The significance of human development is surprisingly neglected by moral philosophy. ‘Good enough’ parents, nevertheless, appreciate what moral philosophers overlook. As their children develop, parents discern that the standards for human flourishing, virtues, and rules are neither universal nor one-size-fits-all. The criteria for human flourishing, virtues, and the precepts of the natural law modulate according to the developmentally appropriate capabilities of toddlers, schoolchildren, adolescents, young adults, the elderly, and so forth.

In this lecture, Daniel De Haan, explores the insights a developmental approach to the natural law reveals concerning how children and parents learn to discern the norms of the natural law. The fourth commandment and its complementary precept ‘honour thy child,’ are focused on as test cases that illustrate developmental virtues and ‘good enough’ parenting. De Haan concludes by showing how these developmental insights provide responses to some of the most serious objections to the natural law.