A concise and accessible introduction to natural law ethics, this book introduces readers to the mainstream tradition of Western moral philosophy. Building on philosophers from Plato through Aquinas to John Finnis, Alfonso Gomez-Lobo links morality to the protection of basic human goods -- life, family, friendship, work and play, the experience of beauty, knowledge, and integrity -- elements essential to a flourishing, happy human life.

Gomez-Lobo begins with a discussion of Plato's Crito as an introduction to the practice of moral philosophy, showing that it requires that its...

Gomez-Lobo argues that behind the facade of Socratic irony lies a strictly deductive system of ethics suspended from two axioms--one governing practical rationality and the other specifying the ingredients of the good life. In the "Gorgias," the author contends, Plato tries to found Socratic ethics on a metaphysical principle about goodness in general, from which the axiom concerning the good life can be derived.

Gomez-Lobo argues that behind the facade of Socratic irony lies a strictly deductive system of ethics suspended from two axioms--one governing practical rationality and the other specifying the ingredients of the good life. In the "Gorgias," the author contends, Plato tries to found Socratic ethics on a metaphysical principle about goodness in general, from which the axiom concerning the good life can be derived.

Bioethics and the Human Goods offers students and general readers a brief introduction to bioethics from a "natural law" philosophical perspective. This perspective, which traces its origins to classical antiquity, has profoundly shaped Western ethics and law and is enjoying an exciting renaissance. While compatible with much in the ethical thought of the great religions, it is grounded in reason, not religion. In contrast to the currently dominant bioethical theories of utilitarianism and principlism, the natural law approach offers an understanding of human flourishing grounded in...