Redeem the Time

Compare and contrast:

But not every action nor every passion admits of a mean; for some have names that already imply badness, e.g. spite, shamelessness, envy, and in the case of actions adultery, theft, murder; for all of these and suchlike things imply by their names that they are themselves bad, and not the excesses or deficiencies of them. It is not possible, then, ever to be right with regard to them; one must always be wrong. Nor does goodness or badness with regard to such things depend on committing adultery with the right woman, at the right time, and in the right way, but simply to do any of them is to go wrong.
—Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Book II.6

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Of political justice part is natural, part legal, natural, that which everywhere has the same force and does not exist by people’s thinking this or that; legal, that which is originally indifferent, but when it has been laid down is not indifferent… Now some think that all justice is of this sort [legal], because that which is by nature is unchangeable and has everywhere the same force (as fire burns both here and in Persia), while they see change in the things recognized as just. This, however, is not true in this unqualified way, but is true in a sense; or rather, with the gods it is perhaps not true at all, while with us there is something that is just even by nature, yet all of it is changeable; but still some is by nature, some not by nature.
—Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Book V.7

This First Things book review, and this one, if read closely, will give one a good view of the debate among those who espouse natural law. Although it is a small segment of the academy—some would call it merely a parochial squabble—I honestly think this debate is likely of enormous importance for the future of western civilization. How these “abstract” truths are hashed out among those who love the Truth and fight for the Good will profoundly effect a much larger struggle. Natural law is the ground upon which the true teaching of how man ought to act needs to be defended by conservatism, orthodox religion, western tradition, and what is now the only way left for “ancient” philosophy. How we conceive of natural law (1) will ultimately shape our nation and world for better or worse.

Problem is, we are all a bit rusty in such efforts. We live in a dumb time, and the study of metaphysics (2) and natural philosophy (3) necessary for a true understanding of natural law does not exist. Hence the parochial squabble upon which much hinges. In fact, the problem comes from the collapse of natural philosophy and the confusions of modern science. The resurrection of natural philosophy would bring back a healthy metaphysics and provide the rock-ribbed foundation natural law (and, hence, ethics and politics) is searching for. A lot of this would simply be caused by the fact that by its mere existence natural philosophy would clarify metaphysics and natural law (ethics and politics) by simply taking back what belongs to it and rejecting what doesn’t. Its existence would “clean up” the clutter in the other sciences that have either tried to absorb bits of natural philosophy they shouldn’t have or given what ought to belong to them over to the tumorous imposter that has taken the place of natural philosophy.

As a side note, it is interesting to consider that all these disciplines are simply reflections of what is—ultimately they are simply what is—yet their division and existence as separate sciences is in a real way caused by the weakness and the interest or uninterest of the human mind.

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1) Natural law is both a ground for Ethics, insofar as it teaches men through reason how they ought to act, and Politics, insofar as human law is derived from natural law—see what St. Thomas says about the human law being derived from the natural law here .

1) The study of what is beyond physics, of being-in-general or being qua being, of what doesn’t change.

2) The study of physics, of things insofar as things move or change, of every physical thing in the universe.
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I’m going to post a few more resources so I don’t forget them, let me know of any others you find useful:

An apparently older but still very good page o’ Natural Law/Natural Right links.

An Acton Institute bibliography that includes a lot of the more recent writings.

The syllabus to Father Schall’s class on Natural Law; a bibliography by Schall including his own work.