Title
From Negative Rights to Positive Law: Natural Law in Hegel's Outlines of the Philosophy of Right
Date of Award
Summer 8-2-2013
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Philosophy
First Advisor
Sebastian Rand
Second Advisor
William Edmundson
Third Advisor
Andrew Altman
Fourth Advisor
George Rainbolt
Abstract
In this paper I attempt to address an interpretive difficulty that surrounds Hegel's position in the history of jurisprudence. After a brief overview of Hegel's project, I outline the first two sections of the Outlines of the Philosophy of Right in order to support my argument that Hegel advocates a natural law theory of legal validity. I then show that confusions regarding Hegel's place in the history of jurisprudence arise from his view that the ethical evaluation of laws is limited (with some exceptions) to procedural laws that govern the enactment and recognition of laws in the administration of justice. I end by providing Hegel's distinctive argument for legal publicity, which he takes to be essential for the enactment and recognition of valid law.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.57709/4456324
Recommended Citation
Gonzalez, Marcos R., "From Negative Rights to Positive Law: Natural Law in Hegel's Outlines of the Philosophy of Right." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2013.
doi: https://doi.org/10.57709/4456324