Scribd
Upload
19 views4 pages

European Natural Law

lib. natural law

Uploaded by

Adiba A. 130
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
19 views4 pages

European Natural Law

lib. natural law

Uploaded by

Adiba A. 130
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

EUROPEAN Lib.

NATURAL LAW
John Locke incorporated natural law into many of his theories
and philosophy, especially in Two Treatises of Government.
There is considerable debate about whether his conception of
natural law was more akin to that of Aquinas (filtered
through Richard Hooker) or Hobbes' radical reinterpretation,
though the effect of Locke's understanding is usually phrased
in terms of a revision of Hobbes upon
Hobbesian contractarian grounds. Locke turned Hobbes'
prescription around, saying that if the ruler went against
natural law and failed to protect "life, liberty, and property,"
people could justifiably overthrow the existing state and
create a new one.[122]
While Locke spoke in the language of natural law, the content
of this law was by and large protective of natural rights, and it
was this language that later liberal thinkers preferred. Political
philosopher Jeremy Waldron has pointed out that Locke's
political thought was based on "a particular set of Protestant
Christian assumptions."[123] To Locke, the content of natural
law was identical with biblical ethics as laid down especially
in the Decalogue, Christ's teaching and exemplary life, and St.
Paul's admonitions.[124] Locke derived the concept of basic
human equality, including the equality of the sexes ("Adam
and Eve"), from Genesis 1, 26–28, the starting-point of the
theological doctrine of Imago Dei. The Belgian philosopher of
law Frank van Dun is one among those who are elaborating a
secular conception[129] of natural law in the liberal
tradition. Anarcho-capitalist theorist Murray Rothbard argues
that "the very existence of a natural law discoverable by
reason is a potentially powerful threat to the status quo and a
standing reproach to the reign of blindly traditional custom or
the arbitrary will of the State apparatus." [130] Austrian
school economist Ludwig von Mises states that he relaid the
general sociological and economic foundations of the liberal
doctrine upon utilitarianism, rather than natural law, but R. A.
Gonce argues that "the reality of the argument constituting his
system overwhelms his denial."[131] Murray Rothbard,
however, says that Gonce makes a lot of errors and distortions
in the analysis of Mises's works, including making confusions
about the term which Mises uses to refer to scientific laws,
"laws of nature," saying it characterizes Mises as a natural law
philosopher.[132] David Gordon notes, "When most people
speak of natural law, what they have in mind is the contention
that morality can be derived from human nature. If human
beings are rational animals of such-and-such a sort, then the
moral virtues are...(filling in the blanks is the difficult part)."
One of the consequences is that as all humans are created
equally free, governments need the consent of the
governed. Thomas Jefferson, arguably echoing Locke,
appealed to unalienable rights in the 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."[127] The
Lockean idea that governments need the consent of the
governed was also fundamental to the Declaration of
Independence, as the American Revolutionaries used it as
justification for their separation from the British crown.

Austin and Bentham were early legal positivists who


sought to provide a descriptive account of law that
describes the law as it is.
Austin explained the descriptive focus for legal
positivism by saying, "The existence of law is one
thing; its merit and demerit another. Whether it be or
be not is one enquiry; whether it be or be not
conformable to an assumed standard, is a different
enquiry."[38] For Austin and Bentham, a society is
governed by a sovereign who has de facto authority.
Through the sovereign's authority come laws, which
for Austin and Bentham are commands backed by
sanctions for non-compliance.
Bentham's views about law and jurisprudence were
popularized by his student John Austin. Austin was
the first chair of law at the new University of London,
from 1829. Austin's utilitarian answer to "what is
law?" was that law is "commands, backed by threat
of sanctions, from a sovereign, to whom people have
a habit of obedience".[39] H. L. A. Hart criticized Austin
and Bentham's early legal positivism because the
command theory failed to account for individual's
compliance with the law. Along with Hume, Bentham
was an early and staunch supporter of the utilitarian
concept, and was an avid prison reformer, advocate
for democracy, and firm atheist.
Along with Hume, Bentham was an early and staunch
supporter of the utilitarian concept, and was an avid
prison reformer, supporter or advocate
for democracy.

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy