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A ncient G reek philosophy, metaphysics, ethics Law or convention , and used to refer to written or customary laws and rules , customs, habits, and conventions. Because all of these are men-made and can be changed and modified by men, in Greek philosophy nomos is contrasted to phusis (nature). Democritus claims that such things as color and taste are conventions, while only atoms and the void are real (natural). In the fourth and fifth centuries bc , philosophers disputed whether human nature or human morality is nomos or phusis. The defenders of nomos , e.g. Protagoras , insist that human nature or morality is affected by the beliefs of different societies. Socrates, Plato , and Aristotle all attack this ethical relativism , and attempt to base human morality on objective grounds. “What is fine and what is just, the topics of inquiry in political science, differ and vary so much that they seem to rest on nomos only, not on nature.” Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics ... log in or subscribe to read full text