What pre-cursors to Natural Law concepts are present in the political ideas of Plato and
Aristotle? Be sure to include a discussion of justice and statesmanship in your answer.
Discuss the subject matter of Natural Law and its place within political science.
Evaluate some of the concepts and terms used by Natural Law thinkers, specifically as
related to justice and statesmanship.
Begin to recognize Natural Law arguments and their origins.
Classical philosophers Plato and Aristotle, elucidated the moral and ethical concepts that
have influenced the Natural Law Theory, including the concepts of justice and statesmanship.1 In
Aristotle's theory of justice, finding out the best way to live is to find a way to be free. Aristotle's
conception of freedom is for every citizen to be able to live and pursue their interests, and to rule,
and be subject to the laws and authority of the state.2 For Aristotle, freedom is key to framing the
kind of constitution and laws to govern the state.
According to Aristotle, every citizen can live life to its fullest to the extent the state
promotes such life, and the role of the state is to protect the realization of such freedom by
creating laws that remove institutional roadblocks, promote moral and intellectual education, and
provide material resources.3 But what it means to live evokes Plato’s theory of fit. Plato’s The
Republic theorized that justice is achieved by matching the right role with the right qualities.
Plato’s ideal statesmanship is to ensure the mechanisms of government are functioning in three
major roles: philosopher-kings who are educated with the wisdom of rulership, warriors who are
trained in battle and war to protect the state and keep it safe, and farmers who cultivate crops and
1 Dr. Jesse Chupp, PLCY 701 Course Introduction. Liberty University. Available from
https://bit.ly/2Gs02jC; accessed November 1, 2020.
2 David Keyt, Aristotelian Freedom. The Oxford Handbook of Freedom edited by David Schmidt and
Carmen E. Pavel (Oxford University Press, 2016), [Online] available from https://bit.ly/38yQkYm accessed
9/11/2020; internet.
3 Ibid., David Keyt, Aristotelian Freedom.
render labor.4 Philosopher-kings are imbued with wisdom, intellect, and virtue to shun
corruption. The warriors are men and women trained side by side in battles to resist invaders and
keep the state safe, and the farmers, the lowest role in the society, produce food and clean the
streets.
Plato’s framework of roles of government and statesmanship comprises moral obligations
inherent in each role at individual and family level decreed by the state to maintain social order.
Perhaps the more challenging part of Plato’s social ordering related to the Natural Law theory is
radical reproduction formula of warriors. Plato’s concept of producing warriors stirred
intellectual reactions from across ideologies and scholars as inviting communism5 and even
morally intriguing from the Natural Law standpoint with respect to “teleos” around the
conception of a family and dignity of human life.
Plato explains his reproduction formula: that within a designated period of the year,
linked to hymeneal festivals, male and female warriors meet to produce children. Upon birth, the
babies are immediately separated from their biological mothers and reared in an undisclosed
location under the strict watch of nursing assistants who ensure biological mothers do not
recognize their children. Children produced by the warriors out of schedule are killed.6 There are
diverging opinions about the merits and real-world applications of Plato’s pro-creation formula
and his entire theory of government. Ideological questions around the role of the state in
4 Plato, The Dialogues of Plato translated into English with Analyses and Introductions by B. Jowett, M.A.
in Five Volumes, 3rd edition revised and corrected (Oxford University Press, 1892), 43.
5 For instance, Barker, Sir Ernest. Greek Political Theory. Florence: Taylor & Francis Group, 2009,
Accessed November 8, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central, 285-286.
6 Plato, The Dialogues of Plato translated into English with Analyses and Introductions by B. Jowett, M.A.
in Five Volumes. 3rd edition revised and corrected (Oxford University Press, 1892). 10/23/2020 43.
upholding the inalienable rights and freedoms of individuals and the role of the family as the
basic unit of society have come to challenge Plato’s conception of government.
Aristotle’s concept of political justice complements Plato’s public good theory and
system of duties that provides a framework for ensuring a proper fit between social roles and
citizen’s qualification for which he used the analogy of the distribution of flute.7 According to
Aristotle, in order to produce the best music, distribution of flute should be based on merit—that
is, flute is given to those who can play the flute. The analogy of flute distribution draws upon
Plato’s theory of “teleology” and Aristotle’s “merit-based” concept of distributive justice as a
state moral function. The theory of merit-based distribution of justice asserts that justice is due to
the most deserving.
Although Plato first contemplated the meaning of “teleos”, it was Aristotle that gave
practical and scientific meaning through his experimentations with natural objects in their
material form and substance, as well as biological explorations.8 Aristotle’s appreciation of
nature, its essence and their transcendental properties express his deep understanding of the real
and practical meaning of the “teleos” that laid down the foundational knowledge of the
intelligent design that proved God’s existence, which became the bedrock of the Natural Law
theory.
The merit-based distributive justice in the above example is not at odds with
constitutional laws of rights and freedom since the constitution provides the general framework
7 Aristotle, The Politics of Aristotle, trans. into English with introduction, marginal analysis, essays, notes
and indices by B. Jowett. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1885. Vol. 1.11/4/2020, 32.
8 John L. Hill, After the Natural Law: How the Classical Worldview Supports our Modern Moral and
Political Views, (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2016), 40.
within which every meritorious citizen are equally entitled to receive the flute, but favoring the
meritorious is an injustice. In The Politics, Aristotle defines justice as:9
…equality to equals, inequality to unequals, but people in general leave out of
sight the persons and put relative in the place of absolute justice. The state exists
not for the sake of wealth or security or society, but for the sake of a good life. It
is more than a mere alliance designed for the protection of life and property.
John Rawls objects to the merit-based distribution of justice for unfairness using the “veil
of ignorance” argument, which is the exclusion of certain parties from the public good is a
consequence beyond the latter’s control or influence—the “veil”.10 To John Rawls, justice is
fairness, and mutual concessions are needed to balance all competing interests and moral values
of the appealing parties, otherwise, such social order would be rejected. As Rawls says:11
A social order is to be accepted as just if and only if it could be the object of a fair
agreement—of an agreement that takes equal account of the interests of all
individuals who are to live under this social order.
Rawls's egalitarian theory emphasizes equality and fair treatment when forming ethical
judgments. By wearing the hypothetical “veil of ignorance” when making policies, possible
discrimination can be eliminated and treat all persons and minority viewpoints with fairness and
equality that may be overlooked. Immanuel Kant’s totalitarian theory of justice advocate for the
distribution of goods to the greater number of the population as being ethical and moral, a duty
derived from the principle of procedural expression of categorical imperative. According to Kant
9 Aristotle, The Politics of Aristotle, trans. into English with introduction, marginal analysis, essays, notes
and indices by B. Jowett. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1885. Vol. 1.11/4/2020, 121-122.
10 Thomas Pogge, John Rawls—His Life and Theory of Justice, translated by Michelle Kosch, (Oxford
University Press, 2007), 64.
11 Ibid., Thomas Pogge, John Rawls—His Life and Theory of Justice, 65-66.
when making moral decisions, determining what is most acceptable to all members of the society
is the right decision imperative of the society.
The distribution of flute in Aristotle’s example warrants further inquiry using the moral
and ethical principles of the Natural Law prefaced by Dr. Jesse Chupp in the course PLCY 701.12
Thomas Aquinas’s Summa Theologiae and his subsequent writings such as Disputed Questions
of Truth, Thomas Aquinas attempted to interpret the Natural Law in the light of the Holy
scriptures and put forward a strong Christian belief that God ordered the universe and placed in
every human being the “dispositional capacity to know the good and the bad and the inclination
towards the Good (synderesis).”13 In the Bible God gave man the freedom to choose between
good and evil (Genesis 2:9; 16-17, NIV) and placed in every man's heart the desire to seek after
Him (Deuteronomy 4:29, NIV, Jeremiah 29:13, NIV), which can be the Biblical expression of
synderesis as the depth of conscience of the intelligent design.14
Belief in God is supported by subsequent philosophers that investigated different topics
in light of the dispensational challenges of their times, including John Locke (17th C) who had a
conception of educating children different from Plato’s “sons of warriors” formative
prescriptions.15 John Locke, a constitutionalist, contributed his strong endorsement for the
protection of natural, inalienable rights—the right to life, liberty and property to every citizen
and assert the responsibility of the state to ensure citizen’s freedom to exercise their rights,
12 Dr. Jesse Chupp, PLCY 701 Course Introduction. Liberty University. Available from
https://bit.ly/2Gs02jC; accessed November 1, 2020.
13John L. Hill, After the Natural Law: How the Classical Worldview Supports our Modern Moral and
Political Views, (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2016), 70, 108.
14 J Budziszewski,The Line through the Heart, Natural Law as Fact, Theory and Sign of Contradiction.
(ISI Books Wilmington Delaware), 14-15.
15 Anstey, Peter R. John Locke and Natural Philosophy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Incorporated,
2011. 156-169
including waging armed revolt against established authority in defense of the basic rights of
citizens (John Locke’s Second Amendment of the US Constitution) if necessary.16
16 Mark Tunick, John Locke and the Right to Bear Arms. History of Political Thought, vol. 35, no. 1, 2014,
pp. 50–69. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26227264. Accessed 10 Nov. 2020.
References
Aristotle, The Politics of Aristotle, trans. into English with introduction, marginal analysis,
essays, notes and indices by B. Jowett. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1885. Vol. 1.11/4/2020,
121-122.
Barker, Sir Ernest. Greek Political Theory. (Florence: Taylor & Francis Group, 2009),
Accessed Nov. 8, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central, 285-286.
David Keyt, Aristotelian Freedom. The Oxford Handbook of Freedom edited by David Schmidt
and Carmen E. Pavel (Oxford University Press, 2016), [Online] Available from
https://bit.ly/38yQkYm accessed 9/11/2020; internet.
Dr. Jesse Chupp, PLCY 701 Course Introduction. Liberty University.
Available from https://bit.ly/2Gs02jC; accessed Nov. 1, 2020.
J Budziszewski, The Line through the Heart, Natural Law as Fact, Theory and Sign of
Contradiction. (ISI Books, Wilmington Delaware), 14-15.
John L. Hill, After the Natural Law: How the Classical Worldview Supports our Modern Moral
and Political Views, (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2016), 40.
Mark Tunick, John Locke and the Right to Bear Arms. History of Political Thought, vol. 35,
no. 1, 2014, pp. 50–69. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26227264. Accessed 10 Nov. 2020.
Plato, The Dialogues of Plato translated into English with Analyses and Introductions by B.
Jowett, M.A. in Five Volumes, 3rd edition revised and corrected (Oxford University
Press, 1892), 43.
The Bible (New International Version), Genesis 2:9; 16-17, Deuteronomy 4:29, Jeremiah 29:13.
Thomas Pogge, John Rawls—His Life and Theory of Justice, translated by Michelle Kosch,
(Oxford University Press, 2007), 64.
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