Who Influenced Aquinas’ Understanding of the Natural Law?

Aquinas is the great synthesizer of the natural law, but who exactly is he drawing from? Today, Dr. Randall Smith joins Ben Eriksen to discuss the various philosophers and theologians who influenced Aquinas’ thought. Dr. Smith argues that Aristotle did not greatly influence Aquinas' conception of the natural law; instead, he believes that Cicero, Maimonides, and Philo of Alexandria were more pivotal. This enlightening conversation reveals the great depth of the natural law tradition and how we can contribute to this tradition in the modern era.

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Kreeft’s "Summa of the Summa": https://ignatius.com/summa-of-the-summa-sosp/

Kreeft’s "A Shorter Summa": https://ignatius.com/a-shorter-summa-ssup/

Rice’s "50 Questions on the Natural Law": https://ignatius.com/50-questions-on-the-natural-law-fqnlp/

Hill’s "After the Natural Law": https://ignatius.com/after-the-natural-law-anlp/

Read Dr. Randall Smith’s Artiles Here: https://www.thecatholicthing.org/author/randall-smith/

Listen to His Lecture at the De Nicola Center Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nStb4yj7pIg

Link to New Advent’s "Summa Theologiae": https://www.newadvent.org/summa/

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Music from Pexels, Gregor Quendel. https://www.classicals.de/legal