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Natural law (Latin: ius naturale, lex naturalis) is a system of law based on a close observation of natural order and human nature, from which values, thought by the proponents of this concept to be intrinsic to human nature, can be deduced and applied independently of positive law (the express enacted laws of a state or society).
- Overview
- Early formulations of the concept of natural law
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natural law, in philosophy, system of right or justice held to be common to all humans and derived from nature rather than from the rules of society, or positive law.
There have been several disagreements over the meaning of natural law and its relation to positive law. Aristotle (384–322 bce) held that what was “just by nature” was not always the same as what was “just by law,” that there was a natural justice valid everywhere with the same force and “not existing by people’s thinking this or that,” and that appeal could be made to it from positive law. However, he drew his examples of natural law primarily from his observation of the Greeks in their city-states, who subordinated women to men, slaves to citizens, and “barbarians” to Hellenes. In contrast, the Stoics conceived of an entirely egalitarian law of nature in conformity with the logos (reason) inherent in the human mind. Roman jurists paid lip service to this notion, which was reflected in the writings of St. Paul (c. 10–67 ce), who described a law “written in the hearts” of the Gentiles (Romans 2:14–15).
St. Augustine of Hippo (354–430) embraced Paul’s notion and developed the idea of man’s having lived freely under natural law before his fall and subsequent bondage under sin and positive law. In the 12th century Gratian, an Italian monk and father of the study of canon law, equated natural law with divine law—that is, with the revealed law of the Old and New Testaments, in particular the Christian version of the Golden Rule.
Natural law is a system of right or justice derived from nature rather than from society or positive law. Learn about the origins, theories, and applications of natural law in philosophy, theology, and politics from ancient to modern times.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Sep 23, 2002 · ‘Natural law theory’ is a label that has been applied to theories of ethics, theories of politics, theories of civil law, and theories of religious morality.
An overview of natural law theory in moral and legal philosophy, with references to classical and contemporary thinkers. Learn about the conceptual, substantive, and procedural aspects of natural law, and its relation to morality and law.
Sep 17, 2016 · Learn about natural law, a philosophy that certain moral values are inherent in human nature and reason. Explore how natural law applies to the American legal system, natural rights, human rights, and religious beliefs.
Feb 5, 2007 · Natural law theory accepts that law can be considered and spoken of both as a sheer social fact of power and practice, and as a set of reasons for action that can be and often are sound as reasons and therefore normative for reasonable people addressed by them.
Nov 22, 2019 · Learn what natural law is, how it differs from positive law, and how it influences morality and human rights. Explore the history and examples of natural law in the US legal system and the Hobby Lobby vs. Obamacare case.
