EASTERN DHARMA VS. WESTERN NATURAL LAW

This study undertakes a comparative conceptual analysis of the concepts DHARMA and NATURAL LAW, two central moral constructs of Eastern and Western traditions.The purpose of the research is to define the notional, imagery, and axiological components of these concepts, to reveal their shared and unique features, determine their conceptual overlap, and map the domains in which they operate.The object of the study is the concepts DHARMA and NATURAL LAW as culturally rooted moral-philosophical systems.The subject is the lexical units dharma and natural law -the names of the corresponding concepts.The material for the study was obtained by continuous sampling from lexicographic sources and electronic discourse databases.DHARMA, rooted in South Asian religious traditions, denotes duty, virtue, and cosmic alignment.It derives from the Sanskrit root dh (to sustain) and spans metaphysical, ethical, and social domains.It includes context-bound obligations shaped by age, caste, and life role, as well as truths sustaining the universe.NATU-RAL LAW, from Greco-Roman Stoicism and Christian thought, refers to a rational moral order embedded in nature and accessible by reason.Emphasizing ethics, justice, and law, it forms a basis for Western legal and rights-based systems.Despite different civilizational origins, the concepts converge in four shared conceptual domains: COSMOLOGY, where they reflect universal order; ETHICS/MORALITY, as frameworks for virtue and right action; RELIGION/THEOLOGY, linking morality to divine or cosmic principles; and LAW AND ORDER, guiding social norms and justice.DHARMA is relational, experiential, and practice-based, while NATURAL LAW is abstract, universalist, and reason-based.By bridging Eastern and Western traditions, the research contributes to intercultural moral philosophy, enriching global dialogue on ethics and human flourishing.