Legal Positivism Revisited: A Philosophical Critique of Normative Legal Theory and its Ethical Implication

Abstract

The aim of this research is to present a critical analysis of legal positivism including its philosophical basis, theoretical development and ethical aspects related to the normative legal theory. The starting point is the history of positivism which illustrates how the separation of law and morality and the importance of social facts within legal explanations developed. In the philosophical discussion, the notion of legal positivism is deconstructed and compared with other schools like natural law and legal realism. Indeed, the study investigates the ethical implications of applying a legal positivist approach, including the advantages and problems of isolating the law from ethical considerations. The study invokes the usage of theoretical instances and case studies for the illustration of the effective implementation of legal positivism in different contexts. Lastly, the work discusses the current debates within legal philosophy and offers new questions to explore, which pinpoints the enduring role of legal positivism in our understanding of the intricate connection between law and morality.