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..the human subject is ... A substantial and personal whole called to respond to the love of God and to unite himself through a recognized orientation towards a last end ..." (3.4) a natural law theory of ethics accounts for our unity by denying that our difference from the natural order is a "deep" difference; on the contrary, what would ostensibly differentiate us from natural things -- our rationality -- is in fact complement to nature's teleology. Our rationality reveals to us nature's ethical message.
We have already said quite a bit about nature. It carries with it God's inspiration toward ethics just as we do, even if we have free will: "a personal God governs the stars, that is, the universe." (3.3) in our work to understand God's creation and to care for it responsibly, we are serving God and fulfilling the capabilities with which we have been divinely endowed. God has created us, our yen for truth, our rational capacities for discovering truth, and the universe which reveals itself to our inquiries; it is a harmonious creation without excess:
...man, as a moral being that searches for the truth and the ultimate goods, transcends his own immediate environment, he does it by accepting the special mission to keep watch over the natural world and to live in...
(3.4)
I have reviewed the relationship between God, persons, and nature in "The Search for Universal Ethics." We have seen that natural law theories of ethics offer a uniquely comprehensive and holistic account of the three. Rather than divide our minds from our bodies and both of these from God, they point out that all three are united in purpose; and, further, natural law theories of ethics jointly inspire us to noble pursuits by noting that this unified purpose is to pursue and embody a universal ethics.
REFERENCES
1. International Theological Commission. 'The Search for Universal Ethics: A New Look at Natural Law," translated by Joseph Bolin. March 25, 2010 edition, accessed May 18, 2010. URL = .
2. Murphy, Mark, "The Natural Law Tradition in Ethics," the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2008 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = .
All section and subsection references in parentheses are to "The Search for Universal Ethics," updated March, 2010: http://www.pathsoflove.com/universal-ethics-natural-law.html#3.3.Nature-man-and-God-from-harmony-to-conflict
Murphy 2008: 1.1
references in parentheses are to "The Search for Universal Ethics," updated March, 2010: http://www.pathsoflove.com/universal-ethics-natural-law.html#3.3.Nature-man-and-God-from-harmony-to-conflict
Murphy 2008: 1.1
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