Why Law Matters for Our Obligations
Critical Analysis of Law 2:2 (2015)
University at Buffalo School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2016-032
14 Pages Posted: 22 Oct 2016
Date Written: 2015
Abstract
Political philosophers have long debated the problem of political and legal obligation: how the existence of a political community and its laws can affect our obligations. This paper applies Alon Harel’s argument that law has intrinsic value to this venerable problem. It interprets Harel’s argument as a Kantian claim that law enables us to treat our fellows with the respect they deserve, by requiring us not only to treat them decently, but to recognize decent treatment as their right.
Keywords: jurisprudence, obligation, political philosophy, rights
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