Mar 28, 2024  
2016-2018 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2016-2018 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

PL 4750 - Natural Law Ethics


(3)
This course will examine the tradition and development of natural law ethics from its historical foundations in classical philosophy through its great synthesis during the Middle Ages, especially in the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas, ending with an examination of its role in contemporary ethical discourse and its application to current ethical and legal problems such as abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment, and just war theory. Throughout the course, special emphasis will be placed upon understanding the philosophical theory of human nature upon which natural law ethics is grounded, including the metaphysical implications of the human telos, as contrasted with other historical approaches to ethics. The course will also address ways in which contemporary natural law theorists respond to contemporary critics of the tradition.

Prerequisite: PL 1100  or PL 1150 .
(PLII)