Natural Law and Natural Rights ETCI Chapter 6 Ethics and Contemporary Issues Professor Douglas Olena We Hold These TruthsŠ 89 Thomas Jefferson in 1776 wrote in the Declaration of Independence, ³We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal and that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.² John Locke ³in his Second Treatise on Government had written that all humans were of the same species, born with the same basic capacities.² Both these texts assume a basic common human nature. Natural Law & Civil Law 89 In the Nuremberg trials many claimed to be following the law of the land, or their superior¹s orders. In reply the prosecutors appealed to a higher law, the natural law. Two Tenets of Natural Law 89 Two tenets of natural law theory: The basic moral law can be known by human reason. We know what it requires by looking to human nature. What is Natural Law? The natural moral law is not to be confused with the physical laws of nature. The laws of nature are generalizations of natural science. They are descriptive generalizations of fact. They are the product of research into the natural world, whether it be physics or psychology. What is Moral Law? 90 ³Moral lawsŠ are prescriptive laws.² ³They tell us how we ought to behave.² These, are written into the laws of nature, especially the nature of what it is to be human. What is it to function well as human beings and as members of our species? What is Civil Law? 90 Civil law, like moral law is prescriptive. However, the moral law is more basic than any civil law which generates it. The civil laws change over time with various circumstances calling it into being of a certain type. The moral law, however, is supposed to be universal and stable, unchanging as is human nature. Historical Origins: Aristotle 90 Civil law, like moral law is prescriptive. However, the moral law is more basic than any civil law which generates it. The civil laws change over time with the various circumstances calling it into being of a certain type. The moral law, however, is supposed to be universal and stable. Aristotle 90 Aristotle is the first to develop a comprehensive system to account for the natural law. ³Plato¹s philosophy stresses the reality of the general and abstract, this reality being his famous forms or ideas that exist apart from the things that imitate them.² ³Aristotle was more interested in the individual and the concrete manifestations of the forms.² Nature, Human Nature and the Human Good 90 Aristotle concluded that there is an order in nature. Every living thing had a goal or telos toward which it aimed. an acorn becomes an oak a tadpole becomes a frog Nature, Human Nature and the Human Good 90 ³The good is that at which all things aim.² 91 ³We are to look at the purpose or end or goal of some activity or being to see what is its good.² The good of a shipbuilder is to build ships. The good of a squirrel is to be an effective, successful and functioning squirrel. Human beings are thought to be natural beings with a specific human nature. Nature, Human Nature and the Human Good 91 Unlike squirrels and acorns, humans can choose to do what is their good or act against it. To discover what the good is for a human being, one must first discover what the function of a human being is. A being is happy to the extent that it is functioning well. The ultimate good for humans is happiness To know what happiness is we must know what the function of a human being is. Nature, Human Nature and the Human Good 91 There is much that humans have in common with animals, but what is it that is unique to humans? The rational element ³The good for humans, then should consist in their functioning in a way consistent with and guided by this rational element.² Two functions of the Rational Element: To know To guide choice and action Nature, Human Nature and the Human Good 91 For Aquinas, moral good consists in following the innate tendencies of our nature. With respect to our senses, With respect to our reproduction, We ought to treat others as beings capable of understanding and free choice. Whatever helps the pursuit of truth is good, whatever hinders it is bad. Nature, Human Nature and the Human Good 91 ³We are social creatures by nature. Thus, the essence of natural law theory is that we ought to further the inherent ends of human nature and not do what frustrates human fulfillment or flourishing.² Evaluating Natural Law Theory 91 Advantages: The objectivity of moral values, Notion of the good as human flourishing. Problems: We must be able to read nature accurately, but many have read nature differently. ³Can the way things are by nature provide the basis for knowing how they ought to be?² Does evolutionary theory pose a problem to natural law theory? Evaluating Natural Law Theory 91 Advantages: The objectivity of moral values, There is a nature of man that corresponds to the values derivable from nature. This nature of man is fixed though expressing differently with every generation. We can and will approach the truth about our obligations as people by refining our knowledge about human nature. Evaluating Natural Law Theory 91 Advantages: Notion of the good as human flourishing. Whatever makes all people prosper is good. This requires liberty and justice, egalitarian fairness. This requires community or society, so a concept of human nature requires a concept of humanity in general and its relation to the polis. Evaluating Natural Law Theory Problems: We must be able to read nature accurately, but many have read nature differently. By who¹s science or method do we read nature? Every examination of nature comes with different observational goggles. We must read not only material nature, but human nature as well. Though there is progress in material science, the progress in psychology is more difficult. Evaluating Natural Law Theory 91, 92 Problems: ³Can the way things are by nature provide the basis for knowing how they ought to be?² Is there a way of understanding psychological cause and effect such that we can unproblematically guide the future of the human race by some rule? Class: Give some psychological facts about mankind and mankind¹s nature. Is there any hope of a coherent picture? Skinner: Walden 2 Evaluating Natural Law Theory Problems: Does evolutionary theory pose a problem to natural law theory? What are the assumptions underlying evolutionary theory? What is the moral result of these assumptions? Social DarwinismŠ Eugenics, (redux: Skinner) Conflict with religious ideasŠ Does natural law theory require God? Natural Rights Theory 93 Thomas Jefferson with Adams, Franklin, Livingston and Sherman provide a good example of natural rights in the Declaration of Independence. Some of the original language of the Declaration was adopted from John Locke¹s Essay Concerning the true original, extent, and end of Civil Government. The Declaration grants rights based on the assumption of equality based on being created beings. These rights are inherent in personhood, and may need legal protection. Natural Rights Theory 93 We find natural rights language in the first- and second-century Stoics whose moral principle was to follow nature. Hugo Grotius a Dutch jurist, held that moral law was determined by right reason. The philosophers of the eighteenth century often refer to the laws of nature when discussing natural rights. The moral law is built into nature. These rights are accorded to people just because they are people, without respect to any other circumstance. Evaluating Natural Rights Theory 94 Not everyone agrees what human nature requires or what human natural rights are central. Some argue that economic rights are appropriate while others argue that only the rights of liberty and non-interference are just. Evaluating Natural Rights Theory What must the theory of natural rights prove to justify itself? First it must demonstrate ³why human beings are so valuable that what is essential for their full function can be claimed as a right.² Second, just what things are essential for the good functioning of human nature?