Hugo Grotius: Natural Law and Social Contract Theory

Throughout the ages, countless human lives have been lost for the sake of what is 'right', while countless others have had their lives dictated by this ideal. It is plainly understandable that moral philosophers have strived to find an answer to the question: what is 'right'? Is the idea nothing more than the will of a man exerted over another man - and therefore subjective to every will - or can it be streamlined into a single universal truth? More importantly perhaps, if the latter were to be true, could man ever come to know of this truth?