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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.
"This is a great book. . . . I hope this book finds a wide readership outside of the circle of aficionados." —The Heythrop Journal
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.
Russell Hittinger, the recipient of the 2025 Religious Liberty Scholarship Award, is the Executive Director of the Institute for Human Ecology and co-founder of the Program on Catholic Political Thought at the Catholic University of America.
Foreword, by Russell Hittinger
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Natural Law Ethics as “Commonsense Morality”
1. Basic Human Goods: The First Principles of Ethics
2. Moral Principles
3. The Social Dimension of Human Flourishing
4. The Political Dimension of Human Flourishing
5. Human Flourishing, Morality, and God
Appendix: Annotated Resource Bibliography
Bibliography
Index
Extended Table of Contents