Thomistic Natural Law as Darwinian Natural Right: A Reply to Critics

Abstract:     
I have argued for Darwinian natural right, which is a Darwinian understanding of evolved human nature that provides a modern scientific confirmation of Thomistic natural law. For Aquinas, the good is the desirable, and the order of the natural law corresponds to the order of the natural desires. Darwinian science shows how these natural desires can be understood as expressions of a human nature shaped by human evolutionary history. Critics of this argument have offered six major objections. In this paper, I reply to these objections. In all of this, I aim to show how by rooting natural law in a scientific conception of human nature, and by avoiding the contradictions that arise from Aquinas's occasional efforts to elevate revelation over reason, Darwinian natural right is the natural fulfillment of Thomistic natural law.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 59

Keywords: Thomas Aquinas, Charles Darwin, natural law, evolutionary ethics, biopolitical theory

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