Inspecting the Foundations of Natural Law Ethics and Politics: Looking for Cracks, Detecting Gaps, and Considering the Edifice That Can Be Built Thereon

In this dissertation I inspect the foundations of natural law ethics and politics. The inspection involves looking for cracks, detecting gaps, and considering the edifice that can be built thereon. To do so, I critically examine several of the many concepts and principles that are constitutive of those foundations. Some of my examination is done by means of direct consideration of such concepts and principles. And some of it is done by addressing such concepts and principles indirectly as I address questions about practical ethical or political concerns including: how can public officials make decisions that are not biased, what sort of acts are rightly deemed to be murder, whether humanitarian intervention can be morally permissible, and whether efforts by states to preserve and provide access to the most profound and beautiful areas of the natural environment within their territories can be morally permissible. My overall purpose in carrying out my inspection is to gain a better understanding of the concepts and principles that constitute the foundations of natural law ethics and politics, and their implications for practical action and politics.