A number of people also incorporate religious ideas into natural law theory, even as others submit more commonly to essential moral laws which may or may not be directed by religious reliance (What is Natural Law Theory, 2010).
Laws are derived from a person's right to protect themselves and their property, not from the authority of the state. If law was simply anything the state said, then the notion of the regulation of law and of authenticity could not have the logic that they clearly do have the thought of events being lawful and unlawful would not have the emotional insinuation that it does have (Donald, n.d.) If laws are morally wrong then there should be some considerations given to not obeying them. But consideration should only be given to those that are really morally wrong since the ultimate goal is to protect people's rights to defend themselves and their….

On the other hand, an argument may be made that the death penalty is actually in accordance with natural law theory. The basis of natural law theory traces its roots to what humans feel is fundamentally right and wrong (Robinson and Groves 105). Since almost all societies, especially American society, believe killing another human being is wrong, this type of behavior must be stopped. Another fundamental tradition in human history is a punishment system based on the "eye for an eye" principal. If a society's natural law is rooted in this system of equal justice, then employing the death penalty as punishment for murder seems natural. However, there is still the contradiction of killing a human being because society feels that killing another is wrong.

As can be seen, how natural law theory applies to the death penalty varies greatly depending on what one views as being the natural law of….

It is not up to man to determine who lives or dies, it is God's choice and to kill is to try and play God.
The basics of natural law are buried in what is called a conscious. What is moral and pure and good is acceptable as natural law.

The American justice system uses natural law as the blueprint for many of its societal laws. Knowing that stealing is wrong because it is morally distasteful is what drove the law makers to pass laws about stealing and made it a crime.

If one physically harms another, the social conscious of mankind will give rise to an outcry about the moral injustice of the act, which is what provided the background to the forefathers of the country to include such elements in the constitution and the later laws that protect that constitution.

The basics of natural law also include the following principles:

is not….

Natural Law
In Apology Crito, Plato presents Socrates a staunch defender law, sense respect legal orders polity a basic obligation citizenship. What important reasons Socrates position defense Athenian law? If accept Lewis' critique emotional subjectivism (Gaius Titus' position) Abolition Man sound, interpret Socrates' actions result subjective feelings.

Plato's "Apology" and "Crito" and C.S. Lewis' concept of Natural Law:

Where both pagan and Christian philosophies meet in agreement

One of the most striking actions in the history of philosophy was the philosopher Socrates' refusal to escape after being condemned for impiety and corrupting the youth of Athens. Socrates had spent most of his career in the Greek city-state criticizing its democratic system and advocating a dictatorship of philosopher-kings, as chronicled in Plato's recollections of his teacher's musings and methods of questioning (which later became formally known as the Socratic Method). In the "Apology," Socrates clearly established that the accusations against him were unjust and were….

Natural Law
For centuries the dominant philosophical thought on the issue of natural law was dominated by the Catholic Church's theocracy (Gula, 1989). Natural law is the idea that law exists that is set by nature and that therefore it is universally validity (Cochrane, 1857). The first great philosopher to establish the early views on natural law was St. Augustine. St. Augustine's views on natural law were to develop over time into what is now called classic naturalism and were based on the concept that law cannot be fully articulated without some reference to moral notions (Augustine, 2005).

Augustine believed and argued that the laws of nature were dictated by God and therefore were superior to any other form of law. Such laws, as prescribed by God, were universal and timeless and that any man-made laws were valid if, and only if, they were in accordance with the laws of God. For….

So in order for the good to spread and evil to be eradicated, Divine Law had to arbitrate (Thomas Aquinas, 1947).
Conclusion

It is clear that no one can dispute the fact that every creature is born with certain fundamental rights, known as Natural Laws. The concept of Natural laws has triggered a lot of debate in the context of its authentic interpretation. From the aforementioned facts, one can safely assume that correct interpretation of the Natural Laws lies in the guidelines of the Divine Law.

ibliography

Alasdair MacIntyre. Theories of Natural Law in the Culture of Advanced Modernity. ISI ooks; 1st edition. 2000.

Cicero, Laws, in the Great Legal Philosophers. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1959.

Nicomachean Aristotle. Ethics. Indianapolis, Indiana: Hackett Publishing Company, 1985.

Natural Law. Taken at http://www.answers.com/topic/natural-right.

Robert P. George, Natural Law and Positive Law. The Autonomy of Law: Essays on Legal Positivism, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1996.

Thomas Aquinas. The Summa Theologiae. Translated….

Yet official Catholic support for union organizing and for strikes, and for state planning to ensure a decent livelihood for all, has been augmented over the years by a heightened recognition of the need to combat underlying institutional imbalances of power. Though the overarching goal of a peaceful and harmoniously ordered community endures, Catholic sensitivity to the dynamics of power, the reality of sinful systems and structures, and the necessity of struggle for social justice has increased over the past century, becoming especially evident in the social encyclicals of the present pope and the later writings of his predecessor, Paul VI. Seen in light of these developing sensibilities, the living wage is a means of empowering the poor to fulfill their material needs, to cultivate their abilities and aspirations, and to participate in just, enlivening social relationships.
In developing his argument for a family living wage, John A. Ryan was….

It tells us that "...the human subject is ... A substantial and pesonal whole called to espond to the love of God and to unite himself though a ecognized oientation towads a last end ..." (3.4) a natual law theoy of ethics accounts fo ou unity by denying that ou diffeence fom the natual ode is a "deep" diffeence; on the contay, what would ostensibly diffeentiate us fom natual things -- ou ationality -- is in fact complement to natue's teleology. Ou ationality eveals to us natue's ethical message.
We have aleady said quite a bit about natue. It caies with it God's inspiation towad ethics just as we do, even if we have fee will: "a pesonal God govens the stas, that is, the univese." (3.3) in ou wok to undestand God's ceation and to cae fo it esponsibly, we ae seving God and fulfilling the capabilities with which….

Hobbes Gun Control
Memorandum for: President Obama

Grounding Gun Control in Hobbesian Philosophy

The state of the nation is in peril due to many conflicting circumstances and an ever present threat of war and chaos. The executive branch of the U.S. Government is responsible for guiding the country in the right direction according to the dictates given to the President and his staff by means of election. The moral and ethical duties of leadership are needed to help guide the American people into a new and brighter future.

Gun Control

The purpose of this memo is to provide political and philosophical guidance to help relate the current clash of ideas relating to gun control and violence. To accomplish this, the works of Thomas Hobbes will be used to frame the argument and provide a template of action that is based on popular social theories explained in Hobbes work. The advantage of using Hobbes' ideas in….

quinas' Natural Law implies divine, immutable, eternal laws. Human beings can know natural law through their faculties of reason; however, not all manmade laws reflect natural law. ll natural law is fair and just. Natural law often stands in direct opposition to human law, and human beings also possess animal instincts that can come into conflict with the Natural Law. The Natural Law is at the root of human morality. Only rational creatures, not the animals, are capable of acting in accordance with Natural Law. If animals act in accordance with Natural Law they do so unconsciously; the human being possesses the unique power to act in accordance with Natural Law out of choice and free will. Natural Law permits righteous judgment of behavior.
ccording to quinas, Natural Law supercedes all human law. Human law can follow from Natural Law and should ideally be a more specific interpretation of the generalities….

Anti-Abortion
ule

Natural law and Abortion

Abortion has been defined in many ways. It is shown as a legal action in some definitions based on the choice that a woman makes, having rights over her body. Some lobbies define abortion in ways that clearly argue abortion as an illegal and an immoral act as the rights of the fetus are being violated and it is merely known as killing the fetus.

Killing is much easier than running away or leaving. This statement is a reflection of feelings of many women who undergo abortion of their unborn child. But the question is, do these feelings justify killing an unborn fetus? Abortion has been a controversial debate of the prolife and prochoice groups since many years. Stronger arguments are given by the prolife groups, while choice of a mother has been prioritized by the prochoice group. But it does not matter how many times the topic….

Cicero's Thoughts
Augustine'sThoughts

Similarities and Contrasts

Marcus Tullius Cicero had been born on January 3, 106 B.C.E; and he demised on December 7, 43 B.C.E. in a murder. His life overlapped with the downfall and eventually decimation of the Roman realm, during which time he has been a significant factor in political affairs, and as such, his writings are a valued source of information and knowledge regarding those events. He was a philosopher, politician, lawyer, orator, among other things. To grasp the logic of his work and to appreciate his philosophy necessitates us to have that in mind. Philosophical study was important but it was even more significant as a way to a more effectual action politically, so he put politics higher than philosophical study. During times when he was inhibited to take part in politics against his will, he made his philosophical writings. St. Augustine's submission that Hortensius (an exhortation to philosophy)….

Religion in Rome vs. Religion in the City of God
In Augustine's The City of God against the Pagans, the theologian-philosopher asserts that the true religion should be identifiable by its fruits -- i.e., the products of its practice. He compares the outcomes of the duties of propitiation practiced in the pagan rituals to the more wholesome duties practiced in the Christian religion to show the main difference between Christian and pagan worship. He notes that the former is respectable and the latter unrespectable. The fault of the pagans, he asserts, is located not necessarily in their lack of reason (as Cicero was highly rational and valued the virtue of truth, as shall be shown) but rather in the faith they placed in the false religion. This paper will show how Augustine distinguishes a true religion from a false religion.

The duty to identify that which is "true" or "most true" is….

One of these areas is religion, as Hobbes argues that religion must be something over which those who are operating society must have control in order to keep the people moving in the direction which society has determined is correct.
That, however, is difficult to enforce, since people are often not willing to change what they truly believe just because they may have been told that they should.

They may pretend to believe a certain way in order to get the societal protections that come along with that belief, but that does not change their true nature, and the natural law by which they are operating on a very base level. It is, in some ways, akin to committing a crime in that they know there would be societal consequences but they believe so strongly about something that they are not willing to change for society. Instead of changing, and instead….

Rule of Law and Extra-Legal Doctrines
The rule of law does not need to be supported or expanded by "extra-legal" doctrines of morality. The laws as they exist today in this country are based upon a system of morality that has evolved over thousands of years. Our laws embody this system of morality and do not need to be supported by other doctrines of morality. Moral notions of good and bad laws exist to prevent the government from abusing the rights of its citizens. In order for the rule of law to allow a government to exercise power, governments should not execute laws in arbitrary fashion. Those who make and enforce the law are themselves bound to adhere to it. "The legislative department shall never exercise the executive and judicial powers or either of them: the executive shall never exercise the legislative and judicial powers, or either of them: the….

Title: Navigating the Crossroads of Authority: Exploring the Legitimacy and Limits of Power in Political Theory

Introduction:
At the crux of political theory lies the intricate interplay between authority and power, a dynamic relationship that has sparked debates and shaped paradigms for centuries. This essay delves into the multifaceted concept of legitimacy, interrogating the foundations of authority and the boundaries of power. Through a comprehensive analysis of historical and contemporary perspectives, we will explore the challenges and complexities of legitimizing power, the tensions between various sources of authority, and the implications for political practice and social justice.

1. The Sources and Foundations of....

1. Analyze Thomas Aquinas' Five Ways to prove the existence of God and evaluate their effectiveness in addressing modern scientific and philosophical challenges.
2. Compare and contrast Thomas Aquinas' views on natural law and ethics with those of other prominent philosophers, such as Aristotle or Immanuel Kant.
3. Investigate how Thomas Aquinas' theology influenced the development of Western Christian thought and the relationship between faith and reason in his writings.
4. Examine Thomas Aquinas' concept of the soul and its relationship to the body, and explore how it differs from other philosophical and theological perspectives on the nature of the human person.
5. Discuss....

1. The Essence of Thomas Aquinas's Natural Law Theory: An Exploration of Its Foundations and Implications

Discuss the metaphysical and ethical principles that underpin Aquinas's natural law theory.
Analyze the concept of the eternal law and its relationship to the natural law.
Examine the role of human reason in discerning the precepts of natural law and their binding force.

2. The Harmony of Faith and Reason in Aquinas's Summa Theologica: A Critical Examination

Trace the development of Aquinas's understanding of the relationship between faith and reason.
Explore the arguments Aquinas presents for the compatibility of faith and reason.
Evaluate the strengths....

The Dynamic Intersection between Philosophical Ethics and Christian Theology

Introduction

The relationship between philosophical ethics and Christian theology is multifaceted and dynamic, characterized by both convergence and divergence. This paper explores this intersection, examining the shared concerns, contrasting perspectives, and reciprocal influences between these two disciplines.

Shared Concerns

One key area of convergence is the common concern with moral values and human conduct. Both philosophical ethics and Christian theology seek to provide a framework for understanding right and wrong, guiding individuals toward virtuous actions. Both disciplines acknowledge the importance of love, justice, and mercy, recognizing the inherent value and dignity of all human beings.

Contrasting....