idea of natural law origin in ancient Greece. Aristotle in his famous "Nicomachean Ethics," pointed out, there are just two: one is natural justice, one is agreed upon justice. Have the same effect of natural justice anywhere, such as in Greece and Persia fire are burning in the same way; and justice is purely based on the agreed provisions, such as the number of how much ransom and so on. It is not difficult to see, the ancient Greek natural law and natural law basically the same, and there is no abstract moral connotation, with a clear naturalistic colors.
Perhaps due to the different academic interests or philosophy of life, the Roman jurists in general for the "natural" color with a secular understanding and practice, the rules are more concerned about those who are not self-evident in the specific legal context, in fact, such is unable to perform the contract is invalid, the responsibility of the mentally ill should not be punished, and so on. Specific legal practice of natural law view of this practice comes from Roman jurists Romans and foreign exchanges, the law of peoples is actually almost identical to the natural law.
ideological origins in medieval natural law Cicero, and traditional Stoic philosophy. The main task of the medieval theologians is that the natural law of God embedded system. The final goal is cleverly achieve great Thomas Aquinas. He absorbed the Aristotelian "God is the last move things exist because of" the idea, the image of the eternal law of God as the first move by the presence of all things, the top hierarchy of the natural law Aquinas located in well-designed, namely eternal law and natural law, the statue law and divine law. Natural law has become a bridge between God and humanity.
late Middle Ages, theology, natural law has undergone a major shift. In how to answer people's rational understanding of natural law is, after Fernando ingenuity noted scholastic philosopher, although the legitimacy of natural law comes from God, but that humans are to understand the natural law of God already given in advance by rational human capabilities . This results in an extremely clever and significant shift: that God does not put forward a clear body of good and evil, but to guide human knowledge of good and evil by giving people a priori reason. Since then, the natural law doctrine of theology began to remove the label, put on a rational coat, opened the secular history of natural law.
Europe belongs to the era of the 17th century metaphysical era, the idea of natural law through the "disenchantment" of the Enlightenment and the growing secularization. In many Enlightenment thinkers at the time of European works in terms of natural law and reason, fairness, justice can almost be mixed. In this historical period, beginning metaphysics of natural law, a senior French judge secular law, provided a powerful ideological weapon for criticizing the feudal autocracy. Remarkably, in 17th century Europe, there have been ideas rejected natural law as a senior law status. Bacon pointed out: the law is purely a product of human utilitarian considerations, and do not fit with the so-called high-level laws. This idea in different forms is also reflected in Hobbes and Spinoza's writings. It was first proposed law aims only people utilitarian, rather than fit the natural law. In this way, the interests gradually even right into the core of natural law. Another thing that contributed to this change, with the persecution of pagan Christian Church activities have become increasingly brutal, many jurists began to explore the issue of natural rights can be deprived of the heathen, and draw the pagans should have some not natural rights deprivation. Since then, natural rights or natural rights gradually replaced natural law thinkers become the center of attention.
18 century late, empiricism and positivism gradually on the rise, natural law and natural rights doctrine met with fierce criticism. Among them, the most powerful is the critical spirit Hume, the witty philosopher through careful argument to prove that the so-called law is just a product of motivation and experience, there is nothing natural law. Moreover, the rise of science and popular travel also make people come to realize that the law is not universal, but vary, variable. This relativism legal concept has sparked widespread concern about a variety of factors that determine the law of comparative law, anthropology, psychology has become an important dimension of legal research. Against this social background, natural law gradually fade out all kinds of legal theory, history, law school, legal positivism law school and society gradually on stage.
However, the painful "World War II" experience, provided an opportunity for the revival of natural law. In reflection swept the world during the brutal war, people on the "draconian illegal" and other topics conducted extensive discussion and contention. Social inequalities and injustice deepened, inspired jurists on long-ignored strong focus on natural law, which Fuller, Dworkin, Rawls as the representatives of a variety of natural law school in debate gradually construct a new theory of natural law, individual rights and justice of the law to regain human more widely recognized. "Taking Rights Seriously" has become the focus of political and legal value of the world. Since natural law to revitalize and re-offered the endless vitality to the development of modern rule of law.