Cicero’s greatest achievement is his attitude towards natural law

Why the Founders' Favorite Philosopher Was Cicero


by Paul Meany


Cicero’s greatest achievement is his attitude towards natural law which can be seen as the foundation of later European natural law theories on the concept of inalienable rights.


It is worth asking at this point, what exactly is natural law and why does it matter? Natural law is a term that generally creates a lot of confusion, as the term on its own is quite vague. Many people at first believe that natural law means ‘survival of the fittest’ or similar Darwin-esque phrases. Simply put, natural law can best be described as a system of ethics that derives moral standards and rules from the observable world and human nature. A key part of natural law is the idea that laws should be universally applicable and eternally relevant to human affairs.

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