A Study On Modern Theories Of Natural Law

Compared with the traditional theories of natural law, modern theories of natural law have the innovational properties of rationalism and individualism. And the rationalism and individualism manifest in the process in which the individual rationality was being discovered and explored. The individual rationality as an implicit or explicit factor occupies the center of modern politics analyses and philosophy arguments. The rational factor in modern theories of natural law is deepened gradually into the individual person, until the rationality has become the individual rationality thoroughly– Man after breaking away from Nature and God accomplished the composite with the individual rationality. The paper includes three chapters, which respectively examine the modern theories of natural law of Hobbes & Locke, Spinoza and Kant. They all made their own analyses of Man, being different from the traditional ones, and depending on achievements of these analyses the specific argumentations of political philosophy are given out. Conceptions of natural law, natural right, natural state, contract and nation consist of the basic framework and contents of the modern theories of natural law. The association of these conceptions also provides with instructions for political society's foundation.In Hobbes and Locke stage, rational elements didn't get the recognition or specific instructions. Emotion as the main factor is relied on by Hobbes. Rationality in his theory of natural law acts as the only subsidiary role. Although Locke directly made the natural law equivalent to rationality, he gave no details about this. In Locke here, there is no argument relations between subjective initiative and subjectivity's self-legislation. At the same time, due to the different ideas of natural state, they inferred very different political organization patterns. As a former political state, in Hobbes here natural state is not reductive, however, in Locke here is reductive. Although station and right of the subjectivity have stood out in natural state, natural state makes everyone fall into a tragic situation in turn. Then, when Man breaks away from natural state, he has to give up his"independent existence". Pure individual to his spiritual life and material life is helpless, which is to say Man still stays in "redemption" state.In Spinoza stage, "substance" is as the premised concept in his theory of natural law, acting as a coordinate of thoughts and actions. The basic structure of theories of natural law can be decomposed into two basic propositional domains: in the context of substance are natural law and natural right, and in the context of Man are natural law and rationality. In Spinoza here, the theories of natural law finished its transformation from the ideology of philosophy to realistic politics, and then from realistic politics to the ideology of philosophy. However, just because of the conception of substance the theories of natural law can not be expressed fully in the interior of the subjectivity.In Kant stage, modern the theory of natural law stepped into its summary stage, namely the critical theories of natural law. Kant's critical arguments of rationality concept itself,? eventually clarified the theoretical rationality and practical rationality, which to be thoroughly the quality of Man. In this way, the nature of Man is marked by pure practical rationality. Meantime, being based on pure practicl rationality the system of theories of natural law are given out. Hereto this, the key elements of modern theories of natural law were completely included into the subject rationality. Overall, the rational element of modern theories of natural law in Hobbes stage is performance for the shortage, in Spinoza stage is performance for excess, and in Kant stage is behaved for fitness.