Shedding Light on Natural Law Theory

By Jane Claire

In attempting to garner an understanding of the nature of law, early legal philosophers and academics formulated what has come to be known as the natural law theory, and has become a literal cornerstone of the development of modern legal thinking. Although somewhat limited in modern jurisprudential thinking, natural law has had a tremendous impact on our understanding of what law means in society as a baseline from which to build more complex theories. In this article, we will look at some of the major propositions underpinning the concept of natural law, and the corresponding strengths and weaknesses of this fundamental interpretation of the legal function.

Natural law starts with the basic premise that the law is driven by morality, and consequently is affected by it. With a history extending back to Aristotle and other early philosophers, the natural law theory has traditionally linked the law with religion and an innate sense of justice, rather than the more pragmatic approaches of some other theories. Although this might sound rather basic, the principals have been developed and refined through academic debate for centuries ultimately leading to a far more sophisticated theory of the nature of law. The idea that all law is subject to an unwritten code of morality is fundamental to natural law. This also throws up some potential problems in terms of civil regulation. Certain natural law theorists suggest that for a law to be binding on the citizen, it must conform to this sense of natural justice.

Although, there is definitely no absolute aimed idea of morality that creates disbelief in this concept. Furthermore, the presumptions that the law can be ignored in favor of a more sensible moral still cannot comply with the reality, taking into consideration the possible assumptions of constantly disparaging the laws of the ground of the introspective idea of justice.

Moreover on this basic knowledge of natural law, the individual in dispute with his/her state laws can try to exclude his/her doings with the approval of immoral laws. This will in turn produce a state of chaos, considering that the natural differences of individual ideas and that would fundamentally leave the society defective. Having said this reason, the natural law system has fallen down to gather present intellectual approval, taking into consideration several exceptions.

Natural law has been proposed as a consideration in trying war criminals, on the basis of the retrospectivity principle, i.e. no man can be tried for a crime that was not a crime when he committed it. Many war criminals are merely cogs in the machine of a legal regime, which ultimately permits their actions, however unjustifiable morally. Natural law theories give a basis for challenge on these grounds, whilst avoiding the awkward question of direct legal contravention, which ultimately works to serve justice. In this sense, it is perhaps useful as a canon of interpretation and in determining just and equitable outcomes in 'difficult' cases. However, as a wider legal concept, natural law and the proposed intersection between law and morality seems too awkward to reconcile with considered academic legal understandings. Having said that, natural law has provided an excellent starting position for further advanced argumentation, and has provided a platform for critique that has been essential to the development of the more sophisticated ideas held in regard in this modern day.

About the Author:

The author is a multifaceted writer. She writes articles for a number of topics such as marriage and relationship advices, health related concerns like CPAP machine and Resmed cpap, family and parenting concerns, fashion and beauty tips and a lot more.

Spiritual Counseling - The Meaning of the Winged Serpent Disc

By Jason Lincoln Jeffers

Ancient Egyptian temples were where the high priests and priestesses performed sacred ceremonies. In the stone over the entrance ways to these temples, Egyptian artists always carved a winged serpent disc. The symbol represents the great transformation of the lower egoic self surrendering to the higher Self.

The serpent is capable of shedding its skin, thus it has been for ages a universal archetype for death and rebirth. The serpent also represents the kundalini rising or serpent fire that initiates the transformation from ego to Source consciousness. The wings are symbolic of ascension to the divine. And the disc, sphere, or orb represents the infinite soul that is eternally connected to the sacred singularity of consciousness. It is not mere coincidence that the death, rebirth, and ascension symbolism from this winged serpent disc can be directly associated with the New Testament story of the crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. The winged disc archetype was always displayed over temple entrance ways because this divine initiation was required before the high priest could enter into the sacred space.

Achieving wholeness by transcending the lower self into a divine being was an esoteric part of the teachings of the ancients. The disc or sphere not only represents the eternal singularity but also is symbolic of completeness. This ubiquitous winged serpent sphere archetype can also be found in ancient Indian, Meso-American, Hebrew, Persian, and Sumerian art. In ancient China, the winged serpent took the form of a dragon, and in ancient Greek art, it was represented by the caduceus.

The higher or inner Self is the core or singularity of our soul. It is where our consciousness synchronizes with the Source, yet even at this level, the soul maintains some level individuality. For eons, the soul is sheathed in the causal, astral, and physical bodies for the purpose of evolving the soul for its inevitable merger with the blissful ocean of the One. This is what I call divine ascension, and is the third and final ascension in the evolution of the soul. It is when the soul, now released from the imprisonment of desire, can finally realize its true potential or God-Self.

After reincarnating over and over in and out of thousands of lives between the physical and astral realms until it is able to let go of the desire for the sensual pleasures, the soul then traverses through countless incarnations between the astral and causal realm. Eventually, all attachment and desire for the causal realm of form are surrendered and the little soul is then ready for its ascension to the Source. Here the soul jettisons the third and final sheath, the very subtle causal body, and escapes forever the cycle of death and rebirth. At this point, all identification with form dissolves and the soul is then free to become One with Source consciousness.

About the Author:

Spiritual Counselor, Jason Lincoln Jeffers is the founder of The Art of Transformation, a company devoted to teaching Self Realization to the world. His Spiritual Counseling program uniquely synthesizes spiritual wisdom with self transcendence, holistic wellness, life path astrology, shadow & pain-body work, heart-based intention, the power of presence, and the law of attraction.