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    Natural Law: Jurist As The Well-Know Question What Is Truth?' Is To The Logician

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    Natural law is a moral theory that law should be based on morality and ethics. It holds that there are universal standards of right and wrong that can be discovered through human reason. The Greeks like Aristotle believed in a natural law or higher law that existed beyond individual laws set by different communities. Stoic philosophers argued that living according to the rational order of the universe constituted natural law. Christian thinkers like Augustine and Gratian connected natural law to divine law, holding that moral laws in religion and nature formed the basis of a just society.

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    Natural Law: Jurist As The Well-Know Question What Is Truth?' Is To The Logician

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    Natural law is a moral theory that law should be based on morality and ethics. It holds that there are universal standards of right and wrong that can be discovered through human reason. The Greeks like Aristotle believed in a natural law or higher law that existed beyond individual laws set by different communities. Stoic philosophers argued that living according to the rational order of the universe constituted natural law. Christian thinkers like Augustine and Gratian connected natural law to divine law, holding that moral laws in religion and nature formed the basis of a just society.

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    Natural Law

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    Natural law is a moral theory that law should be based on morality and ethics. It holds that there are universal standards of right and wrong that can be discovered through human reason. The Greeks like Aristotle believed in a natural law or higher law that existed beyond individual laws set by different communities. Stoic philosophers argued that living according to the rational order of the universe constituted natural law. Christian thinkers like Augustine and Gratian connected natural law to divine law, holding that moral laws in religion and nature formed the basis of a just society.

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    87 views1 page

    Natural Law: Jurist As The Well-Know Question What Is Truth?' Is To The Logician

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    Anonymous
    Natural law is a moral theory that law should be based on morality and ethics. It holds that there are universal standards of right and wrong that can be discovered through human reason. The Greeks like Aristotle believed in a natural law or higher law that existed beyond individual laws set by different communities. Stoic philosophers argued that living according to the rational order of the universe constituted natural law. Christian thinkers like Augustine and Gratian connected natural law to divine law, holding that moral laws in religion and nature formed the basis of a just society.

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    Natural Law

    Natural Law – What is Law?


    Natural Law is a broad and often misapplied term tossed around various
    schools of philosophy, science, history, theology, and law. Indeed, Immanuel
    Kant reminded us, 'What is law?' may be said to be about as embarrassing to the
    jurist as the well-know question ‘What is Truth?’ is to the logician.

    Law, in its generic sense, is a body of rules of action or conduct prescribed


    by controlling authority, and having binding legal force. That which must
    be obeyed and followed by citizens subject to sanctions or legal
    consequences is a law (Black’s Law Dictionary, Sixth Edition, p. 884).
    Jurisprudence is the philosophy of law and how the law developed.

    Natural Law – A Moral Theory of Jurisprudence


    Natural Law is a moral theory of jurisprudence, which maintains that law
    should be based on morality and ethics. Natural Law holds that the law is based
    on what’s “correct.” Natural Law is “discovered” by humans through the use of
    reason and choosing between good and evil. Therefore, Natural Law finds its
    power in discovering certain universal standards in morality and ethics.

    Natural Law – The History


    The Greeks -- Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle emphasized the distinction
    between "nature" (physis, φъσις) and "law," "custom," or "convention" (nomos,
    νуμος). What the law commanded varied from place to place, but what was "by
    nature" should be the same everywhere. Aristotle (BC 384—322) is considered
    by many to be the father of “natural law.” In Rhetoric, he argues that aside from
    “particular” laws that each people has set up for itself, there is a “common law”
    or “higher law” that is according to nature (Rhetoric 1373b2–8).

    The Stoics -- The development of natural law theory continued in the


    Hellenistic school of philosophy, particularly with the Stoics. The Stoics pointed
    to the existence of a rational and purposeful order to the universe. The means
    by which a rational being lived in accordance with this cosmic order was
    considered natural law. Unlike Aristotle’s “higher law,” Stoic natural law was
    indifferent to the divine or natural source of that law. Stoic philosophy was very
    influential with Roman jurists such as Cicero, thus playing a significant role in
    the development of Roman legal theory.

    The Christians -- Augustine (AD 354—430) equates natural law with man's Pre-
    Fall state. Therefore, life according to nature is no longer possible and mankind
    must instead seek salvation through the divine law and Christ’s grace. Gratian
    (12th century) reconnected the concept of natural law and divine law. “The
    Human Race is ruled by two things: namely, natural law and usages (mos, moris,
    mores). Natural law is what is contained in the law and the Gospel. By it, each
    person is commanded to do to others what he wants done to himself and is
    prohibited from inflicting on others what he does not want done to himself.”
    (Decretum, D.1 d.a.c.1; ca. 1140 AD)

    Natural Law – The Conclusion


    In the end, where does law come from? The Theory of Natural Law maintains
    that certain moral laws transcend time, culture, and government. There are
    universal standards that apply to all mankind throughout all time. These
    universal moral standards are inherent in and discoverable by all of us, and form
    the basis of a just society.

    Learn More!

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