The Law of Human Nature The Law of Human Nature suggests that as organisms we are governed by laws of nature

such as the law of gravity, a law which we cannot disobey but at the same time us humans are subject to our own law, the law of human nature and in contrast to the laws of nature it is a law us humans through our free will are able to disobey. While the Law of Nature is in fact what Nature Does the Law of Human Nature is not what Humans Do but what Humans ought to do. The idea is that there is a behavioral standard that we humans expect others to know about. A law or rule of decent behavior and a sense of right and wrong that is obvious to every human being and has already been agreed upon. It is a behavioral standard that we feel continuously pressing on us and does not necessarily mean convenience or something that pays but something we know will pay the human race as a whole. The problem is that we have failed to practice the kind of behavior we expect from others ourselves.

There are those who might say that the Law of Human Nature is unsound since different cultures and civilization across all ages have had different moralities but this is not true. There might have been a difference in their moralities but they were never that great. The difference has been about the manner of which they express or act out their morality but the value in most cases have always been the same. There is in fact a objective right or wrong or else fighting or arguments would be pointless.

The strange thing is that the law of human nature should be something we are capable of disobeying or else it would mean we do not have free will but it something we ought to follow because we are indeed human beings and not animals just responding upon our instinct and low level reasoning. If in fact the laws of human nature were just what humans do there would be no such thing as right or wrong. It would be entirely foolish to argue or fight with another person since without a sense of right or wrong it would be pointless. Its as if were saying there is something right or wrong about a rock that is falling due to gravity. With this there will be no moral accountability since we are just doing what humans do. Just as we dont hold dogs accountable for pooping in public or biting a person but we hold the owner accountable instead. But we are accountable for our actions since indeed the law of human nature is what humans ought to do we accept that we have free will to decide upon our actions. We are not animals who respond to a stimuli and react with instinct but human

beings who are capable of seeing a horizon of alternatives and choosing what we believe is right and decent although it would not reward us in any way or might even inconvenience us just as we do not see decent behavior from others as something that benefits us. If it were only our instinct we would always have one impulse as we know as good and another as bad but that is not the case since our morality depending on our situation tells us to suppress an impulse. Imagine sex, sex is not something that is good nor bad it is a way for our race to continue living but there are certainly situations we should not have sex such having sex with a beloved of another or there are cases where in we should, such as in the context of marriage where in sex is a form of a healing experience. As a being capable of higher thinking we are able to see the bigger picture and not only chase after short-term benefit but look to what lies in the future. Unlike a dog that does tricks to receive a treat for his master we are able to do things that inconvenience because we know it would benefit society as a whole. We become responsible for our actions because we all know that there is such thing as right and wrong and this must be objective. If right and wrong were only subjective, that there is no universal truth it would mean that the law of human nature is just another social convention. The law of human nature cannot be just another social convention because it is something we see as progressing. We have all heard of moral progress, progress which means to move forward or develop cannot happen if we do not have an ideal set of goals in mind and these ideal is the objective or universal truths. It is in the same bracket as mathematics just as people might get equations wrong there would always be an objective and correct answer to the problem. Although some might argue that across different civilization and culture across ages have had different moralities it was only a matter of difference in expression but theyre underlying values were in most cases the same and this indeed supports that our morality continuously progresses. It is just like mathematics and science has come a long way from the past. We are far from what we were before and as knowledge increases our morality progresses as what it might seem towards the same ideal. This is why at this moment in our time there were historical events in the past that if not all most of us judge as being right or wrong. Moral ideals can be better than another just as we can say our moral ideals today are better than those of the past showing us that although the difference in decent behavior may make us suspect the legitimacy of the Law of human nature it proves just the opposite. There are universal truths we accept because of the things I have said before hand and because in plainly makes sense. There would be chaos. a world where people do not accept lying is wrong and we expect people to lie. Would there be any type educational system if all the students would think their teachers were just lying to them any ways?

Why do men often do not do what they ought to do? There are different cases in which people may have committed crimes due to their situation or by impulse. Obviously acting just on impulse might not require any higher level thinking than reacting upon a situation by clearly thinking things through but it does not mean in all cases that one is worse than another. There are cases in which humans go through ethical dilemmas where in moral values are pitted against each other often leading to cases where the person rationalizes crimes. Imagine a father of three who cant even feed his family, and work is not enough he knows committing a crime is bad but at the same time not being able to feed his family can be worse. It is not an excuse to steal but at the same time we can see he was not stealing out of greed. This shows we are not perfect but we are progressing.

C.S. Lewis says that when we do not succeed in keeping the Law of Nature very well, a law we know to be true and confronted by the reality that we are not keeping it we begin to justify our actions and in his own words there starts in my mind a string of excuses as long as my arm. Truth of the matter is that we accept and believe in this standard/law so much that we constantly feel the pressure so much so that we cannot bear the reality of breaking it and consequently trying to shift the responsibility away from ourselves. I believe what C.S. Lewis is saying is very significant not only to our current situation but also to our situation in the past and possibly the future. When we disobey the law of human nature or go against our own morality we try to shift the responsibility to reduce our own guilt and to feel better. What he had said applies to us and it is true that this law although may be unwritten or accepted by all does exist and governs parts of our lives. If it did not the pressure leading us to trying to shift the responsibility would not exist. We are humans capable of higher thinking and have our free will and we should not waste it by following our own instinct or thinking about short-term benefits. We are capable of seeing a horizon of solutions and if any of the solutions that are apparent to us does not coincide with our own morality we should not limit ourselves and strive for the better solution. This law of human nature is what we should and ought to follow, although there are instances where in we break these laws we should not try and shift responsibility but instead become responsible and accountable for our own actions if we want to progress even further as moral beings. We have gone too far from what we were in the past and we should not degrade ourselves. Even at times when we do not mean too, when we have gotten the solution to the problem wrong we should strive for the real answer to the problem. We might not be perfect but we can possibly get close to it when we try.

What this chapter and the book has talked about has great implications in my life and consequently and possibly our society. Understanding and knowing what the law of human nature is has a great impact in my own life since even before studying what it is I already knew it was there I just did not have any formal understanding of it. Some points of which I could not explain before I have at least a glimpse of understanding today and by understanding the law of human nature, that there is a objective standard of decent behavior I can become a better person in my society. I believe the change in society starts with each and every individual and as I hope to become a better person I can become a good example to others. I think the society as a whole needs to be more mature and use their higher level thinking.