CRIM 338 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Nuremberg Trials, Neo-Kantianism, Legal Positivism
Document Summary
For bentham, assertion that human law derives validity from natural law - was means of fending off sort of criticism of law that he made. Reply of natural lawyers is that when we make statement about law, we are normally also making statement about morality. Question of what law is inextricably bound up w/ moral considerations. Second development generally associated w/ decline of natural law - proposition that in moral reasoning there can be no rational solutions. We cannot objectively know what is right/wrong. David hume - remarked that moralists seek to derive ought from is - we cannot conclude that law should assume particular form merely b/c certain state of affairs exists in nature. Broadly, 2 principal developments contributed to decline. Facts about world/human nature cannot be used to determine what ought to be done/not done. Number of factors have contributed to reawakening of natural law theory in 20th century.