The Foundations of Natural Morality – On the Compatibility of Natural Rights and the Natural Law - Hardcover

Seagrave, S Adam

 
9780226123431: The Foundations of Natural Morality – On the Compatibility of Natural Rights and the Natural Law
Hardcover
ISBN 10: 022612343X ISBN 13: 9780226123431
Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 2014

Synopsis

Recent years have seen a renaissance of interest in the relationship between natural law and natural rights. During this time, the concept of natural rights has served as a conceptual lightning rod, either strengthening or severing the bond between traditional natural law and contemporary human rights. Does the concept of natural rights have the natural law as its foundation or are the two ideas, as Leo Strauss argued, profoundly incompatible? With The Foundations of Natural Morality, S. Adam Seagrave addresses this controversy, offering an entirely new account of natural morality that compellingly unites the concepts of natural law and natural rights. Seagrave agrees with Strauss that the idea of natural rights is distinctly modern and does not derive from traditional natural law. Despite their historical distinctness, however, he argues that the two ideas are profoundly compatible and that the thought of John Locke and Thomas Aquinas provides the key to reconciling the two sides of this long-standing debate. In doing so, he lays out a coherent concept of natural morality that brings together thinkers from Plato and Aristotle to Hobbes and Locke, revealing the insights contained within these disparate accounts as well as their incompleteness when considered in isolation. Finally, he turns to an examination of contemporary issues, including health care, same-sex marriage, and the death penalty, showing how this new account of morality can open up a more fruitful debate.

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About the Author

S. Adam Seagrave is assistant professor of political science at Northern Illinois University. He lives in DeKalb, IL.

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Publisher
University of Chicago Press
Publication date
2014
Language
English
ISBN 10 
022612343X
ISBN 13 
9780226123431
Binding
Hardcover
Number of pages
184

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780226380674: The Foundations of Natural Morality: On the Compatibility of Natural Rights and the Natural Law

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  022638067X ISBN 13:  9780226380674
Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 2016
Softcover