Essay In The Historical And Modern Significance Of Classical Natural Law

The natural law of the classical era is a very important part in the field of philosophy of law in Western. Because it embraces an idea of value which is higher than the concept of positive law, may to evaluate and guideline the positive law. And it has attracted lots of scholars who live since ancient Greece until today to explore and make a complicated exposition, just for its content and understanding of the people is so diverse. So, it does certainly need to theoretical analysis of its development with a view of comprehensive understanding and refining it for the spirit of the time and its analysis.This paper is an attempt from the history of jurisprudence angle to analyses and combs the Classical natural law. The article elaborated in detail the classical natural law's development process, the idea, the background as well as cover a series of humane spirit and basic idea: Early in the development of natural law thinking, basically in the awareness and understanding of natural law tradition which was established in the ancient Greek period (including period of Greece); through Cicero's endeavor, the natural law early form--naturalism natural law developed to its peak, and profound influenced on the ancient Rome's political and legal thoughts and practices; then the natural law's color of naturalism had unceasingly desalinated, to afterward the medieval ages natural law's theology change had laid the foundation. In the middle Ages, as Aquinas's ideological and theoretical turn, made Christian natural law theory leaping to modern classical natural law theory into possible. 16th century, the Catholic Church's dominance of spiritual life was blown from the Protestant side. In the legal domain, the Classical natural law had occupied a dominant position in several centuries before modern society. 17th, and 18th century, this kind of classical natural law philosophy was in vogue by various forms in Europe.Since near modern age, the Western politics theory's development has benefited quite a lot from the Classical natural law thought, particularly freedom, right, constitutional government theory as Western modern politics theory's core, when the people to prove the validity of its theory, to inquire about their theory's development in historical path, always unavoidably must return to the natural law thought that tries hard to obtain the theoretical support from the well-established natural law thought.The author thus concludes that the Classical natural law is starting from the reason and for the happiness of people as destination; it is the justice of all positive law. Although it also has some kinds of deficiencies, it is still has great significance and as a forever light of the spirit of the humanities.