...| What is the Nature of Law | Ian ToughS211177 | | | | | WHAT IS THE NATURE OF LAW 1 What is the nature of Law? What is the Law? Does humanity have any regard for laws?Do all societies have the same laws? The answer to these questions, are thought to have two competing answers. The classical answer is provided by natural law theory, which is frequently characterized as asserting that there is an essential relationship between law and morality or justice. The modern answer is provided by legal positivism, which, as developed by John Austin, asserted that law is the command of the sovereign backed by the threat of punishment. Arguments over the nature of law focus on a revised set of positions. Legal positivism is represented by analytic legal positivists, like H.L.A. Hart, Joseph Raz, and Jules Coleman. The natural law tradition is defended by John Finnis. And a new positition,interpretivism is represented by Ronald Dworkin. The "What is law?" question has been approached by contemporary legal philosophers who have over many decades attempted to define the term. For example, the sociological tradition includes important work on the nature of law by Max Weber and Niklas Luhmann. . Natural law theory is strongly associated with classical and medieval thought, especially Aristotle, Roman jurisprudence, and St. Thomas Aquinas. There are several challenges associated...
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...ANALYTICAL JURISPRUDENCE (LEGAL POSITIVISM) Synopsis: (i) Socio-economic and historical context on which it arose. (ii) Positivism in Philosophy – the important founder Augustine Cômte. (iii) Its expression in Law – Analytical Legal Positivism. (a) Different aspects of Legal Positivism (b) John Austin (c) Neo-Positivist Trends (aa) Hart’s Concept (bb) Linguistic Trend (iv) Kelsen’s Pure Theory of Law (v) General Appraisal and Critique (1) Socio-economic and historical context Just before 1848 Revolution, Marx says in the development of Bourgeois class there are 2 phases to distinguish: (i) One which constitutes support Absolute Monarchy (ii) The one which constitutes itself as class, overthrows Feudalism and it establishes its own political rule (Bourgeois Rule) The 1st phase lasted for 3 centuries from 16th C – 18th C The 2nd phase roughly from 1780’s to 1840’s. Actually 1789-1848 is called the Ag of Revolution. During the 1st phase, when it is still constituting itself – their philosophical spokesmen are found in NL school – i.e. Hobbes, Locke etc. – Notion of Justice and equality show the core they argue for change against status quo. The philosophy is metaphysical but revolutionary because it is fighting for change against the status quo. 2nd Phase: The triumph/victory of the Bourgeoisie. In this phase – consolidation of the Bourgeoisie clan at the political level - this found expression in the French Revolution 1789...
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...Situation Ethics is a teleological theory, which evaluates certain acts in light of their situational context. It is not a universal law, but it is the law of agape. The ethical theory is based on the main Christian duty to, ‘love thy neighbor as thyself’; therefore, love is the prerogative as it’s the only aspect that is intrinsically good. Many debates have been developed around the argument whether ‘Situation Ethics is always practical’. According to Joseph Fletcher, ‘Situation Ethics is always practical’. The philosopher developed the teleological theory of Situation Ethics according to the teachings of Jesus Christ, a being who lived his life according to how God demands mankind to live. Within The New Testament, Jesus implies that we do not have to follow a set of rules and laws, especially when love is demanded. This can be seen within the example Jesus set, when The Son of God defended his friends for working on the Sabbath day. The New Testament highlights, Jesus taught his followers that all Christian actions and decisions should be seen in the light of love. Therefore, this supports Fletcher’s claim that ‘Situation Ethics is always practical’, as he developed a series of rule breaking principles according to Jesus’ teachings, which would bring about the most loving outcome, and serves the majority according to those in loves need. An example of this is Fletcher’s principle that, ‘only one thing is intrinsically good; namely love – nothing else’. This supports...
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...BIOGRAPHY OF JOHN STUART MILL Born in Pentonville, a suburb of London, in 1806, John Stuart Mill was one of the leading philosophical radicals who aimed to further the utilitarian philosophy of Jeremy Bentham. At the age of three he began to learn Greek and by the time he was eight he was learning Latin. By the age of fourteen he had done extensive work in logic and mathematics mastering the basics of economic theory. His father James Mill aimed to make John Stuart Mill a leader in views of the philosophical radicals. At fifteen John Stuart Mill undertook the study of Bentham’s research on the theory of legal evidence. This undertaking influenced him making this his life-long goal of reforming the world in the interest of human well-being. At eighteen he spent much time and effort editing manuscripts. Guided by his father he threw himself into the work of the philosophical radicals beginning his career. In 1823 he began working with his father. He rose in the ranks quickly and eventually took his father’s position as Chief Examiner in the East Indian Company. In 1826 John Stuart Mill went through a deep depression. He felt as though his intellect had been educated his feelings had not. He began to read poetry and met Gustave d’Eichtahl in 1828 pulling him out of the depression. He was introduced to the works of Auguste Comte and Jon Sterling who were disciples of Coleridge. (Wilson 2007) Through these great thinkers Mill came to appreciate social and cultural...
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...today’s global business environment any individuals and groups may be business’s stakeholders (Davey, 2015). This sparks the debate about whether or not the natural environment can be identifiable as a stakeholder. In the ethics in practice case ‘Are Plants and Flowers Stakeholders? Do they have rights?’ this topic is highlighted. The following discussion will review the idea of the environment as a primary stakeholder taking into account the stakeholder identification framework of Mitchell et al. (1997), suggesting that stakeholders have a mixture of legitimacy, power and urgency(Davey, 2015). In keeping up with the growing concern for sustainability many argue that the natural environment should be considered among important stakeholders (Davey, 2015). Historically the natural environment has often been neglected because it has never had a spokesperson(Davey, 2015). However as a concern for the environment (particularly global warming) grows so does the number of environmental groups. Groups such as Greenpeace are regarded as indirect stakeholders and as a result many organisations fail to fully incorporate their concerns into their business(Davey, 2015). As an attempt to make the wellbeing of the natural environment a priority Ecuador has passed a new law that recognises ecosystem rights as enforceable in the eyes of the law(Davey, 2015). The document argued that vegetation has an inherent value...
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...State Power. But the outbreak was the assassination of the Liberal presidential candidate Jorge Eliecer Gaitán. Gaitán was the leader of poor agricultural producers and represented the interests, created jobs and economic opportunities for them to take advantage (Downing,1). But since the death of Gaitán, farmers lose their representation in politics and its future had been vanished. Because of the economic problems and tensions between liberals and conservatives, Colombia entered a period called "La Violencia " (The Violence) which lasted from 1948 to 1960 until they reached an agreement between liberals and conservatives. In this period of violence, diverse groups outside the law as the National Liberation Army (ELN), comprised of university students inspired by the Cuban revolution and Che Guevara theory, which had been present in the workers' struggle. Another group was formed the April 19 movement (M -19), was an urban movement that represents...
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...accredited with founding Liberalism, he argued that “each man has a natural right to life, liberty and property” while adding that governments “must not violate these rights based on the social contract”. Revolutions such as the Glorious Revolution in the UK or the French revolution used liberalist ideas to justify overthrowing what they considered to be tyrannical governments. The main core themes of liberalism are individualism, freedom, justice, tolerance and reason. Individualism is the social theory favouring freedom of action for individuals over collective or state control. In classical liberalism it is valued as one of the most important core themes of liberalism. Classical liberals believe in egoistical individualism, this is to say that they believe humans to be ‘rationally self-interested’ creatures. This therefore means that society should be considered as atomistic; that it is composed of a lot of individuals rather than it being one whole. Classical liberals also believe in negative freedom. This means that they believe in allowing people to be free be simply leaving them alone, which opposes positive freedom in which the government enables people to be free by giving them the means to do so. A third belief that liberals have regarding the individual is that the state is regarded as a ‘necessary evil’. This means that classical liberals believe the state should only exist in order to lay down the law and keep order, every other form of intervention should be kept...
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...WRITTEN REPORT ON PHILIOPHY OF TEACHING SCIENCE By: Mr. Irjo M. Goopio Introduction: What makes a scientist different from a philosopher? A Scientist observes what happens. He manipulates variables whenever possible in order to observe what happens under controlled circumstances. He is able to discover and explain the laws of nature which lead them to formulate theories. A Philosopher does none of the above-mentioned activities. Instead he asks himself questions like: “what is the law of nature?” “What is a scientific theory?” He explains the role of deduction in science. Philosophy is unlike science, pure verbal, analytical, and reflective. Then how can a scientist be a philosopher? Discussion: * What is philosophy? * Remote from the usual human interest and quite beyond normal comprehension. * Extremely complex intellectual activity. * A form of Inquiry – a process of analysis, criticism, interpretation and speculation. (Singer – 1990) * The search for the ultimate, conducted by reason, in order to satisfy man’s curiosity about himself and the universe. * Why study philosophy? * Makes a man think – think about the basic foundations of: * His beliefs * Outlook in life * His knowledge * It is from our human needs and immediate concerns * What is philosophy of science? * Set forth principles more basic and comprehensive than the conclusions of individual sciences. *...
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...John Locke - Biography John Locke (1632-1704) John Locke was born on August 29, 1632, in Warington, a village in Somerset, England. In 1646 he went to Westminster school, and in 1652 to Christ Church in Oxford. In 1659 he was elected to a senior studentship, and tutored at the college for a number of years. Still, contrary to the curriculum, he complained that he would rather be studying Descartes than Aristotle. In 1666 he declined an offer of preferment, although he thought at one time of taking up clerical work. In 1668 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society, and in 1674 he finally graduated as a bachelor of medicine. In 1675 he was appointed to a medical studentship at the college. He owned a home in Oxford until 1684, until his studentship was taken from him by royal mandate. Locke's mentor was Robert Boyle, the leader of the Oxford scientific group. Boyle's mechanical philosophy saw the world as reducible to matter in motion. Locke learned about atomism and took the terms "primary and secondary qualities" from Boyle. Both Boyle and Locke, along with Newton, were members of the English Royal Society. Locke became friends with Newton in 1688 after he had studied Newton's Principia Mathematica Philosophiae Naturalis. It was Locke's work with the Oxford scientists that gave him a critical perspective when reading Descartes. Locke admired Descartes as an alternative to the Aristotelianism dominant at Oxford. Descartes' "way of ideas" was a major influence on Locke's...
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...Metaethics Metaethics is a branch of analytic philosophy that explores the status, foundations, and scope of moral values, properties, and words. Whereas the fields of applied ethics and normative theoryfocus on what is moral, metaethics focuses on what morality itself is. Just as two people may disagree about the ethics of, for example, physician-assisted suicide, while nonetheless agreeing at the more abstract level of a general normative theory such as Utilitarianism, so too may people who disagree at the level of a general normative theory nonetheless agree about the fundamental existence and status of morality itself, or vice versa. In this way, metaethics may be thought of as a highly abstract way of thinking philosophically about morality. For this reason, metaethics is also occasionally referred to as “second-order” moral theorizing, to distinguish it from the “first-order” level of normative theory. Metaethical positions may be divided according to how they respond to questions such as the following: * Ÿ What exactly are people doing when they use moral words such as “good” and “right”? * Ÿ What precisely is a moral value in the first place, and are such values similar to other familiar sorts of entities, such as objects and properties? * Ÿ Where do moral values come from—what is their source and foundation? * Ÿ Are some things morally right or wrong for all people at all times, or does morality instead vary from person to person, context to context...
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...GCE Religious Studies Advanced GCE Unit G582: Religious Ethics Mark Scheme for January 2011 Oxford Cambridge and RSA Examinations OCR (Oxford Cambridge and RSA) is a leading UK awarding body, providing a wide range of qualifications to meet the needs of pupils of all ages and abilities. OCR qualifications include AS/A Levels, Diplomas, GCSEs, OCR Nationals, Functional Skills, Key Skills, Entry Level qualifications, NVQs and vocational qualifications in areas such as IT, business, languages, teaching/training, administration and secretarial skills. It is also responsible for developing new specifications to meet national requirements and the needs of students and teachers. OCR is a not-for-profit organisation; any surplus made is invested back into the establishment to help towards the development of qualifications and support which keep pace with the changing needs of today’s society. This mark scheme is published as an aid to teachers and students, to indicate the requirements of the examination. It shows the basis on which marks were awarded by Examiners. It does not indicate the details of the discussions which took place at an Examiners’ meeting before marking commenced. All Examiners are instructed that alternative correct answers and unexpected approaches in candidates’ scripts must be given marks that fairly reflect the relevant knowledge and skills demonstrated. Mark schemes should be read in conjunction with the published question papers and the Report on...
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...original ideas of liberalism as their new beliefs embrace collectivism instead of individualism. However, others argue that although both modern and classical liberals diverge on many areas, such as freedom, it is still said that modern liberals have a fundamental foundation of caring for the individual. Firstly, classical liberals are seen as extremely egotistical and 'utility maximisers' as they believe in self-interest; believing all humans have the natural ability to decide the rightness of a situation to make the outcome more pleasurable, i.e. to maximise pleasure and minimise pain. As liberalism promotes self interest, it stongly opposes the idea of paternalistic conservatism, meaning no one can judge another's degree or quality of happiness. Secondly, classical liberals also promote negative freedom, believing that there should be no intervention from any state or instituion which can restrict the individual externally. They believe all citizens under a state should be totally equal, influencing enforcement of the Rule of Law. John Locke, a famous enlightenment thinker and profoundly titled 'The Father of Classical Liberalism' stated that the state should be seen as a 'nightwatchman', i.e. to be as minimal as possible and only take jurisdiction in areas such as property, liberty and life. Usually the state is seen as an opressor: taking from the poor and giving to the rich, so classical liberals believe that humans are naturally cooperative and order can be maintained through...
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...Review “Second Treatise of Government” in Chapter 6. Please respond to the following: John Locke’s Two Treatises of Government were written to defend armed resistance to the English king by English subjects in the years preceding the Whig revolution, the Glorious Revolution of 1689 (as it’s called). Involved in plots, Locke fled from England to Holland in 1683 and stayed there until 1689. The First Treatise is an attack on the theory of absolute monarchy defended by Sir Robert Filmer. The Filmer theory traces the rights of the monarch to the establishment of monarchical power in Adam (the first man of the Bible) by God. This absolute authority to rule then gets passed along down to the present king of England. So the king is answerable only to God and the subjects are obligated to obey the king’s commands come what may, says Filmer. * Explain what, according to Locke, gives a person their right to property. As stated in the textbook, " everyman has a property in his own Person. This nobody has any right to but himself. The labor of his body, and the work of his hands, we may say, are properly his. Whatsoever then he removes out of the state that nature hath provided, and left it in, he hath mixed his labor with, and joined to it something that is his own, and thereby makes it his property. It being by him removed from the common state nature placed it in, it hath by this labor something annexed to it, that excludes the common right of other men" (p.209, Halbert...
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...fact are contingent, empirical truths relating to or derived by reasoning from observed facts (inductive) (Davidson, 91). Both kinds of truth must have a sufficient reason. Truths of reason have their sufficient reason in being opposed to the contradictoriness and logical inconsistency of propositions which deny them (Davidson, 93). Truths of fact have their sufficient reason in being more perfect than propositions which deny them. The Priori on pre-established harmony in so far as such harmony demands an author, and this is God. The posteriori explains everything that exists must have sufficient reason for existing, and this reason is God. (Davidson, 96) Leibniz used the Monads to expedite his theory of God’s instilled harmony. His best known contribution to metaphysics is his theory of monads, as exposited in Monadologie (Monads). Monads are to the metaphysical realm what atoms are to the physical/phenomenal. They can also be compared to the corpuscles of the Mechanical Philosophy of René Descartes and others...
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...PHI 2301-01 Fall 2015 PHI 2301-01 Fall 2015 Atar Derj Critically evaluate Plato’s defense of women’s political equality with men. Atar Derj Critically evaluate Plato’s defense of women’s political equality with men. Women’s Political Equality with Men Women’s Political Equality with Men Plato’s defence of women’s political equality with men What is “Equality”? Equality is very hard to define since people disagree on its real meaning, as stated Dworkin: “People who praise it or disparage it disagree about what they are praising or disparaging” (2000, p. 2). So before going into the argumentation about women’s political equality with men, the term equality should be defined first to avoid any misconception. Equality means the correspondence between persons or circumstances which have the same qualities in at least one feature. However, equality is different from the term similarity that refers to the approximate correspondence. Thus, when they say men are equal, it doesn’t mean that they are identical or the same, but it rather mean that they are similar in some points. When a judgment of equality is made, it is more about...
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