Law Commons^™

Natural Law And Public Reasons, Kent Greenawalt

Faculty Scholarship

In this Lecture I shall discuss the reasons that officials and citizens should rely upon in American politics. In recent years, various theorists have claimed that people in liberal democracies should rely in politics on "public reasons," reasons that are accessible to all citizens. Others have objected that such a counsel is unreasonable, if not incomprehensible. I shall concentrate on two facets of this issue. First, does the law exemplify a structure of public reasons – that is, do judges deciding cases draw on a stock of public reasons that is narrower than all the reasons one might give for …

How Persuasive Is Natural Law Theory?, Kent Greenawalt

Faculty Scholarship

This Article, in honor of John Finnis, evaluates the persuasiveness of one central element of natural law theory – its claim to an objective moral truth discoverable by reason. Although I stand outside the tradition, my interest in natural law theory goes back to my college days. John Finnis, especially in his work Natural Law and Natural Rights, has much enriched my understanding of moral, political, and legal philosophy. Prior to that book, natural lawyers and analytic jurists had little to say to each other; by and large, the members of each group had scant respect for the scholarly endeavors …

Some Problems With Public Reason In John Rawls's Political Liberalism, Kent Greenawalt

Faculty Scholarship

Political Liberalism is a major addition to the political theory of John Rawls. In many respects, it develops or alters views expressed in his famous A Theory of Justice. For changes that appeared in various articles Rawls published after the earlier book, Political Liberalism tends to offer nuances of difference. The most original chapter is about public reason, and my comments are directed to that subject, which has now become a centerpiece of Rawls's theory. I draw in Rawls's other views only as they bear on public reason.

My aim is to present some problems I see with his …

Natural Rights, Natural Law, And American Constitutions, Philip A. Hamburger

Faculty Scholarship

Natural rights and natural -law are ideas that frequently seem to have something in common with the elusive shapes of a Rorschach test. They are suggestive of well-defined, recognizable images, yet they are so indeterminate that they permit us to see in them what we are inclined to see. Like Rorschach's phantasm-inducing ink blots, natural rights and natural law are not only suggestive but also indeterminate – ideas to which each of us can plausibly attribute whatever qualities we happen to associate with them. For this reason, we may reasonably fear that natural rights and natural law are ideas often …

Natural Law And Political Choice: The General Justification Defense – Criteria For Political Action And The Duty To Obey The Law, Kent Greenawalt

Faculty Scholarship

During most of this century, a distinct separation has existed between natural law perspectives and perspectives about the nature of law and about social choices that have dominated American law schools. One could find elaborations of natural law in Catholic law schools and periodicals, but these expressions exercised little influence on the mainstreams of legal thought. In the last two decades, non-Catholics have grown to realize that they have much to learn from natural law approaches, and natural lawyers have tried to enhance their own understandings by references to other perspectives. I am emboldened to proceed by my strong belief …

The Role Of Strategic Reasoning In Constitutional Interpretation: In Defense Of The Pathological Perspective Comments, Vincent A. Blasi

Faculty Scholarship

I am indebted to Professor Christie, not only for noticing my work but also for challenging it in so forthright a manner. He has identified a feature of my thesis that deserves to be a focal point for additional debate. Any reader of my original article who was undecided whether to agree with it ought to be aided considerably in the task of critical evaluation by the exchange Professor Christie has initiated. I know my own understanding of the premises and implications of my thesis has been enhanced by the experience of working out a response to his challenge.

The …

The Natural Duty To Obey The Law, Kent Greenawalt

Faculty Scholarship

In this Article, Professor Greenawalt examines the strengths and weaknesses of arguments asserting the existence of a natural duty to obey the law. He begins by defining "natural duty," and then investigates this concept in the theories of John Finnis, John Rawls, Tony Honore, Philip Soper, and John Mackie. Drawing upon the similarities of these theories, Professor Greenawalt questions the nature, reach, and force of the natural duty to obey, considering, among other things, whether the duty extends to laws that are unjust or to laws with which few others comply, and examining more generally when duties should be understood …