1001Philosophers

John Finnis b. 1940

John Finnis (born 1940) is an Australian-British philosopher of the Contemporary era, associated with Analytic Philosophy, Christian Philosophy, and Political Philosophy.

John Finnis is an Australian-British legal and moral philosopher, emeritus professor of law at Oxford and a long-time professor at the University of Notre Dame. Natural Law and Natural Rights, his major work, reconstructed the natural law tradition of Aquinas in contemporary terms, identifying a list of basic human goods that practical reason recognizes as self-evidently choiceworthy and a set of principles for choosing reasonably among them. His later Aquinas and Fundamentals of Ethics extended this program into a comprehensive Catholic moral and political philosophy.

Key facts

Nationality
Australian-British
Era
Contemporary
Movements
Analytic Philosophy, Christian Philosophy, Political Philosophy

Selected quotes

  • Attributed to John Finnis:

    “There are basic human goods that reason grasps as good in themselves.”

  • Attributed to John Finnis:

    “Natural law is what reason perceives in the structure of the goods of human nature.”

  • Attributed to John Finnis:

    “Practical reason proceeds from the basic goods to the principles of reasonableness.”

  • Attributed to John Finnis:

    “A law contrary to the basic goods is not, in the proper sense, law at all.”

  • Attributed to John Finnis:

    “Reason and faith share the goods of the human person; they are not foreign to each other.”

Read all John Finnis quotes

Frequently asked about John Finnis

When was John Finnis born?
John Finnis was born in 1940.
Where was John Finnis from?
John Finnis is an Australian-British philosopher of the Contemporary era.
What philosophical movements is John Finnis associated with?
John Finnis is associated with Analytic Philosophy, Christian Philosophy, and Political Philosophy.
What is John Finnis known for?
John Finnis is an Australian-British legal and moral philosopher, emeritus professor of law at Oxford and a long-time professor at the University of Notre Dame.
How many quotes are attributed to John Finnis?
There are 9 attributed quotations from John Finnis in the 1001Philosophers collection, organized by topic.