diff --git a/lens/core/laws.scrbl b/lens/core/laws.scrbl
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a16e9bc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lens/core/laws.scrbl
@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+#lang scribble/manual
+
+@(require scribble/eval
+          "../lenses-examples.rkt"
+          (for-label lens
+                     racket/base
+                     racket/contract))
+
+@title{Lens Laws}
+
+While @racket[make-lens] allows lenses to be constructed
+from arbitrary getters and setters, these getters and setters
+should obey some algebraic laws in order for a lens to be a
+@italic{proper lens}. A lens that does not obey the lens laws for
+all values it can focus on is an @italic{improper lens}.
+The lens laws formalize some standard intuitions for how getters
+and setters "ought" to work. The laws for lenses are:
+
+@itemlist[
+  @item{
+    Purity - Viewing and setting with a lens @racket[L] must
+    both be pure functions. Formally, the two functions
+    @racketblock[
+      (λ (target) (lens-view L target))
+      (λ (target view) (lens-set L target view))
+    ]
+    must be pure for tagets and views of @racket[L].
+  }
+  @item{
+    Set-Get Consistency - For all targets and views, setting a target
+    and then viewing it returns the set value. Formally, given
+    a target @racket[T] of a lens @racket[L], the function
+    @racketblock[
+      (λ (view)
+        (lens-view L (lens-set L T view)))
+    ]
+    must be identical to the identity function for views of
+    @racket[L] with respect to a reasonable definition of equality
+    for views of @racket[L].
+  }
+  @item{
+    Get-Set Consistency - For all targets and views, getting a view
+    of a target and then setting the target's view to the view you
+    just got does nothing. Formally, given a target @racket[T] of
+    a lens @racket[L], the expression
+    @racketblock[
+      (lens-set L T (lens-view L T))
+    ]
+    must be equal to @racket[T] with respect to a reasonable
+    definition of equality for targets of @racket[L].
+  }
+  @item{
+    Last Set Wins - For all targets and views, if you set the same
+    target to two different views, the one you set last applies.
+    Formally, given a target @racket[T] of a lens @racket[L] and
+    two views @racket[v-first] and @racket[v-second] of @racket[L],
+    the expression
+    @racketblock[
+      (lens-view L (lens-set L (lens-set L T v-first) v-second))
+    ]
+    must be equal to @racket[v-second] with respect to a reasonable
+    definition of equality for views of @racket[L].
+  }
+]
+
+For those familiar with getters and setters in OO languages, none
+of these should be surprising other than the requirement that lenses
+be pure. The purity of lenses allows them to be composed more
+effectively and reasoned about more easily than an impure equivalent
+of lenses.
+
+All lenses provided by this library are proper unless otherwise
+stated. There is no enforcement or contract that lenses constructed
+with functions from this library will always be proper, but individual
+functions may provide conditional guarantees about their interactions
+with improper lenses and the lens laws
diff --git a/lens/core/main.scrbl b/lens/core/main.scrbl
index 9f4ba31..dc5c101 100644
--- a/lens/core/main.scrbl
+++ b/lens/core/main.scrbl
@@ -4,5 +4,6 @@
 
 @include-section["base.scrbl"]
 @include-section["view-set.scrbl"]
+@include-section["laws.scrbl"]
 @include-section["transform.scrbl"]
 @include-section["compose.scrbl"]