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On Natural Law: What Clarence Thomas Did Not Say
| Article
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20505 |
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Section : |
MODERN THOUGHT
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| Issue
Date : |
5 / 1992 |
5,259 Words |
| Author
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Jude P. Dougherty
Jude P. Dougherty is the dean of the Department of Philosophy
at the Catholic University of America. |
The Senate Judiciary Committee's hearings on Judge Clarence Thomas' qualifications for appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court raised questions for a worldwide audience concerning the role of natural law in the legislative and judicial processes. The media debate that ensued more often than not led to confusion rather than clarification. Many were left wondering what natural law really is and why views about it should prove so controversial. Given the complexity of the matter, it is not surprising that Judge Thomas proved to be a less-than-perfect tutor. What the hearings did show is that law is not created in a vacuum but presupposes an intellectual and cultural history, including philosophical considerations.
The concept of natural law is, of course, an ancient one. We find it in the Greek poets, in Plato and Aristotle, and in Cicero and Seneca. The notion is rather simple. There are laws of nature, some of which we have discovered and articulated for ourselves and others. A law of nature is simply a report on what is. It is a description of a process that under specified conditions remains invariant through time and place. A law of nature is opposed to an accidental generality (e.g., all the senators from Rome's southern provinces have deep brown eyes). Examples of other natural laws known to antiquity might include the following: Copper expands when heated; silver is malleable; wine loosens the tongue; to be fruitful, the vines must have at least eighty-five days of sun; credibility follows a habit of speaking the truth; a well-ordered household permits leisure.
In addition to these homey, prescientific laws, we can add the modern laws of physics, chemistry, and biology and the laws governing music, painting architecture, corporate management, and personal fulfillment. They can be stated flatly as declarative sentences (bodily health is contingent upon a proper diet), or phrased as admonitions: "One should observe a healthful diet"; "Desiring other people's property will make you miserable," or "Thou shall not covet they neighbor's goods." Some of the laws that deal with personal self-fulfillment we call "moral laws," as distinct from rules that promote good manners. The Fulbright Scholars Program, for example, is promoting good manners when it suggests that American youths going abroad should bring flowers to the hostess when invited to a dinner party.
To be moral, one must be prudent, temperate, just, and courageous. To be just, one must pay homage to the gods, honor one's father and mother, remain faithful to one's spouse, and respect the terms of any contract into which one has entered. The list goes on and on.
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