PHL271H1 Midterm: In-Class Test 1 study notes
Document Summary
Legal positivism claims that there is a crucial distinction between laws and morals: a rule can violate morals but can still be law (ex. There can also be immoral actions that are not illegal (ex. Legal positivism only affirms the difference between laws and morals in certain cases: however there are still occasions where laws and morals intersect. Legal rules change with society"s moral standards, just as moral standards can be influenced by the law (historically, laws and morals can influence each other) Why be a positivist? (2 problems with viewing morality and law as the same: reactionary: just because something is a law then it must be moral. Problem: evil laws would be allowed: anarchist: the law isn"t moral, therefore is does not need to be regarded as law. They cannot freely do whatever they please: command theory mistakes obligatory force for force of compulsion and fails to distinguish different types of legal rules (they"re all just commands)