LAWS2227 : Law in Action
Document Summary
Key!elements!of!liberalism: liberty, negative*liberty, origin!european!thinkers!1600!onwards! !e. g. !hobbes,!locke,!rousseau, dominant!political!philosophy!in!most!modern!western!countries, contemporary!liberalism!many!forms, people!are!by!nature!free, owe!no!obligations! Fairness!or!procedural!justice,!equality!of!treatment!and!respect!for! individual!rights: uncertainty!from!whose!standpoint!justice!is!to!be!measured, substantiative!conceptions!of!justice:, justice!as!equality, like!cases!should!be!treated!alike, justice!as!desert, but! !crimes!often!committed!when!person!not!competent, entitlement!or!rights, things!are!just!only!if!they!result!in!compensating!benefits!for!everyone, rights*a. View!that!rights!are!socially!or!institutionally!constructed!rather!than! naturally!or!divinely!derived! !often!associated!with!strand!of!liberalism! (utilitarianism): rights!exist, !deontological!liberals, the!right!over!the!good, !teleological, a!goal!to!be!aimed!at, acts!and!institutions!must!be!judged!on!their!effect!on!human!welfare, greatest!happiness!to!the!greatest!number, one!for!all!or!all!for!one, should!you!shoot!down!hijacked!plane!if!it!saved!more!lives, codification!of!laws, reflects!egalitarianism! !everyone"s!interest!equal, how!can!pleasure!and!pain!be!quantified, utilitarianism*, stress*authenticity*and*ownership*of*personal*choices*and*respect*for*privacy, certain*interests*paramount*(personal*autonomy,*property)*, justice, equality, rights, utilitarianism, negative!liberty, positive!liberty!and!republicanism, individualism, liberalism!and!the!protection!of!morals, liberty, engage*in*sadomasochism* Interventions!cannot!be!squared!with!liberalism: all!about!consent, if!consensual!then!should!not!interfere, !sexual!freedom!must!be!a!core!commitment!for!social!liberals, effect!of!sexual!arousal!on!decision!making!in!the!moment!cannot!of!itself! constitute!a!reason!for!invalidating!such!consents, unless!the!circumstances!involve!coercion,!intoxication!or!deception!as! to!the!nature!of!the!act!(i. e. !falls!under!the!harm!principle),!the!agents! regret!is!only!in!regards!to!what!he/she!chose!to!do, public/private!divide:, that!which!is!private!that!is!beyond!the!scope!of!the!state, the!public!is!in!the!domain!of!the!law, spheres!of!regulation! !bit!of!overlap!e. g. !marriage, shouldn"t!be!regulated, the!relief!of!distress!emanating!from!some!disorder!is!essential!to! legitimate!the!removal!of!a!healthy!limb, individuals!should!be!at!liberty!to!pursue!whatever!they!feel!is!good!for! them, have*a*healthy*limb*amputated, play*russian*roulette* (e)*fight*in*gladiatorial*combat*to*the*death, liberty!and!protection!of!morals, unless!the!circumstances!involve!coercion,!intoxication!or!deception!as! to!the!nature!of!the!act,!the!agents!regret!is!only!in!regards!to!what! he/she!chose!to!do , but! !what!about!negative!liberty!and!the!harm!principle! (john!stuart! !civil!powers!of!detention! under!mental!health!legislation!may!be!entirely!in!point: liberalism!makes!a!big!deal!about!being!a!competent!consenting! adult!, coercive!intervention!may!prove!entirely!beneficent, but!shouldn"t!interfere!on!basis!that!person!should!choose!own!course!of! life?!!i. Individuals!should!be!at!liberty!to!pursue!whatever!they!feel!is! good!for!them: if!gladiators!have!given!an!informed!consent!to!their!participation,!the! consent!negates!a!finding!of!any!wrong!done!to!the!gladiators!even!in!the! event!of!death!or!serious!bodily!harm, the!evil! free_ floats", but!similarly! !harm!principle!applies, liberalism!provides!an!underlying!justification!and!for!the!scope!of!the!authority! for!law! Judge!law!in!terms!of!how!well!it!lives!up!to!these!ideals: liberalism!places!limits!on!legitimate!scope!of!law:, harm!principle, morality, public/private!divide, john!stuart!mill, only!purpose!which!power!can!be!rightfully!exercised!against! another!against!his!will,!is!to!prevent!harm!to!others, his!good,!is!not!a!sufficient!warrant, but!what!constitutes!harm, morals!are!a!basis!for!criminalisation, society!means!a!community!of!ideals, morality:*lord*patrick*devlin* Law!and!protection!of!morality!and!whose!morality!should!be!protected! (b)*commit*suicide: harm*principle:, morality:*hla*hart, held!together!by!invisible!bonds!on!common!thought, immorality!attacks!society, society!may!use!the!law!to!preserve!morality, need!moral!norms!of!society!in!order!to!keep!social!order!from! unraveling, this!is!legitimate!because:, more!chance!to!be!able!to!cause!harm!to!others, e. g. !if!you!are!free!to!meet!with!other!terrorists!then! you"re!more!likely!to!commit!a!terrorist!attack: terrorism!and!harm!=!immoral!thus!basis!of! protection!of!morality, attacked!devlin"s!argument, individual!liberty! !key!overarching!theme!law!should!protect, a!right!to!be!protected!from!the!distress!which!is!inseparable!from!the! bare!knowledge!that!others!are!acting!in!ways!you!think!wrong,!cannot!be! acknowledges!by!anyone!who!recognised!individual!liberty, not!all!immorality! weakens"!society, morality"!of!a!society!can!change!over!time, on!this!topic! !govt. /law!can!encourage!morality! (using! terrorisms!example)!away!from!that!belief, but!then!its!contradictory!to!liberalism!as!hart!suggest! people!are!allowed!to!think!what!they!think!, not!everyone!has!shared!ideas!about!ethics, liberal!response, that!which!is!private!that!is!beyond!the!scope!of!the!state, the!public!is!in!the!domain!of!the!law, spheres!of!regulation! !bit!of!overlap!e. g. !marriage, everyone!is!subject!to!the!law, no!arbitrary!use!of!power, govt.
