Similar to the moral laws of the Ten Commandments that were written in stone (Exodus 20:1-17), the natural law is a moral law written on the heart (Romans 2:14-16). More concisely, the natural law is the moral law accessible to human reason. It is a cognitive and realist branch of moral philosophy.
In the book Natural Law: 5 Views, edited by Andrew Walker and Ryan Anderson, the introduction states, “Natural law theory holds that there is an objective account of the good(s) that human beings should strive to attain in accordance with their end as beings who possess a rational nature.” It further states, “Natural law as a theory purports to explain the origins of the natural law, the mind’s grasp of that law, and our ability to actualize the human good.”
The five views represented in the book are as follows:
- The Classical Understanding of Natural Law
- A Lutheran Understanding of Natural Law
- Reformed Natural Law
- The “New” Natural Law
- Anti-Natural Law
I invite you to also consider the parallels between natural law and natural theology by reading my posts Reason and Revelation and Epiphany, Philosophy and Natural Theology.
~ Boethius ~