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- DictionaryNat·u·ral law/ˌnaCHər(ə)l ˈlô/
noun
- 1. a body of unchanging moral principles regarded as a basis for all human conduct: "an adjudication based on natural law"
- 2. an observable law relating to natural phenomena: "the natural laws of perspective"
The natural law is comprised of those precepts of the eternal law that govern the behavior of beings possessing reason and free will. The first precept of the natural law, according to Aquinas, is the somewhat vacuous imperative to do good and avoid evil.
Nov 22, 2019 · By. Robert Longley. Updated on November 22, 2019. Natural law is a theory that says all humans inherit—perhaps through a divine presence—a universal set of moral rules that govern human conduct. Key Takeaways: Natural Law. Natural law theory holds that all human conduct is governed by an inherited set of universal moral rules.
natural law, In jurisprudence and political philosophy, a system of right or justice common to all humankind and derived from nature rather than from the rules of society, or positive law. The concept can be traced to Aristotle, who held that what was “just by nature” was not always the same as what was “just by law.”.
In legal philosophy, natural law is a set of universal truths, principles, and rules that properly govern moral human conduct. In contrast to positive law, natural law is pre-existing and discovered through human reason and rational analysis.
Natural-law theories are fundamentally theories of practical reasoning, even though, like practical reasoning itself, such theories of (or about) practical reasoning necessarily include certain premises that are the fruit of theoretical, rather than practical, awareness, insight, and reasoning.
N atural law theory is a mode of thinking systematically about the connections between the cosmic order, morality, and law, which, in one form or another, has been around for thousands of years.
Natural law ethics recognizes a special set of circumstances in which the effect of its absolute prohibitions would be mitigated. This is the situation in which the so-called doctrine of double effect would apply.
