PHIL LAW Section B

short answers

What is the teleological argument for natural law theory?

Laws must serve moral goals; a law that fails to promote the common good isn’t a true law.

Why does Hart reject legal realism?

Because judges don’t only predict outcomes; they also follow rules.

What is the rule of recognition, and why is it needed?

A rule that tells officials how to identify valid laws; it solves uncertainty about what counts as law.

What is Dworkin’s main objection to legal positivism?

It wrongly says law is only about facts; Dworkin says morals also shape what the law is.

What is Ellen Wiles’s argument for enforcing socioeconomic rights?

These rights (like healthcare) protect basic human dignity and must be enforceable to matter.

What is Annabelle Lever’s objection to Waldron’s procedural thesis?

She thinks procedures alone can’t protect rights/democracy well; sometimes courts are needed.

Why did Hart think international law has no rule of recognition?

Because there’s no global authority or agreed-upon rule for identifying valid laws.

What is “subjective legitimacy” (Stilz)?

Citizens accept the law as legitimate when they feel like they have been properly heard within the government. (they voted, they had a say, etc)

Why does Lu think colonialism was supported by structural injustice?

the entire economic, political, and social system was set up in a way that automatically favored colonizers and harmed colonized people.

What does “being exploited is better than not being exploited” mean?

Some countries rely on foreign companies for income, even if unfair; explaining economic neocolonialism. (a bad job is better than no job)

what is legal realism (hart’s predictive theory)

the view that legal rules do not actually determine judicial decisions, and that “the law” is nothing more than a prediction of how judges will behave.

what is waldren’s procedural thesis

argues that it only matters if the decision process is fair rather than the decision itself. The decision process makes a democracy not the decision.

why does hart believe a legal system need a rule of recognition

• no one would know what the law actually is,

• officials and judges wouldn’t agree on what counts as valid,

• the system would fall into confusion and inconsistency.

legal system’s rule of recognition

the ultimate rule in a legal system that tells judges and officials how to identify what counts as valid law (constitution, statutes, or authoritative judicial decisions.)

define plain-fact view

the law is social facts about legal practice and does not involve morals

why do legal positivists have to accept the plain fact view according to Dworkin

because legal positivist must accept that law is separate from morality.

What is Dworkin’s main objection to legal positivism?

law cannot be identified solely by plain facts; it also includes moral principles that positivism cannot account for.