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Articles 1 - 7 of 7
Full-Text Articles in Legal History
The Conceptions Of Self-Evidence In The Finnis Reconstruction Of Natural Law, Kevin P. Lee
The Conceptions Of Self-Evidence In The Finnis Reconstruction Of Natural Law, Kevin P. Lee
St. Mary's Law Journal
Finnis claims that his theory proceeds from seven basic principles of practical reason that are self-evidently true. While much has been written about the claim of self-evidence, this article considers it in relation to the rigorous claims of logic and mathematics. It argues that when considered in this light, Finnis equivocates in his use of the concept of self-evidence between the realist Thomistic conception and a purely formal, modern symbolic conception. Given his respect for the modern positivist separation of fact and value, the realism of the Thomistic conception cannot be the foundation for the natural law as Finnis would …
Jefferson's "Laws Of Nature": Newtonian Influence And The Dual Valence Of Jurisprudence And Science, Allen P. Mendenhall
Jefferson's "Laws Of Nature": Newtonian Influence And The Dual Valence Of Jurisprudence And Science, Allen P. Mendenhall
Allen Mendenhall
Jefferson appears to have conceived of natural law rather differently from his predecessors - namely, Saint Thomas Aquinas, Richard Hooker, Hugo Grotius, Samuel von Pufendorf, John Locke, and, among others, William Blackstone. This particular pedigree looked to divine decree or moral order to anchor natural law philosophy. But Jefferson’s various writings, most notably the Declaration and Notes on the State of Virginia, champion the thinking of a natural historian, a man who celebrated reason and scientific method, who extolled fact over fancy, material over the immaterial, observation over superstition, and experiment over divine revelation. They reveal, in other words, an …
The Natural Right Of Self-Defense: Heller's Lesson For The World, David B. Kopel
The Natural Right Of Self-Defense: Heller's Lesson For The World, David B. Kopel
David B Kopel
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in District of Columbia v. Heller constitutionalized the right of self-defense, and described self-defense as a natural, inherent right. Analysis of natural law in Heller shows why Justice Stevens' dissent is clearly incorrect, and illuminates a crucial weakness in Justice Breyer's dissent. The constitutional recognition of the natural law right of self-defense has important implications for American law, and for foreign and international law.
Self-Defense In Asian Religions, David B. Kopel
Self-Defense In Asian Religions, David B. Kopel
David B Kopel
This Article investigates the attitudes of six Far Eastern religions - Confucianism, Taoism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism, and Buddhism - towards the legitimacy of the use of force in individual and collective contexts. Self-defense is strongly legitimated in the theory and practice of the major Far Eastern religions. The finding is consistent with natural law theory that some aspects of the human personality, including the self-defense instinct, are inherent in human nature, rather than being entirely determined by culture.
The Iroquois Great Law Of Peace And The United States Constitution: How The Founding Fathers Ignored The Clan Mothers, Renée Jacobs
The Iroquois Great Law Of Peace And The United States Constitution: How The Founding Fathers Ignored The Clan Mothers, Renée Jacobs
American Indian Law Review
No abstract provided.
Whose Nature - Practical Reason And Patriarchy, Lynne Henderson
Whose Nature - Practical Reason And Patriarchy, Lynne Henderson
Cleveland State Law Review
My comments on John Finnis's Natural Law and Legal Reasoning grow out my concern about the relationship of law to authoritarianism. In this comment, I do not intend to go deeply into the relationship of law to authoritarianism but rather to sketch out the background of the argument. It seems to me that authoritarianism, properly understood, is of great relevance to a symposium on jurisprudence and legal reasoning, because at a minimum, authoritarianism overlaps with legality's ethic of rule-following and obedience to authority. Authoritarian attitudes about authority and morality also are relevant to the jurisprudential concern with the relation of …
Justification In The Killing Of An Innocent Person, John Makdisi
Justification In The Killing Of An Innocent Person, John Makdisi
Cleveland State Law Review
It is appropriate to call Finnis' approach to life as an incommensurable basic human good a natural law approach. It suggests that there is more to life than just an accumulation of wealth, happiness, value, etc. There is something about life that we cannot value, that we cannot measure, that we cannot fathom, that is mysterious. While contract and even some tort law are readily adaptable to arguments of economic efficiency, there are areas where such arguments do not belong. Specifically, where the end result cannot be measured because the values at stake are incommensurable, there may be no best …