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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.
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.
Nov 22, 2019 · Natural law is the opposite of “man-made” or “positive” law enacted by courts or governments. Under natural law, taking another life is forbidden, no matter the circumstances involved, including self-defense.
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.
May 27, 2001 · For example, John Finnis (1980) views natural law (in its Thomist version) not as a constraint on the legal validity of positive laws, but mainly as an elucidation of an ideal of law in its fullest, or highest sense, concentrating on the ways in which law necessarily promotes the common good.
Mar 23, 2012 · These texts will serve as useful starting points for inquiry into natural law theory and its critics, highlighting the main debates and issues of contention between natural law theory, positivism, and more critical approaches.
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.
