Aquinas is the great synthesizer of the natural law, but who exactly is he drawing from? Today, Dr. Randall Smith joins Ben Eriksen to discuss the various philosophers and theologians who influenced Aquinas’ thought. Dr. Smith argues that Aristotle did not greatly influence Aquinas conception of the natural law; instead, he believes that Cicero, Maimonides, and Philo of Alexandria were more pivotal. This enlightening conversation reveals the great depth of the natural law tradition and how we can contribute to this tradition in the modern era. Get Your Copy of: Kreeft’s “Summa of the Summa”: https://ignatius.com/summa-of-the-summa-sosp/?searchid=0&search_query=aquinas Kreeft’s “A Shorter Summa”: https://ignatius.com/a-shorter-summa-ssup/?searchid=0&search_query=aquinas Rice’s “50 Questions on the Natural Law”: https://ignatius.com/50-questions-on-the-natural-law-fqnlp/?searchid=4017350&search_query=aquinas Hill’s “After the Natural Law”: https://ignatius.com/after-the-natural-law-anlp/?searchid=4017350&search_query=aquinas Read Dr. Randall Smith’s Artiles Here: https://www.thecatholicthing.org/author/randall-smith/ Listen to His Lecture at the De Nicola Center Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nStb4yj7pIg Link to New Advent’s “Summa Theologiae”: https://www.newadvent.org/summa/ SUBSCRIBE to our channel and never miss an episode of the Ignatius Press Podcast. You can also listen to the podcast on Apple, Spotify, and other podcast platforms. Follow us on social media: Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/IgnatiusPress Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ignatiuspress Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ignatius_press/ Music from Pexels, Gregor Quendel. https://www.classicals.de/legal 0:00 Introduction 2:31 what is the natural law tradition 6:16 False Historicism 10:24 What is the natural law? 16:02 Who Influenced Aquinas on the natural law? 19:28 What is “Nature” in Natural Law? 27:17 Maimonides 31:40 Laws Are Not an Exertion of God’s Will 35:14 How Can History Inform Us?