Published : 2026-06-29

Divine Command

John Hare



Mikołaj Ostrowski-Pietras

https://orcid.org/0009-0002-0795-3050

[transl. Mikołaj Ostrowski-Pietras]

Abstract

The divine command theory constitutes, alongside natural law ethics, one of the main positions within theonomic ethics in the Judeo-Christian tradition. St. Thomas Aquinas is regarded as the classical representative of natural law ethics, whereas John Duns Scotus is considered one of the most important representatives of Divine Command Theory. In his article, John Hare presents the main assumptions of the classical form of this position, with particular emphasis on the thought of Duns Scotus, while at the same time indicating the fundamental differences between it and the Thomistic ethics of natural law. The author also refers to selected contemporary approaches to the divine command theory and outlines related themes present in the thought of certain Arab thinkers, who emphasize the voluntarist dimension of theonomic ethics.

Keywords:

divine command theory, will, command, God, John Duns Scotus, Thomas Acquinas



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Hare, J., & Ostrowski-Pietras, M. (2026). Divine Command: [transl. Mikołaj Ostrowski-Pietras]. Roczniki Filozoficzne, 74(2), 259–272. https://doi.org/10.18290/rf26742.11

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Roczniki Filozoficzne · ISSN 0035-7685 | eISSN 2450-002X
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