the tools we need to know what’s Good. This idea became known as the natural...
