TheJournalofNaturalLaw
A peer-reviewed venue for developing, applying, and defending the natural law tradition across philosophy, theology, and law.
Aims & Scope
The Journal of Natural Law exists to restore and advance a tradition that shaped Western moral and political thought for more than a millennium. For over a thousand years the principles of natural law informed how we understand human rights, legal authority, just war, sound economy, and the law of nations. This journal is devoted to developing that inheritance and carrying it forward, in the conviction that what once shaped a civilization has not spent its force.
Because the tradition spans philosophy, theology, and jurisprudence, the journal is interdisciplinary by necessity. Because its reach is global, the journal is international in scope, though it publishes exclusively in English. It treats natural law as a living moral theory, one that recovers its history without reducing that history to a relic.
“Law is the supreme rational principle, implanted in nature, which commands what must be done and forbids the opposite.”
— Cicero, De Legibus
It is a broad tradition, its internal debates running for centuries alongside searching criticism from without. The Journal of Natural Law gathers those varied threads in one place, positive and negative, rather than serving as a mouthpiece for any faction. To quicken the exchange, we publish brief peer responses of roughly 1,500 words alongside major articles, and we are opening a standing session for case studies that reward sustained moral analysis. Our aim is to be the preeminent resource for everyone engaged in natural law thought, and the venue where its renewal is carried out.
News & Calls for Papers
Open calls, prizes, and announcements are posted here.
Case Studies for Sustained Moral Analysis
The Journal of Natural Law invites submissions of original case studies suitable for sustained moral analysis. Cases that press on the boundaries of existing theory, expose tensions between competing principles, or resist easy resolution are of particular interest. While bioethics has long served as a rich source of such cases, the journal welcomes submissions from any domain where careful attention to concrete circumstances bears on questions of natural law and practical reason.
Cases drawn from commercial ethics, military conduct, property disputes, professional obligation, or political authority are as welcome as those from clinical settings. What matters is that the case is detailed enough to reward close analysis and that its author possesses genuine expertise on the subject matter, so that the facts presented can be treated as credible and complete.
Essay Competition
Check back soon for the announcement of an essay competition and prize.
Issues
- A Case for New Natural LawMelissa Moschella · University of Notre Dame
- A Case against New Natural LawRobert C. Koons · University of Texas at Austin
- A Response to Robert C. KoonsMelissa Moschella
- A Response to Melissa MoschellaRobert C. Koons
- The Natural Law in Reformed Protestant ScholasticismRandall J. Price · Southern Methodist University
- Do Reformed Protestants and Catholics Agree about Natural Law? A Reply to PriceJ. Caleb Clanton · Lipscomb University
- Turretin and Divine Command EthicsJanine Marie Idziak · Loras College
- Reviews of recent work on natural law
- Editor’s IntroductionBrian Besong · Saint Francis University
- The Strict Account of Intention and Vital Conflict CasesChristopher Tollefsen · University of South Carolina
- On the ZookeeperAlexander R. Pruss · Baylor University
- A Metaphysician’s Take on Strict vs. Narrow Conceptions of IntentionRobert C. Koons · University of Texas at Austin
- Self-Defense and New Natural Law TheoryLawrence Masek · Ohio Dominican University
- The Despotism of Descriptions: Tollefsen’s Ultra-Strict Account of IntentionPhilip A. Reed · Canisius University
- At the Cradle of Consequentialism: Scholastic Contributions 1630s–1650sRudolf Schuessler · University of Bayreuth
- Response to SchuesslerAaron Garrett · Boston University
- Remarks on All the Kingdoms of the WorldAlan Fimister · St. John Vianney Theological Seminary
- Defending IntegralismBrian Besong and Tyler Dalton McNabb · Saint Francis University
- How Free Are the Baptized? A Response to Kevin VallierJoshua Madden · Holy Apostles College & Seminary
- Integralism Is Infeasible and Immoral: A Reply to My CriticsKevin Vallier · University of Toledo
- Reviews of recent work on natural lawincluding Stephen Boulter, Petar Popović, and Andrew Forsyth
Editorial Board
Published with the generous support of the Wolf-Kuhn Ethics Institute at Saint Francis University and the American Maritain Association.
For Authors
We welcome original work on every aspect of the natural law tradition: its historical development, its contemporary deployment, its theoretical problems, and its application to particular domains such as jurisprudence, bioethics, and the environment, among many others.
What we publish
- Articles. Major scholarship, with a preference for manuscripts under eight thousand words.
- Peer responses. Brief replies of about 1,500 words, published alongside the articles they engage.
- Discussion notes and book reviews.
- Case studies. For our standing section on casuistry. Cases should be under 800 words, with responses up to 2,000 words. See the call under News.
Preparing your manuscript
- Submit a Word document, anonymized for blind review.
- Articles should carry an abstract of 150 words or fewer and five to seven keywords.
- The journal uses Chicago author-date style, but manuscript submissions may follow any consistent format.
- Work must be original, in English, and not under review elsewhere.
Review and decisions
Papers are accepted on merit. Major articles undergo double-blind peer review; responses, discussion notes, and case studies undergo single-blind review. Authors can expect timely editorial feedback and expedited timelines from acceptance to publication. The journal’s ethics and complaints policy follows COPE’s Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors.
Send your manuscript to Brian Besong, Editor.
Submit by emailSubscribe & Access
The Journal of Natural Law is published twice a year, in Fall and Spring, by The Catholic University of America Press. The full text of every issue is hosted on Project MUSE, and electronic subscriptions include access to back issues there.
| Electronic | Print + Electronic | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Individuals | $50 | $60 | $80 |
| Institutions | $100 | $110 | $140 |
Single print issues are $25 for individuals and $65 for institutions. Shipping within the United States is free; please add $20 for international shipping.
Subscriptions, change of address, and back-issue inquiries: The Journal of Natural Law Subscriptions, JHUP Journals Division, PO Box 19966, Baltimore, MD 21211-0966 · jrnlcirc@jh.edu · 1-800-548-1784.
Contact
The Catholic University of America Press
620 Michigan Ave. NE
Washington, DC 20064