This four-page undergraduate paper examines whether Natural Law has been an agent
of change or whether it is little more than a nice theory. The author discusses the relevant works of Thomas Hobbes and notes that a historical study of this debate, as well as the development of civil law, the acts of legislatures, and numerous judicial decisions, indicates that Natural Law has been recognized as having a legitimate influence on legal, political, and social theory. There is a general consensus that civil laws should be shaped in conformity to Natural Law, for most people are in agreement that Natural Law existed before any written law had been conceived of or any state had been established.
