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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

The Separation Of Law And Morals, Noel B. Reynolds Nov 1986

The Separation Of Law And Morals, Noel B. Reynolds

Faculty Publications

The classic opposition of legal positivism and natural law theory resurfaces continually and reminds us that we have yet to resolve this key conflict in our ways of understanding the moral authority of law. The strengths and weaknesses of the two theories are reviewed—both have fatal flaws. Conventionalism is proposed as a means of finding internal standards in a man-made system of law. The naturally emerging standards for a conventionalist system of law turn out to be the already familiar principles of the rule of law.


The Separation Of Law And Morals, Noel Reynolds Nov 1986

The Separation Of Law And Morals, Noel Reynolds

Noel B Reynolds

The classic opposition of legal positivism and natural law theory resurfaces continually and reminds us that we have yet to resolve this key conflict in our ways of understanding the moral authority of law. The strengths and weaknesses of the two theories are reviewed—both have fatal flaws. Conventionalism is proposed as a means of finding internal standards in a man-made system of law. The naturally emerging standards for a conventionalist system of law turn out to be the already familiar principles of the rule of law.


The Union Of Legal And Political Theory, Noel B. Reynolds Jan 1986

The Union Of Legal And Political Theory, Noel B. Reynolds

Faculty Publications

This paper explores the social science concept of conventions as a way of understanding law that would bridge the enduring gap between natural law and legal positivist legal theories. It further finds in the conventionalist approach a promising account of the rule of law—both in how it may be characterized and in how it can be assessed in particular legal systems.