SOCL 4471 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Instrumentalism, Speedstep, Distributive Justice
Document Summary
If the law was not higher than society, the state would be in ruin. Philosophers argue where it comes from inspirationally, but has sociologists we argue it is a man-made social structure it is made up by people to control behavior and provide outlines to social norms. Law as a social institution: natural law law is tied to a set of moral standards that are fundamental to life. What is the law: social function of law. Social control: the law helps maintain social order (the one people usually think about often seen as a empowering or limiting thing) Dispute settlement: the law resolves disputes between people (if a tree falls on your fence line, sue your neighbor) O(cid:272)ial (cid:272)ha(cid:374)ge: the la(cid:449) (cid:272)a(cid:374) so(cid:373)eti(cid:373)es atte(cid:373)pt to shift so(cid:272)iet(cid:455)"s (cid:271)eha(cid:448)io(cid:396) (cid:894)d(cid:396)ug laws, civil rights, gay marriage) As an aspirational thing broader than just the law. Law is not a thing in the real world that can be described with any precision.
