important people who helped shape Law

Card 1 Q: What did Aristotle, Plato, and Aquinas believe about law?

Law reflects a divine natural order and

universal morality — laws come from higher truths (God/nature).

What did Weber argue about modern law?

Law is driven by rationality, logic, and calculation. It

is separate from religion, tradition, and politics.

What did Henry Maine argue about legal evolution?

Societies shifted “from status to contract.”

Feudal societies = defined by birth/status. Modern societies = defined by individual agreements/contracts.

What did Durkheim believe about law in different societies?

Traditional societies → repressive

law (punishment, fear). Modern societies → restitutive law (restoring balance, repairing harm).

What did Marx argue about law and society?

Law reflects material/economic conditions and

protects the interests of the ruling class. Values follow survival needs.

What did Weber believe about law?

In modern capitalist society, rationality drives law. Logic and calculation displace tradition, religion, and emotion; law becomes insulated from other institutions.

How did Aristotle, Plato, and Aquinas view law?

Law reflects a divine natural order and universal morality.

What was Henry Maine’s main idea about law?

Law developed through the shift from status (social class membership) to contract (individual rights/roles).

How did Marx and Durkheim see law

Law arises from the division of labor and organic solidarity. It can be repressive (punitive) or restitutive (restoring balance).

What did Tigar and Levy argue about law?

conomics drives law. Principles like private property, individual rights, and contracts support finance capitalism, aided by alliances with leaders and experts.

What did Perry-Kessaris, Chambliss, Rusche, and Kirchheimer believe about law?

Law supports trust between government, business, and society. Punishment is tied to economic production (e.g., vagrancy laws).

How did Foucault view law

Law reflects decentralized, fragmented power and shifts with cultural control (e.g., policing low-level offenses, curfews, “danger containment”).