There are some truths we grasp innately. Others are just truths about words — things that are true because of the way we define them. Let nature take its course, and a pack of dogs will sort itself into the dominant and submissive roles. But a private is not the lowest-ranking soldier by nature. He is subordinate by definition — we’ve defined private as the lowest rank.
This distinction is common in the law. In fact, in the criminal law, the distinction touches on the nature of evil itself. We draw a categorical line between malum in se and malum prohibitum, between what is wrong by nature and what is deemed wrong only because we choose to prohibit it.
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