Natural Law Theorists

Learning Goals (Natural Law)

1) To evaluate from a legal perspective the relative influence of Natural Law theories and perspectives on the interpretation and administration of laws and legal processes

Matrix of Jurisprudence (knowledge or study of law)

CLN3U● Historical Development ** (common law, civil law, criminal law)● Principles (Innocent until proven guilty, No person is above the law, Rule of

law)● Institutions (courts, parliament, jury)

CLN4U● Some Historical Development● Concepts (democracy, sovereignty, rights, equality, equity)● Philosophy & Theories (natural law, positive law, divine rights, social

contract)

Agree, Disagree #1

It is okay to question laws and government officials, even if it interferes with how they run the country.

Agree, Disagree #2

Laws need to be fully debated and explored before they are put into practice.

Agree, Disagree #3

All citizens should be the eyes and ears of the government. We need to do our part to keep society law abiding.

Agree, Disagree #4

Only fear of punishment keeps people law abiding.

Agree, Disagree #5

There are some laws, or duties, that are just common sense (caring for children, caring for the sick and elderly).

Agree, Disagree #6

Laws made by a ruler are made for the good of all people.

Natural and Positive Law (more detailed)Natural Law:

● �is the philosophical basis of law.● �It is unwritten● �Underlies moral principals of wright and wrong, which can be derived by reasoning and

heeding to one’s conscience● �Argues that a universal moral command exists for making and judging laws● �It is the conscience of the legal system

Natural and Positive Law (more detailed)

�Positive Law:

● is the working of the law through the authority of the state.● �A human creation● �Laws are established by the state for the good of the state as a whole● �Law has no moral purpose (other than survival of the state).● �It refers to written rules that must be followed to the letter regardless of circumstance● �Anyone who violates the law must be punished according to the written rules

Natural and Positive Law (basic definitions)

Natural Law: the theory that human laws are derived from eternal and unchangeable principles that regulate the natural world, and that people can become aware of these laws through the use of reason. (ie: universally understood concepts of morality)

Positive Law: the theory that law is a body of rules formulated by the state, and that citizens are obliged to obey the law for the good of the state as a whole. (ie: human made laws)

Terms to keep in mind when studying Natural and Positive Law

● Moral absolutism: is the belief that there are absolute standards against which moral questions can be judged, and that certain actions are right or wrong, devoid of the context of the act.

● Moral Relativism: is a belief that moral truths are relative to social, cultural, historical or personal references, and to situational ethics, which holds that the morality of an act depends on the context of the act.

Natural Law Theorists

Socrates (470 BCE - 399 BCE)- ��Morality (ethics) is an important part of natural law. Man made

laws should reflect those morals.

- Obeying the law is the moral thing to do; should be obeyed even in the face of death.

- Believed that philosophers should be the heads of state; Socrates says, “that ideals belong in a world that only the wise man can understand.”

- Also believed that to wrong against the law was to wrong against those who abide by the law.

Socrates (470 BCE - 399 BCE)● Known for using the process of a dialectic

(Socratic method)

○ Meaning that you clarify an idea through a

process of questions, answers and further

questions (sometimes leads to weakening a

person’s position)

● He was executed because the government

feared his influence on young people (conflicting

ideas of political and religious views)

○ Did not write down his teachings (lived on in

his pupils)

Plato (428 BCE - 348 BCE)● Plato believed that organized society is a natural

institution; we are social by nature. This works when justice exists:○ Justice exists when all powers of an individual

or society work together for the good of the whole.

○ Justice in the individual exists when intellect controls instincts (through reason)

● �Human laws must be based on knowledge of the eternal laws that rule the universe.

● �Education produces good behaviour.

Aristotle (384 BCE - 322 BCE)● He believed that what sets humans apart from

other animals is their reason, which allows them to tell the difference between good and bad, the just and unjust.

● Rationalism – process of using reason to analyze the natural world from observation (modern scientific method)

● Through rationalism, we can determine what is good/just vs. what is evil/unjust

Aristotle (384 BCE - 322 BCE)● Student of Plato, but disagreed with his assumption that only

education was needed to make people good

● People are born into one of three categories:

○ Some people are born good

○ Some people can be made good through education

○ Majority are ruled by their passions; laws and education are

needed to ensure people are law abiding

● Also believed that all citizens need to help regulate each other’s

behaviour

● Purpose of law: Regulate human life in the state

○ Ultimately, help citizens use their faculty of reason to reach

their greatest potential (“good life”)

Cicero (106 BCE - 43 BCE)● Roman lawyer at time of Julius Caesar

● Established principle: justice, right, equality, fairness,

should underline law

● Law is the ethical norms for the human being

● State should represent collective will of citizens; not

enacting evil laws

● Permissible for citizen to withdraw support of a Gov.

enacting evil laws (even if majority approves them)

St. Thomas Aquinas (1225 - 1274)● �St. Thomas Aquinas believed that Natural law is the eternal law

(from God) that operates in humans.

He also examined some areas of positive law:

1. Human law is the product of reason which is based on natural law and is made public by society’s ruler.

2. �It is published so that everyone knows it (made public).

3. The ruler is responsible for the “care” of the community.

4. A moral obligation exists to obey just laws.

St. Thomas Aquinas (1225 - 1274)Theorized that there are 4 types of laws:

● Eternal Law: laws outside of the universe; ones that God used

to create the universe and keeps it in operation

● Natural Law: laws that humans are born knowing (care for

children, self-preservation, do no harm to others, assist those

in need)

● Divine Positive Laws: eternal law passed down in scripture;

codified

● Human Positive Laws: codified laws made by humans, which

are the product of reason (made by leaders for the common

good and published for all to know)

Think of all the new issues that society and the law that have cropped up with advances in technology:

- Copyright Laws- Cyberbullying Laws- Surveillance issues- Social Media Antics- Issues of privacy and information

Examine these issues and predict the following:

1) What concerns would each philosopher have about these issues?2) What might their solutions be?

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