law of nature

n 1. (Philosophy) an empirical truth of great generality, conceived of as a physical (but not a logical) necessity, and consequently licensing counterfactual conditionals 2. (Philosophy) a system of morality conceived of as grounded in reason. See natural law², nomological² 3. See law¹⁸

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Noun

law of nature - a generalization that describes recurring facts or events in nature; "the laws of thermodynamics"lawconcept, conception, construct - an abstract or general idea inferred or derived from specific instancesall-or-none law - (neurophysiology) a nerve impulse resulting from a weak stimulus is just as strong as a nerve impulse resulting from a strong stimulusprinciple, rule - a rule or law concerning a natural phenomenon or the function of a complex system; "the principle of the conservation of mass"; "the principle of jet propulsion"; "the right-hand rule for inductive fields"Archimedes' principle, law of Archimedes - (hydrostatics) the apparent loss in weight of a body immersed in a fluid is equal to the weight of the displaced fluidAvogadro's hypothesis, Avogadro's law - the principle that equal volumes of all gases (given the same temperature and pressure) contain equal numbers of moleculesBernoulli's law, law of large numbers - (statistics) law stating that a large number of items taken at random from a population will (on the average) have the population statisticsBenford's law - a law used by auditors to identify fictitious populations of numbers; applies to any population of numbers derived from other numbers; "Benford's law holds that 30% of the time the first non-zero digit of a derived number will be 1 and it will be 9 only 4.6% of the time"Bose-Einstein statistics - (physics) statistical law obeyed by a system of particles whose wave function is not changed when two particles are interchanged (the Pauli exclusion principle does not apply)Boyle's law, Mariotte's law - the pressure of an ideal gas at constant temperature varies inversely with the volumeCoulomb's Law - a fundamental principle of electrostatics; the force of attraction or repulsion between two charged particles is directly proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the distance between them; principle also holds for magnetic polesDalton's law of partial pressures, law of partial pressures, Dalton's law - (chemistry and physics) law stating that the pressure exerted by a mixture of gases equals the sum of the partial pressures of the gases in the mixture; the pressure of a gas in a mixture equals the pressure it would exert if it occupied the same volume alone at the same temperaturedistribution law - (chemistry) the total energy in an assembly of molecules is not distributed equally but is distributed around an average value according to a statistical distributionequilibrium law, law of chemical equilibrium - (chemistry) the principle that (at chemical equilibrium) in a reversible reaction the ratio of the rate of the forward reaction to the rate of the reverse reaction is a constant for that reactionFechner's law, Weber-Fechner law - (psychophysics) the concept that the magnitude of a subjective sensation increases proportional to the logarithm of the stimulus intensity; based on early work by E. H. WeberFermi-Dirac statistics - (physics) law obeyed by a systems of particles whose wave function changes when two particles are interchanged (the Pauli exclusion principle applies)Charles's law, Gay-Lussac's law, law of volumes - (physics) the density of an ideal gas at constant pressure varies inversely with the temperatureHenry's law - (chemistry) law formulated by the English chemist William Henry; the amount of a gas that will be absorbed by water increases as the gas pressure increasesHooke's law - (physics) the principle that (within the elastic limit) the stress applied to a solid is proportional to the strain producedHubble law, Hubble's law - (astronomy) the generalization that the speed of recession of distant galaxies (the red shift) is proportional to their distance from the observerKepler's law, Kepler's law of planetary motion - (astronomy) one of three empirical laws of planetary motion stated by Johannes KeplerKirchhoff's laws - (physics) two laws governing electric networks in which steady currents flow: the sum of all the currents at a point is zero and the sum of the voltage gains and drops around any closed circuit is zerolaw of averages - a law affirming that in the long run probabilities will determine performancelaw of constant proportion, law of definite proportions - (chemistry) law stating that every pure substance always contains the same elements combined in the same proportions by weightlaw of diminishing returns - a law affirming that to continue after a certain level of performance has been reached will result in a decline in effectivenesslaw of effect - (psychology) the principle that behaviors are selected by their consequences; behavior having good consequences tends to be repeated whereas behavior that leads to bad consequences is not repeatedlaw of equivalent proportions, law of reciprocal proportions - (chemistry) law stating that the proportions in which two elements separately combine with a third element are also the proportions in which they combine togetherlaw of gravitation, Newton's law of gravitation - (physics) the law that states any two bodies attract each other with a force that is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them

Law of nature

LAW OF NATURE. The law of nature is that which God, the sovereign of the universe, has prescribed to all men, not by any formal promulgation, but by the internal dictate of reason alone. It is discovered by a just consideration of the agreeableness or disagreeableness of human actions to the nature of man; and it comprehends all the duties which we owe either to the Supreme Being, to ourselves, or to our neighbors; as reverence to God, self-defence, temperance, honor to our parents, benevolence to all, a strict adherence to our engagements, gratitude, and the like. Erskine's Pr. of L. ofScot. B. 1, t. 1, s. 1. See Ayl. Pand. tit. 2, p. 5; Cicer. de Leg. lib. 1.
2. The primitive laws of nature may be reduced to six, namely: 1. Comparative sagacity, or reason. 2. Self-love. 3. The attraction of the sexes to each other. 4. The tenderness of parents towards their children. 5. The religious sentiment. 6. Sociability.
3.-1. When man is properly organized, he is able to discover moral good from moral evil; and the study of man proves that man is not only an intelligent, but a free being, and he is therefore responsible for his actions. The judgment we form of our good actions, produces happiness; on the contrary the judgment we form of our bad actions produces unhappiness.
4.-2. Every animated being is impelled by nature to his own preservation, to defend his life and body from injuries, to shun what may be hurtful, and to provide all things requisite to his existence. Hence the duty to watch over his own preservation. Suicide and duelling are therefore contrary to this law; and a man cannot mutilate himself, nor renounce his liberty.
5.-3. The attraction of the sexes has been provided for the preservation of the human race, and this law condemns celibacy. The end of marriage proves that polygamy, (q.v.) and polyendry, (q.v.) are contrary to the law of nature. Hence it follows that the husband and wife have a mutual and exclusive right over each other.
6.-4. Man from his birth is wholly unable to provide for the least of his necessities; but the love of his parents supplies for this weakness. This is one of the most powerful laws of nature. The principal duties it imposes on the parents, are to bestow on the child all the care its weakness requires, to provide for its necessary food and clothing, to instruct it, to provide for its wants, and to use coercive means for its good, when requisite.
7.-5. The religious sentiment which leads us naturally towards the Supreme Being, is one of the attributes which belong to humanity alone; and its importance gives it the rank of the moral law of nature. From this sentiment arise all the sects and different forms of worship among men.
8.-6. The need which man feels to live in society, is one of the primitive laws of nature, whence flow our duties and rights; and the existence of society depends upon the condition that the rights of all shall be respected. On this law are based the assistance, succors and good offices which men owe to each other, they being unable to provide each every thing for himself.

law of nature

law of nature

Law of nature

law of nature

Synonyms for law of nature

noun a generalization that describes recurring facts or events in nature

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