CRIM 338 Study Guide - Spring 2019, Comprehensive Final Exam Notes - Legal Positivism, Positivism, Natural Law
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30 Mar 2019
School
Department
Course
Professor
CRIM 338
CRIM 338 - Lecture 1 - Introduction
Introduction
● Not course on substantive law
● Interested in question
○ “What is the thing called law?”
Prof Info
● Iryna Ponomarenko
● iponomar@sfu.ca
Direction of Course
● Classical legal theories
○ Introductory lecture
○ Classical legal positivism
○ Modern legal positivism
○ Hart v Fuller Debate & classical natural law theory
○ Modern natural law theory & Hart v Devlin debate
● Modern legal theories
○ Dworkin’s Interpretivism
○ Legal realism
○ Critical legal theory
Regina v Dudley & Stephens (1884)
● Had almost no food & suddenly no fresh water
○ By now, cabin boy, Parker, is lying in corner of lifeboard, very sick due to drinking
sea water & appears to be dying
● On 19th day, Dudley, the captain, suggests that crew draws laws deciding who would
sacrifice themselves to save the others
○ Brooks refuses, but it is unknown why
● Captain approaches Stephens saying that boy has to be killed
○ Stephens offers prayer & kills boy, consume roughly half of the boy
● Dudley & Stephens admit they killed the boy, but say that they had to do so in order to
survive
“No Vehicles in the Park”
● E.g. Stanley Park w/ sign saying “no vehicles in the park”
○ If not motorized, may be allowed in park
■ Due to power & speed behind vehicle
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● If large garbage trucks/service vehicles allowed in, may not appear to be an issue but
people may think “if they can do it, why can’t I?”
● Important - depends on assumptions we make
○ E.g. if we think purpose for law was to preserve ecological balance of park, we
will get one answer, if we think it is to allow ppl to enjoy park more, answer will be
diff
● Law is open-ended
3 Major Methods in Normative Ethics (“What’s the Right Thing to Do?”)
● Consequentialist reasoning
○ Goodness of action can be determined by consequences of action
○ Evaluate likely consequences of each possible action
● Categorical/deontological reasoning (fixed rules)
○ You can/can’t/must/mustn’t do X, Y & Z
● Virtue ethics (virtues)
○ Ethical behaviour depends on virtue that one’s character embodies
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find more resources at oneclass.com