Abstract

This chapter explores Bonaventure's account of moral philosophy. Bonaventure unambiguously presents moral philosophy as a distinct branch of study in On the Reduction of the Arts to Theology. He divides moral philosophy into three branches: personal, domestic, and political. According to Bonaventure, moral philosophy investigates the truth of morals and the right order of living, specifically, the right order in man's actions as an individual, as a member of a household, and as a member of the city. Human beings are able to know the right order of living through the natural law, which consists of both the dictates of right reason and God's eternal law impressed on the human soul.