Introduction
Nature exists on its own and cannot be manipulated by human beings. It has been there since ancient times and it never changes. On the other hand, conventions are laws that have been constructed by man to help people live together in harmony and to respect nature. This paper gives an in-depth analysis of convention and nature and gives some views that have been raised by philosophers on the relationship between nature and convention.
Nature
According to Plato sophists, all things that come into being as first things and which are responsible for all the things that take place are referred to as nature. Nature can be defined as the power that produces accessible phenomena either in detail or as a total. It can also be described as the agency of the creation process
Conventions
A convention is an assortment between two or among many alternatives where one rule is agreed upon by the participants. One person develops a theory, presents it to society and the society decides whether to accept it as law or reject it. Conventions are unwritten customs that stipulate how society is expected to behave. They differ from one community to another and have different meanings depending on the community abiding by them. In many communities, it is conventional for strangers to shake hands with the people they are being introduced to. Some conventional have become legislative laws that have to be adhered to. For example, in Germany and America, it is convectional for all motorists to drive on the right side while in other countries they drive on the other side (Ahbel-Rappe and Kamtekar, p. 30).
According to Buddha, conventions arise dependently on definite conditions. Conventions which are considered as complete realities often lead to conflict although it does not imply that conventions are not real and they should not be ignored. An intelligent person should not entirely hold conventions as realities but should use his judgment in applying them. They play a great role in defining the way people should live and respect one another. Conventions come in different ways and forms; we have social conventions, generic conventions, and government conventions. A social convention is a customary rule that is adhered to by members of the society. They are not written or formalized in any way but people adhere to them out of their self will. These rules are constructed socially for all the members of the society. Sociologists argue that, social rules are constructed from member’s interaction and they change from time to time in the same society. Some of the social rules that were acceptable in the ancient times may not be acceptable today. Similarly, these rules differ from society to society and are acceptable in certain situations. For example strangers in America or other western countries are expected to shake hands during the introduction, in Japan, they are expected to bow, while as in the Jewish societies they are not expected to bow but may shake hands.
Generic conventions are rules that are tied to creative genre. Examples of generic conventions include: mathematical notation and paintings. The government uses unwritten rules to govern members of the society. These set of rules can only be ignored under clear justification otherwise the person who violates them may face consequences. However, these conventions cannot be enforced in courts because they are not legal rules. Conventions can also be used in international law such as children rights, rights to education, and can also be used to fight racial discrimination. International organization such as United Nations uses conventions although they do not apply them to all member states. They only apply to member countries that approve them (Law, p. 10).
Relationship between Nature and Conventions
There is a big difference on how Sophists Antiphon and Socrates view the relationship between nature and convention. Sophist’s belief that, conventions control or restrain nature while Socrates believes that nature was developed and harmonized through conventions. These views contradict with each other although they have some truth in them. According to Sophists, law is only followed under supervision; in most cases human being follow their nature other than what is stipulated by law. His argument was that human should be allowed to live in accordance to their nature without anybody watching them. By following human nature, people would live freely without anybody questioning their actions. However, if the law of nature is broken, people will still feel the repercussions. I strongly disagree with Sophist because without law, there can never be harmony and people will live according to their convictions without caring about other people’s feelings or being responsible for their behaviors. In order to live in harmony, nature, and convention have to work together.
Socrates observed that, nature and convention can only be in harmony if conventions are constructed in such a way that human nature is able to develop the ability to reason virtually. He believes that good conventions help to harmonize human nature. Conventions help people in a society to live together and to respect one another. It is through conventions that we learn the acceptable ways of life and the consequences that follow if we do not follow them (Ahbel-Rappe and Kamtekar, p. 44).
Plato together with his contemporaries carried out a research to examine all aspects of life in his search for harmony. They found out that order was composed of two kinds; one kind is inevitable and occurs without manipulation whereas the other kind is manipulated through human decision. The first kind of order is called nature and is intrinsic to things. The other kind is called convention or law and it is arbitrary imposed. Plato wondered whether states came into existence through natural forces or through conventions. Likewise they were puzzled by the existence of moral law; were they conventional or occurred naturally? Plato was not able to answer some of these questions and he wondered which kind of order was above the other (Law, p. 20). According to him, everything appeared to have come into being through nature other than convention but was not explicit in his research.
Conclusion
Nature occurs without arbitration of human decision whereas conventions occur as a result of human arbitration. Many philosophers have tried to explain the relationship between nature and convention. Some believe that, human can live according to their nature without the use of conventions while others believe that conventions helps to develop harmony in nature. I agree with Socrates who observed that nature and convention can only be in harmony if conventions are constructed in such a way that human nature is able to develop the ability to reason. For harmony to prevail, human beings have to live in accordance to the two kinds of order; that is nature and convention.
Works Cited
- Ahbel-Rappe, Sara and Kamtekar, Rachana. A companion to Socrates, Volume 34 Blackwell reference online. New York: Wiley-Blackwell, 2006
- Law, Vivien. The history of linguistics in Europe from Plato to 1600. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003