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Natural Law VS. Positive Law

Laws are rules established by a governing authority to organize and maintain orderly existence. It can generally be divided into two principles: Natural law, which is based on the divine, and Positive law which states that laws are what the lawmakers command. Throughout history many philosophers have come to be linked to either branch of law. Philosophers such as Aristotle advocated Natural law, while others, such as Thomas Hobbes, supported Positive law. Each provided strong notions that helped form modern day law.

Aristotle believed that because humans are capable of a higher level of thinking that they could therefore judge for themselves. This is also known as rationalism. He was committed to his belief that because of our higher level of thinking, humans are capable of obtaining true happiness. He believed that the sole purpose for law was to make people happy. Any law that served towards the betterment of the people was therefore......

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Approximate Word Count: 544
Approximate Pages: 3 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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