This article explores how legal reasoning is conducted in natural law theory. Natural law theory does not claim that there is an eternal, immutable answer that must be enforced on real legal issues. However, this misunderstanding often occurs. This ar...
This article explores how legal reasoning is conducted in natural law theory. Natural law theory does not claim that there is an eternal, immutable answer that must be enforced on real legal issues. However, this misunderstanding often occurs. This article aims to eliminate such misconceptions by explaining how legal reasoning is conducted in natural law theory. The article covers two main issues: how positive law can be linked to natural law from the perspective of implementation, and how legal reasoning is conducted in natural law theory by exploring the fundamental elements of inference. To explore these issues, this article examines the claims of John Finnis, the founder of the declaratory natural law theory, within the framework of natural law theory. The article evaluates Finnis’s claims separately and presents the strengths and weaknesses of his theory. The conclusions drawn from this research are as follows: First, positive law is a implementation of natural law.
Second, this implementation is not a capture or reproduction from natural law, but rather a work based on moral principles and general principles of law.
Third, legislation, interpretation, application, and the duty of obedience in positive law are tasks that take place between the proposition of neighborly love in natural law and positive law.
Fourth, legal reasoning in natural law is not a theoretical linguistic activity but a practical reasoning that is conducted based on basic goods, human existence, and reason(practical reasonableness).
Fifth, the basic elements of this reasoning are choice, reason, and action.
Sixth, legal reasoning is a technical inference for determining right and wrong.
Seventh, according to legal reasoning, a judgment is a decision based on the absolute morality of basic goods and the evidence, rather than proportionality, due to the irreducible diversity between them.
Eighth, this decision is made possible by the law and legal system, which are based on the absolute morality of basic goods and fairness.
Ninth, according to natural law theory, there is not a single fixed, correct answer to any problem faced by natural reason.