Intellectual Origins of Natural Rights

08/26/04 • -1 min

There was a natural law tradition from antiquity and the middle ages. Natural law is the oldest and most frequently used concept of political theory. Natural law is the principles that are to be established if justice were to prevail. Or, it is the scientific laws of man and his environment.

From the 5th century until the end of the 18th century the doctrine of natural law as a moral philosophy played a major role. Legislative law which rules today is the opposite of natural law.

In some ways Aristotle was an ancestor to the natural rights tradition, seen clearly in his view of property rights. He preferred private property, common use. Most of us prefer private property, private use. Christianity was born with the concept of natural law. It is at the center of our idea of individuality. This idea is linked to modern natural rights theory. Thomas Aquinas‘s pinnacle is the natural law doctrine. For him there was no conflict between faith and reason. Natural law is not God’s will. It is God’s plan. We call it freedom. Aquinas never imagined a coercive state.

From the 2001 History of Liberty seminar.

From the 5th century until the end of the 18th century the doctrine of natural law as a moral philosophy played a major role. Legislative law which rules today is the opposite of natural law.

From the 2001 History of Liberty seminar.

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The Rise of the West

The European Miracle was one in which humans achieved sustained growth for the first time on earth. Why Europe? Because of European decentralization and private enterprise. Property rights were well-defined and well-defended. Feudalism was of the contract variety. City states and chartered towns arose. The freedoms that people fought for were primarily economic freedoms. Political freedoms followed. The middle ages were not the dark ages they were portrayed to be. The rule of law required little or no involvement of the state. The ruler was under the law. The West even held a social taboo on the expression of envy.

Historian Ralph Raico explains why all of this contributed to the rise of human rights and economic prosperity in the West — and why it happened there first.

From a lecture presented at the 2001 History of Liberty seminar.