Natural Law

Natural Law

Another ethical theory dating from the time of the ancient Greeks and Romans is called natural law. This is the theory that serves as the foundation of our Declaration of Independence and the very idea of human rights in general.

This theory is often misunderstood to mean that only procedures that are judged to be natural are morally permissible. Actually, the criterion for the moral rightness or wrongness of an action is human nature itself. In other words, actions which enhance human nature are good and actions that diminish or harm humanity are evil.

Since human nature is universally the same, moral principles derived from this theory are seen to be binding on all humans at all times. The only way the principle would change would be if somehow human nature changes. While there are clearly many different cultures and differing judgments on particular actions as moral or not, human nature basically remains the same. If it did not, history, stories, etc. coming from millennia ago would have no meaning for us today. The fact is, however, we can understand and appreciate the human reactions recorded in the Iliad or Bible, for example. The virtue ethics of Aristotle are really founded in the nature of being human. We can discover the elements of human nature by seeing what common characteristics all humans share.

While there are many such characteristics, the one that makes humans absolutely unique is our ability to be self-reflective. This indicates that an element of us is not physical. The physical is limited by the laws of time and space, but mentally, humans can be anywhere they want to be at any time they wish. We are the only creatures on this planet that can relive past events in our memories at will and only we can anticipate the future. It is this non-physical element in us that gives rise to all the characteristics of human cultures: language, music, dance, religion, moral codes, social organization, etc. We can call that non-physical element spirit or soul or mind or psyche. Unlike all other animals on this planet, only humans are more than biology. Thus, according to this understanding, humans are not simply higher animals, we are a completely different kind of entity. We are a union of the physical and non-physical. Moral considerations need to take the totality of our humanness into account when attempting to discover the rightness or wrongness of actions.

This moral theory is still widely used, particularly in Roman Catholic moral reasoning. Throughout this course we will be referring to this theory as well as those already mentioned in your text. The foundation of the moral principles of autonomy, beneficence and justice mentioned in your text is natural law.