Larry David: Teacher of Natural Law
Students very frequently have this impression that natural law is supposed to be some grand philosophical set of moral principles on how to live a virtuous life. They might be right in some contexts and for some philosophers and theologians. But in the modern natural law school to which Grotius and Pufendorf belong, natural law is much more a code enjoining what is necessary so that social life - 'society' - can be possible. As a result, they take on more on the character of rules of etiquette, social manners - they are a part of what Norbert Elias once described as a 'civilizing process.'
Larry David, when he speaks of these 'unwritten rules of society' in some absurd contexts, comes very close to describing the function of natural law. I continue to find him a useful resource in explaining the function of this 'law' for students. Let our Stoa Larry explain:
