tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post4354387513175880711..comments2024-03-28T09:59:13.754-07:00Comments on bionic mosquito: The Search for Liberty; Chapter Four: Philosophy and Theologybionic mosquitohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12002548958078731031noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-9379270350059077392019-06-23T08:45:39.597-07:002019-06-23T08:45:39.597-07:00Exactly ATL. Without God, any ethic would lack a...Exactly ATL. Without God, any ethic would lack an ontological base.Thomas Batemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06493366024392863302noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-50500376645967270792019-06-18T05:00:52.901-07:002019-06-18T05:00:52.901-07:00"may not speak highly of this idea that natur..."may not speak highly of this idea that natural law can be built on a foundation of only pure reason. "<br /><br />I've also been thinking this. I think my current position on this is that it is theoretically possible for a purely rational ethic to 'get it right', but it is highly unlikely, and it is even more unlikely that such an ethic without a supernatural belief, a belief in a higher authority than man as the source of the law, can provide the foundation of the law in a society without the state.A Texas Libertarianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02980539931923054404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-44642266254244630432019-06-18T04:50:07.064-07:002019-06-18T04:50:07.064-07:00Rothbard identifies two camps in this discussion o...Rothbard identifies two camps in this discussion of natural law: supporters who lean on “faith,” and detractors who suggest that leaning on faith inherently disqualifies the idea of natural law from the discussion. <br /><br />He then offers: “The believer in a rationally established natural law must, then, face the hostility of both camps.”<br /><br />Rothbard places himself in this camp: “rationally established” meaning without leaning on religion, yet concluding in support of natural law. At some point in this study I intend to include an analysis of this essay. <br /><br />For now I will just say that concluding that abortion is consistent with natural law might suggest that natural law absent religion (specifically the Christian religion where it was most significantly developed) may not speak highly of this idea that natural law can be built on a foundation of only pure reason. Such a conclusion (abortion) is not deducible from anything I have read of either Aristotle or Thomas.<br /><br />But as you know, this is precisely the path where my studies over several years have led me.<br />bionic mosquitohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12002548958078731031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-42239455222887452682019-06-17T21:36:31.229-07:002019-06-17T21:36:31.229-07:00"Through an examination of Aquinas, the quest..."Through an examination of Aquinas, the question of the relationship between philosophy and theology is raised."<br /><br />In the opening pages of "the Ethics of Liberty" Rothbard declares himself a Thomist (philosophically) by defending the proposition that the natural law can be discovered by reason as well as revealed through religion.<br /><br />"The statement that there is an order of natural law, in short leaves open the problem of whether or not God has created that order; and the assertion of the viability of man's reason to discover that natural order leaves open the question of whether or not that reason was given to man by God." - Rothbard<br /><br />Rothbard is mainly defending the viability of a rational ethic or a natural law independent of the existence of God, but in so doing he's also defending the possibility of theological rationalism, or a mutual synthesis of religion and philosophy, like St. Thomas.<br /><br />Speaking of the broader tradition that has followed in the wake of the mind of St. Thomas, Rothbard states that:<br /><br />"Thus, let there be no mistake: in the Thomistic tradition, natural law is ethical as well as physical law; and the instrument by which man apprehends such law is his reason - not faith, or intuition, or grace, revelation, or anything else."A Texas Libertarianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02980539931923054404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-42678555865479525262019-06-17T12:52:50.634-07:002019-06-17T12:52:50.634-07:00While I do not have a serious understanding of the...While I do not have a serious understanding of the three, I "believe" that both religion and politics can be stated as "philosophy in action". <br /><br />Tahn Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com