What is Natural law?
[[File:Zeno of Citium pushkin.jpg|right|thumb|The development of natural law is attributed to the [[Stoicism|Stoics]]. This is a bust of [[Zeno of Citium]], a stoic]] '''Natural law''' is the idea that there are forms of [[law]] that exist by themselves in nature, regardless of whether people exist or recognise them or not. Unlike other forms of law (called ''positive laws'') that have been agreed on by society, such laws would be given to all, and would not be possible to go against. Such rights are called [[natural rights|natural]]. In modern times, [[human rights]] are often seen as coming from natural law, but the idea goes back to [[Ancient Greece]]. Natural law is often founded on the following: *[[God]], who created natural law with creating the world *[[Logos]], an idea from philosophy; this is interpreted to be divine law *Part of natural law inside human beings (called Self-knowledge, sometimes [[conscience]]) *Certain laws that can be deduced from the [[natural sciences]] *[[Nature]] itself *[[Reason]] Important philosophers who developed natural law include [[Aristotle]], [[Plato]], [[Seneca the Younger]], [[Thomas Aquinas]], and [[Immanuel Kant]]. People who criticized this approach include [[Jeremy Bentham]] and [[Hans Kelsen]]. ==Related pages== *[[Constitution]] *[[Jurisprudence]] *[[Natural rights and legal rights]] *[[Rechtsstaat]] {{stub}} {{Philosophy topics}} {{Law}}{{Human rights|state=collapsed}} {{authority control}} [[Category:Types of law]] [[Category:Philosophy]]