Natural law

Rare card · No. 57751

Natural law (Latin: ius naturale, lex naturalis) is a philosophical and legal theory that posits the existence of inherent laws derived from nature and universal moral principles that are discoverable through reason. In ethics, natural law theory asserts that certain rights and moral values are inherent in human nature and can be universally understood, independent of enacted laws or social norms. In jurisprudence, natural law—sometimes referred to as iusnaturalism or jusnaturalism—holds that there are objective legal standards based on morality that underlie the creation, interpretation, and application of human-made laws. This contrasts with positive law (as in legal positivism), which emphasizes that laws are rules created by human authorities and are not necessarily connected to moral principles. Natural law can refer to "theories of ethics, theories of politics, theories of civil law, and theories of religious morality", depending on the context in which naturally-grounded practical...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Carlo Crivelli, Public domain