Dante Figueroa

Traditional Natural Law As the Source of Western Constitutional Law, Particularly in the United States Dante Figueroa

In his book, "Traditional Natural Law as the Source of Western Constitutional Law, Particularly in the United States," Professor Figueroa seeks to explain to his students the connections between the concept of natural law as understood by Catholic thinkers throughout the ages, and the fundamental notions of constitutional law in the Western world. To this effect, Professor Figueroa identifies the main elements of natural law as originally conceived by its authors, contrasting them with the distortions occurred at the hands of the enlightened philosophes to date. He takes particular aim at the natural rights theories that were popular in the Anglo-American world at the time of the American Revolution, and explains the significant deviations present in their many versions. In Professor Figueroa's view, reason and spirit are two dimensions of the human person that shape all human institutions in a way that is lost when they are artificially separated. In sum, according to Professor Figueroa, debunking erroneous ideologies, in particular errors in natural rights theories, is a necessary first step for the authentic rediscovery and revitalization of the Traditional Natural Law doctrine. In this way, Professor Figueroa concludes, Western constitutional law will re-encounter an appealing, living, and solid intellectual background in its very roots, providing a solid and lasting foundation for Western democracies.