Oxford University Press (1992)
Abstract |
Is the nature of law to be formal procedure or to embody substantive value? This work deals with the traditional conflict in legal philosophy between positivistic and anti-positivistic theories of law. It examines the conflict with respect to seven central issues in legal philosophy--law as a reason for action, law and authority, the internal point of view to law, the acceptance of law, discretion and principle, interpretation and semantics, and law and the common good. This work argues that although this conflict cannot be resolved, the true nature of law is revealed--not obscured--by this perennial situation.
|
Keywords | Legal positivism Natural law Law Philosophy |
Categories | (categorize this paper) |
Buy this book | $119.83 new Amazon page |
Call number | K331.S55 1992 |
ISBN(s) | 0198257198 9780198257196 |
DOI | 10.1086/293689 |
Options |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Download options

Introduction
This chapter first sets out the purpose of the book, which is to present in a different light the nature and achievements of traditional legal theory. If we are able to gain a better view of what is happening in traditional analytical jurisprudence, then we shall just by the completion of ... see more
Sophisticated Positivism
This chapter lays out sophisticated positivism as the development of lines of thought which began in simple positivism. Some of the claims of sophisticated positivism are that: (1) the law is a system of exclusionary reasons for action – it is not simply a system of good first-order reason... see more
Reasons for Action
The thought behind Raz's notion of ‘exclusionary reason’ in relation to law can be put more generally. Instrumental rationality represents practical reasoning as homogeneous. One ought always, all things considered, to do whatever one ought to do on the balance of reasons. Any reason is in... see more
Law and Authority
This chapter argues that to account properly for the nature of law, one must see that the law by nature ‘claims authority’ and does not merely ‘exercise sheer power’, because by nature law appeals specifically to our sense that serving the ends of justice is genuinely a reason for action, ... see more
The Point of View of Legal Theory
This chapter argues that legal theory not only need not, but also should not, be committed to the availability of the external point of view for itself. Sophisticated positivism, by showing us clearly why it is a mistake to take the external point of view of the ‘bad man’ as dispositive of... see more
The Acceptance of Law
Sophisticated positivism argued two main theses about the acceptance of law. The first is that the minimum necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of a legal system are satisfied in the case where no one has the internal point of view towards the primary rules of the system, ... see more
References found in this work BETA
No references found.
Citations of this work BETA
The Integrity Capacity Construct and Moral Progress in Business.Joseph A. Petrick & John F. Quinn - 2000 - Journal of Business Ethics 23 (1):3 - 18.
Practical‐Political Jurisprudence and the Dual Nature of Law.Sarah Nason - 2013 - Ratio Juris 26 (3):430-455.
Legal Indeterminacy and Constitutional Interpretation.José Juan Moreso - 1998 - Dordrecht, Netherland: Springer.
Continental Normativism and Its British Counterpart: How Different Are They?Stanley L. Paulson - 1993 - Ratio Juris 6 (3):227-244.
View all 9 citations / Add more citations
Similar books and articles
Law as Rule and Principle: Problems of Legal Philosophy.Theodore M. Benditt - 1978 - Stanford University Press.
The Autonomy of Law: Essays on Legal Positivism.Robert P. George (ed.) - 1996 - Oxford University Press.
On Thomas Hobbes's Fallible Natural Law Theory.Michael Cuffaro - 2011 - History of Philosophy Quarterly 28 (2):175-190.
Between Natural Law and Legal Positivism: Dworkin and Hegel on Legal Theory.Thom Brooks - 2007 - Georgia State University Law Review 23 (3):513-60.
Readings in the Philosophy of Law.John Arthur & William H. Shaw (eds.) - 1993 - Pearson Prentice Hall.
Analytics
Added to PP index
2009-01-28
Total views
56 ( #204,793 of 2,519,270 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
1 ( #407,861 of 2,519,270 )
2009-01-28
Total views
56 ( #204,793 of 2,519,270 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
1 ( #407,861 of 2,519,270 )
How can I increase my downloads?
Downloads