Natural Law, International Law, and The Classic Philosophers
Natural Law, International Law, and The Classic Philosophers
Natural Law, International Law, and The Classic Philosophers
NATURAL LAW,
same weapons, subject to the same
diseases, healed by
the same means, warmed and cooled by
the same winter and summer?
CLASSIC
Venice, Act 3, Scene 1
PHILOSOPHERS
I. THE NATURE OF MANKIND
All men have a common
nature that separates us
from other species —
our ability to reason
Psychoanalysts like Carl Jung, the founder of
analytical psychology said that rationality is not
the only thing humans share in common.
We also have a “collective unconscious” in our dream
state and altered states, based on quantum
entanglement and non-biological forces of physics,
which explain the similarity of cultural archetypes
and psychic phenomena.
Human beings
It was in his time that Athens, the first democracy, achieved its golden age and flourished in all fields of
learning.
But Plato also witnessed Athens’ transition to oligarchy, and was disillusioned with its
politics after it sentenced his teacher, Socrates.
Ath
e ns’
gol
den
Age •A
th
all ens fl
Ath lear fields ourish
nin of ed
olig ens’ g in
arc
hy •H
is
was teach
sen er, S
ten ocra
ced tes
Tra The
vele
d &w Rep
to S ent ub
Pla icily •b lic
to i efri
in l ende
Two phases in Plato’s legal philosophy
The
Law
s
The Republic and Philosopher-Kings
In the medieval times, shortly after 1139, Gratian published the Decretum Gratiani, a
collection and reconciliation of the canon laws in force, which distinguished between divine or
natural law and human law. Similar to the writings of the earliest Church Fathers, he related this
natural law to the Decalogue and to Christ’s commandment of love of one’s neighbor. “The law
of nature is that which is contained in the Law and the Gospel, by which everyone is commanded
to do unto others as he would wish to be done unto him, and is prohibited from doing unto others
that which he would be unwilling to be done unto himself.” This natural law precedes in time
and rank all things, such that statutes whether ecclesiastical or secular, if contrary to law, were to
be held null and void.
St. Thomas Aquinas
created a comprehensive and
organized synthesis of the natural law theory
His version of
the natural law theory rests on his vision of the universe as
governed by a single, self-consistent
and overarching system of law under the direction and
authority of God as the supreme lawgiver
and judge.
In
a few words, the “natural law is a rule of reason, promulgated
by God in man’s nature, whereby
man can discern how he should act.”
Through natural reason, we are able to distinguish between right
and wrong; through free will,
we are able to choose what is right. When we do so, we
participate more fully in the eternal law
rather than being merely led blindly to our proper end.