Joseph Raz‘s normative theory of authority2is the most influential account in current political and legal philosophy. The theory‘s scope is wide, but it is typically used to account for the putative legitimacy of political authorities to impose morally binding requirements upon subjects and so affect their normative situation by mere say-so.3

Raz argues (here I summarize a detailed argument in general terms) that we are justified in subjecting our will and judgment to another when (1) we are more likely to do the right thing by doing so than we

Raz argues that if law claims authority, then the Sources Thesis must be true. He develops this argument in three distinct phases. First, by sketching a general conception of authority. Second, by outlining a way of arguing for the Sources Thesis based on this conception. And third, by defending the key premises of that argument.

2023年12月19日 · Joseph Raz’s Argument from Authority is one of the most famous defences of exclusive positivism in jurisprudence, the position that the existence and content of the law in a society is a wholly social fact, which can be established without …

JOSEPH RAZ Authority and Justification This article defends a certain conception of the nature of practical au-thority, that is, authority with power to require action. The explanation proceeds through normative theses of three kinds. One concerns the type of argument required to justify a claim that a certain authority is legiti-mate.

To look for an obligation to obey the law of a certain country is to look for grounds which make it desirable, other things being equal, that one should always do as the law requires.

Raz thinks that the existence and content of law depend on social facts, not on moral or evaluative considerations, and he regards legal systems as bounded institutions whose requirements are often incomplete or defeasible, leaving signi-

Raz’s vision on the rule of law is consistent with his views on legal positivism, the self-sufficiency of law’s authority, and the separation of law with morality. In his article The Rule of Law and Its Virtue, first published in 1977 LQR and later as a Chapter in The Authority of Law, Raz sets out his views of the rule of law.

This justification of authority would meet the anarchist challenge. Raz writes: 'this surrender of judgement and acceptance of authority, far from being either irrational or an abdication of moral responsibility, is in fact the most rational course and the right way to discharge one's responsibilities.' MORE ON NJT: Raz (2006:1017):

Joseph Raz’s Argument from Authority is one of the most famous defences of ex-clusive positivism in jurisprudence, the position that the existence and content of the law in a society is a wholly social fact, which can be established without the need to engage in moral analysis.