St. Thomas Aquinas and the Natural Law Tradition

In recent years, there has been a great revival of interest in natural law thinking, one that has occurred across a range of disciplines and perspectives--from the philosophical and theological to the most contemporary debates in the area of legal and political philosophy. Much of this recent work is traced to the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas. To explore and evaluate the current revival, this volume brings together many of the foremost scholars on natural law. They examine the relation between Thomistic natural law and the larger philosophical and theological tradition. Furthermore, they assess the contemporary relevance of St. Thomas's natural law doctrine to current legal and political philosophy.

The book contains an extensive introduction to the topic, followed by four sections that treat various aspects of natural law thinking. The first section examines some of the philosophical foundations of natural law, especially the understanding of nature it presupposes. The second section is devoted to the theological context in which St. Thomas's natural law doctrine is situated. The essays in the third section discuss the new natural law theory espoused by Germain Grisez and John Finnis and the hotly debated question as to whether their theory is genuinely Thomistic. The final section explores several contemporary legal and political issues in light of St. Thomas's natural law thinking.

John Goyette is a Tutor at Thomas Aquinas College. Mark S. Latkovic is Professor of Moral and Systematic Theology at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit. Richard S. Myers is Professor of Law at Ave Maria School of Law.

In addition to the editors, the contributors are:

Benedict M. Ashley, O.P., Aquinas Institute of Theology

Romanus Cessario, O.P., St. John's Seminary

Robert Fastiggi, Sacred Heart Major Seminary

Robert P. George, Princeton University

Russell Hittinger, University of Tulsa

Steven A. Long, University of St. Thomas

William Mathie, Brock University

William E. May, John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family

Ralph McInerny, University of Notre Dame

Earl Muller, S.J., Sacred Heart Major Seminary

David Novak, University of Toronto

Janet E. Smith, Sacred Heart Major Seminary

Christopher Wolfe, Marquette University

Martin D. Yaffe, University of North Texas

PRAISE FOR THE BOOK:

"[A] fine collection of papers"--James F. Keenan, S.J., Theological Studies