What is the law of nature, and how does it bind nations to one another?

Translation: quotations from Samuel von Pufendorf are quoted in Basil Kennett's 1729 English translation (with others; 4th edition, with Barbeyrac's notes), not his original words.

OCR: 10 cited passage(s) are machine-read (OCR) text of old printings; quotations reproduce the stored OCR text, misreadings included.

1. WHAT HE SAID (the record)

Record ledger

• BELIEF (undated; OCR of an old printing; quoted in Basil Kennett's 1729 English translation (with others; 4th edition, with Barbeyrac's notes)): Samuel von Pufendorf believed that the law of nature is a liberty that naturally belongs to all persons not subject to the command of others, and that in a state, this liberty is attended with an absolute command or right of prescribing means to members and compelling obedience. He argued that this natural law binds individuals and societies to act in ways that promote the interest and security of each member, and that civil establishments were instituted to help observe these laws. [1]
• BELIEF (undated; OCR of an old printing; quoted in Basil Kennett's 1729 English translation (with others; 4th edition, with Barbeyrac's notes)): Samuel von Pufendorf believed that the law of nature is clear and binding, shining 'clearer and brighter than the Sun,' and that it cannot be hidden. He argued that in matters contrary to the law of nature, individuals must refuse to comply and even resign their offices rather than be complicit. [2]
• BELIEF (undated; OCR of an old printing; quoted in Basil Kennett's 1729 English translation (with others; 4th edition, with Barbeyrac's notes)): Samuel von Pufendorf believed that the law of nature binds nations by establishing a sort of natural kindred between men, making it criminal to injure one another without provocation. He argued that this law is essential to propriety and that it obliges individuals to protect their own from invasion and to have liberty over their possessions. [3]
• BELIEF (undated; OCR of an old printing; quoted in Basil Kennett's 1729 English translation (with others; 4th edition, with Barbeyrac's notes)): Samuel von Pufendorf believes that the law of nature imposes duties on individuals towards others, including the obligation to avoid causing damage and to make reparations if damage occurs. This is part of the broader framework of natural law that governs human interactions. [4]
• BELIEF (undated; OCR of an old printing; quoted in Basil Kennett's 1729 English translation (with others; 4th edition, with Barbeyrac's notes)): Samuel von Pufendorf believed that the law of nature binds all men in all states and conditions, independent of any human settlement or institution. He also distinguished between precepts of the law of nature that regard other men, which may be absolute or hypothetical, and which presuppose some public forms and civil methods of living already constituted and received in the world. [5]
• BELIEF (undated; OCR of an old printing; quoted in Basil Kennett's 1729 English translation (with others; 4th edition, with Barbeyrac's notes)): Samuel von Pufendorf believed that the law of nature obliges all people to keep covenants, and that it is distinct from the law of nations. He argued that nations, like individuals, are naturally equal and no one nation can impose laws upon another. The law of nature is general and binding, but the law of nations is not grounded in the consent of all people and is not universally agreed upon in practice. (key quote above) [6]
• BELIEF (undated; OCR of an old printing; quoted in Basil Kennett's 1729 English translation (with others; 4th edition, with Barbeyrac's notes)): Samuel von Pufendorf believed that the law of nature obliges all men to mutual peace and the exercise of natural laws, and that no person has a privilege to break these laws without consequence. He argued that when someone acts contrary to the laws of peace, the injured party is justified in defending themselves, even with force, as a matter of self-preservation. [7]
• BELIEF (undated; OCR of an old printing; quoted in Basil Kennett's 1729 English translation (with others; 4th edition, with Barbeyrac's notes)): Samuel von Pufendorf believes that the law of nature is a most general and universal rule of human actions to which every man is obliged to conform as a reasonable creature. He argues that this law is not subject to change and binds the whole body of the human race. (key quote above) [8]
• BELIEF (undated; OCR of an old printing; quoted in Basil Kennett's 1729 English translation (with others; 4th edition, with Barbeyrac's notes)): Samuel von Pufendorf believes that the law of nature is derived from the condition of man and that its obligation is from God. He also argues that the natural law does not depend upon the consent of nations. [9]
• BELIEF (undated; OCR of an old printing; quoted in Basil Kennett's 1729 English translation (with others; 4th edition, with Barbeyrac's notes)): Samuel von Pufendorf believed that the law of nature binds nations to one another through duties of mutual respect and fairness, as demonstrated by his argument that the Jews, despite being a distinct and favored nation, were still obligated to exercise 'all the common Duties of the Law of Nature' toward others. (key quote above) [10]

What cuts against it

• The contrary-evidence entries are already in the record ledger above: [1], [2], [3].

2. HOW IT APPLIES (reasoning; inference is marked)

1. Samuel von Pufendorf believed that the law of nature is a universal and perpetual rule of human actions to which every man is obliged to conform as a reasonable creature. (key quote above) [8] (quoted in Basil Kennett's 1729 English translation (with others; 4th edition, with Barbeyrac's notes))

2. He argued that this law is not subject to change and binds the whole body of the human race. [8]

3. The law of nature is derived from the condition of man and its obligation is from God. [9]

4. Samuel von Pufendorf believed that the law of nature obliges all people to keep covenants, and that it is distinct from the law of nations. (key quote above) [6] (quoted in Basil Kennett's 1729 English translation (with others; 4th edition, with Barbeyrac's notes))

5. He argued that the law of nature binds nations to one another through duties of mutual respect and fairness, as demonstrated by his argument that the Jews, despite being a distinct and favored nation, were still obligated to exercise 'all the common Duties of the Law of Nature' toward others. (key quote above) [10] (quoted in Basil Kennett's 1729 English translation (with others; 4th edition, with Barbeyrac's notes))

3. HIS TAKE

Record coverage: PARTIAL

The record is silent on the specific mechanisms through which the law of nature binds nations to one another, but it does provide principles that can be extrapolated. Samuel von Pufendorf believed that the law of nature is a universal and perpetual rule that binds all men in all states and conditions, independent of any human settlement or institution. He also believed that the law of nature obliges all people to keep covenants, and that it is distinct from the law of nations. The law of nature is general and binding, but the law of nations is not grounded in the consent of all people and is not universally agreed upon in practice.

Extrapolation: Samuel von Pufendorf likely believed that the law of nature binds nations to one another through the principle of mutual respect and fairness, as it obliges all people to keep covenants and to avoid causing damage to others. This principle would extend to nations, obliging them to act in ways that promote the interest and security of each member, and to avoid unjust actions against other nations.

Competing readings: One reading is that the law of nature binds nations through the principle of mutual respect and fairness, as it obliges all people to keep covenants and to avoid causing damage to others. Another reading is that the law of nature is distinct from the law of nations and does not necessarily bind nations in the same way it binds individuals. The record itself does not state the latter reading explicitly, but it is an inference based on the distinction made between the law of nature and the law of nations.

Confidence: Moderate, based on the stated principles and the distinction made between the law of nature and the law of nations.