PHIL327 Lecture 1: Philosophy of Law (Lecture One)
5 Mar 2018
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Eternal law: comprised of laws that govern the nature of an eternal universe; includes the moral law and the law of nature; an unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law. La(cid:449)s that (cid:373)a(cid:455) see(cid:373) positi(cid:448)e o(cid:396) (cid:374)e(cid:272)essa(cid:396)(cid:455) that go agai(cid:374)st the (cid:858)(cid:396)ules(cid:859) of positi(cid:448)e la(cid:449) a(cid:396)e not true laws. Example: stealing to survive; revolting against a tyrant: aquinas is, in many ways, the classic expression of so-called natural law theory, which is thought to be in contrast with legal positivism. Legal positivism: the set of rules created and enforced by the sovereign. Law created for no particular reason (not based on morals, ethics and etcetera) Legal rules are valid, not because they are rooted in moral or natural law, but because they are enacted by legitimate authority and are accepted by the society as such. Structure of positive law: all sources of law stem from a constitution of sorts.
