natural law essay

natural law essay

The Importance of Natural Law in Society

1. Introduction

In tonight’s article, Richard Cox shows “The Importance of Natural Law in Society” by exploring the various ways in which natural law can and should be employed in the modern world. He begins his journey by looking at the numerous definitions of natural law and exploring the way it has been the backbone of modern Western legal systems, examining the past to make the connections to how ties with natural law have affected those in the modern world. He examines America’s Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” (US 1776). Cox demonstrates that what Jefferson was doing with the declaration is trying to create a law set in something higher than the state, and not subject to change whenever those in power desire, and argues that natural law is the best way to do this. He further explores this idea and shows how for modern states it is essential to protect the rights of citizens and the only way to effectively do this is through establishing a legal system based on natural law. Another facet of modern society which Cox looks at is international law. He contends that it is a common misconception that natural law applies only to laws governing individuals, but argues that it provides most if not all of the standards and rules that govern states, and is the primary means of establishing a just world order. By examining these various aspects of modern society, Cox effectively creates a link to the past to show how reliance on natural law has affected the present, and to demonstrate its importance today.

2. Understanding Natural Law

In line with the theoretical framework of natural law is the need for it to contain practical directives. This is in order to use the law as a tool of social engineering to mold the lives of individuals. Laying down that there is something to be achieved by a certain activity and it is a rational assessment of the situation. This is close to the formation of an action in line with an ideal, utilizing a practical syllogism. In order to have practical conclusions, there must be general precepts enunciated, and Grotius states that these are right reason derived from nature. The content of natural law is therefore truth. Wishing to avoid value judgments, Finnis has an elaborate methodology for the determination of what is right. This is the seven basic goods.

Aquinas held that these divine principles could be discovered through human reasoning, regardless of how harshly corrupted our nature is due to humanity’s fallen condition. This states that the application of divine commands is both within human grasp and plausible. This is similar to Socrates’ belief that all evil acts are committed in ignorance of a principle that underlies the virtue of an object. Due to this, humanity has a fundamental knowledge of what is good, making it possible to be commanded to all. For example, it can be said that it is a universal command that man ought to avoid unnecessary pain. This concept considers the purpose of law to bid and forbid and asks law to reflect universal principles. An example of ancient natural law is very apparent in the writings of Grotius.

Ancient natural law was at the height of the Enlightenment period and followed the bounds of theism. One of its leading proponents, Finnis, states, “it is theistic, proposing an underlying natural human fulfillment aimed at by divinely given human nature.” Theism is the belief in a God who is omnipotent and perfectly good. This sort of natural law is based on the understanding that the universe has been created with a purpose. An action is therefore considered right or wrong depending on whether it achieves the purpose it was intended for. For example, a knife that does not cut is considered a bad knife.

In order to get a grip on the sources of natural law, it is important to understand the concept and differences between modern and ancient theories. It needs to be noted that ancient and modern natural law do not have tantamount meaning. This means that it cannot be said that modern natural law is an extension of ancient natural law. Natural law contains certain ethical beliefs, as Kant said, “morality is not properly the doctrine of how we make ourselves happy, but how we make ourselves worthy of happiness.”

3. Applications of Natural Law in Society

Secondly, in the modern context, a good application of natural law can protect human rights, being a hot topic that it is today. In Hobbes’ Leviathan, he states that a commonwealth can be defined as one person or a government whose acts are considered as the acts of all its other members, enabling it to conduct arguments for laws. Now, according to the natural law, an individual has the right to defend his own life and has a duty to preserve the life of another who possesses a similar right to his life. This means that any actions taken by the government must allow people to preserve their lives and must enable the preservation of the lives of others. Any laws conflicting with that would be in violation of the natural law and would not apply. Similarly, John Locke’s theory of property is also based on natural laws of self-preservation and the preservation of others. He said that ownership of gold, for example, was not because the first person to find gold claimed it as his, but that it was a consensus of the fact that appropriating the gold had neither harmed others nor wasted it, hence it was avoiding harm to others and adding something to the gold to give it ownership. If interpreted into modern law, it is clear that any laws protecting human rights will be a reflection of the natural law.

Firstly, by adhering to the natural law, societies can establish valid frameworks for making governing laws. Given that a natural law is universal and applies in every situation or culture, it is the ideal tool by which everyone can agree upon to direct the creation or reform of human laws. Natural laws are based on ideals, and since an ideal, by definition, is something that is most desirable, then it is assumed that everyone would want what is best. The law of good being pursued and evil being avoided is the root of all natural law, and as every individual wants what is good, so everyone wants to preserve their own life and attempt to aggregate that which will make their lives most fulfilling. Therefore, by implementing their interpretation of the natural law into the creation of human laws, it is easier for people to cooperatively achieve their goals. Thomas Aquinas also asserts that natural law must be that which the practical reason of the majority dictates and will be apparent through the promulgation by those in authority.

4. Criticisms and Challenges to Natural Law

This is probably the hardest essay I’ve ever written because it felt like a pointless task to find out the criticisms and challenges to natural law, but I have to do what I have to do. Some would say to even consider any criticisms is a waste of time as every theory has its pitfalls, and natural law has substantially less than any other moral theory. A significant number of criticisms often arise from classical theorists, which show that they aren’t necessarily relevant today, and many new theories have noticeably appeared after the theory of natural law. Plato argues that it is difficult to know what is truly good for us, and consequences are often unsure. This is an understanding criticism as emotional desires are often conflicting with what is truly good for us, and it is often difficult to distinguish between the two. Aristotle argues that artificial goods are not always bad and should be pursued, which is a direct criticism to natural law, as it is stated that artificial goods are bad for us and deny our purpose. This comment is pointed towards the modern society at the time, and today it is far worse with artificial goods often surpassing the quality of natural goods, i.e. artificial sweeteners, sweetener tablets, etc., are more effective than sugar, which is known to be a natural good. Due to this, we have a debatable issue. We could say that at this present stage, it is widely difficult to determine what is truly good and bad artificially as original forms have either disappeared or lack quality. E.g. a drink of squash is artificial, but is it bad? At the end of the day, it lacks any health benefits, but it tastes nice, so it is not harming the person. This would almost follow suit with Aristotle’s suggestions that artificial goods are sometimes similar in value to original goods, and they shouldn’t be denied. Natural law today would argue that due to the sake of human dignity and purpose, it is best to avoid artificial goods, but the quantity of artificial goods over the century shows that this can easily be disputed. These critiques have led to some significant challenges to natural law.

5. Conclusion

The major themes of natural law and its influence in society were laid out in the body of this paper. The insightful analysis of St. Thomas Aquinas and the modern interpretation of Michael Moore were two ways the importance of natural law was highlighted. Throughout the legal and philosophical examples of modern society, the presence of natural law was evident. The theoretical connection of natural law between legal elements of society was explored. Furthermore, natural law is looked at as a goal of achievement for justice. These themes link to the thesis, where it was said that any ideal legal system is founded upon the theory of natural law, and it is clear in modern systems that natural law principles are fundamental to theory and practice.