Law · Jurisprudence & Legal Philosophy
Legal Positivism
A topic within Jurisprudence & Legal Philosophy, itself one of 8 topics in that field and part of Law.
Reading for Jurisprudence & Legal Philosophy
3Start here
No prior grounding assumed.
- EssayLetter from Birmingham JailMartin Luther King Jr., 1963· ≈7,000 words
Distinguishes just from unjust law and defends civil disobedience as a way of respecting law rather than rejecting it.
Then
Assumes you know the vocabulary.
- EssayThe Path of the LawOliver Wendell Holmes Jr., 1897· 22 pages
Predicts what courts will do in fact; strips morality out of legal analysis and founds American legal realism.
Go deeper
Primary sources and full treatments.
- BookThe Concept of LawH. L. A. Hart, 1961
Law is a union of primary and secondary rules, which explains legal systems better than commands backed by threats.