Antigone, civil disobedience, natural law PDF

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“Antigone, Civil Disobedience and Natural law1.” Emran Dorrazehi

Abstract Sophocles puts his character Antigone in an argument of civil disobedience and natural law, since Aristotle, Antigone in Sophocles’ trilogy has been cited as an example of natural law and civil disobedience by both legal and literary scholars, as she stood against her Uncle Creon’s decree (Positive Law2). This article focuses on how Antigone was in dilemma of civil duties (Positive Law) and that of family members (Natural Law) and how her acts made reform in the society itself.

Keywords Antigone, Natural Law, Civil Disobedience, Positive Law

I.

Introduction The character Antigone is one of the greatest heroines of civil disobedience and resistance against tyranny and she is the model in her resistance against law. As Susan W. Tiefenbrun puts it, this character and this play inspired so many prominent writers and scholars of both law and literature. These scholars have tried to analyze the difference between natural law and positive law as well as “the effectiveness of civil disobedience” in making legal and legislation changes (Tiefenbrun 35). In the play Antigone Sophocles represented civil disobedience by the conflict which rose between Antigone and her Uncle Creon, and finally Antigone’s act of resistance which causes a kind of legal reform in city of Thebes. Both of these characters defend two different viewpoints, as Sophocles emphasizes, one building her argument upon the basis of natural law the other opposing her view stresses the importance of legal positivism, and this may even mean that Sophocles wants to show us that how an illegal act (illegal according to Positive Law) of protest could lead to reform. If we want to trace the concept of natural law back to history, we would find that it could be traced as far as the political thought maker of ancient Greece, this idea of natural law could be more understood in the context that stoics define: “as a higher principle of universally valid law, by means of which individuals might critically evaluate the positive laws of the society in which they live” (Burns 546). This concept goes as far as great moralist as Sophocles himself, and for Maritain “Antigone is the eternal heroine of natural law, which the ancients call unwritten law” (Maritain 502) who stood against the conventional laws of society of her own time, and for justifying her act, Sophocles provides Antigone with an Argument (Burns 547), and a distinction; since obviously natural law is the law issued by gods or nature so with this basis one can challenge the laws made by human authorities and consciously or unconsciously one can made reform.

1 Are inherent laws and rights conferred by gods, nature, reason and conscious (Hans 101). 2 This concept is distinct from “Natural Law”, Positive laws (Latin: ius positum) are human made laws that are laid down by legislation, court or other human institutions (Hans 102).

II.

THE PLOT of ANTIGONE

The play begins a day after the siege of Thebes, during which both of Antigone's brothers have been killed. Antigone sees the throne pass from her father, the ill-fated Oedipus, to Creon, her uncle. Creon orders Polyneices, the leader of the siege, to remain unburied in Thebes. While it was legal for Creon to forbid burial in the traduced city, it was not legal for him to forbid a family member to bury her dead outside of Thebes. Creon's decree is a show of force by a newly-crowned king, who wants to proclaim and preserve the authority of the state. The penalty for disobedience to Creon's decree is stoning. Antigone claims an obligation to bury her brother based on divine law to which the netherworld3 gods demand absolute obedience. As Polyneices's sister, Antigone cannot resist this demand for obedience based on kinship, blood ties, and an ethical bond. Antigone defies Creon's decree and twice goes out to bury her brother, without the help of her sister, Ismene, who does not think women should defy men in the polis 4(city of Thebes).

III.

Civil Disobedience

Historically Civil Disobedience has been accepted as an illegal form of protest, it is a very confusing concept that still does not have any fixed definition. Deforrest argues that “mere dissent, protest or disobedience of the law are not enough to qualify as civil disobedience” (Deforrest 653), but scholars like Rawls give some criteria of civil disobedience; being “public, nonviolent, conscientious yet political” several characteristics are needed for an act to be called civil disobedience, the act must not have any trace of violence and “it must be performed to bring about a moral purpose” and to oppose “an unjust law” or even objection to “status quo” and with “ the expectation on punishment” (Tiefenbrun 36). As Antigone did, some of those who oppose laws and governments try to justify their actions by citing to the obligation to perform natural laws rather than positive laws issued by rulers, this obligation they claim to be as Rommen says “is an obligation to obey higher, natural or divine law whose authority preempts man-made laws” (Rommen 110). Antigone stood against the kings order firstly because it was her duty to bury her brother as it is the order of gods and nature and she says “this crime is holy” (Fitzgerald; Fitts 3) on the basis that natural law obliged her to do so even if it is against the order of the king who is maker of human laws (positive laws), she claims that this obligation is upon her shoulders based on the divine law to which the gods demand full obedience and secondly probably she stood against the decree because she wanted to make reform at least indirectly in the way of making rules in Thebes as Sophocles made her say “ how dreadful it is when the right judge judges wrong” (Fitzgerald; Fitts10). Minow argues that “the legal system itself needs people who are willing to break the law for political reasons” so that the system may change itself for survival (Minow 730).

3 Underworld. 4 A city in ancient Greece, especially as considered in its ideal form for philosophical purposes.

It is obvious that as Hegal has pointed out that both Antigone and Creon are stuck to one viewpoints and that “no one ever sees the other’s point of view” both of them show a kind if one sidedness (Hegal 22), and both of them according to their ideas are defending the right side as Creon quotes some sayings from Zeus that it is his right to make laws and it is the citizens duty to obey them on the other side Antigone constantly refers to Hades, the ruler of underworld. Both of these two characters at the end of tragedy acknowledge their faults, Creon when he suffers the tragic loss of his son and wife and Antigone “after her incarceration by Creon acknowledges that her great suffering proves her error”. In the play civil disobedience is represented as the rising tension between Antigone and Creon, both of them are defending one side and disobeying the other, some consider Creon as a civil disobedient as he defends his right to rule and not considering natural law as Charles Maurras calls him, he is a “rebel” that “violates natural law requiring burial of the dead” (Steiner 100). but the true disobedient is Antigone who is holding a belief in natural law and who emphasizes on the importance of family ties over the city laws, it is she who is challenging one big authority and maybe even trying to impose the kind of reform she seeks even by her death. (Tiefenbrun 41). Her actions are in total contrast with that of her uncles, her actions are non-violent, public and moral, she seeks to protest against Creon’s law, and accepts her punishment, she is totally fascinated by the death, and constantly refers to the underworld and hades but it does not mean that she loves dying or even she wants to join her brother but it is because she like all “ tragic heroines is willing to die with honor” and her actions “of civil disobedience accords her that honor” (Tifenbrun 38). Antigone’s actions prove to be positive and negative at the same time side by side, Tifenfrun argues; her actions are not the result of free choice but that of fate as she is Oedipus’ daughter and “cause tragedy for Creon and his family” but at the same time her acts proved to be very effective. It is her suffering that enlightens Creon and this enlightenment gives an insight to Creon that directly leads to reforming “the flawed legal system” (Tifenbrun 41). Some other scholars like Robin West argue that “Antigone does not commit the act for the purpose of reforming the legal system but merely to follow her tragic fate” (West 149).

IV.

Natural Law Discussions around the concept of natural law can be traced back to the ancient times, Aristotle in his Rhetorics argues that the natural law obliges us to ignore certain and particular perceptions of Positive law in certain circumstances, It was upon this that Antigone based “her well known response to Creon’s decree (Burns 549), as tony burns adds, Aristotle believed that Antigone is well aware that she is not speaking if the ordinary laws which are the traditional form of law but she is siding with a kind of law that individual’s conscious made her to do in a particular situation (Burns 550). It must be mentioned that, the first scholar who argues that Antigone based her argument upon the law of nature that is obliged to her is Aristotle, it is Aristotle who first claims that the argument between these two characters is in fact the symbolic representation of the tension and conflict between Natural Law and Positive Law in the society of Thebes in particular and generally human society. To justify her acts, Sophocles argues that Antigone’s act of disobedience is in fact her obeying the rules of nature, “it

was just by nature” so as the natural law orders this, she is oblige to obey the laws of nature, despite the fact that the Positive law of city forbids it (Konx 18). Both of these characters symbolically represent the tension between the natural law which is unwritten and the human law (Burns 550), this discussion can be traced back as far as Sophocles and other ancient moralists and others who either sided with Divine unwritten laws or the laws that rulers make. So based on this interpretation, she tried to bury her brother against the laws that her uncle imposes (positive laws), she believed that the laws of nature are everlasting and have been made by gods so it is possible to disobey the orders that rule makers impose if those rules are against the natural law and conscious. As Burns puts it, each and every one of us should and must respect laws which are in accord with a universally divine system of laws, (Burns 551) these laws are not particularly made by divine in particular sense but are principles that human conscious accepts and maybe in particular situations these laws be in contrast with the laws that human rule makers impose upon society, and it would be duty of a citizen to follow the laws that are consciously right.

V.

Conclusion Antigone rose against tyrannical laws of society imposed upon it particularly by his uncle, and in general by all brutal rule makers, partly because he was siding with Natural Law and obliged to obey the rules that before even the human rules makers existed, her actions caused existence of a kind of insight in Creon and indirectly caused reform in the society. It must be mentioned that as Klemens suggests; that tradition is not ethical, and neither the law is always all just, our yesterday’s laws are often conflict with tomorrow’s laws (Klemens 105). But it must be pointed that Antigone stood against unjust law and unconsciously made reform, reform is the byproduct of Antigone’s legal reform and Antigone’s civil disobedience which is defined as an action committed for moral purpose of upholding a belief in a higher good in the society (Tienfenbrun 42) in addition it must be said that these kinds of uprisings will not result in anarchy but in reform.

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