How is the natural moral law different from the physical laws of nature, like gravity?
Budziszewski: Strictly speaking, law is an ordinance of reason for the common good, promulgated by the one who has care of the community. It is addressed to a mind that can understand what is demanded and act accordingly. Principles like gravitation are “laws” only in an analogical sense. They certainly result from God’s governance, but the falling apple is not freely and rationally aligning its behavior with a rule that it knows to be right. Q: How is it even possible to know the natural law, considering how disputed its contents are? Budziszewski: I hear much about this supposed dispute, but I don’t believe in it. People who talk about the natural law pretty much agree about its basic contents — don’t murder, don’t commit adultery, honor your parents, and so on. They are the same things you find in the Decalogue. Moreover, these precepts are recognized — even if only in their breach — by societies in every time and place. Disagreements concern not the basics but the details; as C.
