Natural Law

Natural Law

List of Readings

Natural law, or right reason , rests on the self-evident truths of fundamental goods and supposes that humanaction can be directed toward what is morally right by practical reason. According to Aquinas, “Goodis the first thing that falls under the apprehension of the practical reason, which is directed toaction: since every agent acts for an end under the aspect of good. Consequently the first principlein the practical reason is one founded on the notion of good.” Summa Theologiae,I—II, 94, a.2.

Below are selected readings exploring the truths and application of natural law.

Aristotle

Aristotle. Ethics.
Aristotle. Politics.

Aquinas, Saint Thomas

Aquinas, Saint Thomas. Summa Theologica. London: Blackfriars, 1975.
Aquinas, Saint Thomas. Commentarium super epistolam ad Romanos, c.14, lect.2 (ad v.5), in S. Thomae Aquinatus Super Epistolas S. Pauli Lectura, R. Cai, O.P. (ed.). Turin: Marietti, .
Aquinas, Saint Thomas. In Duo Praecepta Caritatis et in Decem Legis Praecepta. Prologus: Opuscula Theologica, II, No.1129, Ed. Taurinen. Paris, 1954.

Althusius, Johannes

Althusius, Johannes. Politics. Boston: Beacon Press, 1964 (1614).

Bayle, Pierre

Bayle, Pierre. A Philosophical Commentary on These Words of the Gospel, Luke 14:23, "Compel Them to Come In, That My House May Be Full" (1686), edited, with an Introduction by John Kilcullen and Chandran Kukathas. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2005.

Barth, Karl

Barth, Karl. Natural Theology ("Nature and Grace" by Brunner and the Reply "No!" by Barth). London: Geoffrey Bles, 1946.

Biggar, Nigel

Biggar, Nigel. "Is the New Natural Law Theory Christian?" In The Revival of Natural Law: Philosophical, Theological and Ethical Responses to the Finnis-Grisez School, 148-63. Edited by Nigel Biggar and Rufus Black. Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2000.
Biggar, Nigel. "Karl Barth and Germain Grisez on the Human Good: An Ecumenical Rapprochement." In The Revival of Natural Law: Philosophical, Theological and Ethical Responses to the Finnis-Grisez School, 164-83. Edited by Nigel Biggar and Rufus Black. Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2000.
Biggar, Nigel. The Hastening that Waits: Karl Barth's Ethics. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993.
Biggar, Nigel. The New Natural Law Theory In The Revival of Natural Law: Philosophical, Theological and Ethical Responses to the Finnis-Grisez School, 1-28. Edited by Nigel Biggar and Rufus Black. Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2000.

Black, Rufus

Black, Rufus. Christian Moral Realism: Natural Law, Narrative, Virtue and the Gospel. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.
Black, Rufus. "Is the New Natural Law Theory Christian?" In The Revival of Natural Law: Philosophical, Theological and Ethical Responses to the Finnis-Grisez School, 148-63. Edited by Nigel Biggar and Rufus Black. Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2000.
Black, Rufus. Karl Barth and Germain Grisez on the Human Good: An Ecumenical Rapprochement. In The Revival of Natural Law: Philosophical, Theological and Ethical Responses to the Finnis-Grisez School, 164-83. Edited by Nigel Biggar and Rufus Black. Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2000.
Black, Rufus. "The New Natural Law Theory" In The Revival of Natural Law: Philosophical, Theological and Ethical Responses to the Finnis-Grisez School, 1-28. Edited by Nigel Biggar and Rufus Black. Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2000.

Boyle, Joseph

Boyle, Joseph. Nuclear Deterrence: Morality and Realism. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1987.
Boyle, Joseph. Practical Principles, Moral Truth, and Ultimate Ends, American Journal of Jurisprudence 32. , 1987.

Boyle, José

Boyle, José. Incoherence and Consequentialism (or Proportionalism)--A Rejoinder, American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly 64. , 1990.

Bradley, Gerard

Bradley, Gerard. Marriage and the Liberal Imagination', Georgetown Law Journal 84. , 1995.

Brunner, Emil

Brunner, Emil. Christianity and Civilization. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1948-49.
Brunner, Emil. Justice and the Social Order. London: Lutterworth Press, 1945.
Brunner, Emil. Man in Revolt: A Christian Anthropology. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1947.
Brunner, Emil. Revelation and Reason: The Christian Doctrine of Faith and Knowledge. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1946.
Brunner, Emil. The Divine Imperative: A Study in Christian Ethics. New York: Macmillan, 1937.
Brunner, Emil. Natural Theology ("Nature and Grace" by Brunner and the Reply "No!" by Barth). London: Geoffrey Bles, 1946.

Budziszewski, J

Budziszewski, J. Written on the Heart: The Case for Natural Law. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1997.
Budziszewski, J. The Revenge of Conscience: Politics and the Fall of Man. Dallas: Spence Publishing, 2000.
Budziszewski, J. "The Roots of Law" In Religion & Liberty, vol. 11, n. 5. Grand Rapids: Acton Institute, 2001.
Budziszewski, J. What We Can't Not Know: A Guide. Dallas: Spence Publishing, 2003.

Burlamaqui, Jean-Jacques

Burlamaqui, Jean-Jacques. The Principles of Natural and Politic Law (1747). Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2006.

Carmichael, Gershom

Carmichael, Gershom. Natural Rights on the Threshold of the Scottish Enlightenment: The Writings of Gershom Carmichael (1724), ed. James Moore and Michael Silverthorne. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2002.

Culverwell, Nathaniel

Culverwell, Nathaniel. An Elegant and Learned Discourse of the Light of Nature (1652), ed. Robert A. Greene and Hugh MacCallum. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2001.

Cumberland, Richard

Cumberland, Richard. A Treatise of the Laws of Nature (1627). Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2005.

Finnis, John

Finnis, John. Aquinas: Moral, Political and Legal Theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.
Finnis, John. Fundamentals of Ethics. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 1983.
Finnis, John. Natural Law and Natural Rights. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1980/1993.
Finnis, John. "A Bill of Rights for Britain? The Moral of Contemporary Jurisprudence", Maccabaean Lecture in Jurisprudence, Proceedings of the British Academy 71. , 1985.
Finnis, John. Nuclear Deterrence: Morality and Realism. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1987.
Finnis, John. "Legal Enforcement of 'Duties to Oneself': Kant v. Neo-Kantians", Columbia Law Review 87. , 1987.
Finnis, John. "Incoherence and Consequentialism (or Proportionalism)--A Rejoinder", American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly 64. , 1990.
Finnis, John. Moral Absolutes: Tradition, Revision, and Truth. Washington, DC: University of America Press, 1991.
Finnis, John. Practical Principles, Moral Truth, and Ultimate Ends, American Journal of Jurisprudence 32. , 1987.

Fordyce, David

Fordyce, David. The Elements of Moral Philosophy, in Three Books with a Brief Account of the Nature, Progress and Origin of Philosophy (1754), ed. Thomas Kennedy. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2003.

Grisez, Germain

Grisez, Germain. Nuclear Deterrence: Morality and Realism. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1987.
Grisez, Germain. "Incoherence and Consequentialism (or Proportionalism)--A Rejoinder", American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly 64. , 1990.

George, Robert P, ed

George, Robert P, ed. Natural Law Theory: Contemporary Essays. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.
George, Robert P., ed. Natural Law, Liberalism, and Morality. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996.
George, Robert P. ed. Natural Law and Public Reason. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2000.

George, Robert P

George, Robert P. "Recent Criticism of Natural Law Theory", University of Chicago Law Review 55. , 1988.
George, Robert P. "Marriage and the Liberal Imagination", Georgetown Law Journal 84. , 1995.
George, Robert P. "Moralistic Liberalism and Legal Moralism", Michigan Law Review 88. , 1990.
George, Robert P. "Does the 'Incommensurability Thesis' Imperil Common Sense Moral Judgements?" American Journal of Jurisprudence 37. , 1992.
George, Robert P. Making Men Moral: Civil Liberties and Public Morality. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993.
George, Robert P. "Natural Law and Positive Law" in The Autonomy of Law: Essays on Legal Positivism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996.
George, Robert P. "Natural Law and International Order" in The Constitution of International Society: Diverse Ethical Perspectives, Terry Nardin et al. (eds.). Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1998.
George, Robert P. In Defense of Natural Law. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1999.
George, Robert P. "A Clash of Orthodoxies", First Things 95. , 1999.
George, Robert P. "A Clash of Orthodoxies: An Exchange", First Things 104. , 2000.

Glendon, Mary Ann

Glendon, Mary Ann. Rights Talk: The Impoverishment of Political Discourse. New York: Free Press, 1991.

Gierke, Otto Friedrich von

Gierke, Otto Friedrich von. Natural Law and the Theory of Society, 1500-1800. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1950.

Grabill, Stephen

Grabill, Stephen. Rediscovering the Natural Law in Reformed Theological Ethics. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 2005.

Gregg, Samuel

Gregg, Samuel. On Ordered Liberty. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2003.
Gregg, Samuel. Morality, Law, and Public Policy. Sydney: St. Thomas More Press, 2001.

Grisez, Germain

Grisez, Germain. The Way of the Lord Jesus, 3 vols. , 1983, 1993, 1997.
Grisez, Germain. "Practical Principles, Moral Truth, and Ultimate Ends", American Journal of Jurisprudence 32. , 1987.

Grotius, Hugo

Grotius, Hugo. Commentary on the Law of Prize and Booty (1603). Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2006.
Grotius, Hugo. The Free Sea with William Welwod's Critique and Grotius's Reply (1609), ed. David Armitage. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2004.
Grotius, Hugo. The Rights of War and Peace (1625), 3 vols. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2005.

Gustafson, James M

Gustafson, James M. Protestant and Roman Catholic Ethics: Prospects for Rapprochement. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1978.

Hare, John E

Hare, John E. God's Call: Moral Realism, God's Commands, and Human Autonomy. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 2001.

Helm, Paul

Helm, Paul. "Calvin and Natural Law". Scottish Bulletin of Evangelical Theology 2. , 1984.
Helm, Paul. "John Calvin, the sensus divinitatis,and the Noetic Effects of Sin." International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 43, no. 2 (April 1998). , 1998.
Helm, Paul. "Types of Protestant Theology and the Natural Law Tradition." Ph.D. dissertation. Duke University, 1970.

Hittinger, Russell

Hittinger, Russell. A Critique of the New Natural Law Theory. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1987.
Hittinger, Russell. "The Gospel of Life: A Symposium", First Things 56, October 1995. , 1995.

Home, Henry

Home, Henry. Elements of Criticism (1762). 2 vols. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2005.
Home, Henry. Essays on the Principles of Morality and Natural Religion, Corrected and Improved, in a Third Edition. Several Essays Added Concerning the Proof of a Deity (1779). Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2005.

Hutcheson, Francis

Hutcheson, Francis. An Essay on the Nature and Conduct of the Passions and Affections, with Illustrations on the Moral Sense (1742). Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2002.
Hutcheson, Francis. An Inquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of Beauty and Virtue in Two Treatises (1726). Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2004.
Hutcheson, Francis. Logic, Metaphysics, and the Natural Sociability of Mankind (1730). Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2006.

Jackson, Robert

Jackson, Robert. "Opening Speech", in Trial of the Major War Criminals before the International Military Tribunal, vol. ii, Proceedings, 11/14/1945-11/30/1945 [Official text in the English language], IMT, Nuremberg, 1947: Second Day, Wednesday, 11/21/1945, part 20, 143. , 1945.
Jackson, Robert. "Closing Speech", in Trial of the Major War Criminals before the International Military Tribunal, vol. xix, Proceedings, 7/19-29/1946, [Official text in English language], IMT, Nuremberg, 1947: One Hundred and Eighty-Seventh Day: Friday, 7/26/1946: Morning Session: Part 2, 29. , 1946.

Kuyper, Abraham

Kuyper, Abraham. De gemeene gratie, 3 vols. Leiden: Donner, 1902.
Kuyper, Abraham. Encyclopaedie der heilige godgeleerdheid, 3 vols. Amsterdam: J.A. Wormser, 1894.

Mackintosh, Sir James

Mackintosh, Sir James. Vindiciae Gallicae and Other Writings on the French Revolution (1791). Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2006.

MacIntyre, Alasdair

MacIntyre, Alasdair. After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1981.
MacIntyre, Alasdair. Whose Justice? Which Rationality?. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1988.
MacIntyre, Alasdair. "The Privitization of Good", Review of Politics 52. , 1990.

Wolfe, Christopher, ed

Wolfe, Christopher, ed. Natural Law and Public Reason. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2000.