AFRICA NAZARENE UNIVERSITY
LAW SCHOOL
COURSE TITLE: CRIMINAL
PROCEDURE COURSE UNIT: KLAW 208
CLASS: RONGAI
DATE: 13TH NOVEMBER 2017
TIME: 12:00 NOON-1:30 P.M.
LECTURER: DR. CHARLES A. KHAMALA
LECTURE FIVE (ADDED): THE NATURAL LAW SCHOOL, ITS METHOD AND
EARLY PHILOSOPHERS
1. INTRODUCTION
The terms ‘law of nature’, ‘natural right’ and ‘natural law’ signify distinct concepts, though they
have important connections. They are sometimes used interchangeably, leading to
misunderstandings. Hence it is helpful to begin our discussion by distinguishing these concepts.
2. LAW OF NATURE
A law of nature, in the strictest sense, is a scientific theory about the physical universe and how
it functions. The law of gravity states that all objects with mass attract each other. Hence, an
object thrown into the air will fall to earth. The second law of thermodynamics postulates the
irreversibility of natural phenomena. Heat will flow from a hot object like my stove to a cold
object like my saucepan, but the reverse is impossible. These are examples of the most exact type
of the laws of nature. They take form: ‘If A, then B’. They are accepted as inflexible laws until
refuted by evidence.
Human life is governed by the laws of nature. Human beings, like all other organisms,
cannot exist without food, oxygen and other life sustaining conditions. This is because of
unchangeable laws of nature. No food, no life. An organism’s physical development and
functioning are determined by the genome – the genetic instructions encoded in DNA. Some
would regard this as a law of nature. Laws of nature also have much to do with human behavior.
The human race, like all other living species, reproduces. Hence, most human individuals
1|Page DR. C. A. KHAMALA SOCIAL FOUNDATIONS OF LAW 109
2017
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, reaching adulthood have a natural inclination to sexual procreation. Humans have natural
instincts such as desire, love, compassion, hate, jealousy and fear. The human race is also a
social species in the sense that by nature humans tend to live in interacting groups that we call
society. We owe a great of our knowledge of these aspects of human existence to the biological,
psychological, behavioural and social sciences – so-called ‘soft’ sciences.
Laws of nature, whether they are of the precise kind (as studied in the physical or hard
sciences) or of the tentative kind (as examined in the soft sciences), are not normative laws. They
inform us about the world as it is but not about how we ought to behave. On the contrary, natural
law is about norms of behaviour.
3. NATURAL RIGHTS
Human existence depends on life sustaining conditions. Therefore, some philosophers argue that
a person is endowed with certain natural rights and liberties simply by virtue of being born.
These are the rights that are necessary for existence as a human being. The most basic of these
are the rights of self-ownership and the liberty of self-preservation. Thomas Hobbes wrote in
Leviathan:
Jus Naturale, is the Liberty each man hath, to use his own power, as will himself, for the
preservation of his own Nature; that is to say, of his own Life; and consequently, of
doing anything, which in his own judgment, and Reason, he shall conceive to be the
aptest means thereunto. (1946 (1951), 91)
Similarly, John Locke wrote that every person ‘hath by Nature a Power, not only to preserve his
property, that is, his life, liberty and Estate, against injuries and Attempts of other Men; but to
judge of and punish the breaches of Law in others’. Locke and Hobbes were speaking of a state
of nature, by which they meant the conditions before there was civil government. Since these
rights are inherent in all persons they must have existed before the establishment of kings,
parliaments and courts – that is, before positive law. In other words, there were human rights
before there was human law. If they are not derived from human law they must be conferred by a
‘natural law’, so the theory goes.
Natural rights are sometimes identified with the law of nature, particularly in the older
literature. However, they are certainly not part of the laws of nature in the scientific sense
discussed previously. Clearly, a law of nature is about what will happen. If there is fire there will
2|Page DR. C. A. KHAMALA SOCIAL FOUNDATIONS OF LAW 109
2017
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https://www.coursehero.com/file/130245313/SOCIAL-FOUNDATIONS-OF-LAW-LECTURE-5-ADDED-THE-NATURAL-LAW-SCHOOL-ITS-METHODpdf/
LAW SCHOOL
COURSE TITLE: CRIMINAL
PROCEDURE COURSE UNIT: KLAW 208
CLASS: RONGAI
DATE: 13TH NOVEMBER 2017
TIME: 12:00 NOON-1:30 P.M.
LECTURER: DR. CHARLES A. KHAMALA
LECTURE FIVE (ADDED): THE NATURAL LAW SCHOOL, ITS METHOD AND
EARLY PHILOSOPHERS
1. INTRODUCTION
The terms ‘law of nature’, ‘natural right’ and ‘natural law’ signify distinct concepts, though they
have important connections. They are sometimes used interchangeably, leading to
misunderstandings. Hence it is helpful to begin our discussion by distinguishing these concepts.
2. LAW OF NATURE
A law of nature, in the strictest sense, is a scientific theory about the physical universe and how
it functions. The law of gravity states that all objects with mass attract each other. Hence, an
object thrown into the air will fall to earth. The second law of thermodynamics postulates the
irreversibility of natural phenomena. Heat will flow from a hot object like my stove to a cold
object like my saucepan, but the reverse is impossible. These are examples of the most exact type
of the laws of nature. They take form: ‘If A, then B’. They are accepted as inflexible laws until
refuted by evidence.
Human life is governed by the laws of nature. Human beings, like all other organisms,
cannot exist without food, oxygen and other life sustaining conditions. This is because of
unchangeable laws of nature. No food, no life. An organism’s physical development and
functioning are determined by the genome – the genetic instructions encoded in DNA. Some
would regard this as a law of nature. Laws of nature also have much to do with human behavior.
The human race, like all other living species, reproduces. Hence, most human individuals
1|Page DR. C. A. KHAMALA SOCIAL FOUNDATIONS OF LAW 109
2017
This study source was downloaded by 100000858656319 from CourseHero.com on 02-16-2023 04:55:42 GMT -06:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/130245313/SOCIAL-FOUNDATIONS-OF-LAW-LECTURE-5-ADDED-THE-NATURAL-LAW-SCHOOL-ITS-METHODpdf/
, reaching adulthood have a natural inclination to sexual procreation. Humans have natural
instincts such as desire, love, compassion, hate, jealousy and fear. The human race is also a
social species in the sense that by nature humans tend to live in interacting groups that we call
society. We owe a great of our knowledge of these aspects of human existence to the biological,
psychological, behavioural and social sciences – so-called ‘soft’ sciences.
Laws of nature, whether they are of the precise kind (as studied in the physical or hard
sciences) or of the tentative kind (as examined in the soft sciences), are not normative laws. They
inform us about the world as it is but not about how we ought to behave. On the contrary, natural
law is about norms of behaviour.
3. NATURAL RIGHTS
Human existence depends on life sustaining conditions. Therefore, some philosophers argue that
a person is endowed with certain natural rights and liberties simply by virtue of being born.
These are the rights that are necessary for existence as a human being. The most basic of these
are the rights of self-ownership and the liberty of self-preservation. Thomas Hobbes wrote in
Leviathan:
Jus Naturale, is the Liberty each man hath, to use his own power, as will himself, for the
preservation of his own Nature; that is to say, of his own Life; and consequently, of
doing anything, which in his own judgment, and Reason, he shall conceive to be the
aptest means thereunto. (1946 (1951), 91)
Similarly, John Locke wrote that every person ‘hath by Nature a Power, not only to preserve his
property, that is, his life, liberty and Estate, against injuries and Attempts of other Men; but to
judge of and punish the breaches of Law in others’. Locke and Hobbes were speaking of a state
of nature, by which they meant the conditions before there was civil government. Since these
rights are inherent in all persons they must have existed before the establishment of kings,
parliaments and courts – that is, before positive law. In other words, there were human rights
before there was human law. If they are not derived from human law they must be conferred by a
‘natural law’, so the theory goes.
Natural rights are sometimes identified with the law of nature, particularly in the older
literature. However, they are certainly not part of the laws of nature in the scientific sense
discussed previously. Clearly, a law of nature is about what will happen. If there is fire there will
2|Page DR. C. A. KHAMALA SOCIAL FOUNDATIONS OF LAW 109
2017
This study source was downloaded by 100000858656319 from CourseHero.com on 02-16-2023 04:55:42 GMT -06:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/130245313/SOCIAL-FOUNDATIONS-OF-LAW-LECTURE-5-ADDED-THE-NATURAL-LAW-SCHOOL-ITS-METHODpdf/
