The Recasting Of The Modern Natural Law By The Modern Political Philosophy

The systematic and completed form of the modern natural law theory was shaped on the basis of the natural law idea in Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome and the Medieval. The modern natural law changed thoroughly from the natural law of the Ancient and the Medieval. This dissertation is using the word"recasting"to describe the course, which means to set down or present (ideas, for example) in a new or different arrangement. When the natural law theory got in the conjuncture, the modern political philosophy changed and delivered the natural law theory again, thinking about the problems of the natural law before this. And the modern political philosophy played an important role in the process of the recast. First of all, the theoretical premise changed. The western modern political philosophy got rid of the theological assistant, and the concept of nous had been more exactitude than any other time, then the natural law theory founded its basis on nous. Secondly, the modern ethic changed, which was the impetus of the recasting. There were two changes happened at that time. One change was that the community ethic transformed itself to be the individual ethic; and the other change was that the oracle political ethic transformed itself to be the human rights political ethics. They promote the modern political philosophy'development, and then impacted the direction of the change. Thirdly, the modern nation-state sprung up. Because of these impetuses, the natural law got back to the ground form the God, and got rid of the theological hue. The nous of human even can't be oppugned at that time, and the rights of people was glorified. The natural law began to be used in the area of politics. The concept of social contract was originated by naturalists. The nation was the outcome of the social contract and no longer of the nature or the God. But the power of the nation should be restricted by the sovereignty. Al though naturalists had different ideas about the basis why natural law was exist, their natural law theory can be divided into three sorts: the nationalism natural law theory, the liberalism natural law theory and the radical democratism natural law theory. These modern natural law theories were different, but they followed the same research ways and means: they developed the natural rights theory from the natural position, and they restricted the nation'power by social contract. The modern natural law theory influenced the western human rights theory, the American Revolution and French Revolution deeply.