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CUESTIONES POLÍTICAS
Vol. 39 Nº 68 (Enero - Junio 2021): 441-462
Thereby, some of the questions that have their consideration below
arise in this regard. For example, is the emergence of criminal law norms
dictated by nature or by rationality? Alternatively, how do we know what
are their origin and background? In this way, to comment on them requires
an acceptance of the fact that both of the mentioned factors play a role
in the existence of criminal law norms. However, the main point here is
the natural reason, or ethical principle, by which criminal-legal inuence
appears. What is called rationality rather affects the form, while expressing
it mechanically as the technical legal language. At the same time, moral
norms, which are an attribute of the essence of law, rather than an
instrument, ll these norms with meaning. We can claim also, that Polo
(2008) characterized normativism and ethical rationalism as a way to
consider ethics reductively (Polo, 2008).
Here is what Polo (2008) himself thought about the notion of law in its
correlation with moral norms:
Law and cultural customs are norms derived from ethical norms. What we call
ethical norms are the laws most distinctive of the human being, most exclusively
his, because their fulllment is free. And since freedom is responsible for this, they
are not mechanisms; rather, freedom can decide not to fulll them (2008: 34).
At the same time, such transcendental as love gures out to be the main
positive norm, when dealing with natural law, according to Polo (Polo, 2010;
Pia Tarazona, 1999). In this regard, the concept of synderesis (classically is
an innate habit of the intellect, that judge what is good to do, and evil to
avoid) is crucial for natural law. It can be described as the fundamental
element of the human act of knowledge of ethics by nature (Vanney, 2007).
Polo (2008) preferred to formulate it simply this way: “Do good, act; act
as much as you can and improve your actuation” (2008: 106). In addition,
classical authors also used to pay attention to the synderesis. For example,
Saint Thomas Aquinas used it in his works (Aquinas, 2020).
Following the more legislative side of the issue, we can state that for
Polo (1984), laws are something formally ctional, meaning they are not
given to a man by nature; rather, they are invented by man as a tool in
order to make it easier to resolve conicts and disputes. In this sense, Polo
used to treat the concept of law as nomos (Polo, 1984). By that was meant
the Ancient Greek word (νόμος), which described laws governing human
behavior mainly for the just distribution and rewards in case of litigation
(Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2017; about the polian notion of the law as a
strong ction, Polo, Quién es el hombre, 1991; cf. also Riofrio, 2020, pro
manuscrito). Moreover, the law as such can be considered as a strong
ction, meaning that its action prolongs physical reality, or objectivity, but
does not have sole power, because, roughly speaking, it does not have a
body (Polo, 1991) gives an example of a wall that does not exist in fact;
instead, there is a “no trespassing” sign). Thus, for Polo (1991), the law is a
cultural phenomenon and has an empowering effect on man.