Date of Award
8-7-2018
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Philosophy
First Advisor
Andrew Altman
Second Advisor
Christie Hartley
Abstract
In this paper I critically assess David Lefkowitz’s view that the right to political participation encompasses a right to suitably constrained civil disobedience. I claim that his argument is not successful because it has an explanatory gap. I then examine two strategies for repairing his argument. The first attempts to show that acts of civil disobedience fulfill the duty to obey the law. The second attempts to establish that the moral value of civil disobedience outweighs the moral value of obeying the law. I argue that both strategies may be successful—to a certain extent—but only the latter can establish a right to civil disobedience.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.57709/12445689
Recommended Citation
Pizzato, John, "Civil Disobedience and the Duty to Obey the Law: A Critical Assessment of Lefkowitz's View." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2018.
doi: https://doi.org/10.57709/12445689