Learning the natural law as maturation in wisdom

Abstract

Despite the technical character of natural law scholarship, most people who live in accord withthe natural law do not do so because they have been persuaded by technical argumentation. How do people truly come to know the natural law? Learning the natural law is essentially thesame process as maturing in wisdom. Building upon theological conceptions of natural lawand wisdom, this article concludes that wisdom is the suitable power by which peopleapprehend subjectively what the natural law prescribes objectively. Thus the way in which wegrow in wisdom – through a communal process of receiving instruction and observing andreflecting upon life experience – is also the primary way in which people come to know andpractice the natural law. This conclusion suggests a revised perspective on how natural lawyerspursue their work as they seek to address the moral fragmentation of our day.