The Moral Positions of Natural Law and Existentialism - Essay Example

The right action is that which corresponds non-defectively with the good on the one hand. On the other hand, existential ethics places the individual as the primary point of concern and therefore, postulates that personal ethics and morality supersede popular ethics and social morality. The main underpinning of this ideological standpoint is existentialists’ belief in the subjectivity of truth. In its bare form, existentialism is a cultural and philosophical movement that asserts that the genesis of philosophical thinking is an individual experience and that scientific and moral thinking is insufficient in understanding human experience (Finnis, 32).  

Evaluating the Theories and Discussing Any Relevant Criticisms

Natural law has its strength being readily manifest in the complementary relationship between the law and morality. The law and natural law are seen to merge since like the law, natural law becomes morally binding if it is just, able to be promulgated, directional towards the common good, is made by someone holding appropriate authority, and is reasonable. For instance, there can be no law that decriminalizes any form of stealing or crimes against humanity since acts that bring about these crimes do not meet the qualities of natural law such as being geared towards the common good.

Secondly, the strength of natural law is seen in the fact that it supersedes the law, generatively. The fact that natural law is naturally knowable by all humans, with the good anteceding the right and comprising people’s natural and common ends makes the legislation against crime possible (Pearce, 1339).    

At its best, existentialism only fosters tolerance and at its worst, remains ultimately impractical. By saying that individual experience is the starting point in encountering the truth and that scientific and moral thinking is insufficient in understanding human experience, existentialists leave no room for the judgment of another person’s actions. However, existentialist ethics remains totally untenable since there must be absolute or fundamental truths and values upon which the concept of ethics and the law must stand. By all means, pedophilia remains a crime and has no excuse to absolve the perpetrator from the full force of the law, for instance.