THE NATURE OF LEGAL OBLIGATION di Brian H. Bix
23 Dicembre 2015
In this paper, I want to explore two basic questions about the nature of law and legal obligation. First, to what extent is legal obligation or legal normativity “optional” or a matter of choice? This is an indirect way of exploring the claims scholars have made about law — and also about the role of the legal scholar. Legal theorists claim that they must “explain the normativity of law,” the way that law gives us reasons for action. I think it worth considering, first, whether – or when – law gives us reasons for action. Hans Kelsen’s legal theory (or at least one reading of it) will be used as a useful starting point for this discussion.