tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16355954.post7294831240949643400..comments2024-03-28T08:57:53.180+00:00Comments on Darwinian Conservatism by Larry Arnhart: Shadia Drury on Aquinas's Betrayal of Natural LawLarry Arnharthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14619785331100785170noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16355954.post-76822094113585264872009-03-10T23:37:00.000+00:002009-03-10T23:37:00.000+00:00Do you agree with Drury regarding Strauss - do you...Do you agree with Drury regarding Strauss - do you think he was a nihilist? And do you plan to speak with her about him?<BR/><BR/>Jaffa (whose nihilism would have to be very esoteric to say the least) certainly argues that Strauss was Socratic in his skepticism and far from dogmatically nihilistic. <BR/><BR/>FWIW I find the "biological" solution you have developed for the problem that (the lack of)cosmic teleology poses for ethics brilliant, comprehensive, and very compelling. And I agree that most Straussians'ambivalence towards it is short-sighted. Likely a result of not just the ancient/modern dichotomy, but specifically of the disdain for "the conquest of nature" inherent in science. Like Aristotle who would have been the "first to look throught the telescope" I suspect Strauss himself would have taken your writing very seriously - but who knows. <BR/><BR/>-wbondAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16355954.post-83003487699470192702009-03-09T14:51:00.000+00:002009-03-09T14:51:00.000+00:00Thanks. I would need to check, but it would not su...Thanks. I would need to check, but it would not surprise me if the late Herbert McCabe also pointed out Aquinas' defense of the Inquisition as well, although I can't say for sure.<BR/><BR/>This is a fascinating topic, and I can't help thinking that a non-trivial percentage of the hierarchy in the Church is uneasy about evolution, precisely because they sense that, the more we learn about evolution, the more some re-thinking of natural law in the light of such information, is going to be called for. And it doesn't seem like something they're ready to do.<BR/><BR/>As one priest friend of mine quipped to me recently, "We need a new Aquinas."John Farrellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18280296574996987228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16355954.post-60990716348969971082009-03-09T14:26:00.000+00:002009-03-09T14:26:00.000+00:00Pieper's GUIDE TO THOMAS AQUINAS, chapter 3.Pieper's GUIDE TO THOMAS AQUINAS, chapter 3.Larry Arnharthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14619785331100785170noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16355954.post-32077411987098042762009-03-09T13:43:00.000+00:002009-03-09T13:43:00.000+00:00I also agree with her in lamenting that almost non...<I>I also agree with her in lamenting that almost none of the modern scholarly supporters of Aquinas--with the exception of Josef Pieper--have faced up to Aquinas's defense of the Inquisition.</I><BR/><BR/>Fascinating. Do you recall which of Pieper's works? I have several of his excellent books, and this does seem familiar to me.John Farrellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18280296574996987228noreply@blogger.com