Applied Legal Philosophy The Theory of Ethical Positivism

In legal theory, legal positivism is generally taken to be the view that the concept of law can be elucidated without reference to morality. It is the thesis of this book that such a belief in the amoralism (and certainly the immoralism) of legal positivism is mistaken. The Legal Theory of Ethical Positivism re-establishes some of the dogmas of classical legal positivism regarding the separation of legizlation and adjudication and the feasibility of institutionalizing the morally neutral application of rules as an ideal capable of significant realization. This is supplemented by an analysis of the formal similarities of the morally and legally adjudicative points of view which offers the prospects of attributing a degree of moral authority to positivistic rule application in particular cases. These theories are worked through in their application to specific problem areas, particularly freedom of communication.