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Words: | Submitted: Fri Jan 28 2005
... for every individual. One of the key features of Natural Law theory is it takes the view that law is a fundamental requirement of human life, this is because law is a device which promotes 'goodness'. Law provides a guide for those working towards the 'common good' and also guides those individuals who may deviate from morality. During the medieval period St.Thomas Aquinas divided law into four categories; eternal, natural, divine and human. Aquinas captured the various aspects of law, including higher order and the individual. Harris (1980:7) states that Natural Law is both "universal and immutable", in that such ideas are everywhere in the world. The 18th and 19th centuries saw the decline in Natural Law theory due to Enlightenment thinkers such as Montesquieu, Bentham and Austin who preferred positivism. Positivist theories of law regard the law as the central feature, and believe a "proper description of law is ...
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