On The Logic Of Hobbes' "natural Law" Theory

Hobbes' theory of "natural law" refers to the theoretical system of natural laws in Hobbes' books: The Elements of Law Natural and Politic, On the Citizen and Leviathan that can bring people from original natural state into political society if people obey those series of laws. "Natural law" is a link between people and commonwealth and also a blueprint of nation power structure in Hobbes' books.After the British civil war and its own theory of perfection and its own theory of perfection, Hobbes' view on the concept liberty was different from before. At the earliest time he thought people only need to preserve the rights to survive and the sovereign can deprive people's other rights as he like,than Hobbes discovered new elements of civil liberty: No law is free. Finally, he thought the restriction of liberty was only from external obstacles and the obstacles which caused by internal fear can't limit the freedom of citizens. After the further consideration of liberty from The Elements of Law Natural and Politic to On the Citizen and Leviathan, the theory of"natural law" has been improved and completed.Hobbes thought the equality of human's nature faculties and the natural of selfish caused the natural state, however, the natural state where every man was enemy to every man and its features of human were solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short of life which were opposite to human's natural of avoiding disadvantages. So Hobbes created the "natural law" which based on the fear and reason of natural state,and he made individual become a citizen. Hobbes divided the "natural law" system into four parts because of the selfish ration and the equality of talent. The four parts can deducted to each other for the "natural law" system has its own principle: the first natural law. First of all the first natural determined the principle of the whole law system that was pace. Then,Hobbes used "contract" natural law as a means to establish a contract to form a peaceful community between people and for ensuring the complying of natural laws he introduced the moral basis of political society after that he explained the concept of justice and introduce social rules so that people in the community can be more gregarious. After establishing the commonwealth through the"contract", Hobbes introduced the theory of "equality" into natural laws to determine the equality of human beings in the community, and on that basis to achieve the equality of rights between individuals. Finally, the last part of natural laws was the"arbitrator" theory,this part was a key point to determine who have the very high power and what his nation like.After the evolution which was from natural state to politic society, the influence of "natural law" theory were in two parts,one part was the generation of single power and frightening nation "the great Leviathan" which was born in representative institution also a deducting from "natural law". The other part was that Hobbes separated civil laws from natural laws and pointed out that civil laws was the commends of sovereign. Hobbes' point of law was a revelation to positive law school and still now many scholars deem that Hobbes is a positive law scholar. However Hobbes united the civil laws and natural laws after separating, he thought natural laws were complement to civil laws. The view of complement to civil laws was the main reason why most scholars think Hobbes' theory belongs to natural law school.