TSR Wiki > Study Help > Subjects and Revision > Revision Notes > Law > Law and Morals Essay Plan
Essay plan for Morals
- Explanation of relationship between law and morals
- Law is sovereign and needs not know relationship with morals so long as it has been carried through the correct procedure- Austin’s Positivism.
- The oldest morals form Law. Natural law is formed from the bible. Thou shell not kill- Murder… Aquinas
- Law should uphold the morality of the greatest number of people. – Bentham Utilitarianism principle.
- meaning and nature of legal and moral rules
- Law: Is sovereign and universal and accepted by those who are in society and can be changed, abolished or enforced unlike moral values.
- Morals: A moral judgment is not simply a matter of personal opinion. (Subjectivism)
- Realists see moral ascertains as inferentially true or false.
- Relativists say morals may change from time to time or place to place- “general consensus within society” One side of the argument is correct, one side of the argument is wrong.
- Nazi example of believing what they did is right yet we judge.
- similarities and differences between legal and moral rules
- To what extent should morality be reflected in Law? Division in thought.
- Absolute moral standards – Acts that effect individuals rights and society
- The emphasis of law is more often on the prohibition of behaviour regarded as immoral.
- Bentham???
- Law must be reflective of moral otherwise there is no obligation to oblige.
- Legal rules can be resolved by reference to statutes or judges reports. Morales can not be resolved.
- Once applied social pressure lifted morals can change if not worth maintaining, law on other hand can not Sunday Trading Laws.
- Legal rules can change public opinion.
- Legal rules can be created, abolished or changed, morals if at all change gradually.
- Legal rules carry punishment, morals carry social pressures.
- Moral rules must have mens rea.
- area’s of over lap and area’s of distinct
- Law is strongly influenced by Morals. Elected party.
- Morals can lead to law Punishments for Insect Act 1908.
- Moral SM as in Brown but Boxing is moral and not considered illegal.
- R V R Change is social status of woman.
- High Tree’s House LORD DENNING.
- Shaw Vs Smith “uphold the moral values of society”
- R Vs Kingston absence of moral fault is not absence of mens rea
- Liberty by Mill stresses individualism and man should only act over man in order to prevent harm to another. Should reason and conform before introducing laws. Mill was unsure on the boundaries of liberty and made concession for child law, failed to understand adults do not understand consequences of actions and didn’t deal with issues like prostitution.
- Sir James Stephen. Defined morality as the unanimous opinion of society, and the law should uphold it. **Acts of wickedness so gross and outrageous should be punished at the expense of the defendant.
- Evaluation of theoretical debate
- D: that morality is not simply a matter of individual judgment, but that any society must have a recognised common morality held by most or all of its members. Reasonable man believes is immoral.
- H: Minimum content is the level of agreement in modern society. Hart reiterated Mill's "harm principle", and said the law should intervene only to prevent some harm.
- Natural Law- Aquinas “divine law of god” euthanasia is against natural law.
- Fuller- “inner morality of law”- not made ad hoc, prospective, understandable, consistent, and possible to comply with.
- Bentham- natural law confuses law issues and moral issues. “Utility principle” greatest happiness to greatest number of people.
- Austin- positivism rejects natural law, regardless of moral content as long as it went through the correct procedure.
Comments
These notes are aimed at people studying for A Level Law, unit 6.
Originally written by Jamie_Fletcher on TSR Forums.
