Natural Law Need Not Be Divine
I sometimes hear atheists conflate natural law with divine law. While all theists presumably believe in natural law, not all natural-law advocates are theists. God is not the only posited source of law, either in the physical or moral sense. Natural law has often been described as what follows from the law of identity. To exist is to exist as something , that is, as an entity with a specific nature. A is A rather than non-A because it has some characteristics and not others. If that is so, then it follows that it will act or react according to its nature and the situations it finds itself. An acorn under suitable conditions will grow into an oak but never into a trash bin or an aluminum picnic table. Moreover, in the case of human beings, which also have a particular nature, some ways of living are suitable to flourishing and others are inimical. Hence the ideas of right and wrong, good and bad. Thus one can enthusiastically embrace natural law without God or religion. In fact, some pr