Book Review:
Hill, John Larence. 2016. After the Natural Law: How the Classical Worldview Supports Our
Modern Moral and Political Views. San Francisco: Ignatius Press.
Thomas E Hutson
PLCY701B02 Natural Law, The State, and The Gospel
March 6, 2020
Introduction
The understanding of natural law and its impact on society has metamorphosed
considerably over time. For instance, unlike in ancient times, the precedence of positive law,
government, and legal rights can be easily used to trounce tenets of natural law because natural
law is considered a threat to the legitimacy of positive law.1 It becomes a considerable threat
because positive law determines legal rights and justice; and, it is what governments from around
the world utilize to manage their citizens’ natural rights and justice.2 Many theorists, scholars and
researchers have explored and hypothesized the evolution of natural law from the time when it
was first addressed in philosophical discourse to modern times. One such author is John
Lawrence Hill in his book After the Natural Law: How the Classical Worldview Supports Our
Modern Moral and Political Views. This book review seeks to appraise the discussions presented
by Hill into how the fundamental theory of natural law has evolved, based on how different
thinkers like Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, Hooker, and Calvin presented their understanding of it
during their respective time periods. The review also discusses the relationship between the
different natural law concepts such as democracy, covenantal statesmanship, and positive law. To
successfully achieve this objective, this review starts by defining natural law from an objective
perspective, followed by a review of Hill’s book After the Natural Law: How the Classical
Worldview Supports Our Modern Moral and Political Views, focusing on his presentation of how
the understanding of natural law has changed over time.
Natural Law
1 Crowe, Jonathan. 2019. Natural Law and the Nature of Law. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press.
2 (Crowe, 2019)
2
Within the field of philosophy, natural law can be regarded as being an ambiguous term.3
This is because there is no single widely accepted definition of what it is, with many different
philosophers offering different postulations of what it is, along with contradictory evidence to
support their assertions. Despite the varied definitions, most philosophers do concur that natural
law theory is a blend of moral, as well as legal philosophy, such that both theories are logically
independent but assert influence over morality and ethics in the decisions and behavior of
mankind.4 In basic terms, natural law exists parallel to the legal laws espoused by political order
in different societies and nations.5 The two, morality and law, according to natural law are highly
integrated with morality dictating what is right and wrong, good or bad; while law focuses on the
laws of man established by or maintained by existing authorities, like governments.6
It is, however, essential to note that natural law is objective and universal, while positive
law is subjective to different political orders.7 Some theorists like Hill have argued that natural
law is independent of both man’s understanding and the positive law of existing political orders,
societies, and or legislature.8 Traditionally, natural law was even used to analyze the nature of
man because it offers insights as to what aspects and factors are regarded as objectively and
universally wrong or right.9 For instance, it is wrong to kill, and it is right to punish wrongdoers.
The laws, according to many philosophers, are inherent in the nature of man and the world, and
that is why they are referred to as natural law.
3 (Crowe, 2019)
4 Carr, Craig L. 2002. "Political Theory: Natural Law Modernized." The American Political Science Review 96, no. 4: 799,
https://search.proquest.com/docview/214414376?accountid=45049.
5 Duke, George, and Robert P. George. 2017. The Cambridge Companion to Natural Law Jurisprudence. Cambridge; New York:
Cambridge University Press.
6 Duke, George, and Robert P. George. 2017
7 (Carr, 2002)
8 Hill, John Lawrence. 2016. After the Natural Law: How the Classical Worldview Supports Our Modern Moral and Political Views.
San Francisco: Ignatius Press. (2016).
9 (Carr, 2002)
3
Essentially, the concept of natural law has existed since ancient times, and Greek
philosophers are regarded as having created the concept.10 Although Plato alluded to what the
fundamental theory of natural law is in his works, Gorgias 484 and Timaeus 83e, he never
postulated an explicit theory on natural law.11 This is why many philosophers and researchers fail
to acknowledge the magnitude of his contribution to the understanding of natural law. Instead, a
student of Plato, Aristotle, is considered as being the father of natural law.12 The credence of
Aristotle’s contribution to the understanding of natural law is attributed to Thomas Aquinas who
expounded on his view to offer concise explanations of natural law.13 Aristotle, on the other hand,
had based his assertions on Plato’s ideas that the universe is ‘orderly,’ and so is mankind.14 The
‘order’ is what evolved to be considered as ethical and moral by future philosophers including
Aristotle and Aquinas.15
Review
The book, After the Natural Law: How the Classical Worldview Supports Our Modern
Moral and Political Views, states that natural law has developed for about 2000 years as a
philosophical concept.16 It is believed that the idea was introduced by ancient Greek
philosophers, more specifically Plato and Aristotle whose views were expounded in great length
by Aquinas in the 13th century.17 The earliest views on natural theory championed the idea that
the world is ordered by the manner in which people live in it. The idea centered on the notion
that the world is good and intelligible and, along with this, has universally acceptable moral
10 (Carr, 2002)
11 (Crowe, 2019)
12 Ibid.
13 Ibid.
14 Dimmock, M., & Fisher, A. 2017. Chapter 4. Aquinas’s Natural Law Theory. In Ethics for A-Level: For AQA Philosophy and
OCR Religious Studies. Open Book Publishers. Retrieved from http://books.openedition.org/obp/4422.
15 (Dimmock, & Fisher, 2017)
16 (Hill, 2016)
17 (Hill, 2016)
4
truths.18 According to Hill, theorists like Aristotle hypothesized that man could achieve
perfection and true happiness by adhering to mankinds’ inherent nature.19 This nature assumes
that man knows right from wrong, and that it is only through pursuing right that man can be able
to achieve true happiness and even achieve individual perfection.20 It is important to note that in
discussing how natural law came to evolve into how it is currently being understood, Hill
explains both theistic and non-theistic versions of natural law, along with the evidence that
different theorists used to establish their positions.
As already mentioned, Hill points out that Plato and subsequently Aristotle are to be
credited for the establishment of natural law in philosophical discourse. Hill rightly posits that
Aristotle focused on distinguishing between nature, law, and custom.21 Principally he was the
first to suggest that nature, which begets natural law, is objective and universal; however,
customs and law, may derive some of their core values from nature, but this may vary from
region to region.22 It is from these ideologies that concepts of natural rights and natural justice
arose.23 Another significant contribution that Hill makes in his book, which most theorists do not,
is that Aristotle’s works were founded on Plato’s idea that the universe operated under this
order.24 Aristotle expounded on this assumption suggesting that the order was innate.25 Towards
the end of the book, Hill explains that it is the same idea that modern philosophers used to
espouse that morals and morality are man-made, based on a consensus regarding what is right
18 Ibid
19 Ibid
20 Charles, Daryl. 2019. THE PROTESTANT REFORMERS and the NATURAL LAW TRADITION.
https://www.nlnrac.org/classical/protestant-reformers.
21 (Hill, 2016)
22 Ibid
23 Van Broekhoven, and Hon Rollin, A., "MORALITY AND LAW IN A GLOBAL SOCIETY: A PLACE FOR NATURAL LAW
THEORY?" Frontiers of Law in China 12, no. 4 2017: 626-72, https://search.proquest.com/docview/1989487728?accountid=45049.
24 (Hill, 2016)
25 (Hill, 2016)
5
and what is wrong.26 The explanations that further support the allegations made by the modern
philosophers include that in present times, natural law is not enforceable, yet the legal laws
established by positive laws, which are considered as being a culmination of what the society
deems moral, are enforceable.27 For example, according to natural law, it is not good to take
advantage of a person when they are vulnerable, for instance, asking them to sell their product to
you at a cost lower than its value and worth. Despite this, so long as the agreement is consensual,
then no law has been broken, which in positive law may mean that such an agreement is moral.
However, if the agreement involved the use of force, trickery or coercion which is deemed
immoral by positive law (legal law), then redress would be sought. In essence, all this shows that
modern theorists molded avowals of classical theory to meet their desired explanation and
understanding of natural law.28
In the first part of the book, Hill proclaims that natural justice, as a part of natural law, is
a branch of political justice and as such, its tenets are to be enforceable in society. However, this
does not hold entirely true in contemporary times. Aristotle suggested that given the inherent
nature of man when the right leaders exist within an upright society, they would not need to rule
with enforcement.29 Hill explains that according to Aristotle, laws are products of reason and not
personal interests.30 Thus, it makes political orders unnecessary because political leaders may
have interests that they can indoctrinate into legal laws.31 Another attribute that the author
mentions as having been used by Aristotle to express the idea of natural law is that for the
achievement of true equality, each mature person must take part in governing. However, this may
26 Ibid.
27 (Van Broekhoven, & Hon Rollin, 2017)
28 (Hill, 2016)
29 (Carr, 2002)
30 (Hill, 2016)
31 Hochstrasser, T. J., and Peter Schröder 2007. Early Modern Natural Law Theories: Contexts and Strategies in the Early
Enlightenment. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2007.
6
be limited by the democracy, where only a select population has their way of administering,
while the larger society is governed.32 Aristotle suggests that legal regulations are essential as
they may facilitate the binding of laws.
Hill goes on to explain that Aquinas vitally expounded on Aristotle’s hypothesis, and at
the same time, introduced the Christian dimension to understanding natural law.33 The
presentation offered by Aquinas, according to Hill, is that Aristotle was right, but Aristotle failed
to mention that since God is the creator, He is the one who accorded humans with their inherent
natural laws.34 However, it is debatable that Hill may not have effectively considered Aquinas’s
interpretation.35 This is mainly because other than addressing natural law and natural right
separately as Aristotle did, Aquinas interpreted that they were combined.36 Consequently, Hill
shows that Aquinas was able to offer an effective link between philosophy and religion,
especially in his work Summa Theologiae, where he postulates that despite not needing them,
theology can accept ideas from philosophical disciplines.37
Ultimately Aquinas was able to compromise between worldviews and religious doctrines.
One example is his acceptance of Aristotle’s views regarding the link between the soul and the
physical body.38 Aquinas established that God is the ‘ground of all being’ and that His existence
is beyond the confines of space and time.39 Hill appropriately notes that Aquinas contradicts
Aristotle by noting that it is difficult to achieve perfection because divine reason is unknowable
to mankind.40 God’s existence is the embodiment of perfection and as such, only God knows
32 (Hill, 2016)
33 Ibid.
34 Ibid.
35 (Dimmock, & Fisher, 2017)
36 Ibid.
37 (Hill, 2016)
38 (Dimmock, & Fisher, 2017)
39 (Dimmock, & Fisher, 2017)
40 (Hill, 2016)
7
what perfection is and what it is not.41 In regards to government and positive law, Aquinas
suggests that positive law is an establishment of rulers and institutions appointed by a free
people, to govern them.42 In this regard, Aquinas established, in Summa Theologiae, that legal
laws as promulgated by willing subjects set to treat each other as partners and establish stability,
practicability and generality.43
Perhaps Augustine’s contribution to natural law can be best summed up by his assertion
that unjust law is no law at all.44 The principles of Augustine’s postulations on natural law are
centered on the idea that God’s supremacy is the source of all norms.45 In his work On the Free
Choice of the Will (De libero arbitrio), Augustine articulated that man is governed by both
natural law and external law, which enforces it.46 It is with this regard that he mentioned that a
norm that does not conform to natural law, could not be legally valid.47 Hill emphasizes how
Augustine placed a lot of emphasis on the concept of free will which fundamentally forms the
foundation from which modern theories and principles on natural law are built.48 Augustine
presented, according to Hill, that natural law is more than an arbitrary act of will.49 It is a mixture
of law, order, meaning flow and logic, which stems from the nature of God.50 In this way, he
advocated that before doing anything, one should think of God. By doing so, one can understand
whether it is right or wrong due to divine light.51 He suggested that people act in goodwill
according to the law. Augustine’s postulations formed the basis for the influence of Christianity;
41 (Dimmock, & Fisher, 2017)
42 Ibid.
43 Ibid.
44 (Hill, 2016)
45 Lee, Constance Youngwon. 2014. "CALVINIST NATURAL LAW AND THE." The Western Australian Jurist Volume 5: 153-176.
46 [ CITATION LEE14 \l 1033 ]
47 Smith, Brett W. 2015. “Augustine’s Natural Law Theory in De Libero Arbitrio.” Irish Theological Quarterly 80, no. 2: (2015) 111–
35. Doi:10.1177/0021140014564552.
48 (Hill, 2016)
49 Ibid.
50 (Smith, 2015)
51 (Smith, 2015)
8
and modern theorists used this to emphasize covenantal statesmanship where mankind is guided
by natural law.52 Therefore, man believes that natural law is essentially from God, and in
following natural law, man adheres to provisions of positive law which is in turn, derived from
natural law.
In the second part of the book, Hill uses Protestants like Martin Luther and John Calvin
to explain the journey of natural law from the theory espoused by Plato and Aristotle. Despite not
indicating the magnitude of the contradiction, Hill alludes that Luther contradicts Aristotelian
philosophy on natural law’s assumptions.53 Luther presented natural law as an indication that
there exists higher laws than those of human nations; and, that social behavior needs to be
evaluated by that standard. In his 1525 treatise, How Christians Should Regard Moses, higher
law was attributed to the laws that God gave Moses.54 Luther argued that theocratic Israelites
were governed by natural law before the Law of Moses came to existence.55 Hill interestingly
points out that Luther thought that the Ten Commandments were a summary of natural law and
that they aimed to ensure that such laws are enforced.56 Hill states that according to Luther, even
in the absence of Moses and the Ten Commandments, the world would still have been governed
by the same laws because natural laws are innate.57 In his treatise, Temporal Authority, Luther
went on to establish that natural law was separate from the law of love, and in any given
situation, one must take precedence in terms of establishing equality and justice.58 Hill also used
the ideas forwarded by Luther to introduce the concept that moral norms apply to all irrespective
52 Ibid.
53 (Charles 2019)
54 Ibid.
55 Ibid.
56 (Hill, 2016)
57 Ibid.
58 [ CITATION Dar19 \l 1033 ]
9
of whether or not they are Christians.59 Thus, the standards used to measure morality among
Christians and non-Christians are similar.60 Luther used the same concept to propose that natural
law is sincere and written on everyone’s heart/soul.61
Influenced by the works of past theorists, including Augustine’s understanding of good
will in the manner that humans act, Calvin emphasized that the ‘good’ is the source of all
positive laws.62 The central aspect of Calvin’s theory according to Hill is the sovereignty of
God.63 He emphasized that God is the only measure of good and in the long run, the lead to
debates that separated normative and descriptive dimensions of natural law.64 Despite
emphasizing the sovereignty of God in his theory, modern theorists who were influenced by
Calvin’s doctrine conflated the normative and descriptive aspects.65 As they focus on expounding
Calvin’s assertions regarding man being a social animal and to preserve society, they have to be
guided by positive law.66 Like Calvin, Hooker also borrowed from the theories of Aquinas to
express that God governs all things, and there is a distinction between natural law and eternal
law.67 He emphasized that, based on God’s design, individuals are capable of independently
choosing to use logical reason to guide their actions and decisions.68
As part of his arguments, Hill argues that modern theorists of natural law derive tenets of
their theories from classical ideologies on natural law. However, they use these tenets to offer
59 (Hill, 2016)
60 McConnell, Donald R. 2008. "The Nature in Natural Law." Liberty University Law Review Volume 2 Issue 3: 797-848.
61 (Hill, 2016)
62 Pryor, Scott. 2006. "God's Bridle: John Calvin's Application of Natural Law." Journal of Law and Religion, Vol. 22, No. 1: pp.
225-254.
63 [ CITATION LEE14 \l 1033 ]
64 [ CITATION Sco06 \l 1033 ]
65 [ CITATION LEE14 \l 1033 ]
66 Vandrunen, David. 2004. "The Context of Natural Law: John Calvin's Doctrine of the Two Kingdoms." Journal of Church and
State; summer 46, 3; ProQuest: 503-526.
67 Faulkner, Robert. 2019. RICHARD HOOKER (1554–1600) and NATURAL LAW. http://www.nlnrac.org/classical/richard-hooker
(accessed January 26, 2020).
68 (Hill, 2016)
10
separation of the soul from the body, and moral law from physical law.69 In the long run, the
distinctions that modern theorists like Descartes, Locke and Hume propound separate God from
the world.70 From analyzing Hill’s assertions, one can deduce that modern era theories on natural
law link morality and ethics to God and theistic principles, while at the same time promoting
hegemony of free will, including in the absence of God’s influence on natural law.71 These
concepts lead to the conclusion that classical reasoning of natural law emphasis on God’s
providence and control over morality and decisions made by man. This way, God is presented as
an ultimate influence over physical laws as they are influenced by natural law.72 Thus, while
modernist reasoning according to Hill, is centered on dualistic ideas where there is the separation
of natural laws from physical laws.73 It is within the modernist reasoning context that modern era
theorists have been able to debate that morality is a construction of man.
To explain the above idea, Hill suggests that Aquinas regarded the integrated whole as
being disseminated into halves, one the eternal which is the natural law and the other material
which is the physical and or local laws developed by societies.74 Though the early modern
theorists like Descartes attempted to preserve both halves in their work, the Cartesian dualism,
ultimately resulting in a decline in the influence of natural law theories. In its place was the
growing popularity of philosophical arguments that advocated for the separation of the eternal
from the material.75 Over the years, Christianity became diluted into deism, and with this
process, natural law became disintegrated to Kantianism and utilitarianism.76 Jointly Kantianism
69 (Hill, 2016)
70 Ibid.
71 Ibid.
72 Ibid.
73 Ibid.
74 Ibid.
75 [ CITATION Don08 \l 1033 ]
76 (Hill, 2016)
11
and utilitarianism distorted classical theories of natural law while at the same time deism was
and still does slowly pave the way for atheism.77
Conclusion
In conclusion, Hill does a commendable job in revealing how classical worldviews
support our modern moral and political views. One of the greatest features of his book is its
organization. He begins by offering explanations on what defines natural law from different
perspectives while at the same time, providing the origins of natural law concepts. Likewise, his
book provides an overview of the classical view of natural law prior to explicating the
contributions of Plato, Christianity and teleological views to the understanding of natural law.
After articulating these different earlier theories on natural law, Hill describes how modern
philosophers like Descartes, Locke and Hobbes were able to construe philosophical approaches
in natural law in a manner away from the classical theories. Throughout the book, Hill
deliberates on the importance of natural law to human dignity, responsibility, human rights,
democracy, political values, covenantal statesmanship, and positive law. He emphasizes that
natural law is the glue that holds all of the above values together, explaining the reasons behind
why people act morally, and how and why legal law pursues redress against its violations.
Bibliography
Bix, B. (2017). On the dividing line between natural law theory and legal positivism. In Law and
Morality (pp. 49-60). Routledge.
77 Ibid.
12
Carr, Craig L. "Political Theory: Natural Law Modernized." The American Political Science
Review 96, no. 4: 2002: 799, https://search.proquest.com/docview/214414376?
accountid=45049.
Charles, Daryl. THE PROTESTANT REFORMERS and the NATURAL LAW TRADITION.
2019. https://www.nlnrac.org/classical/protestant-reformers.
Crowe, Jonathan. Natural Law and the Nature of Law. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge
University Press, 2019.
Dimmock, M., & Fisher, A. Chapter 4. Aquinas’s Natural Law Theory. In Ethics for A-Level: For
AQA Philosophy and OCR Religious Studies. Open Book Publishers. 2017. Retrieved
from http://books.openedition.org/obp/4422.
Duke, George, and Robert P. George. The Cambridge Companion to Natural Law Jurisprudence.
Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2017.
Faulkner, Robert. RICHARD HOOKER (1554–1600) and NATURAL LAW. 2019.
http://www.nlnrac.org/classical/richard-hooker (accessed January 26, 2020).
Hill, John Lawrence. After the Natural Law: How the Classical Worldview Supports Our Modern
Moral and Political Views. San Francisco: Ignatius Press. 2016.
Hochstrasser, T. J., and Peter Schröder. Early Modern Natural Law Theories: Contexts and
Strategies in the Early Enlightenment. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2007.
Lee, Constance Youngwon. "CALVINIST NATURAL LAW AND THE." The Western Australian
Jurist Volume 5, 2014: 153-176.
13
McConnell, Donald R. "The Nature in Natural Law." Liberty University Law Review Volume 2
Issue 3, 2008: 797-848.
Pryor, Scott. "God's Bridle: John Calvin's Application of Natural Law." Journal of Law and
Religion, Vol. 22, No. 1, 2006: pp. 225-254.
Smith, Brett W. “Augustine’s Natural Law Theory in De Libero Arbitrio.” Irish Theological
Quarterly 80, no. 2: 2015. 111–35. Doi:10.1177/0021140014564552.
Van Broekhoven, Hon Rollin, A. 2017. MORALITY AND LAW IN A GLOBAL SOCIETY: A
PLACE FOR NATURAL LAW THEORY? Frontiers of Law in China 12, no. 4: 626-672,
https://search.proquest.com/docview/1989487728?accountid=45049.
Vandrunen, David. "The Context of Natural Law: John Calvin's Doctrine of the Two Kingdoms."
Journal of Church and State; Summer 46, 3; ProQuest, 2004: 503-526.
14
