Fazia Sameer

Natural Law is somewhat difficult to define. It employs some themes of the moral theory and some points of the legal theory. But, when studied separately these two theories are different in many aspects. The natural law moral theory says, human behavior is an outcome of nature i-e, nature of human beings and nature of the world. The natural law legal theory can be subdivided into many types. The conceptional theory of John Austin provides the required necessary conditions that distinguish the law and the non-law. The theory presented by Thomas Aquinas claims that there is an overlapping between the natural moral law and the legal philosophies. The theory of John Finnis is known as neo-naturalism and is a further advancement of the classical natural law theory. The procedural naturalism presented by Lon L. Fuller rejects the concept that moral theory influences the subject matter of law. The Ronald Dworkin’s theory strongly criticizes the legal positivism. The moral theory of Thomas Aquinas combines the Aristotelian eudemonism and Christian Theology. Aquinas agrees with Aristotle that an act is referred to as good or bad depends if it helps us to achieve our human goal- the”telos” or prevent us from getting our human objective. The telos or eudemonia means “happiness”. The happiness is the pleasure or contentment that can be achieved through moral scholarly qualities. If we truly understand the type of happiness that we want to obtain then we will be motivated to get it in a dependable and trustworthy way. Aquinas, at the same, is of the view that it is not possible for us to achieve complete happiness in life. He believes that final happiness is paranormal union with the God. This is stage that lies out of the limits of our natural abilities. We not only need these qualities but we need God too, to change the nature. We inherited the tendency to sin from our first parent, Adam. If our nature is not fully spoiled by sin, it is definitely shrank and reduced by it. Resultantly, our desires are against the God’s will. To regain the purity of our nature we need God and an agreement with his choice. If this happens, only then the God will bestow us with his divine treasures and virtues. Human nature forms the basis for numerous word-wide principles governing bodily, mental and moral wellbeing of people. Human nature primarily comprises body and soul; combined with emotions, desires and determination. Man is naturally inclined towards goodness but at the same time he is attracted by the evil, too. Therefore, it is necessary for a person to nurture qualities such as insight, judgment and prudence. Aristotelian morality is based on the system in which he believes that the rules of morality originate from the unmovable human nature and not from the altering opinions and the viewpoints of the masses. The natural law should be the foundation of human laws for the life and the family as it is the law of human nature. The natural law is based on the moral substance. Whereas human law is somewhat general. Natural law transacts with essentials not with the changeable. When making human laws, the motive moves from the general rules that are parts of natural laws to the conditional desires of human laws. Therefore the natural laws are more reliable and dependable. Natural laws are less conditional than the human laws but human laws are function of natural law and can’t diverge from it. Human law of one place can be different from that of other place, but if these laws are not modifications, these all will have been the same, the everlasting natural law. Citation: Pieper, Josef. The Four Cardinal Virtues. 2017. Print. Aquinas, Thomas. Selected Writings. 2017. Print. Nicomachean Ethics. 2017. Print.