Natural Law, Liberalism, and Morality

Author: Robert P. George

Publisher: Oxford University Press on Demand

ISBN: 0198259840

Category: Law

Page: 311

View: 413

Natural Law, Liberalism, and Morality brings together leading defenders of natural law and liberalism for a series of frank and lively exchanges touching upon critical issues of contemporary moral and political theory. The book is an outstanding example of the fruitful engagement of traditions of thought about fundamental matters of ethics and justice.
In Defense of Natural Law

Author: Robert P. George

Publisher: Oxford University Press on Demand

ISBN: 0199242992

Category: Business & Economics

Page: 343

View: 450

In his collection George extends the critique of liberalism he expounded in Making Men Moral and also goes beyond it to show how contemporary natural law theory provides a superior way of thinking about basic problems of justice and political morality. It is written with the same combination of stylistic elegance and analytical rigour that distinguished his critical work. Not content merely to defend natural law from its cultural despisers, he deftly turns the tables and deploys the idea to mount a stunning attack on regnant liberal beliefs about such issues as abortion, sexuality, and the place of religion in public life.
Natural Law Liberalism

Author: Christopher Wolfe

Publisher:

ISBN: 0511241631

Category: Liberalism

Page: 269

View: 845

Natural Law Liberalism argues that liberal political philosophy and natural law theory are not contradictory but mutually reinforcing. Contemporary liberalism tends to put traditional morality and religion off-limits in political discourse and to unreasonably exalt individual autonomy, but nothing in the liberal tradition demands this.
Natural Law

Author: Robert P. George

Publisher: Dartmouth Publishing Company

ISBN: STANFORD:36105060343204

Category: Legal positivism

Page: 408

View: 906

This volume features important essays by leading contemporary natural law theorists and their critics. Readers will gain a clear sense of the state of the debate on such issues as the moral basis of legal obligation, the relationship between law and morality, and the role of moral enquiry and judgment in the interpretation of legal texts. In his introduction, Robert George provides a useful commentary on each essay.
Natural Law and Public Reason

Author: Robert P. George

Publisher: Georgetown University Press

ISBN: 0878407669

Category: Free enterprise

Page: 220

View: 212

"Public reason" is one of the central concepts in modern liberal political theory. As articulated by John Rawls, it presents a way to overcome the difficulties created by intractable differences among citizens' religious and moral beliefs by strictly confining the place of such convictions in the public sphere. Identifying this conception as a key point of conflict, this book presents a debate among contemporary natural law and liberal political theorists on the definition and validity of the idea of public reason. Its distinguished contributors examine the consequences of interpreting public reason more broadly as "right reason," according to natural law theory, versus understanding it in the narrower sense in which Rawls intended. They test public reason by examining its implications for current issues, confronting the questions of abortion and slavery and matters relating to citizenship. This energetic exchange advances our understanding of both Rawls's contribution to political philosophy and the lasting relevance of natural law. It provides new insights into crucial issues facing society today as it points to new ways of thinking about political theory and practice.
The Defence of Natural Law

Author: Charles Covell

Publisher: Springer

ISBN: 9781349223596

Category: Philosophy

Page: 279

View: 314

The Defence of Natural Law comprises a study of the philosophies of law expounded by Lon L. Fuller, Michael Oakeshott, F.A. Hayek, Ronald Dworkin and John Finnis. The work of these theorists is situated in relation to the modern tradition in legal philosophy. In this way, it is demonstrated that the theorists adhered closely to the natural law standpoint in legal philosophy, while also defending the particular view of the proper functions of law and the state that distinguished the tradition of modern liberalism.
The Foundations of Natural Morality

Author: S. Adam Seagrave

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

ISBN: 9780226123578

Category: Philosophy

Page: 184

View: 684

Recent years have seen a renaissance of interest in the relationship between natural law and natural rights. During this time, the concept of natural rights has served as a conceptual lightning rod, either strengthening or severing the bond between traditional natural law and contemporary human rights. Does the concept of natural rights have the natural law as its foundation or are the two ideas, as Leo Strauss argued, profoundly incompatible? With The Foundations of Natural Morality, S. Adam Seagrave addresses this controversy, offering an entirely new account of natural morality that compellingly unites the concepts of natural law and natural rights. Seagrave agrees with Strauss that the idea of natural rights is distinctly modern and does not derive from traditional natural law. Despite their historical distinctness, however, he argues that the two ideas are profoundly compatible and that the thought of John Locke and Thomas Aquinas provides the key to reconciling the two sides of this long-standing debate. In doing so, he lays out a coherent concept of natural morality that brings together thinkers from Plato and Aristotle to Hobbes and Locke, revealing the insights contained within these disparate accounts as well as their incompleteness when considered in isolation. Finally, he turns to an examination of contemporary issues, including health care, same-sex marriage, and the death penalty, showing how this new account of morality can open up a more fruitful debate.
Natural Law Ethics

Author: Philip E. Devine

Publisher: Praeger

ISBN: STANFORD:36105028571433

Category: Ethics

Page: 224

View: 513

The natural law tradition, which takes as central to moral discussion an appeal to our common humanity, provides a sustainable and attractive approach to problems of ethics and morals. This volume presents a contemporary version of natural law ethics, one that does not rely for support on the authority of Aristotle or St. Thomas Aquinas, however much it is indebted to them and their followers for inspiration and arguments. The author discusses the mutual relations of four key moral concepts--the good, virtue, duty, and rights--as well as their application to various issues, including environmental concerns, homosexuality, and suicide. While examining the role of morality in a way of life and the relation between morality and religion, he defends the natural law tradition against a range of philosophical and theological opponents.
Sexuality, Morals and Justice

Author: Nicholas Bamforth

Publisher: A&C Black

ISBN: 9781441188496

Category: History

Page: 320

View: 398

Against the background of the law reform debates around sexuality in Britain and America, Bamforth examines what functions it is legitimate for the law to serve and how effective law can be in achieving social goals. He provides a new and cogent argument for protecting lesbian and gay rights through law, but is sceptical about how useful law can be in eradicating discriminatory social practices. This work sheds new light on the equal rights debate and raises issues of central importance to the role of law in society.