Does Nature Make Laws? – Prof. Raymond Hain

Dec 12, 2025

In this enlightening discussion, Prof. Raymond Hain, an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Providence College, delves into the philosophy of natural law and its implications for human morality. He explores how moral norms emerge from our rational engagement with the universe, drawing on insights from St. Thomas Aquinas. Hain also tackles the challenge posed by evolutionary theory to our understanding of essential human nature and the need for a moral framework. His arguments reveal how faith and reason can harmonize, enriching our understanding of ethical principles.

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INSIGHT

Aquinas’s Fourfold Definition Of Law

Law must be an ordinance of reason oriented to the common good, promulgated by authority, and communicated to the people.
Raymond Hain explains Aquinas's fourfold definition to show law's rational and social character.

INSIGHT

Natural Law As Participation In Eternal Reason

Natural law is our rational participation in the eternal law, giving us inclinations toward proper acts and ends.
Hain emphasizes humans uniquely use reason to apprehend and act on those natural inclinations.

ANECDOTE

Rabbit Example To Illustrate Natural Order

Hain recounts a rabbit in his yard to illustrate how animals manifest the eternal law through instincts and inclinations.
He uses the rabbit to contrast animal natural law with human rational participation in that law.

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Prof. Raymond Hain examines whether nature “makes” laws by exploring classical and contemporary accounts of natural law, arguing that human moral norms arise from our rational participation in the ordered structure of life and the universe as understood in both philosophy and Catholic thought.

This lecture was given on September 8th, 2025, at United States Military Academy.

For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.

About the Speakers:

Raymond Hain is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Associate Director of the Humanities Program at Providence College in Providence, RI. Educated at Christendom College, the University of Notre Dame, and the University of Oxford, he is the founder of the PC Humanities Forum and Humanities Reading Seminars and is responsible for the strategic development of the Humanities Program into a vibrant, world class center of teaching, research, and cultural life dedicated to the Catholic Intellectual Tradition. His scholarly interests include the history of ethics (especially St. Thomas Aquinas), applied ethics (especially medical ethics and the ethics of architecture), Alexis de Tocqueville, and philosophy and literature (especially Catholic aesthetics). His work has been supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Templeton Foundation, the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, and the Charles Koch Foundation. His essays have appeared in various journals and collections including The Thomist, International Journal of Applied Philosophy, and The Anthem Companion to Tocqueville. He is the editor of Beyond the Self: Virtue Ethics and the Problem of Culture and is currently working on a monograph titled The Lover and the Prophet: An Essay in Catholic Aesthetics. He joined Providence College in 2011 and lives just across the street with his wife Dominique and their five children.

Keywords: Aristotelian Ethics, Catholic Moral Theology, Darwinian Evolution, Evolutionary Biology, Human Flourishing, Human Sexuality, John Finnis Natural Law and Natural Rights, Michael Thompson, Natural Law, Philosophy of Biology, Steven Jensen