Who believed that human societies were guided by natural laws?

Natural philosophers were a group of thinkers in history who sought to understand the natural world through reason and observation, often believing that human societies, much like nature, operated under specific, identifiable laws. This perspective aligns with the broader idea of the Enlightenment, where many thinkers posited that there were fundamental principles governing human behavior and societal organization.

Their work laid the groundwork for various fields, including modern science and philosophy. They emphasized the importance of reason, logic, and empirical evidence, attempting to apply these same principles to human society. Concepts such as social contracts and the belief in the inherent rights of individuals were often derived from their naturalistic worldview.

While political scientists, social reformers, and economists certainly engage with concepts about human society and the systems that govern it, their specific focus and methods differ. Political scientists analyze governmental structures and functions, social reformers advocate for changes based on ethical or moral grounds, and economists study the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Each of these disciplines may interact with the idea of societal laws, but natural philosophers were foundational in articulating the notion that societies could be understood through a lens of natural law akin to the physical sciences.