Law, Liberty and Morality

41 Pages Posted: 22 Jul 2020

Date Written: June 30, 2020

Abstract

The question of whether law ought to enforce morality has been an issue of philosophical debate for ages. What should be the rightful limit to the sovereignty of the individual over himself? Where does the authority of society begin? How much of human life should be assigned to individuality, and how much to society?

To a large extent, ancient civilizations around the world based governance of their respective societies on moral thresholds found in their respective religious doctrines. This is evidenced from the early Abrahamic faiths, Far East nations whose law was founded on Buddhism, early African empires such as Aksum and the then Puritan United Kingdom.

This paper, interrogates the question of law, Liberty and morality both in the global and Kenyan perspective.

Keywords: Law, Liberty, Morality, Ethics, Jurisprudence, Hart, Dworkins, Positivism, Natural Law

JEL Classification: K00, K10, K19

Suggested Citation

Kimani, Edwin, Law, Liberty and Morality (June 30, 2020). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3638896 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3638896

Edwin Kimani (Contact Author)

High Court of Kenya ( email )

Supreme Court Building, City Hall
P.O. Box 30041
Narobi, 00100
Kenya

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