A Natural Law Public Philosophy

Abstract

In this book I have argued that natural law and liberalism, despite historical tensions to the contrary, are really fundamentally harmonious, and that natural law theory can provide the best foundation for a public philosophy. What would a public philosophy rooted in or guided by the principles of natural law look like, especially one that would be applicable to the circumstances of contemporary American society? In this concluding chapter, I want to give a preliminary outline of a natural law public philosophy for America. THE FOUNDATIONAL PRINCIPLE: THE DIGNITY OF THE HUMAN PERSON The most fundamental principle of a public philosophy, on which all others ought to rest, is the dignity of the human person. This dignity is rooted in certain distinctive human qualities, especially intellect and free will, the human capacity to know the truth and to love and choose the good. In these fundamental capacities, all human beings are equal. These capacities, the sources of human dignity, are not always lived up to. Part of the “philosophical anthropology” at the foundation of a public philosophy, in fact, must be the recognition of the capacity of human beings to act either in accordance with or contrary to the source of their dignity, especially by misusing their intelligence and freedom to do wrong. Nonetheless, each human being remains capable of acting freely to attain the good, and therefore never definitively forfeits human dignity.