Legal Positivism - the dominant theory in jurisprudence
Jeffrey Kaplan・2 minutes read
Law school curriculum in English-speaking countries focuses on U.S. landmark cases and jurisprudence, including legal positivism. Legal positivism views law as a social phenomenon dependent on human thoughts and actions, contrasting with natural law theory which considers both social and moral facts in determining the law's validity.
Insights
- Law school curriculum in English-speaking countries, particularly the U.S., heavily emphasizes landmark cases like Marbury V Madison, Plessy V Ferguson, and Brown V Board of Ed.
- Legal positivism, the dominant theory in jurisprudence, asserts that law is a social phenomenon dependent on human thoughts and actions, contrasting with natural law theory that incorporates moral elements into legal considerations.
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Recent questions
What is the focus of law school curriculum in English-speaking countries?
U.S. landmark cases like Marbury V Madison, Plessy V Ferguson, and Brown V Board of Ed are the primary focus.
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Summary
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Law school curriculum focuses on U.S. landmark cases
- Law school curriculum in English-speaking countries primarily focuses on U.S. landmark cases like Marbury V Madison, Plessy V Ferguson, and Brown V Board of Ed.
- Third-year law students in the U.S. have the opportunity to study jurisprudence, which delves into the Philosophy of Law.
- Legal positivism, the dominant theory in jurisprudence, asserts that law is a social phenomenon dependent on human thoughts and actions.
- Social phenomena, like money and fashion trends, rely on people's continued thoughts and actions for their existence.
- The value of money is a social phenomenon, sustained by people's belief in its worth.
- The elevator rule, a social etiquette, is another example of a social phenomenon dependent on people's thoughts.
- Tables, unlike social phenomena, do not rely on human thoughts for their continued existence.
- Legal positivism views law as a social phenomenon, sustained by human actions and thoughts.
- Legal facts, such as laws, are considered social facts, dependent on human events and psychological states.
- Legal positivism contrasts with natural law theory, which posits that law is determined by both social and moral facts, leading to a debate on the separation of descriptive and normative facts in law.
16:10
"MLK's Actions and Legal Positivism Views"
- Martin Luther King Jr's actions were seen as breaking laws, but according to natural law theory, those segregationist laws were considered immoral and not truly laws, leading to the belief that he wasn't actually breaking any laws.
- Legal positivism presents two main views: the social thesis, which states that law is a social phenomenon, and the separation thesis, which contrasts legal positivism with natural law theory by emphasizing the need to consider both social facts and moral demands to determine what the law truly is.
