John Locke and the Law of Nature

Abstract

John Locke's theory of natural law is central to his major works, yet it is perhaps the theme least understood by his students. His theory of natural law provides the central core to an interpretation of the Treatises; and his quest for establishing the certainty of natural law provides the impetus for his Essay Conceming Hwnan Understanding. While most students claim an understanding of these later works, few purport to fully comprehend exactly what Locke means when he speaks of "the law of nature." This may be because Locke himself never fully articulated his theory, or theories, of natural law. Modern Lockean scholars, therefore, begin with a handicap.! Nevertheless, one can attempt to "get a feel" for what Locke had in mind by the term legis naturae (although even in his Essays on the Law of Nature,2 he never directly confronts the question of the content of natural law in terms of a codified set of principles which derive out of the essence of man). He is, however, more clear with regard to other questions concerning the law of nature, such as its obligation, knowability, and basis. Locke's theory of natural law is basically a continuation of the traditional conceptions of natural law deriving from the classics and continuing through medieval scholasticism and the Reformation.3 The Essays abound with references and parallels to Cicero, and many of the