A. Law of Nature/ Science vs. Law of Human Nature.
1. Science-law that must be followed
2. Human Nature
a.Human ideas of decent behavior are obvious to everyone.
b. Selfishness, and disloyalties, etc. are common themes every generation has come to discourage.
c. None of us are really keeping the Law of Nature.
d. Two part defintion.
1. humans have this curious idea that we ought to behave in a certain way, and cannot get rid of it.
2. humans do not in fact behave in this way
II. Some Objections
A. Impulse/Instinct vs. Moral Law
1. Moral law is not any one instinct or any set of instincts; it is something that makes goodness or right conduct by directing the instincts.
2. Instinct to save ones self, or save another human being-I.E.
B. Law of Human Nature
1. Class of Mathematics
a. same law threaded through all times and countries
b. is morality of one society better than the morality of another
1. moment one says a set of moral ideas are better-then you are comparing them to a standard.
2. Standard is real Morality- real right
III. The Reality of the Law
A. Law of Human nature
1. people are haunted by idea of behavior they out to follow
2. they do not follow it
3. what we ough to do and no to do
B. It is understood that men need to be unselfish and fair
IV. What Lies Behind the Law
A. Two views
1. materialistic view- everything by chance just happens to exsist
2. religious view- there is some creative mind behind the universe
B There is always some driving force inside of us compelling us to do good
As I read this packet I have found many bridges to sitations and circumstances in my life. I have often found myslef in a situation where people are expected to follow a certain moral code, even though no one has ever really spoken of this code. When someone gives a compliment, it is just an understood action to return it. Everyone expects the truth from someone, unless a previous encounter has given them reason to suspect otherwise. This is an example of how the scientific laws, which must be followed, contrast with the Moral Laws that can be broken. The person who lied to me has broken that moral law before and therefore lost my trust. As I read and begin to more fully understand history, I see common themes between each and every generation. The sanctity of ones honor, truth in ones lifes, and doing unto others how we would like to be treated, are all common themes throughout time. From this , I can see in my own life this curious attitude of all humans to follow a certain right standard that can be used to judge all actions against. Everyone around me seems to know of it, and everyone around me breaks it.
Also from the second section, I began to notice more detail about how my instincts and my own Human Nature coniencide to form myself. I see a baseball being thrown at someone who is not looking I jump in front to catch it. This action is not just instinct. I have two urges in this action one to make sure I don't get hurt in the process, and one to help a friend, but the law of human nature makes me understand that the second urge is the correct one to follow. Most of the time this is not even a conscious desicion on my part. I have caught the ball, and are already throwing it back before I truely realize what I did.
The reality of this law in my own life though is that many times I know it is there and yet I will not follow it. I morally know that something I will be doing is wrong yet I will either justify it through some misguided reason,or I will act like I did not understand what it was that I was actually breaking/doing. Each person has this inclining to do what they ought to do, and knows that they should not do what they ought not to do. I know many people know it is stupid and dumb to drive drunk, but in certain situations that minor reasoning constantly in the back of our minds is pushed away so we do not have to deal with it. It is judeged to be wrong because when held to this universal moral standard it is wrong to endanger the life of myslef and my other friends in the car. I think this can teach us that we need to be truthful, giving, and just individuals.
Behind this law shows us that there must be some overall universal being that has created people alike. How else could we all his this underlying belief that we all must follow it. It is this small urge inside of us that I think can helpme here and now understand that there either must be a God or some other universal creator with a detailed and descriptive plan.