Natural Law and Natural Rights - American Legal Library

Author: Finnis
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: This book closely integrates philosophical jurisprudence and ethics, social theory, and political philosophy. The author presents a sustained and substantive argument; it is not a critique of others' claims but frequently references traditional, medieval, modern, and contemporary studies in ethics, social theory, political theory, and jurisprudence in explanatory and critical ways. Part I reviews analytical jurisprudence over a century, elucidating the dependence of all descriptive social sciences on theorists' evaluations. Natural law theory provides a solid basis for critically evaluating such assessments. This section also comments on typical contemporary objections to natural law, pointing out serious misunderstandings. Part II elaborates on these aspects in ten carefully constructed chapters: the basic human goods and the necessary conditions for practical reason, community and the "common good"; justice; the logical structure of rights discourse (rights-talk); the foundation, specific demands, and limits of human rights; authority and authoritative rules formulated by non-authoritative personnel and procedures; law, the rule of law, and the derivation of law from principles of practical reason; the complex relationship between legal and moral obligations; practical and theoretical issues arising from unjust laws. The final part presents a rather forceful argument regarding the relationship between "natural law," "natural theology," and "revelation"—and moral concerns and other "ultimate questions." This book is an authoritative restatement of the theory of natural law jurisprudence, while also providing students with a solid foundation in central issues of law, morality, and political philosophy. Author John Finnis is a Professor of Law at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of St. John's College, Oxford.