(plural ) is a
Latin phrase
This is a list of Wikipedia articles of Latin phrases and their translation into English.
To view all phrases on a single, lengthy document, see: List of Latin phrases (full).
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meaning or . The phrase is used to refer to conduct assessed as sinful, contradictory to natural law or inherently wrong by nature, independent of regulations governing the conduct. It is distinguished from , which refers to acts that are wrong only because they are prohibited by law.
For example, most human beings believe that
murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...
,
rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...
, and
theft
Theft (, cognate to ) is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shor ...
are wrong, regardless of whether a law governs such conduct or where the conduct occurs, and is thus recognizably . In contrast, crimes are criminal not because they are inherently bad, but because the act is prohibited by the law of the state. For example, most United States jurisdictions require drivers to drive on the right side of the road. This is not because driving on the left side of a road is considered immoral, but because consistent rules promote safety and order on the roads.
The question between inherently wrong versus prohibited most likely originated in Plato's Socratic dialogue,
Euthyphro
''Euthyphro'' (; ), is a philosophical work by Plato written in the form of a Socratic dialogue set during the weeks before the trial of Socrates in 399 BC. In the dialogue, Socrates and Euthyphro attempt to establish a definition of '' piet ...
, in which Socrates famously asked "Is the pious (τὸ ὅσιον) loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is loved by the gods?" (10a). Is it good because the gods will it or do the gods will it because it is good?
This concept was used to develop the various
common law offences
Common law offences are crimes under English criminal law, the related criminal law of some Commonwealth countries, and under some U.S. state laws. They are offences under the common law, developed entirely by the law courts, having no specif ...
. In the Case of Proclamations, it was determined that "that which is against common law is , is such an offence as is prohibited by Act of Parliament".
[12 Co Rep 74, https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/KB/1610/J22.html]
Another way to describe the underlying conceptual difference between "" and "" is "" and "", namely something that is commanded () because it is just () and something that is just () because it is commanded ().
See also
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Just war theory
The just war theory () is a doctrine, also referred to as a tradition, of military ethics that aims to ensure that a war is morally justifiable through a series of #Criteria, criteria, all of which must be met for a war to be considered just. I ...
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Euthyphro dilemma
The Euthyphro dilemma is found in Plato's dialogue ''Euthyphro'', in which Socrates asks Euthyphro, "Is the pious ( τὸ ὅσιον) loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is loved by the gods?" ( 10a)
Although it ...
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Moral turpitude
Moral turpitude is a legal concept in the United States, and until 1976 in Canada, that refers to "an act or behavior that gravely violates the sentiment or accepted standard of the community". This term appears in U.S. immigration law beginnin ...
References
Latin legal terminology
Criminal law
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