What is the Basis for the Theory of the Declaration of Independence?
• The Declaration of Independence is built upon a foundation, a way of understanding that is often forgotten or discarded today. That foundation is “nature.” • What is Nature? • We think of Nature as the thing we see at a National Park. We think of mountains and trees and animals. We think of “natural beauty,” of “unspoiled nature,” of “conserving our natural heritage.” Nature also has a wider meaning. It means something like “the way things are,” or “the way of things.” Dogs, by nature, follow their instincts. Acorns, by nature, grow into oak trees. Human beings, by nature, talk, think, and choose for themselves. The Declaration of Independence is speaking of this larger sense of nature. The “laws of Nature” are the way things are. Or they are the “way of things.” We know that things do not fall upwards. We know that dogs do not meow, nor cats bark. We know that giraffes have longs necks and armadillos have short ones. Nature, then, is a solid thing. We can all perceive it. It is the
