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25. Social Practice / D. Justice / 2. The Law / d. Legal positivism

[laws as mere human inventions of social rules]

6 ideas
Grotius ignored elaborate natural law theories, preferring a basic right of self-preservation [Grotius, by Tuck]
The legal positivism of Hobbes said law is just formal or procedural [Hobbes, by Jolley]
The existence of law is one thing, its merits and demerits another [Austin,J]
Hart replaced positivism with the democratic requirement of the people's acceptance [Hart,HLA, by Zimmermann,J]
For positivists law is a matter of form, for naturalists it is a matter of content [Scruton]
Following some laws is not a moral matter; trivial traffic rules, for example [Wolff,J]