Discussion On Hobbes' Theory Of Natural Law

Natural Law is the basis of Hobbes' Natural Law. Making a special study at it is helpful for us to master Hobbes' Natural Law deeper and more completely.Hobbes' Natural Law has its own sources of thinking and background of times. The researches on Natural Law, which were made by Stoke School, Cicero, Thomas Aquinas and Grotius and so on, provided materials for forming his own theory. The fear of war and the veiled criticism to the former Moral Philosophers forced him to unfold the opinions on the aspiration of peace and the anxiety about his own country to the readers. The Theory of Natural Law is just one part of that.Hobbes put forward Natural Law in order to solve the conflicts among people in the natural status, which is the state of war. His Natural Law theory was brought up on the basis of hypothesis of natural status. This hypothesis was deduced from the assumption of human nature, people's selfishness or greed, which lead man fall into the natural status of mutual hostility. This is the essential premise when people need natural law. Then how did people discover and reveal the natural law? Hobbes said, one is the people's fear of death and desire for comfortable life, the other is rationality. The natural rationality made everybody think the death in violence as the most evil and exert every effort to avoid it. From two hypotheses, Hobbes used the clearest theory to certify the necessity of making contract and keeping faith and also prove the essential principle of the virtue and citizen's obligation.Natural Law, Hobbes referred to, is the correct and rational injunction. In 22 rules what he listed there is the essential natural principle for seeking and holding the peace. The feature of the rules is that every rule can be concluded, to "Don't do to others what you do not want others to do to you. " , and their direct value target is peace. His Theory of Natural Law takes peace as the method, self-protection as final value inclination and all of those show his Theory of Natural Law has the tendency of utilitarianism.Hobbes' Theory of Natural Law has a far-reaching and deep impact on afterward age. All natural law scholars behind him develop their study to all different directions on his theory and form colorful narrations of the Modern Natural Law. His Theory of Natural Law has guiding significance to the world peace and the people's happiness in nowadays.