Name: Kaveinthran A/L Pulanthran

LEB150050Jurisprudence Test

Question:

What are the justifications for making natural law the standard for evaluating ordinarily law

(man-made law) as either ‘good’ or ‘bad’?

Write your answer with reference to the views of Aristotle, the Stoics and cicero [15 marks]

Do not write your name anywhere in the answer script

Answer:

“unjust law is not a law” that’s the underlying principle of the natural law. The theorist of

natural law promote natural laws as eternal, immutable and primary law of the world. As

society evolves, it needed other protections, securities and established rights. The need for

more establishes man-made laws. Natural idealist argues that may it be man-made law, it

should be derived from the natural law, and the incompatibility from it renders injustice.

“Human becomes best social animals when there is law, and when there is no law, human

becomes worst of all”. Aristotle is a student of plato but have a slightly different worldview

from his teacher. For him, the natural law can be perceived by everyone as it is inherited and

eternal. Aristotle in his thiliology and nichomachacians often promotes the idea of nature and

reason as the order of justice. Every justice should have the law of nature as guiding principle
and reason in order to arrive to a justice principle. The aristotalians promotes the idea in

where everyone can realise the natural law and live according to it in order to achieve the

ultimate goal of living which are happiness and virtue.

Aristotle views laws in two categories which are natural law and common law. The natural

law are eternal, immutable promotes happiness and virtue. It is general, have higher positives

and values but could not be use to rule the society. On the other hand, common law is a

mand-made law that are spesific to culture and society, changeable and can be used created

for arising complex societal life.

According to aristotle’s wisdom, this common law should be align and subscribe with the

principles of natural laws and values in order for it to be a just law. There wil be a perfect city

state only if there is just law, and states with tiranical rulers have no society and state.

“reasoning give birth to justice principles which will form laws that builds a utopian society”.

Stoicism or the Stoics promotes “the reason” behind every creation including life, world,

causes and effect. The stoicss belief on the nature and reason linked perfectly with the

ideaology of the aristotalian. They even expand the rudimentaries of the totalian by giving it

more colours and practicalities. According to stoics, natural law is an eternal law that should

be subscribed by the human in order to achieve the end goal which is harmony and

neighbourliness. Higher values such as friendliness, modesty, generousity and willingness to

offer help to others promote the natural law. This natural principles should be instilled in the

man-made law to form a society that adheres to neighbour principles.

Cicero subscribes himself to stoicism and further promotes the idea of reasoning in laws and

creation. Humans always have choice in life and choice which promotes Reasoning that

aligns with the natural law will produce a good law and vise versa.

By studying these theoritical arguements behind natural law, we are enlightened that the law

of nature needs reasoning from the human wisdom for it to participate in the society. The

mand-made law should be the form of natural law that governs society and it should not

diviate from it. The diviation of mand-made law from the nature will make it a bad law.