'''Natural law''' or the [[law]] of [[nature]] ([[Latin]]: lex naturalis) is a [[theory]] that posits the [[existence]] of a law whose [[content]] is set by nature and that therefore has validity [[Omnipresence|everywhere]].[1] The phrase natural law is opposed to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positive_law positive law] (which is man-made) of a given [[political]] [[community]], [[society]], or nation-[[state]], and thus can [[function]] as a [[standard]] by which to [[criticize]] that law.[2] In natural law jurisprudence, on the other hand, the content of positive law cannot be known without some [[reference]] to the natural law (or something like it). Used in this way, natural law can be invoked to criticize [[decisions]] about the statutes, but less so to criticize the law itself. Some use natural law synonymously with natural [[justice]] or natural right (Latin ius naturale), although most contemporary political and legal [[theorists]] separate the two. | '''Natural law''' or the [[law]] of [[nature]] ([[Latin]]: lex naturalis) is a [[theory]] that posits the [[existence]] of a law whose [[content]] is set by nature and that therefore has validity [[Omnipresence|everywhere]].[1] The phrase natural law is opposed to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positive_law positive law] (which is man-made) of a given [[political]] [[community]], [[society]], or nation-[[state]], and thus can [[function]] as a [[standard]] by which to [[criticize]] that law.[2] In natural law jurisprudence, on the other hand, the content of positive law cannot be known without some [[reference]] to the natural law (or something like it). Used in this way, natural law can be invoked to criticize [[decisions]] about the statutes, but less so to criticize the law itself. Some use natural law synonymously with natural [[justice]] or natural right (Latin ius naturale), although most contemporary political and legal [[theorists]] separate the two. |