What is a pithy, less-than-three-sentences definition of natural law?
Budziszewski: The expression “natural law” refers to the basic principles of right and wrong that are true for everyone because they are rooted in the very nature of the created human person, and knowable to everyone because we are endowed with conscience and the power to deliberate. In principle, the natural law provides a point of contact, a common ground, among people of every culture — although, as I’ve written, it is a slippery one. Ignatius Insight: You point out throughout The Line Through the Heart that there are many misconceptions about and misrepresentations of natural law. What are some of most common of those misconceptions and misrepresentations? Where or who do they tend to come from? Budziszewski: Some of these misconceptions concern nature in general: We may think that nothing in created reality has any value or significance except as “stuff” for the powerful to work their wills upon. Others concern human nature in particular: We may imagine that we aren’t “persons” b
