Insofar as this was Hobbes’s view, it was because he was an adherent of the command theory of law already discussed. The core ideas of legal positivism are that law is essentially a matter of social fact and that it bears at most a contingent connection with moral norms: many actions that are legally proscribed (or prescribed) can nonetheless be moral (or immoral). Many scholars credit Hobbes as the founder of legal positivism, the dominant philosophical theory of law since the 17th century. Writing during and after the English Civil Wars (1642–51), he developed the idea that government which ruled effectively by law is the only bulwark against anarchy or, as he famously put it, “a war of all against all.” Hobbes’s philosophy of law is in part an account of what law must be like in order to serve that function. For Hobbes, law was the primary instrument of a sovereign by which to serve the ends of government, which were principally peace and the personal security of all its citizens. He also offered some of the earliest criticisms of common-law theory, which would be developed significantly by theorists in the 18th century. SpaceNext50 Britannica presents SpaceNext50, From the race to the Moon to space stewardship, we explore a wide range of subjects that feed our curiosity about space!Īmong the most-influential philosophers of law from the early modern period was Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679), whose theory of law was a novel amalgam of themes from both the natural-law and command-theory traditions.Learn about the major environmental problems facing our planet and what can be done about them! Saving Earth Britannica Presents Earth’s To-Do List for the 21st Century.100 Women Britannica celebrates the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment, highlighting suffragists and history-making politicians.COVID-19 Portal While this global health crisis continues to evolve, it can be useful to look to past pandemics to better understand how to respond today.Student Portal Britannica is the ultimate student resource for key school subjects like history, government, literature, and more.This Time in History In these videos, find out what happened this month (or any month!) in history.#WTFact Videos In #WTFact Britannica shares some of the most bizarre facts we can find.Demystified Videos In Demystified, Britannica has all the answers to your burning questions.Britannica Classics Check out these retro videos from Encyclopedia Britannica’s archives.Britannica Explains In these videos, Britannica explains a variety of topics and answers frequently asked questions.

Leviathan 1651