Author Description

"He is a remarkably skillful interpreter of the positivist legal philosophers and probably the most stimulating current contributor to discussion of the issues they raised."--Thomas Morawetz in Ethics. Joseph Raz examines here the nature of law and its relations to morality, concentrating on the issue of the proper moral attitude of a citizen towards the law of his country. A discussion of the concept of legitimate authority is followed by a detailed explanation and defense of the legal positivist's approach to law. Within this framework the author examines several areas where legal analysis is often thought to be penetrated by moral values, particularly the social functions of the law, judicial creativity, and the ideals of the rule of law.