The Authority of Law Essays on Law and Morality, 2nd Edition

Author: Joseph Raz
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 9780199573578
Published In: June 2009
Format: Paperback
Jurisdiction: U.K. ? Disclaimer:
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A classic work, widely influential and still frequently cited, essential reading for all scholars and students of legal philosophy
Widely regarded as Raz's most accessible work, the book offers an ideal introduction for students to the work of a major legal philosopher
Pagination of the main text is unaltered from the original edition, allowing citations to be easily followed
New to this edition

Includes two previously uncollected essays that develop Raz's views on the nature of law, and a new introduction by the author
This classic collection of essays, first published in 1979, has had an enduring influence on philosophical work on the nature of law and its relation to morality. Raz begins by presenting an analysis of the concept of authority and what is involved in law's claim to moral authority. He then develops a detailed explanation of the nature of law and legal systems, presenting a seminal argument for legal positivism. Within this framework Raz then examines the areas of legal thought that have been viewed as impregnated with moral values - namely the social functions of law, the ideal of the rule of law, and the adjudicative role of the courts.

The final part of the book is given to understanding the proper moral attitude of a citizen towards the law. Raz examines whether the citizen is under a moral obligation to obey the law and whether there is a right to dissent. Two appendices, added for the revised edition, develop Raz's views on the nature of law, offering a further dialogue with the work of Hans Kelsen, and a reply to Robert Alexy's criticisms of legal positivism.

This revised edition makes accessible one of the classic works of modern legal philosophy, and represents an ideal companion to Raz's new collection, Between Authority and Interpretation.

Readership: Advanced students and academics in philosophy and in law

I Law and Authority
1: Legitimate Authority
2: The Claims of Law
II The Nature of Law and Natural Law
3: Legal Positivism and the Sources of Law
4: Legal Reason, Sources, and Gaps
5: The Identity of Legal Systems
6: The Institutional Nature of Law
7: Kelsen's Theory of the Basic Norm
8: Legal Validity
III Internal Legal Values
9: The Functions of Law
10: Law and Value in Adjudication
11: The Rule of Law and its Virtue
IV Moral Attitudes to the Law
12: The Obligation to Obey the Law
13: Respect for Law
14: A Right to Dissent? I. Civil Disobedience
15: A Right to Dissent? II. Conscientious Objection
V Appendices
Appendix I The Purity of the Pure Theory
Appendix II The Argument from Justice

Joseph Raz, Research Professor, Oxford University and Research Professor, Columbia University Law School

Joseph Raz has been teaching in Oxford since 1972. He has held a chair in the philosophy of law since 1985, and has been a Research Professor since 2006. He has also held a professorship at Columbia University since 2002. He is a fellow of the British Academy and a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.