Natural law
Natural law
Natural law (pronunciation: /ˈnætʃərəl lɔː/) is a philosophical theory that posits the existence of a law whose content is set by nature and that therefore has validity everywhere. The concept of natural law is closely related to the concept of natural rights.
Etymology
The term "natural law" is derived from the Latin ius naturale, where ius means law and naturale means natural. The concept of natural law has been present in philosophy since the times of Ancient Greece and was further developed in the Middle Ages by Christian philosophers such as Thomas Aquinas.
Related Terms
- Natural rights: Rights that are not contingent upon the laws, customs, or beliefs of any particular culture or government, and therefore universal and inalienable.
- Moral law: A system of guidelines for behavior. These guidelines may or may not be part of a religion, codified in written form, or legally enforceable.
- Divine law: Any law that is understood as deriving from a transcendent source, such as the will of God or gods, in contrast to man-made law.
- Positive law: Law that is man-made, or "posited" by human beings, in contrast to natural law.
- Legal realism: A view that jurisprudence should emulate the methods of natural science, i.e., rely on empirical evidence.
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Natural law
- Wikipedia's article - Natural law
This WikiMD dictionary article is a stub. You can help make it a full article.
Languages: - East Asian
中文,
日本,
한국어,
South Asian
हिन्दी,
Urdu,
বাংলা,
తెలుగు,
தமிழ்,
ಕನ್ನಡ,
Southeast Asian
Indonesian,
Vietnamese,
Thai,
မြန်မာဘာသာ,
European
español,
Deutsch,
français,
русский,
português do Brasil,
Italian,
polski