Edmund Burke and the Natural Law

Today the idea of natural law as the basic ingredient in moral, legal, and political thought presents a challenge not faced for almost two hundred years. On the surface, there would appear to be little room in the contemporary world for a widespread belief in natural law. The basic philosophies of the opposition-the rationalism of the philosophes, the utilitarianism of Bentham, the materialism of Marx-appear to have made prior philosophies irrelevant. Yet these newer philosophies themselves have been overtaken by disillusionment born of confl icts between might and right. Many thoughtful people who were loyal to secular belief have become dissatisfi ed with the lack of normative principles and have turned once more to natural law. This fi rst book-length study of Edmund Burke and his philosophy, originally published in 1958, explores this intellectual giant’s relationship to, and belief in, the natural law.