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Short Treatise on Natural Law

By: Paul Jacob4/27/10

In his seminal workThus Spoke Zarathustra, Friedrick Nietzsche claimed that God is dead, and even

today the question remains: Is he?

i

If he is then what is the standard for rational moral thought? Thefashionable view, in light of post modernism, is that Nietzche was right and morality is subjective. The

arguments for subjectivity generally follow the framework that individual decisions should be left to the

individuals making them because no infallible standard exists. To each his own is the status quo

message of twenty-first century subjectivists. However, by definition, absolute subjectivity leads to chaos

and chaos, as the wars of modern history prove, to devastating atrocity. In this way, those who purport

that subjective morality is the guiding light of human action fail to answer some of lifes most vexing

questions; and therefore, a better measure is required. I propose that natural law is that measure.

The idea of natural law stems from ancient philosophers of Greek and Roman times, most importantly

Aristotle. ii Thomas Aquinas, a doctor of the Catholic Church, wrote much regarding natural law in his

Summa Theologica, widely held as one of the most important theological works in human history.iii

In the

Summa, Aquinas defines natural law as an external law that is self evident to man and allows man to

choose what is good.iv The self evident nature of natural law and its externality to man allows for its

application across religious and social constructs. In this way, natural law has been applied in a normative

sense to entire societies, even those that are religiously neutral. One chief example of this was in its

application in the Declaration of Independence. The well known line of the Declaration: We hold these

truths to be self-evident, that 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, is a perfect example

of the application of natural law in constructing a free religious society. v

In essence, natural law is constructed on the fabric of two central thoughts. The first main thought is that

natural law is self evident. Self evidence is the idea that an object is, through its very nature, definitively

what it is. Aquinas uses the example of man.vi Man, through his very nature is defined as a rational being.

Put another way, it is evident that man can use reason; and therefore, man is by definition a rational being.

Man can intuit those aspects that are definitively part of his nature either by comparing his commonalities

or differences to the natural world. Thus, the fact that rationality only exists in man is partly evident

because man can observe that it is not shared by the rest of the natural world.

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At its core, the self evident quality of natural law dictates that mans reason, as guided by his conscience

or as the Catechism puts it: the heart of each man, is a compass for determining what is good.vii

Man

seeks out what is good and avoids what is evil in accord with natural law. Thus the second central thought

of natural law is the idea of good. For Aquinas, good meant that every man, through his natural

inclination, pursues actions that will result in preservation.viii Note that preservation is also shared by all

of nature in so far as animals, plants, and man seek this outcome. Thus preservation, through natural law,

is good. In this way, the most obvious application of natural law, as it impacts ethics, is that man must

seek the self preservation of his life (i.e. good). However, since man is also born into human society, the

question of good broadens. Should man be willing to sacrifice his life for others?

The application of natural law is important in determining mans action not only in regards to himself but

also to others. Often times, these are the questions that are most vexing. And even though natural law is

self evident, its application can be difficult due to the fact that man is bound in many ways to error

through the powers of passion, prejudice, or other factors that can cloud his rationality. As such, man is

subject to the perversion of his will and may, therefore, do and think things that are contrary to good (i.e.

evil). For this reason, when it comes to the application of natural law, great consideration must be given

to the adverse affects of actions that are contrary to the conscience and the greater good of society as a

whole. While common traits of the natural world have already been discussed as a measure for

determining natural law, should there still be a question, history serves as another measure. Yet, since the

natural world is ordered and created by the same maker of the natural law, man cannot ignore divine

guidance in measuring moral actions that are otherwise difficult to ascertain.

In time, history will prove that post modern thought, as so many other philosophies before it, is simply

another cheap thrill on the roller coaster of human uncertainty. The idea that God is dead will cease to

have relevance when the next philosophical wave takes hold. And yet, when the sun sets on the fashion of

subjectivism, natural law will still exist as a clear sign for moral certainty. It cannot be destroyed. To the

degree that man perceives this reality, he can use natural law to support and build the moral order

throughout the world for the betterment of all.

i God is Dead. Wikipedia. 20 April 2010. Web. 26 April 2010. .ii Natural Law. Wikipedia. 25 April 2010. Web. 26 April 2010. < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_law>.iii Natural Law. New Advent. 2010. Web. 26 April 2010. < http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09076a.htm>.iv Aquinas, Thomas. Summa Theologica. I-II, 94. Trans. Kevin Knight.New Advent. 2010. Web. 26 April 210. .v The Declaration of Independence. July 4, 1995. Web. 26 April 2010. .

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Aquinas, Thomas. Summa Theologica. I-II, 94. Trans. Kevin Knight.New Advent. 2010. Web. 26 April 210. .viiCatechism of the Catholic Church. Para. 1956. St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church. 2010. Web. 26 April2010. < http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/1956.htm>.viii Aquinas, Thomas. Summa Theologica. I-II, 94. Trans. Kevin Knight.New Advent. 2010. Web. 26 April 210. .