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Document Details :

Title: God, Darwinism, and Natural Inclinations
Subtitle: The Demise of Thomistic Natural Law Theory?
Author(s): GRAHAM, Mark
Journal: Louvain Studies
Volume: 37    Issue: 1   Date: 2013   
Pages: 52-75
DOI: 10.2143/LS.37.1.3027850

Abstract :
A Darwinian notion of biological evolution poses stark challenges to the theological foundations of Thomistic natural law theory, particularly traditional Thomistic concepts such as divine providence, the normative moral import of the natural inclinations, and the link between human nature and divine intentionality – and Thomistic natural law theory, as traditionally understood, is incapable of meeting these challenges. This suggests that if Thomistic natural law theory is to retain its status as a serviceable tool of moral analysis (especially in the Roman Catholic Church), it must be constructed on different theological foundations.

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