JP548/648 Natural Law, Life and Family
This course begins with an overview of the pre-Thomistic understanding of natural law. Attention is then focused on St Thomas' teaching on natural law, the readings of his thought in the various 'Thomisms' which developed in the succeeding centuries, and the under-standing of natural law in the documents of Vatican Council II and John Paul II (especially in Veritatis Splendor).
Contemporary accounts, such as the 'personalist' or 'Lublin' Thomism of Karol Wojtyla and others, the 'neo-Thomism' associated with McInerney, Hittinger and Smith, the 'new natural law theory' developed by Grisez, Finnis, Boyle and George, and the 'communitarian' version offered by MacIntyre, are each considered, as are the criticisms levelled against them. Attention will also focus on the 'fulfilment' of natural law by the evangelical law or law of grace, and the implications of these approaches for marital and family life.
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