Common Truths: New Perspectives on Natural Law

Bys: Ralph McInerny, J. Rufus Fears, Russell Hittinger, et al.

Book Overview

Common Truths brings together the best minds writing on one of today's most important and heated issues: natural law. This diverse group of thinkers addresses the theoretical, historical, and--in a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1882926358
• ISBN13: 9781882926350
• Release Date: January 1999
• Publisher: Intercollegiate Studies Institute
• Length: 353 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.8" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

The natural law made relevant again

Edward McLean brings together leading scholars in this text to exposit the place of the natural law in government, society, and morality. The following are overviews of selected essays from the book: 1. John Locke's Reflections on Natural Law and the Character of the Modern World (Timothy Fuller) Timothy Fuller, Dean of Colorado College (Ph.D., John Hopkins University) explores Locke's Essays on the Law of Nature, which has been published for the first time by Clarendon Press in 1954 and by Cornell University Press in 1990. Locke's Essays offer the reader for the first time an overview of Locke's "Law of Nature," a concept that frequently comes up in his Second Treatise and other works. Those who have conventionally excoriated Locke as a secularist liberal who rejected the Christian foundations of culture and society may be surprised by this read, which paints a portrait of a thinker whose views on the natural law are in many ways in keeping with the Christian tradition. This is important reading for anyone examining Locke's Second Treatise, which sets forth Locke's view of the basis of government, but which does not clearly define the "Law of Nature" foundational to his view. Fuller writes of a Lockean vision for natural law that implies not only individual rights, but a system of duties and responsibilities in which rights are grounded. Locke "affirms the natural law as the means to making human individuality manageable and fruitful. Practical virtue is reconciling our desires with our duties. Our freedom demands acknowledgement of our dependency. Freedom and responsible conduct are complementary" (p. 88). Thus, for Locke, the natural law is not about more than just protecting the rights of every individual in an atomistic society; it is about duty, obligation, and virtue, as well; Locke's rights are bound up in a system that implies responsibilities. "In Locke's Second Treatise of Government, his work on natural law is reformulated as the argument in defense of property and productiveness as the keys to human improvement. These things, far from being signs of secularism, are actually evidences for Locke of our cooperation with the providential design for human beings to fulfill themselves through the right use of their reason" (p. 88). Some would find such statements hard to digest because of the many elements of the Second Treatise that emphasize self-interest and individualism as the basis for political society. Yet I would contend that those who adopt this view of Locke have failed to grasp him fully. Even in his treatment of private property, Locke describes a system where rights are bound up with obligations in a way that looks to the common good of the community. In Locke's framework, for example, one has a right to acquire only what he can consume; to do otherwise would be to invade one's neighbor's share. The law of nature obliges each individual to acquire only what his use calls for and no more. 2. What Dignity Means (Virginia Bl

A Stimulating Primer

What struck me is that this book analyzes natural law within a legal context: many of the contributing authors are attorneys as well as philosopher. This is particularly helpful to our nation today, as I think more citizens will have to reassess the role of the judiciary these days.For the latter half of the 20th century, worries over "judicial acitivism" and judges' making decisions that should be made by legislatures have been the domain of conservatives, with Roe v. Wade probably being the chief example. But now liberals have said similar things about the Supreme Court's Bush v. Gore decision. It is high time for intelligent discussion, and this book is a solid foundation for a dialogue.By looking at natural law historically, legally, and philosophically, the authors of this book examine how natural law works and various challenges to it. This book is a very good introduction, and I have come away with a greater respect for natural law and its vital role in our nation, and also new questions to pursue (and more books to buy...). The contributing authors are an impressive team of formidable thinkers, and while most of the writers clearly come from a religious background, the are pretty good about keeping what they say applicable to a secular society (the last two essays tend to be more theological than philosophical, and I thought that hurt their impact). I think MacIntyre's essay on the role of the ordinary person in natural law is particularly valuable: if the American citizenry cannot execute sound moral judgment, our nation as a constitutional republic is in grave danger. Fuller's essay on Locke's struggles with natural law is an honest and challenging look at natural law's theoretical chinks. Riley's essay on tort law gave excellent lessons on liability, but with lawsuits being as common as they are nowadays, I would have hoped for more practical insights on today's situation, and possible remedies.On the whole, this book is a good read and a good challenge. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in ethics or concerned about the present condition of the United States.

Scholarly, intellectually stimulating reading.

Common Truths: New Perspectives On Natural Law is a collection consisting of cogent remarks and prescient essays: Are There Moral Truths That Everyone Knows? (Ralph McInerny); Natural Law: The Legacy of Greece and Rome (J. Rufus Fears); Aquinas, Natural Law, and the Challenges of Diversity (John Jenkins); John Locke's Reflections on Natural Law and the Character of the Modern World (Timothy Fuller); Theories of Natural Law in the Culture of Advanced Modernity (Alasdair MacIntyre); What Dignity Means (Virginia Black); Natural Law and Positive Law (Robert P. George); Natural Rights and the Limited of Constitutional Law (Russell Hittinger); Natural Law and Sexual Ethics (Janet E. Smith); Contract Law and Natural Law (Edward J. Murphy); Tort Law and Natural Law (William N. Riley); Criminal Law and Natural Law (Ian A.T. McLean); and Natural Law in the Twenty-First Century (Charles E. Rice). Common Truths is scholarly, intellectually stimulating reading for anyone wanting to better understand and appreciate the permanent norms of human action and their relationships to a moral and political life.