How do you think the nature of law should be understood - Essay Example

How do you think the nature of law should be understood? The nature of law is grounded in human nature and consciousness. The fundamental factor that distinguishes between human beings and other living beings is the sense of distinguishing between the right and the wrong that is implanted in the human consciousness naturally whereas other living beings including animals and birds lack this sense. It is the very sense that makes the humans feel justified and reasonable to dwell in the society as families and socialize with others to build the social network.

Humans don’t need a law to tell that killing another human being without any justifiable reason is wrong; they know it and this knowledge is natural-born in humans. Likewise, every individual naturally knows that it is important to cover the body because it is a sign of modesty and integrity. Lying to somebody feels wrong intrinsically because we know that the other person is being misguided. Likewise, helping an old man cross a road just feels right because it lends a sense of satisfaction and happiness.

Naturally, the psychology of human beings has been shaped in such a way that they can tell what is wrong and what is right and everybody would agree to it. As human beings, we have certain rights and responsibilities toward others. If the sense of distinction between the right and the wrong is naturally implanted in the human psychology, the question that arises is; then why do people hold different, contrasting, and conflicting views over such matters as euthanasia, abortion, and gay marriages?

The answer to this is simple; those who condemn these practices do so because of their conscience tells them that these practices are wrong. Others, who speak in favor of these controversial issues do so not because they really think that these practices are ethically justified, but because they want to protect and safeguard their personal interests. By nature, a human being finds attraction in evil things but getting involved in the evil practices lends a sense of dissatisfaction and guilt. On the other hand, human beings naturally find it difficult to do most of the good deeds because one has to become self-less to do most of the good deeds, but doing good deeds lends an individual a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.

This sense of dissatisfaction upon doing evil deeds and the sense of satisfaction upon doing good deeds fundamentally originates in the human conscience. Some people consider their conscience more important than their attraction to do evil deeds whereas others compromise upon their conscience to nurture the evil attractions. Laws are made as standard practices and principles to guard human behavior. Although different people hold different views regarding the laws and regulations prevailing in a certain region, with some approving of them while others considering them a violation of human rights, yet the law making bodies develop laws with mutual consensus of the people who are empowered to make these decisions by the public.

People vote for their favorite governors and the one who acquires the majority of votes acquires the government. Since that individual represents the trust and confidence of a vast majority of people living in a region, he/she gets in the position to make laws that apply on all the people living in that region. Although laws are standards, yet individuals may vary in their level of approval for them. There are two basic kinds of laws; governmental laws and individual’s laws. Governmental laws are those that apply on everyone whereas individual’s laws are those that every individual develops for himself/herself.

As discussed before, every human being has a conscience that tells him/her what is right and what is wrong. People establish limits for themselves depending upon how much freedom they allow themselves to do the wrong. This is the reason why certain people commit murders whereas others do not. In addition to that, individual’s laws are applied in all matters in everyday life whereas governmental laws guard human behavior in specific areas; particularly those in which an individual’s actions affect other people in the society.

Concluding, the nature of law should be understood as a combination of the intrinsic sense that every human being holds that helps him/her distinguish between the right and the wrong, and the level of freedom that every human being wants to enjoy in terms of being free of the limits imposed by his/her conscience on his/her actions. Laws are of two kinds; governmental laws and individual’s laws. The nature of law has a strong link with human nature and conscience.