Natural Law Essay

Natural Law Essay

1. Relationship with Human Laws

   • Aquinas
     • Prohibits most serious vices
     • Human Law
       • Law of Nations
         • Derived from natural law
       • Civil Law
         • decided by government and people
   • Hobbes
     • Dont contradict because they contain each other
     • Civil law is a means of achieving natural
       • Civil is way
       • Natural is Promulgated
   • Locke
     • Natural Law: universally known laws
       • Human Law: makes NL more specific
   • Rousseau
     • Human Law constrains man from natural state of being free
       • Conflict

2. Basic Rights

   • Aquinas
     • Do good and shun evil
     • Self Preservation
       • private property
   • Hobbes
     • Seek Peace
       • Preserve Human life
         • stop destructive acts
           • Self Defense
     • Creates Contract
       • Transfer of rights to preserve peace
     • Uphold Justice
       • Inability to break contracts
   • Locke
     • Self Preservation
       • Right to life
     • Preserve mankind
       • Protect God's Children
   • Rousseau
     • Right to self preservation
     • Pity
       • taught through emotion

3. How is Natural Law Discovered?

   • Aquinas
     • Divine Reason
       • self evident
         • Promulgated through obviousness
       • Derived from nat inclination & circumstance
       • Speculative Reasoning
         • Scientific
       • Practical Reasoning
         • Moral
         • Do good shun evil
       • What is best for humans
       • Humans Participating in Eternal law
   • Hobbes
     • Reason
       • How rational ppl looking to survive act
       • Found by looking at natural right
       • Laws that have existed for all eternity
         • Deduced from innate reasoning
   • Locke
     • Reason
       • Universal Truths
       • Demands punishment fit the crime
       • Enables understanding of laws
   • Rousseau
     • Sentiment
       • Feelings
         • passions
         • Desires
         • Fears

4. What if it conflicts with human laws

   • Aquinas
     • Irrational Command
     • viewed as prudential reasons
   • Locke
     • Cant b/c human law requires unanimous consent
   • Rousseau
     • We cant return to natural state
       • We can move forward by obeying natural law within ourselves

5. Can it change

   • Aquinas
     • unchanging
     • can be added to
   • Hobbes
     • Fixed
     • Unwritten
     • Eternal
     • Universal
   • Locke
     • fixed
   • Rousseau
     • Fixed