Is there such a thing as Natural Law?

[CutlerB]

During the last three years of school, I attended philosophy classes instead of religion (We have to choose one of the two here in Germany). I know our teacher did not belong to a religion, though I don’t think he’s an atheist.

We covered a whole range of topics, and I remember that we came across Natural Law to some degree, though I didn’t know it had a strong position in Catholic Theology and moral teaching. I recall the teacher sort of stating there was no such thing (in fact it being absurd) as Natural Law, though I do not remember his reasons for saying so. I think he appealed to Hume, but I’m not sure. That may have been in connection to miracles as well, which he denied existed. The latter is not the question though,

My question is: Can you point me to some good material online or to books that lay out the case for the existence of Natural Law?

Thanks.

 

[InJesusItrust]

I think that the notion that there is no natural law hinges upon moral relativism. Here is a fantastic essay that smashes apart this whole self-contradictory idea: philosophyofdave.wordpress.com/2011/08/12/why-moral-relativism-is-absolutely-false-part-i/

Without natural law it would be wrong for anyone to hide Jews from the Nazis because the governmental law made it illegal. If someone tells you that one ought to not impose their beliefs on others, just tell them that your beliefs tell you that it is moral to impose beliefs on others: by telling you that you should not impose your beliefs on others they are imposing their beliefs on you.

 

[epan]

During the last three years of school, I attended philosophy classes instead of religion (We have to choose one of the two here in Germany). I know our teacher did not belong to a religion, though I don’t think he’s an atheist.

We covered a whole range of topics, and I remember that we came across Natural Law to some degree, though I didn’t know it had a strong position in Catholic Theology and moral teaching. I recall the teacher sort of stating there was no such thing (in fact it being absurd) as Natural Law, though I do not remember his reasons for saying so. I think he appealed to Hume, but I’m not sure. That may have been in connection to miracles as well, which he denied existed. The latter is not the question though,

My question is: Can you point me to some good material online or to books that lay out the case for the existence of Natural Law?

Thanks.

My recollection is that Plato and then Aristotle were the first expositors of Natural Law. It is possible that they made it up. It had great appeal to Augustine in the 12th century, who expanded it and claimed it for Christianity. Natural Law is one of the primary forms of moral relativism, in the sense that it is a human construction. It has been considered over the centuries by many philosophers and theologians, and you cn pretty much find a flavor of I which fits any world view. Hume, of course, was a prominent atheist.

 

[HickmanJosh]

St. Thomas Aquinas in the middle ages was a big espouser of the natural law. I would recommend his works, particularly the Summa Theologica (i believe it is available online, seeing as how its 800 ish years old). Granted the work is a little long but i was given readings in university from it and he spoke about and defended the natural law quite a bit.

 

[Linusthe2nd]

During the last three years of school, I attended philosophy classes instead of religion (We have to choose one of the two here in Germany). I know our teacher did not belong to a religion, though I don’t think he’s an atheist.

We covered a whole range of topics, and I remember that we came across Natural Law to some degree, though I didn’t know it had a strong position in Catholic Theology and moral teaching. I recall the teacher sort of stating there was no such thing (in fact it being absurd) as Natural Law, though I do not remember his reasons for saying so. I think he appealed to Hume, but I’m not sure. That may have been in connection to miracles as well, which he denied existed. The latter is not the question though,

My question is: Can you point me to some good material online or to books that lay out the case for the existence of Natural Law?

Thanks.

First you can go to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. See the Commandments ( these are based on the Natural Law.) vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM

Next you can go the the Summa Theiologiae ( the Second Part ). newadvent.org/summa/

Finally you can go to " Right and Reason " by Austin Fagothey S.J., in its 9th but I would get perhaps the 7th because it will be much cheaper and it came out shortly after the end of Vatican ll.

 

[Sair]

My recollection is that Plato and then Aristotle were the first expositors of Natural Law. It is possible that they made it up. It had great appeal to Augustine in the 12th century, who expanded it and claimed it for Christianity. Natural Law is one of the primary forms of moral relativism, in the sense that it is a human construction. It has been considered over the centuries by many philosophers and theologians, and you cn pretty much find a flavor of I which fits any world view. Hume, of course, was a prominent atheist.

It has become increasingly obvious over the ages that there are certain kinds of behaviours that tend towards human flourishing, and others that generally don’t - there’s good reason that most human cultures have strictures against murder, for example, and theft (though, interestingly, the approach to rape, torture or killing in warfare tends to vary - of course, these latter are often ideologically or religiously driven).

The biggest flaw in Natural Law Theory is its tendency towards prescription rather than description - most natural law theorists tend to draw from a few narrow observations and then claim these to be the tenets of ‘proper’ behaviour across all cultures and situations. Plato and Aristotle, for example - who were then followed by the early Catholic Church fathers - failed to notice the extent to which homosexual behaviour occurred in nonhuman animal species and thus judged it to be ‘unnatural’ and therefore immoral.

And, then, of course, Natural Law Theory tends to be a bit blinkered and selective in its scope. The idea that what is ‘natural’ is automatically ‘good’ can go both ways - death, disease, violence and exploitation are just as natural as any more congenial phenomena, after all, yet these are not usually considered desirable or commendable by those who cite ‘nature’ as the basis for their moral judgements.

 

[Pugsly]

During the last three years of school, I attended philosophy classes instead of religion (We have to choose one of the two here in Germany). I know our teacher did not belong to a religion, though I don’t think he’s an atheist.

We covered a whole range of topics, and I remember that we came across Natural Law to some degree, though I didn’t know it had a strong position in Catholic Theology and moral teaching. I recall the teacher sort of stating there was no such thing (in fact it being absurd) as Natural Law, though I do not remember his reasons for saying so. I think he appealed to Hume, but I’m not sure. That may have been in connection to miracles as well, which he denied existed. The latter is not the question though,

My question is: Can you point me to some good material online or to books that lay out the case for the existence of Natural Law?

Thanks.

Here is a simple logic for the existence of a Natural Law…If the “Fear of the Lord” is not actually terror but a person’s most basic recognition of how things operate in the Spiritual realm…eg…there is a God greater than I…Then, Natural Law can be understood to be the most basic recognition of how things operate in the Physical order
Furthermore, Natural Law begins with the basic physical recognition of stuff like "fire is hot’…and is perfected in the Fear of the Lord.

 

[tomarin]

During the last three years of school, I attended philosophy classes instead of religion (We have to choose one of the two here in Germany). I know our teacher did not belong to a religion, though I don’t think he’s an atheist.

We covered a whole range of topics, and I remember that we came across Natural Law to some degree, though I didn’t know it had a strong position in Catholic Theology and moral teaching. I recall the teacher sort of stating there was no such thing (in fact it being absurd) as Natural Law, though I do not remember his reasons for saying so. I think he appealed to Hume, but I’m not sure. That may have been in connection to miracles as well, which he denied existed. The latter is not the question though,

My question is: Can you point me to some good material online or to books that lay out the case for the existence of Natural Law?

Thanks.

In my opinion, philosophers are prone to making sweeping statements heaping scorn on people who disagree with them. You might want to take a look at the Catholic Encyclopedia for an answer to your question.

I think what it comes down to is whether you believe it is “absurd” or not to believe that the universe is inherently morally rational.