[547] LECTURE XLII, April 17, 1956 QN: Are there any immutable principles which should always govern man's action in society, or are there just artificial rules of repression created by the will of the times? Do you accept any of the concepts of natural law^a advanced by political powers---or something like that? You gaveimpressions [sic.] of the sex drive, one example of the repressions resulting from artificial divine or national laws. Please give additional examples. PT: Now who has asked this question? Would you be so good to formulate it in one or two words? QN: There are two questions. The first is: do you accept any of the natural-law concepts advanced by political theorists? You seem to suggest that any of these ideas of an immutable, eternal, moral order existing outside of man are mainly artificial creations of the individual times. These merely repress man's drives.

PT: Yes, now let's first stick to this question. You ask me something which I discussed, not last hour, but the week before, and I don't know whether you attended when I gave this scheme: love^b as the ultimate principle, which is universal and by natural law, because it belongs to the nature of man. Then this third level, the concrete situation^c, of ethical decision, here and now, in this irrepeatable unique situation, which happens in this moment. Then between this, the formulation of rules and laws which are on the one hand hanging on the ultimate principle, and on the other hand are gained by experiences on the basis of the concrete situation in the development of mankind. We called this the middle axioms, or the rules of wisdom^d. The first was love; the third was the

kairos, the unique moment in time; and the middle was wisdom. And the wisdom is the unity of something immovable---which we defined as love---and on the other hand, the always changing elements of the concrete situation. So my theory of the natural law is not identical with that of the Roman Catholic Church, where special definite contents are identified with the eternal natural law---that's