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Full-Text Articles in Natural Law
The Moral Authority Of Original Meaning, J. Joel Alicea
The Moral Authority Of Original Meaning, J. Joel Alicea
Scholarly Articles
One of the most enduring criticisms of originalism is that it lacks a sufficiently compelling moral justification. Scholars operating within the natural law tradition have been among the foremost critics of originalism’s morality, yet originalists have yet to offer a sufficient defense of originalism from within the natural law tradition that demonstrates that these critics are mistaken. That task has become more urgent in recent years due to Adrian Vermeule’s critique of originalism from within the natural law tradition, which has received greater attention than previous critiques. This Article is the first full-length response to the natural law critique of …
Recovering Classical Legal Constitutionalism: A Critique Of Professor Vermeule’S New Theory,, Kevin C. Walsh
Recovering Classical Legal Constitutionalism: A Critique Of Professor Vermeule’S New Theory,, Kevin C. Walsh
Scholarly Articles
Professor Adrian Vermeule has provoked renewed interest in the relationship between the classical natural law tradition and the Constitution of the United States with his book, Common Good Constitutionalism: Recovering the Classical Legal Tradition. As scholars self-consciously working in that tradition, we welcome contemporary attention to that perennial legal philosophy. Yet in reading and rereading the book, we found ourselves frustrated with it, notwithstanding the apparent agreement we shared with the author at some abstract level of principle. And that abstraction, it turns out, is just the problem with the book’s application of the classical legal tradition to constitutional law. …
Response To Francis Oakley, Kenneth Pennington
Response To Francis Oakley, Kenneth Pennington
Scholarly Articles
No abstract provided.
Natural Law, Homosexual Conduct, And The Public Policy Exception, Raymond B. Marcin
Natural Law, Homosexual Conduct, And The Public Policy Exception, Raymond B. Marcin
Scholarly Articles
The specific focus of this conference is on the problems posed by the imminent recognition of homosexual marriages in one or more jurisdictions. The question posed by the "laws of nature" exception to the inter-jurisdictional marriage recognition principle is whether legally endorsed homosexual marriages, involving (as they must) societal approval and endorsement of homosexual conduct, are contrary to natural law. This paper will explore the classic natural law theory of Saint Thomas Aquinas and the reasons why that theory condemns homosexual conduct as being contrary to the law of nature.
'Posterity' In The Preamble And A Positivist Pro-Life Position, Raymond B. Marcin
'Posterity' In The Preamble And A Positivist Pro-Life Position, Raymond B. Marcin
Scholarly Articles
Arguments for the overturning of the Roe decision can be grouped into two categories: (1) the positivist argument that, contrary to the assertions in the Roe decision, nothing in the Constitution protects the right to privacy in the abortion decision (thus leaving legislatures free to regulate the matter), and (2) the natural law argument that a fetus or unborn child has a fundamental and inalienable right to life (thus preventing legislatures from regulating the matter, except for compelling governmental reasons). The right-to-life movement is grounded upon the latter, natural law position. The difficulty for the pro-life movement is that, if …
Individual Conscience Under Military Compulsion, Raymond B. Marcin
Individual Conscience Under Military Compulsion, Raymond B. Marcin
Scholarly Articles
The exercise of individual conscience under military compulsion is an issue revived by the My Lai courts martial. Natural law jurists saw a place for individual conscience, but the positivist school's dominance changed that. The Nuremberg doctrine denied the defense of superior orders, and now the debate is raging again.