DOI
10.1111/j.1747-9991.2006.00042.x
Abstract
Under what conditions, if any, do those the law addresses have a moral duty or obligation to obey it simply because it is the law? In this essay, I identify five general approaches to carrying out this task, and offer a somewhat detailed discussion of one or two examples of each approach. The approaches studied are: relational-role approaches that appeal to the fact that an agent occupies the role of member in the political community; attempts to ground the duty to obey the law in individual consent or fair play; natural duty approaches; instrumental approaches; and philosophical anarchism, an approach that denies that most subjects of contemporary states have a duty to obey the law simply in virtue of its status as such.
Document Type
Post-print Article
Publication Date
11-2006
Publisher Statement
Copyright © 2006, John Wiley & Sons. The definitive version is available at: http://philosophy-compass.com/.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1747-9991.2006.00042.x
Full Citation: Lefkowitz, David. "The Duty to Obey the Law." Philosophy Compass 1, no. 6 (November 2006): 571-98. doi: 10.1111/j.1747-9991.2006.00042.x.
Recommended Citation
Lefkowitz, David, "The Duty to Obey the Law" (2006). Philosophy Faculty Publications. 64.
https://scholarship.richmond.edu/philosophy-faculty-publications/64