The Foundations of Natural Law

Abstract

<p>This thesis is a study of the various appeals that have been made to provide a foundation for a natural-law theory and a critical examination of the problems attendant upon these appeals. Al though an outline of this study is given in detail in the introduction, I should like to point out the purpose and what I feel to be the significance of this study. Most societies which pride themselves on having a mature legal system have witnessed the inadequacy of a positivist approach to the law. Because of this, we witness the search for a foundation or critical standard for our human enactments which is stable and beyond the reach of human interference. With the revival of interest in natural law, it is important to be aware of how proponents and critics have dealt with the view in the past in order to avoid problems and ensure an acceptable view for the present. In the final chapter of this study, I have suggested an approach for today which appears to overcome most of the major stumbling blocks of past attempts to provide a sound natural-law theory and which, I suggest, is a good beginning from which to develop a full legal theory.</p>