# Ethics, Politics, and Natural Law - Portail Universitaire du droit

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> URL : https://univ-droit.fr/recherche/actualites-de-la-recherche/parutions/57864-ethics-politics-and-natural-law
> Description : ethics, politics, and natural law, principles for human flourishing, présentation de l’éditeur a rigorous but accessible overview of the new natural ...

## Parution

*Principles for Human Flourishing*

- **ISBN** : 978-0-268-20926-1
- **Éditeur** : Notre Dame Press

## Résumé

Présentation de l’éditeur
A rigorous but accessible overview of the new natural law account of ethics and political philosophy.
The foundational principles of ethics and politics are principles that guide us to respect and promote human flourishing. In Ethics, Politics, and Natural Law Melissa Moschella provides an accessible explanation and development of the new natural law account of these principles while clarifying common misconceptions.
As a commonsense ethical theory, natural law grounds ethics in the fundamental dimensions of human flourishing. Moschella lays out the basic principles of natural law, their relationship to the virtues, and their social and political implications. Highlighting the importance of communities for flourishing, Moschella explains how this should shape our understanding of justice and the common good, and shows how natural law principles support limited government and civil liberties. She also considers the relationship between morality and God, and how natural law relates to Christian revelation. This fresh and compelling account of new natural law is the go-to resource to understand this important and influential theory.
Melissa Moschella is a professor of the practice in philosophy at the University of Notre Dame’s McGrath Institute for Church Life. She is the author of To Whom Do Children Belong? Parental Rights, Civic Education, and Children’s Autonomy.
Foreword by Russell Hittinger, Executive Director of the Institute for Human Ecology and co-founder of the Program on Catholic Political Thought at the Catholic University of America.
 
Sommaire
Introduction: Natural Law Ethics as “Commonsense Morality”
1. Basic Human Goods: The First Principles of Ethics

What Ethics Is About: Human Action and Free Choice
Basic Human Goods: The Basic Reasons for Action
Responses to Common Objections

Does Human Life Really Have Intrinsic Value?
What about Pleasure?
What about Autonomy?


How We Come to Know Basic Goods
Some Clarifications about Basic Goods

Incommensurability of Basic Goods
Basic Goods as First Principles of Practical Reason
Basic Goods and Human Nature


Nature, Natural Law, and Practical Rationality
Putting It All Together

2. Moral Principles

The First Principle of Morality and Intermediate Moral Norms

Never Intentionally Damage or Destroy a Basic Human Good
Fairness: The Golden Rule
The Vocation Principle: Establishing a Reasonable Priority among Goods
The Unity of Life Principle: Integrating Pursuits and Commitments in View of an Ultimate End


The Doctrine of Double Effect
Virtues: The Embodiment of Moral Principles

Acting for No Real Reason
Unreasonable Preferences among Persons or Goods
Practical Wisdom and Emotional Motivation



3. The Social Dimension of Human Flourishing

The Nature of Community
The Role of Community in Human Flourishing: The Life of Susie

The Family
Intermediate Associations


Justice and Special Obligations

4. The Political Dimension of Human Flourishing

The Political Community as a Community of Communities
The Common Good of the Political Community: All-Inclusive Common Good versus Specifically Political Common Good
Political Authority
The Limits of Political Authority

Substantive Limits on Government
Procedural Limits on Government: The Rule of Law


Natural Law and Liberalism
What about Patriotism?
Conclusion

5. Human Flourishing, Morality, and God

God and Moral Obligation
God and Moral Motivation
Christian Revelation and the Promise of the Kingdom
Conclusion

Appendix: Annotated Resource Bibliography


## Métadonnées

- **Catégorie** : Parutions
- **Publié** : 2025-03-07

## Tags

Droit et morale, Droit naturel, Droit privé, Droit public, Ethique, Histoire du droit, Justice, Libertés, Philosophie et théorie du droit, Philosophie politique, Politique, Science politique, Sciences politiques

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