Law and Morality - P2 & P3 Flashcards
What does being in a pluralist society mean?
There is more than one culture, race, religion, and social class.
Compare the creation of law and morals:
Law: Formal institutions.
Morals: Society evolves and morals are created (Ten Commandments may be seen as formal moral code).
Compare the process of making/removing law and morals:
Law: Easily made and repealed, but often takes time and public pressure.
Morals: Change with societies attitudes and are slow.
Compare the level of establishment of law and morals in society:
Law: Existence can be established.
Morals: Only vaguely defined.
Compare the punishments for law and morals:
Law: Breaking them has sanctions by the state.
Morals: Social condemnation.
Compare how social attitudes affect law and morals in society:
Law: Social attitudes are irrelevant.
Morals: Morals reflect their values.
Are laws obligatory or subjective?
Obligatory.
Are morals obligatory or subjective?
Subjective.
Are laws fault based?
Not always (i.e. strict liability)
Are morals fault based?
Yes.
What are the philosophies about legal enforcement about moral values?
- Natural law theory
- Positivism
What is positivism?
Positivism maintains that laws and morals should be kept separate.
What did Aristotle say about positivism?
Law should be made by reason and not by passion.
What did Jeremy Bentham say about Natural law theory as a Positivist?
That natural law theory is nonsense.
What is natural law theory?
Natural law theory maintains that the law should be used to enforce moral values.
