SOCIOLOGY2 Essentially, there are two types of natural law theories. The first is the natural law of morality, it states on what is right or what is wrong. The other law is the theory of positivism which states the legality or whether something is illegal. Both theories are dependent of each other as legal positivism states that natural law is false and the vice versa is also true. The two are a rival view of what law is and what its relation to justice or morality is(McCrudden, 2017). As such, there are various philosophers who came up with the theories. They include john Austin, Jeremy Bentham, Ronald Dworkin Aristotle and Immanuel Kant. Philosophers and their theories critiqued. The first is John Austin is famous for the legal positivism theory. The theory mentions that there are immanent laws in nature. As such, enacted laws should correspond as closely as possible. The law is baseless as it does not mention which laws are natural(d'Entreves, 2017). That is the reason why many other philosophers have discredited the law. Secondly, Jeremy Bentham is responsible for the utilitarianism law. The law promotes actions which enhance happiness and wellbeing for majority of the people. Thirdly, deontology is a law which protects an individual’s rights, autonomy and liberty. It was invented by Immanuel Kant. Fourthly, Ronald Dworkin is responsible for interpretivism theory(McCrudden, 2017). According to this theory, law holds that the best interpretation of a community is determined by its legal rights and duties. Lastly, Aristotle is one of the greatest philosophers who holds the theory of virtual ethics. The theory emphasizes on how character is responsible for a person’s morality in the society. Only Aristotle and Jeremy Bentham have theories which relate to natural law. The other three have laws which relate to legal positivism.
SOCIOLOGY3 References d'Entreves, A. P. (2017).Natural law: an introduction to legal philosophy. Routledge. McCrudden, C. (2017). Legal research and the social sciences. InLegal Theory and the Social Sciences(pp. 149-167). Routledge.