Philosophy of Law
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Philosophy of Law Introduction
Philosophy of law is concerned with questions about the nature of law and concepts that structure law. It also deals with questions regarding the authority of the law and the role of law in society. Philosophy of law can be divided in several categories, such as analytical jurisprudence, normative jurisprudence, critical theories of law, sociological jurisprudence, theories of justice, natural law, legal positivism, and legal realism. The notions legal theory and jurisprudence are often used as a synonym for philosophy of law or its sub-disciplines. This Research Guide is intended as a starting point for research on Philosophy of Law. It provides the basic materials available in the Peace Palace Library, both in print and electronic format. Handbooks, leading articles, bibliographies, periodicals, serial publications and documents of interest are presented in the Selective Bibliography section. Links to the PPL Catalogue are inserted. The Library's classification index code 18. Philosophy of Law and Natural Law and subject heading (keyword) Philosophy of Law are instrumental for searching through the Catalogue. Special attention is given to our subscriptions on databases, e-journals, e-books and other electronic resources. Finally, this Research Guide features links to relevant websites and other online resources of particular interest.
What Is a Philosophy of Law?
A philosophy of law is the underlying analysis behind legal theory. In short, a philosophy of law considers the role of legal theory in society, including where legal authority is drawn, and the concepts necessary to understand the nature of laws. Commonly referred to as jurisprudence, legal philosophy breaks down into three primary categories: analytic jurisprudence, normative jurisprudence, and critical legal theories. Whether discussed by legal theorists or legal philosophers, analytic jurisprudence, as a philosophy of law, seeks to differentiate legal norms from other societal norms such as ethics and morality. Analytic jurisprudence analyzes the linguistic uses, meanings, and evaluation of specific laws and legal concepts. Much controversy surrounds analytic jurisprudence, with primary arguments forming around the relationship between law and morality and whether legal theories derived from moral beliefs are in fact, a solid basis for statutory law. Natural law, or the perceived natural order of justice, is at the core of analytic jurisprudence and is in constant opposition to legal positivism, the denial of connections between law and morality. Normative jurisprudence is a philosophy of law which seeks to analyze concrete questions of law and freedom. Based on three issues, normative jurisprudence directly addresses legal obligations and the scope of legal power. The three issues at the heart of normative jurisprudence include the ability to restrict freedom, the obligation to obey, and justified punishment. Restriction of freedoms is an inherit function of law, but the extent of restriction and appropriate punishments for violations is the basis of this particular philosophy of law. For example, criminal laws restrict freedoms by removing certain behavioral choices such as rape or murder, while restricting freedom of speech is often deemed outside the scope of legislative control. Critical legal theory is a philosophy of law category that encompasses multiple topics. Such topics include legal realism, which seeks to analyze how the judicial system truly functions rather than abstract concepts presented by analytic jurisprudence philosophers. Law and economics, another area of critical legal theory, argues points regarding the effect of judicial systems on economics and vice versa. Finally, outsider jurisprudence encompasses legal theories debating the effects of legal statutes on women, minorities, and other underrepresented groups. Regardless of categories, legal philosophy analyzes all aspects of laws, legal systems, and legal theories. Debating the role of legal systems, the evolution of law, its relationship to and place in society, as well as the effects of law are all hot topics for legal theorists. Whether assisting in the understanding of the role of legal systems or determining the scope of power given legislators, a philosophy of law seeks to ensure statutory laws contribute to the growth and prosperity of society.
Philosophy of Law
Natural Law In philosophy of law, the idea of natural law consists of the belief that unchangeable laws of nature govern humankind. Generally, the belief in a natural law includes the belief that manmade governments ought to correspond with the natural law as much as possible. The idea of natural law leads to the principle that says that an unjust law is not a true law. In fact, the idea of an 'unjust law' in and of itself requires that some form of natural law (i.e. justice) exists independent to manmade legal codes. For that reason, most philosophies associate natural law with morality, and thus often with religion. Basically, natural law theory tries to ascertain a moral code to guide the state's lawmaking, based on notions of an objective morality. Analytic Jurisprudence Analytic jurisprudence uses a neutral approach to describe the various facets of legal system. Unlike natural law, analytic jurisprudence makes descriptive statements rather than prescriptive statements; it describes law rather than prescribing it. Famously, in A Treatise of Human Nature, David Hume contended that people perpetually slip from describing the world to saying we ought to take on a specific route. Analytic jurisprudence recognizes the difference between saying what is as opposed to saying what ought to be; Analytic jurisprudence focuses on the former. Most importantly, analytic jurisprudence attempts to answer the following questions: What is law? What are laws? How does law relate to social power? How does law relate to morality? Analytic jurisprudence also asks many sociological questions as they relate to law. Although many people have their own philosophy of law, legal positivism currently dominates the field of analytic jurisprudence. Legal positivism asserts that the validity of a law depends on whether or not a recognized authority posited it in the proper manner, regardless of any moral implications. Normative Jurisprudence
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Examples
1 The philosophy of law covers a lot of ground.
2 Based on previous Marx put forward his own philosophy of law point of view.
3 The emergence of LDR was based on economics, sociology, ecology and the philosophy of law.