Averroes

The Distinctive Features of Natural Law and Situation Ethics The theories of natural law and situation ethics are far from concrete, and the impact of the contemporary ‘new natural law,’ led by the American philosopher Germain Grisez, appears to be a great one. Yet despite modern modifications, the two concepts are essentially deep-routed within human thinking. However, they were formulated at opposite ends of the second millennium: St. Thomas Aquinas’ 13th century Summa Theologica developed Aristotle and Cicero’s ideas of ‘natural law’, and the explicit conclusions of ‘situation ethics’ were created by Joseph Fletcher in the early 1960s. Both deal with the human need to astutely with every day dilemmas. Natural law takes the view that the absolute principle of love should be a consideration of every decision made, whilst situation ethics discredits any absolute idea other than that of human happiness. First Aristotle (384-322 BCE) and then Cicero (106-43 BCE) introduced the idea of a natural law “which everywhere is equally valid” (Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics). Aristotle believed that “that which is natural is unchangeable, and has the same power everywhere.” Within these statements one notices the effect of the Ancient Stoics, who spoke of the idea of ‘Logos,’ from which the word ‘logic’ is derived. Logos was seen as a law of rationality that governed the world, and its influence can…

of Greek Philosophy and Monotheistic Religions “On July 19, 711, an army of Arabs and Berbers unified under the Islamic Umayyad caliphate landed on the Iberian Peninsula” (M 'Bow 2). Over the next several decades, through diplomacy and warfare, they brought the entire peninsula under Islamic control. The new territories, were referred to as al-Andalus. This region of southern Europe produced a wealth of great thinkers which would influence the development of the modern world. Two such thinkers…

Throughout the course of Cultural Perspectives, many texts and authors who have contributed to the Great Conversation have been discussed. Ultimately, each author is attempting to find his or her summum bonum or “highest good.” Although each author has a different definition of summum bonum, the majority agrees on the method required to attain the highest good: balance. Whether that balance be implicitly or explicitly accredited for the summum bonum differs for each author. Lao Tzu’s thoughts…

The Psychology of Thomas Aquinas Having acknowledged the fuzziness of the boundaries between what we now recognize as the separate disciplines of religion, philosophy, and psychology, one must admit that Aquinas’s extensive writings nevertheless delved deeply into psychological subjects. The Scholastic movement, beginning in 1150 with Peter Lombard’s Four Volumes of Opinion—an effort to align human reason with the high value placed on faith during the papacy-dominated middle ages—did not reach…

The works of Italian philosopher Thomas Aquinas still hold prominent to this day. Influenced by the works Greek philosopher Aristotle, he was convinced to find evidence of the existence of a God. Through the first two “ways” of Gods existence, he explored the relationship between the cause and the resulting phenomenon of the world’s occurrences. In this paper I will argue that, Aquinas’s first two ways do very little to effectively suggest that a God actually exists. The first way of Aquinas…

Saint Thomas Aquinas was a philosopher in the 13th century credited with his philosophical works: Summa Theologiae and Summa Contra Gentiles. These were used as a basis of Christian theology for early theologians. In these works, Aquinas spells out what is known as “The Five Ways.” This is a series of five arguments that Aquinas believed to prove the existence of God using the facts one can observe in the world. Two of the arguments used are the argument from motion and the argument from design.…

Averroes (1126-1198) wrote a commentary on Plato’s Republic, and to some extent supported Plato’s idea of a philosopher-king and Farabi’s equation of that Philosophical king being an Islamic Imam. Averroes saw common ground between Shari’ah (Islamic law) and Plato’s general law, and believed there was no conflict between religion and philosophy, and was a supporter of equality for women. “They should be educated and allowed to serve in the military; the best among them might be tomorrow 's…

the world of ideas; and Aristotle is carrying is work 'Ethic to Nicomaco' and pointing the ground, to the world of experiences, both characters are the point of perspective. According to Vasari, “the scene includes Raphael himself, the Duke of Mantua, Zoroaster and some Evangelists” (Wiki.). Environment Plato and Aristotle to other wise, philosophical, scientific and mathematical Important more of the classical school; Heraclitus of Ephesus "The dark" with the recognizable image of…

Renaissance thinkers had a new interest in ancient Rome. Italy had been the center of the Roman Empire, and people could study its art and architecture. The Roman Catholic church, based on Rome, supported many artists and scholars. Trade routes also carried new ideas that were important in shaping the renaissance. Muslim scholars had preserved and developed the scientific and technical knowledge of ancient Greece and Rome, which had been forgotten in medieval europe. Artist Leonardo da Vinci…

The two ancient powers who dominated the middle east were Byzantine Empire and Sassanid Empire. The Byzantine Empire controlled over Egypt and a piece of the Mediterranean coastline. Sassanid Empire ruled over Persia. Persia was a great cultural center and influenced Judaism, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism. In 613 Muhammad was preaching his faith. He focused on three themes:Allah was the God, the rich shouldn’t share with the poor, and that men would have a final judgement before Allah.…