Antigone
Positive Law vs. Natural Law; Do what you believe is right; This is a phrase common to us all, this is the main focal point of in the play Antigone, written by Sophacles. But how does one define what is right? Is it what we believe in our hearts, or is it what we know is acceptable? Antigone is one of the earliest records of the conflict between Natural law and Positive law. Sophocles exposes these two philosophical standpoints and their respective moral and political aspects by way of the two main characters, Antgone and Creon. Antigone believes in Natural law, while Creon practices the Positivist approach. Both characters deem their behavior superior towards the other, and both assume religious justification for their actions. Sophocles ultimately proves that with so much support for each philosophical standpoint, a solution to the dilemma is hardly in sight. Natural law can be considered the morally correct approach to authority and justice. It is the idea that one should make decisions based upon what they deem morally appropriate. Antigone's support of this approach is apparent in her refusal of Creon's order to let polyneices body out in to open to decay. She defies his law and buries Polyneices anyway. She loves Polyne
"But if I had let my own brother stay unburied I would have suffered all the pain I do not feel now. He is concerned with keeping the city-state in order, and his public perception untarnished. Creon evokes a Positivist attitude by shunning any morally appropriate notions brought on by his kinship with Polyneices, and pursuing a stance that he sees as politically necessary for the good of the society. The Positive law and the Natural law philosophies have been traced throughout history, and as this play suggests, hardly a conclusion has been made. The two contrary perceptions, Positive and Natural, are so built up against each other that violence is practically unavoidable. Sophocles attempts to answer the debate by ultimately showing that the gods approved of Antigone's motives and that Creon should have buried his nephew. Rather, it is a sign that the debate will live on for all of eternity. She believes that he will not be granted life after death if he is not buried, and that the gods permit all a chance at immortality. This is hardly a solution to the debate, the fact that everyone dies. This position becomes apparent when he utters the lines," if I see disaster marching against our citizens, I shall not befriend the enemy of this land. It is much like a Socialist-Capitalist debate in many respects. He believes that if he succumbs to feelings of love, then he will be deemed weak and therefore weakens his city-state. It is their motives that set them apart from each other. And if you decide what I did was foolish, you may be fool enough to convict me" (572-574). " I wont be a leader who lies to his people.
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Acceptance Essays
