ABSTRACT
The topic of moral epistemology has been discussed since the very beginning of philosophical ethics. Many ancient thinkers focused on the questions of how correct thinking can effect good actions, what its relation to the virtues is, and how it can be taught; in pursing these questions, the ancients developed a non-trivial notion of a free will. Medieval authors introduced the notion of “the will”, a reason-based ability to spontaneously bring about good or bad actions, which is distinct both from reason itself and the nonrational faculties of the soul. Of particular significance is Aristotle’s moral epistemology in his Nicomachean Ethics, especially his theory of practical reason based on experience. His theory is best viewed in relation to that of Thomas Aquinas, who elaborated upon Aristotle, applying what were then more recent ideas, such as an innate knowledge of universal moral propositions and a rigorous analysis of individual actions.
