> [!infobox] <s class="aside-in"><em>mentioned in 2 topics, 4 evergreens</em></s> #### <s class="topic-title">[[natural law]]</s> > [!wikipedia] [natural law](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural%20law) > > Natural law is a system of law based on a close observation of human nature, and based on values intrinsic to human nature that can be deduced and applied independent of [[positive law]] (the enacted laws of a state or [[society]]). According to natural law theory, all people have inherent rights, conferred not by act of legislation but by "God, nature, or reason." Natural law theory can also refer to "theories of [[ethics]], theories of [[politics]], theories of civil law, and theories of religious morality." > > Although the central ideas of natural law had been part of [[Christianity|Christian]] thought since the Roman Empire, the foundation for natural law as a consistent system was laid by Aquinas, as he synthesized ideas from his predecessors and condensed them into his "Lex Naturalis" (lit. "Natural law"). St. Thomas argues that because human beings have [[reason]], and because reason is a spark of the divine (see image of God), all human lives are sacred and of infinite value compared to any created object, meaning all humans are fundamentally equal and bestowed with an intrinsic basic set of rights that no human can remove. > > Modern natural law theories took shape in the [[Age of Enlightenment]], combining inspiration from Roman law, Christian scholastic [[philosophy]], and contemporary concepts such as [[social contract theory]]. It was used in challenging the theory of the divine right of kings, and became an alternative justification for the establishment of a social contract, positive law, and government—and thus legal rights—in the form of classical republicanism. In the early decades of the 21st century, the concept of natural law is closely related to the concept of natural rights. Indeed, many philosophers, jurists and scholars use natural law synonymously with natural rights, or natural justice, though others distinguish between natural law and natural right. > > Because of the intersection between natural law and natural rights, natural law has been claimed or attributed as a key component in the Declaration of Independence (1776) of the United States, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789) of France, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) of the United Nations, as well as the European Convention on Human Rights (1953) of the Council of Europe. > ##### ^dataviews > [!dataview]+ Related unlinked notes > > - [[In what way are human's equal]] > [!dataview]- Other unlinked mentions > > - [[Hammurabi's Code preserved hierarchy through deific justice]] > - [[Oppressors invent reasoning for their oppression]] > - [[Why is it hard to understand how our environment effects us]]