Law and Philosophy
Holmes' "bad man" theory offers insight into the difference between the law and morality. The bad man is not concerned with morality but he is as concerned about the law as any "good" man because in knowing the law, he can avoid getting into trouble. The bad man would lie, cheat, and/or steal if it weren't against the law because he cares not for the morals that underlie laws. In fact, lawmakers, policy makers, and other legal professionals can apply the bad man theory to their work: understanding the mentality of the bad man can help distinguish between legalism and morality. The government cannot enforce morality but it can enforce the rule of law and thus protect the rights of all citizens.
For Corwin, the higher law is the rule of law itself. In the United States, the rule of law has replaced divine mandate. Its citizens "worship" the Constitution in the same way they would have worshipped a God or a King. The United States constitution is the embodiment of higher law because it reflects the almost religious nature of respect for legal authority.
According to Levi, legal reasoning is a three-step process: first, recognizing similarity between a current and prior case; second, discovering and formally announcing the rule of law inherent in the prior case; and third, applying the rule of law to the second case. Whenever possible, establishing precedent has thus become a hallmark of legal reasoning for case law, statutory interpretation, and constitutional interpretation. In some cases, no prior case applies, or the judge does not deem the prior case relevant to the pending one. Levi's principles demonstrate that the law is flexible and dynamic, even if certain rules can apply in different times to different situations. Comparing cases can ease the process of statutory or constitutional interpretation. Referring to precedence enables continuity of law; the same rules can be applied to different cases.
Constitutional RightsIntroductionThe Constitution of the United States is an enduring document that has been the subject of much analysis and interpretation. The document establishes the framework for the federal government and guarantees certain rights and privileges to citizens. These protections have been interpreted in a variety of ways over the years, and there is still much debate about their meaning and application. One way to analyze the Constitution is through
Philosophy Analyzing Rembrandt The following paper is a response to questions regarding the painting, "Aristotle with a Bust of Homer." The painting was painted by Rembrandt van Rijn in 1653. It is oil on canvas and access to the painting is gained by the website of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, physically located in New York City. The paper will first contextualize the painting, trying to situated in history and establish a historical
Berkley stated that because the senses were potentially faulty, everyone's sense perceptions and thus everyone's 'truth' was unique and variable. However, most empiricists like Locke believed that some (few) things could be known with certainty, like shape and color, even if other properties of things could not be known. The empiricists come from the Aristotelian rather than the Platonic tradition of philosophy, and had rigorous standards of truth based upon
Yet, when you go beyond the generalities, it is obvious that this a taking a one size fits all approach when it comes to society. Where, you are assuming that everyone will react the same to the various rules / laws that have been established. However, the pessimists argue that such thinking does not take into account how various experiences and personal relationships will determine someone's morals and values.
This idea was accepted by most of the philosophical schools of the time, including the Atomists. Plato took quite a different approach and found that ideas, as noted, and saw idas as existing outside of human consciousness. Plato's doctrine of recollection holds that learning is the remembering of a wisdom that the soul enjoyed prior to its incarnation, another aspect of the idea that there are ideal forms "remembered" by
Oliver Wendell Holmes states that justice is subjective and changes according to the viewer's prejudice, viewpoint or social affiliation. But a set of rules is needed to make society function and these rules must be carried out. This philosophy of law applies to Ann Hopkins' case. The senior partner and admissions committee had the prerogative of setting out the rules with which partners should be selected. Their sense of justice
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